Why Is This Good?

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. What can we learn from this story built around the strange premise of aging in reverse? How can […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor. What can we learn from this classic story from a great writer? How does its structure work? How are background and flashback […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders. What can we learn from yet another great story from Saunders? What is voice, and does an author have a voice separate […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station | Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0” by Caroline M. Yoachim. What can we learn from a […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Swimmer” by John Cheever. What can we learn from this fantastic story? What can we say about the point of view? How does Neddy’s journey drive the […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Wikihistory” by Desmond Warzel. What can we learn from this story set on an internet forum? How can we be creative with pseudo-paratext? How can we rely on […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Black Phone” by Joe Hill. What can we learn from a story by one of Stephen King’s kids? How does horror work in written form? How can […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Referential” by Lorrie Moore. What can we learn from a story inspired by another famous story? What can we learn from the changes Moore makes in the story? […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx. What can we learn from the quiet voice of this story? How does the narrative voice represent the characters? How can the setting […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Future is Blue” by Catherynne M. Valente. What can we learn from this cli-fi story? What makes a great prose style? How can we make our prose […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber. What can we learn from this happy little story and its main character’s vivid daydreams? How does the literary […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. What can we learn from this little story? Is it flash fiction? What is it? How can we create rich characters by presenting only […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “Town of Birds” by Heather Monley. What can we learn from this story? Does there have to be a metaphorical meaning? How can a strong image or concept […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. What can we learn from this classic story? How does the conceit of the narration help tell the story? How does […]

If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining our Patreon. Your support helps us keep the show running. Find out more at http://www.patreon.com/whyisthisgoodpodcast In this episode, we discuss “The Hunter’s Wife” by Anthony Doerr. What can we learn from a story with a fantastical premise? What do we get from a slow-building, patient story? How do […]

In this episode, we discuss “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger. How can a simple presentation provide such a complex story? What’s the effect of a third-person, psychically distant point of view? How do we know what a character is thinking if we never see their thoughts? What should we as writers […]

In this episode, we discuss “Sweethearts” by Richard Ford. What can we learn from this story? How can a character’s emotions create tension in a story? How can a story’s premise wind up the tension? How can we establish an authoritative voice for the narrator? If you enjoy this episode, consider subscribing to our newsletter […]

In this episode, we discuss “This is Pleasure” by Mary Gaitskill. What can we learn from a story with two first-person narrators? How can physical description help characterize a character? How do the feelings point-of-view characters have about something frame a story’s overall perspective? What’s the difference between a story and a character sketch? If […]

In this episode, we discuss “Snow” by Dale Bailey. What can we learn from this action-packed apocalyptic survival story? How much does a story like this rely on our familiarity with the genre? How do we determine what a story should focus on? How can we use refrains or motifs to represent the building pressures […]

In this episode, we discuss “Leaf by Niggle” by J. R. R. Tolkien. What can we learn from this little tale? Is this a religious allegory? How does an allegorical framework limit how we understand or how we might write a story? What are the limitations of interpretive criticism? How is this story so much […]