19.29: A Close Reading on Character: Barriers vs. Stakes21 July 2024Our episode today focuses on C.L. Clark’s short story “You Perfect Broken Thing” for how the character's stakes shape the barriers facing her. We use this story to examine how to tell the difference between barriers versus stakes. We also examine how to do this in a compressed space– whether that’s ...00:22:55
19.28: A Close Reading on Character: Internal vs External Identity14 July 2024Today, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it's a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you c...00:24:24
19.27: A Close Reading on Character: An Overview and Why We Chose C.L. Clark's Stories07 July 2024Today we introduce our next close reading series—we’re focusing on character through the lens of three of C.L. Clark’s short stories: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home”. They are all hyperlinked ...00:23:45
19.26: Bringing Falconry into Writing30 June 2024Today we are joined by the incredible falconer Krista Hong Edwards. Krista was kind enough to take our hosts out with her falcons, and we had the most amazing time! Krista sat down with us to talk about falcons, literature, and much more. Check out our liner notes (below) for all of the texts we ref...00:27:49
19.25: From the Classroom to the Page23 June 2024Learning is great, but how do you translate it into doing without getting overwhelmed? What is the difference between learning in the classroom and executing when you're on your own?Marshall, our incredible recording engineer, just finished an MFA program. Congrats, Marshall!! On today’s episode, we...00:25:50
19.24: An Interview on Worldbuilding with Arkady Martine16 June 2024We've spent the last month talking about "A Memory Called Empire, and now, we are so excited to welcome the author, Arkady Martine, to the show! On today's episode, we talk with Arkady about the origins of her novel, and dive into how she navigated the dense and intricate world-building. Arkady give...00:35:43
19.23: Tying It All Together (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding)09 June 2024Today, the gang talks about their final thoughts on Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire.” We conclude with some lessons we’ve learned through analyzing her work, and we share our favorite bits! Thing of the Week: Pasión de las PasionesHomework: Find a piece of world building that you love and come up ...00:22:29
19.22: Technology and Identity (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding)02 June 2024The imago technology lies at the heart of this novel thematically and narratively. How does this technology create a world, delineate Mahit's culture from Teixcalaan, and ask enormous questions about identity and empire?Thing of the Week: “Rotten” (Documentary Series available on Netflix)Homework: C...00:26:02
19.21: Language as a Tool (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding)26 May 2024What cultural and worldbuilding information is embedded within the smallest of word choices? Today, we dive into three specific sections from throughout Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire”: the word for empire, assimilation and naming, and learning the word for bomb. We unpack how Martine uses langu...00:27:34
19.20: How to Make Worlds Feel Big Without Overwhelming the Reader (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding: Focusing on Scale)19 May 2024How do you use language and scale to focus your writing? Today, we think about scale and movement across vast spaces. What do characters’ movements tell us about empires and also—force? We talk about Martine’s incredible work establishing an empire across time, not (just) space. We read aloud some o...00:27:38