Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

James Thayer

Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer's novels are "superbly crafted') and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The New York Times Book Review has said Thayer's "writing is smooth and clear. it wastes no words, and it has a rhythm only confident stylists achieve.

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Episodes 27

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September 18 · 26 min
Episode 235 - Ten small writing techniques.
Here are ten smaller techniques that'll improve our story, each maybe not big enough for a full segment but worthwhile to help make our story gripping and our sentences shine. Also, here are thoughts about our story's ending; isn't HEA (happily-ever-after) a formula and cliche? And: how to show rather than tell about the weather. Support the show Buy the master class.
September 11 · 26 min
Episode 234 - Creating a character readers will love.
What do Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Shirley, Frodo Baggins, Jo March, Harry Potter, and Huckleberry Finn have in common? Readers love them. We can create such a character, one readers will long remember and maybe reread the storyl just to be with the character again. Also, adverbs and adjectives can weaken sentences. Here is why and how to avoid them. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
September 4 · 24 min
Episode 233 - Peeling the onion.
We writers can train ourselves to peel the onion: to look more deeply at places and people, and so set forth our discoveries in lovely language in our stories. Here's how the masters do it. Also, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "action is character" is a strong technique for revealing our characters' personalities to readers, and I talk about "action is character" here. Support the show Buy the master class.
August 28 · 27 min
Episode 232 - More on making our dialogue engaging for readers.
Readers love dialogue. It's as if they are part of the scene, sitting there and listening to our characters argue or romance each other or plan something important. Here are additional techniques to grip readers with our dialogue. Also: V.S. Naipaul's rules of writing. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
August 21 · 25 min
Episode 231 - Techniques to make our dialogue grab readers.
Dialogue is like a Snickers candy bar: it's good. Here are eight techniques for making conversations in our story engage the reader, things we should do and things we should avoid. Also, how did Sue Monk Kidd handle her first rejection? And Meg Cabot on how to keep going so we finish our story. Support the show Buy the master class.
August 14 · 26 min
Episode 230 - Creating a dastardly villain.
The shark. Dracula. Draco Malfoy. Cathy Ames. Annie Wilkes, Hannibal Lecter. Jadis the White Witch. Aren't these villains masterful creations, and don't they keep readers glued to the story? Here are ideas on how we can create wonderful--is that the right word?--villains. Also, we can keep our first-person narrator from being off-puttingly self-referential. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
August 7 · 26 min
Episode 229 - Juice up the setting.
Every element of our story should add interest, including the settings. What if--because of the plot or characters--we must place a scene in an otherwise dull place? We can juice it up. We can make it lively and fascinating. Here is how the masters do it. Support the show Buy the master class.
July 31 · 25 min
Episode 228 - Avoiding dullness in our story.
Every element in our story should contribute to entertaining the reader including our settings. We can replace our dull settings with fascinating locations, and here's how to do it. Also: what's wrong with this sentence? Running along the street, the purse bounced against her leg. It's a funny dangling modifier. Funny if it doesn't appear in our story. Here are thoughts on dangling modifiers, and how to avoid them. Plus, the rule of exceptions. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
July 24 · 28 min
Episode 227 - Becoming a close observer.
Almost all successful fiction writers are close observers. We can teach ourselves to be close observers, and use those observations in our characters and settings. And here are examples of close observations from the masters, those small details that bring their stories to vivid life. Support the show Buy the master class.
July 17 · 26 min
Episode 226 - Ways to make our sentences shine.
Novels that endure not only have bold plots but are also beautifully written. Here are techniques on how to make our sentences shine. Also: should we write our first chapter first and our last chapter last (as does John Grisham) or should we write the chapters and scenes out of order (as did Margaret Mitchell)? Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
July 10 · 26 min
Episode 225 - Leave it all on the field.
Cliches can offer solid advice. Pedal to the metal. Go big or go home. Leave it all on the field. We should swing for the fences with a bold plot. Also: a setting can be more than facts about the landscape. The masters add compelling moods to their stories with their settings. Support the show Buy the master class.
July 3 · 26 min
Episode 224 - Using all the senses to describe our character.
Some of us may describe our characters using only the sense of sight: what the reader sees when imagining the character. But we can also use sound, smell, taste, and texture to make our characters more memorable. Here are thoughts on how to do so. Also, Janet Burroway on the critical difference between a scene and a summary. And how Francine Prose reads fiction to learn the writing craft. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
June 26 · 25 min
Episode 223 - Readers can fall in love with our settings.
I talk about ways we can make our settings--the time and place of our story--irresistible to readers. They'll want to live there. Plus: we can use our global search function to almost instantly make our sentences more forceful. And: novelist Elizabeth George's plotting technique she calls the plot kernel. Support the show Buy the master class.
June 19 · 26 min
Episode 222 - Small techniques can add up to forceful sentences.
Here are pocket-sized techniques that can result in strong sentences; small--even tiny--things we can add to our prose writing arsenal. Also, Elizabeth George on her use of two outlines: the step outline and the running plot outline. And we can make our dialogue stronger by avoiding "Yes" and "No." Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
June 12 · 24 min
Episode 221 - Writing that is more intense than real life.
For readers, fiction offers escape from their real lives. How can we make our writing intense, and so lift our scenes above real life? Details are a key, and here are ideas on the use of odd and memorable details to make our prose vivid. Also, here's a good way to practice: write one perfect sentence. And, what made you want to write? Support the show Buy the master class.
June 5 · 29 min
Episode 220 - Cut to the chase.
The phrase "cut to the chase" originated in the film industry. When shooting and editing a movie, if things are getting dull cut to a chase scene. Cut to the chase applies to our novels and short stories, too. Here are ways we writers can make our stories stronger and our sentences more forceful by cutting to the chase. Also, a suggestion on naming characters. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
May 29 · 25 min
Episode 219 - How to get our story going.
Here is a checklist of things we likely should think about as we begin our first chapter: some elements to have in the beginning pages of our story and some things to avoid. Also: the strong technique of using contrast in consecutive scenes so that lights shine on both scenes. Support the show Buy the master class.
May 22 · 26 min
Episode 218 - Our writer's voice.
What is a singular attribute that separates Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and Edgar Alan Poe? Their literary voices. Here are thoughts on our own voices: if and how we should try to develop them. Also: the strong tool of contrast, when the character contrasts with the setting. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.
May 15 · 26 min
Episode 217 - Why and how to practice. And Edgar Alan Poe.
Writing is like learning the violin. We can get better. Here are reasons we should practice, and suggestions how to do so. And what sparked Edgar Alan Poe's imagination? Also: how much of our story should be scenes rather than summary? The answer: should fill our story with scenes that play out in real time in front of the reader like a movie. Support the show Buy the master class.
May 8 · 26 min
Episode 216 - Too many characters is a scene.
What's the problem with having a lot of characters in a scene? Aren't lots of people needed to make street scenes and party scenes and sports scenes and battle scenes credible? I'll talk about the problem of too many characters, and how we can fix the crowded scene so it doesn't lose focus. Also, a quick almost magical way to make our sentences stronger using the global search function on our computer. And lovely setting descriptions from Rachel Joyce. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started. Support the show Buy the master class.

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