Start With This

Night Vale Presents

The creators of Welcome to Night Vale Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink believe the only bad writing is not writing. Start With This is a podcast gone creativity playground designed to put your ideas in motion. Each episode centers around a writing topic. Then they give listeners two short assignments: something to consume and something to create. Make something—anything. Then make something else.

36hr 10min

How do you deal with the limitation of an inherently audio-only medium? Jeffrey and Joseph discuss how artistic restrictions and resource limitations can become advantages that help you jumpstart a new creative path.

April 5, 201936min 8sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Perceiving the Audience w/Sarah Maria Griffin".

Author and poet Sarah Griffin joins us to talk about how the awareness of an audience affects our writing.

September 14, 20211hr 2min0 B

Thumbnail for "The Burnout Cycle w/Janina Matthewson".

Burnout is real and it comes around on the regular.

August 13, 202154min 13sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Minimal w/Brie Williams".

Writing more with less

July 9, 202140min 46sec0 B

How do you land the ending?

June 11, 202152min 1sec0 B

Elevating basic language to something special.

June 11, 20216min 4sec0 B

There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure.

May 14, 202152min 28sec0 B

They say that podcasting has a low barrier to entry. Wtf does that even mean?

May 13, 20215min 38sec0 B

What makes a good tease? Listen and find out.

April 9, 202143min 6sec0 B

It's easy to dislike something, but much harder to do it well.

March 30, 20215min 18sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Five Easy Rules to Become a Great Writer!".

Just follow these simple rules and something something...

March 12, 202150min 58sec0 B

What makes something weird, and is that a good thing?

March 10, 20214min 22sec0 B

Mightly push your powerful writing to the top of the highest of literary peaks! Or… work on your craft.

February 12, 202133min 6sec0 B

Good artists borrow; great artists steal. What? Let's break this down.

February 10, 20214min 6sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Journey Vs. Destination".

Getting there is 1/x the fun!

January 8, 202149min 48sec0 B

You’re a writer, because you write. Don’t tell yourself otherwise.

December 25, 202043min 11sec0 B

Celebrating the act of daily creation with Jonathan Mann.

December 11, 202029min 11sec0 B

Stop and describe the roses.

November 27, 202035min0 B

Thumbnail for "Non-Lovecraftian Horror".

There's so much more to horror, we couldn't stop at Lovecraft.

November 13, 202042min0 B

Lovecraft was a racist and a bad writer, yet his ideas and his stories live on. So what do we do with them?

October 30, 202044min 23sec0 B

A character has a problem. As a result of that problem, they make a decision. As a result of that decision, they change.

October 16, 202042min 19sec0 B

Fiction is a lie. Hopefully a good, fun lie.

October 2, 202042min 20sec0 B

What do you need to set the scene

September 18, 202044min 41sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Perfection Is for Assholes".

It's all in the title.

September 4, 202040min 6sec0 B

Other than sight, how are you describing your world?

August 21, 202041min 57sec0 B

What do you sound like, as a writer?

August 9, 202041min 10sec0 B

You write in the here and now.

July 24, 202035min 19sec0 B

You are intrigued by second person narratives.

July 10, 202032min 13sec0 B

What's there that's not there?

June 26, 202031min 12sec0 B

What is the shape of your narrative?

June 12, 202034min 25sec0 B

How are you doing?

May 29, 202031min 11sec0 B

How strong is your satire?

May 15, 202039min 13sec0 B

Writing what's absurd.

May 1, 202033min 55sec0 B

When do you use stage directions, and how descriptive do you get?

April 17, 202033min 8sec0 B

Thumbnail for "The Possibility of Failure".

It's okay - and sometimes exciting - to fail.

April 3, 202031min 9sec0 B

Writing for a single voice

March 20, 202034min 23sec0 B

Is writer's block real?

March 6, 202031min 24sec0 B

What does it mean to tell your story honestly?

February 21, 202033min 18sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Don't Forget Your Story".

Amid all your fine prose, don't forget you need to tell a story.

February 7, 202033min 10sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Writing for Performance (Live from Boston)".

Writing for a live audience presents new challenges.

January 24, 20201hr 28min0 B

Outlining your story is like a puzzle for plot.

January 10, 202030min 33sec0 B

We talk a lot about creating with enough speed to turn writing into habit, but working slowly puts the finish line so far out of sight that you can focus on something other than the final outcome. Slowness is a way to make something big by allowing you to break your writing down into manageable parts, and gives you enough space to enjoy the process. It also means you can work a little bit on something everyday, even if you don’t know what it is yet.

November 29, 201933min 18sec0 B

Your writing needs a message. The way you deliver this message is up to you. Repetition is one way to get this message across. There’s almost a magic power in centering on a message, spiraling outward, and circling back to the message again and again. In this episode, we talk about using repetition to review an idea, create rhythm, reinforce comprehension, drive emphasis, and to disorient.

November 15, 201931min 47sec0 B

In writing, words are you currency. So how can you maximize your spending on a budget? In this episode, we talk about how word counts can break up longer projects into achievable goals, are a form of accountability in your own process, and influence how your audience perceives your work. Plus, we discuss how knowing your own voice will help you decide how many words you want to dedicate to describing something in great detail or with great efficiency.

November 1, 201932min 32sec0 B

Working quickly means you can create faster than your doubt. In this episode, we talk about how using speed as a writing technique can be freeing and helpful. From setting timers to making word counts, writing without pausing allows you to simply get your ideas out now for you to shape later.

October 18, 201931min 7sec0 B

Stereo is a powerful, audio-specific tool that can fill out a sound in the same way that we experience sound in the world. We talk about how using stereo wisely can invite your listener’s imagination to get involved by differentiating speaking voices, putting them in a specific setting, and by creating weird or unexpected moments.

October 4, 201927min 43sec0 B

There will always be something to improve about your writing, but you can’t revise forever. We talk about developing processes so you know what to improve, how to improve it, and when to finish punching up your piece.

September 20, 201933min 50sec0 B

Have you ever had a big deadline and all of a sudden you have to listen to that new audiobook? In this episode, we talk about how anxiety about your writing can lead to moments like this. Then we discuss ways to motivate yourself from steering into the skid, to doing achievable tasks, as well as how taking care of your body and mind affects your creative work.

September 6, 201938min 40sec0 B

Thumbnail for "I Have an Idea for a Podcast".

The heart of a good podcast isn’t in expensive mics or a nice studio— it’s in the idea. We talk through four litmus tests to test the strength of your idea: specificity, novelty, practicality, and repeatability. Honing in on these elements will help you uncover what’s exciting about your idea, and what will make it successful. While this episode focuses on podcasting, these tests are good to consider for any artistic idea.

August 23, 201941min 2sec0 B

Here’s a short preview of our second members-only bonus Q&A episode.

August 16, 20197min 15sec0 B

Poetry can be intimidating. It’s more technical than prose, and there’s an extensive world of theory and study behind it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play around with it in your writing, and even be good at it! In this episode, Jeffrey and Joseph talk about how we naturally use poetic elements in our everyday speech, and how it can lend structure to get to the heart of what you’re describing.

August 9, 201935min 37sec0 B

We think the joy of a podcast is the personal relationship you develop with the podcasters you listen to. It’s a unique medium that creates a listening experience just for you. This direct line of communication is a tool, a gift, and a responsibility. In this episode, we talk about how to create while being aware of the listener's presence.

July 26, 201936min 32sec0 B

Silence can be terrifying— Any moment that you’re not creating sound can feel a moment when you’re not keeping your listener’s attention. But silence is incredibly attention grabbing, and if done right can be one of the most valuable tools in any artist’s arsenal. Jeffrey and Joseph talk about how, at its core, silence is a structural element of audio, and how using it adjusts your sense of time, tension, and lends rhythm to your work.

July 12, 201933min 30sec0 B

When do you let a project go, and why might you want to move on in the first place? Jeffrey and Joseph discuss the fine line between knowing when to trash a project and when to recycle it into something new. The willingness to let go of the art you consume and create can be really freeing. Thinking of art as truly disposable might even encourage you to try a new medium that you may not be as familiar with.

June 28, 201934min 54sec0 B

Writing dialogue can be daunting because you can’t rely own your own narrative voice— the characters have to speak for themselves. Joseph and Jeffrey deconstruct the popular advice that every line of dialogue has to move the plot forward, to talk instead about how the best dialogue is the kind that serves your story.

June 14, 201937min 19sec0 B

At its core, a game is a set of fun rules. From acrostic poems to following mathematical progressions, games can take the pressure off of creating and let you have fun making your art. Jeffrey and Joseph talk about the idea of games in creative work, how playing them can provide instant structure, and how watching someone attempt to succeed is instantly captivating.

May 31, 201954min 38sec0 B

How can you create something with only the most bare elements? There’s a lot you can do with just a story, a microphone, and a voice. Jeffrey and Joseph talk about the virtues of single-voice narrators, budgeting, and how to make a podcast or any kind of art in its most direct and affordable form.

May 17, 201933min 2sec0 B

Jeffrey and Joseph talk the history of their collaboration, and how working together made them better writers in their own right. Then they discuss the qualities they’re attracted to in potential collaborators, and the value they’ve found in working together.

May 3, 201936min 33sec0 B

Jeffrey and Joseph answer listener questions for Episode 1 (Idea to Execution) and Episode 2 (Know Your Limitations). Join the SWT Membership community to gain access to this full episode, to ask your own questions, and see what other listeners are making.

April 26, 201913min 13sec0 B

Our art is personal so sometimes receiving feedback can feel overwhelming. In this episode, Jeffrey and Joseph talk about how to give and receive comments beyond “it was good,” or “it was bad.” They outline four steps to help get and give useful responses: give permission, set specific parameters, have a limit, and evaluate what was helpful.

April 19, 201935min 56sec0 B

There’s natural talent, and then there’s practice. You can only control that last bit. Joseph and Jeffrey talk building habits of creation so that starting projects gets into your muscle memory.

March 22, 201937min 51sec0 B

Thumbnail for "Start With This: Trailer".

Normally, creators of Welcome to Night Vale Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink are the ones turning their ideas into stories. But for this podcast, it’s you who will do the writing, one short and simple assignment at a time.

March 8, 20194min 24sec0 B

Know Your Limitations

April 5, 201936min 8sec

Consume: The graphic novel, Here by Richard McGuire

If you don’t have immediate access to this book, do a quick google search to get the idea and check out this Guardian review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/17/chris-ware-here-richard-mcguire-review-graphic-novel

Create: Use a random number generator to select one thing from each list. Then write and record a 2-minute monologue incorporating each of the 3 random elements. (If you can, try setting the bluegrass song behind your piece and see what it does to the piece.)

100 Greatest Bluegrass Songs (incorporate the song title in your piece): https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/bestcountry/bestbluegrass_songs.html

Most Populated US Cities List (incorporate the city): http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/

World’s 50 Best Foods List (incorporate at least one sentence or phrase from your food item description): http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-dishes/index.html

Join the SWT Membership community to see what other listeners are making: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis

Help spread the word about the show by wearing our logo on your torso:
https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis

Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Produced by Night Vale Presents.

http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com

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