Tag Archives: Love

My story: Drinking in the Daylight

November 7, 2013 5:28 am ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

My story today is about drinking.My story today is a bit darker than my usual tales, but it all comes down to choice.

Drinking in the Daylight details a world where women can choose to be mothers or have careers, but not both. Faced with that option, three generations of women explore that major decision in their lives. It’s hard enough for a woman to make the choice between career and family — never mind making it while you are still a teenager.

A woman didn’t drink when her children were home. The mothers who reached for their wine when they still had toddlers underfoot were shunned at social gatherings. When all the children reached the ripe old age of five and were safely at school for the day, that was when the liquor cabinet locks were broken open.

Listen to the story and tell me what you would choose in the comments.

That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

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About the Story: The Book Critic Dumps His Girlfriend

October 24, 2013 6:14 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

This story started as a list of all the bad habits a writer can fall into: bad names, static characters, too many details on parts of the story that don’t matter, too much action, stereotypes, etc. After getting a terse rejection email from a publication, I thought about merging the list with the idea of rejection. Whether you are getting rejected from a person or a publication, it stings either way, but you have to move on, right?

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My story: The Book Critic Dumps His Girlfriend

October 23, 2013 6:10 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

My story involves a horrible break-up.My story today involves a pretty bad break-up.

Most people can’t help but bring their work home with them, and the narrator in The Book Critic Dumps His Girlfriend is no different.

As he parts ways with his girlfriend, the book critic can’t help but give her some advice on how to be a better character and a better writer overall.

She had hooked him with her backstory: She was adopted as a teenager with the ambition to travel the world to write a novel about discovering hope in poverty-stricken villages. She balanced work and a full social calendar with her volunteering at the local animal shelter on weekends. But after investing months in their relationship, he was faced with her shame – that her character was destined to be static.

It takes some close listening to find out what went wrong in their relationship, but the book critic eventually gets around to making his point.

Tell me about your worst break-up in the comments.

That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

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Audio commentary: Just (A Morality Tale)

October 16, 2013 6:22 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

All audio commentary is actually written. Haha.The audio commentary for the story Just includes a brief trip to the past. When I was in college, I took a class on medieval literature and we studied morality plays. At the end of the semester, I re-worked a script of Mankind and we performed it live. (Oh good, Dr. Koster still has a link to the script here.) Working on Mankind was a very different experience for me as a writer — the demons in the play get the audience to participate in a dirty song with them and the audience helps shape the outcome of the play. In today’s performances, such audience participation is frowned upon. But working with that concept – of the audience determining the outcome — made me want to try that in my own writing.

I was also a huge fan of those choose your own adventure books when I was younger, (seriously, who wasn’t?) even though most of the choices I made caused the death of the protagonist. Oh well.

For additional audio commentary on the podcast’s stories, visit us here.

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My story: Just (a morality tale)

October 15, 2013 6:30 am ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

My story is about morals - sort of.My story today is about morals…sort of.

In Just, which is a morality tale for the 21st century, the listener gets to choose the fate of the main couple.

But be forewarned before you listen: Just is full of betrayal — for everyone involved. (Also, there is a bit of office talk.)

Each of them will toil away in an office, where they feel productive and small at the same time, where they trade office gossip and find structure to the unwieldy hours of the day. The type of jobs they do does not matter. They are just jobs.

Listen to the story and leave your choice in the comments? Did you get the “right” answer?

That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

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