Write About Now Jonathan Small
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- Arts
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Write About Now features in-depth interviews with successful writers of all types and stripes—journalists, screenwriters, novelists, ghostwriters, and more. Host, Jonathan Small, takes a deep dive into how writers master their craft, offering tips, inspiration, and laughs for both aspiring and professional scribes.
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A College Professor Explains Why "Like" and "Literally" Are Actually Good English
Does it make your skin crawl when people use words like "like," "um," and "dude," like literally every hella second? You're not alone. But guest Valerie Fridland argues that these linguistic ticks are actually useful and important ways of communicating. Fridland is a sociolinguist at University of Nevada Reno, and the author of Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English. On the pod, she talks about the history and psychology behind these filler words and why they are far from the end of the world as we know it.
Sign up for my online course, The Secret Formula to Writing Nonfiction Stories that Sell @ https://bit.ly/smallmasterclass -
A Writer's Path to Publishing Her First YA Thriller
On this episode, we go behind the scenes with author Trish Lundy to find out what it takes get a YA novel written, sold, and published by a major house. Trish just released her eminently readable debut YA Thriller novel, “The One That Got Away with Murder.” She talks about the process of writing multiple manuscripts before getting it right, her journey in finding an agent, tips and tricks for finding a story and characters that jump off the page, and what she's learned about the craft by going through the process.
Speaking of debut books, I have one coming out next month. If you'd like to receive an early copy for review, sign up @ https://bit.ly/3vD4s0B
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Inside an Open Marriage: A Mom Explores Polyamory
Molly Roden Winter wouldn't seem like the poster child for polyamory. But the married, middle-aged mom's new book, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, has caught fire, moving the controversial topic from the margins to the mainstream. Winter joins the show to talk about her unexpected open marriage and, with it, a life-changing journey of self-discovery. She also talks about the process of writing her first book, from a vision that came to her during meditation to the arduous trial-and-error journey of getting the story right—and then getting it sold.
I have a new book coming out! If you would like to be part of my Launch Squad—a group of people who are willing to read my book and review it online a few days before the official
release date—sign up @ https://bit.ly/3vD4s0B -
A Former Nun Tells the Story of Her Escape from a Monastery
Catherine Coldstream shares the extraordinary tale of joining an ancient and secretive Carmelite monastery in the UK, surrendering completely to a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. But years into leading this sheltered and isolated life of a silent nun, she started to realize the complexities and dangers of the life she vowed to live. Her experience is captured beautifully in a new memoir called Cloistered: My Years as a Nun. She joins host Jonathan Small to talk about why she gave up her carefree, bohemian life to become a cloistered nun, what life was like inside the monastery, her views on celibacy and isolation from the outside world, and the similarities between her experience and those of cult members.
I have a new book coming out and would love for you to be part of my Book Launch Squad. Sign up @ https://bit.ly/3vD4s0B -
Mic Drop: What We Misunderstand About Hip Hop
Hip hop recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. What started off as an underground movement in the 1970s has blossomed into a global phenomenon with no end in sight. How has hip hop managed to not stop after all these years? Why were those who kept calling it a fad so completely wrong? Guest Todd Boyd has curated a comprehensive book called Rappers Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made the World that chronicles hip hop's defining moments each decade. Using photographs, movie posters, fine art, album covers, film and sports stills, he paints an often misunderstood portrait of hip hop's influences. Even the word hip hop is often thought to denote the music, but as Boyd describes it, the culture encapsulates much more. Listen to this sonic journey into hip hop's origins.
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'I Was Engaged to a Con Man:' A Reporter’s Odyssey Through Deception
Veteran journalist Abby Ellin almost married a pathological liar and convicted criminal, but luckily, her reporter's instincts for the truth kicked in, and she averted disaster. Her crazy story is chronicled in her book Duped and podcast Imposters: The Commander. On the show, she talks about falling for the con, discovering the truth, and what the experience taught her about those who deceive.
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Customer Reviews
One of my new fave podcasts
So many amazing and insightful conversations! I particularly loved your interview with bobette. If I could suggest one thing though, please do away with the musical interludes ❤️ they often really distract from the interview, and it breaks my focus or ‘the magic’ when I’m listening intensely to a conversation and then it goes silent for a few seconds, only to be followed by a random piece of music 😢