Why the Hell Did I Write This

Robin Moyer Chung
  • 5.0 (5)
  • BOOKS

There's a lot of great writing out there, most of which you'll never know exists. Fortunately, I know how to find fabulous writing with a compelling back story.  You'll hear a writer read 2-5 minutes of their work, then we discuss the why the hell they wrote it (which is as fascinating as the writing itself). Yeah, I add my own thoughts at the end because I always think I have something insightful to say.  (Psst... it can be any type of writing - horror, fiction, comedy, TV pilot, etc. - and any kind of writer. One never knows when genius will strike.)

Episodes

  1. MAY 26

    Combat Love, by Alisyn Camerota

    Award-winning journalist Alisyn Camerota’s astonishing and witty memoir, Combat Love, details her dicey childhood, less-than-ideal upbringing, outlier friends, homelessness, and fascination with punk rock. We discuss her reasons for writing it now, how her mother's past experiences affected how she was raised, and her family’s - especially her mother’s - reaction to it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisyn_Camerota Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    24 min

  2. MAY 26

    Dwell House, by Hadley Boyd

    Actress and writer Hadley Boyd’s entertaining micro fiction recounts an evening in which a recent divorcée throws a far-too-expensive party in her new rental home, before realizing that the house is haunted by the woman who lived there before her. Hadley speaks of her own experience as a divorcée, finally finding a home so she can be with her children, only to find… uch. hadleyboyd.com Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    17 min

  3. MAY 26

    Diaspora Daughter, by Julie Sarkissian

    In her newest book, Diaspora Daughter, Julie Sarkissian writes about a Gen X teen learning about her family’s harrowing escape from the Armenian Genocide in 1915. Julie based her story on her great grandmother’s and great uncle’s devastating loss in the genocide, and ultimate rescue after four years of aimlessly wandering around Europe. We discuss the difficut family anecdotes which comprise her great grandmother’s history and who, surprisingly, revealed them. westportwriters.org/profile/jsarkissian Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    17 min

  4. MAY 26

    Kill Your Darling, by Clay McLeod Chapman

    WARNING: Graphic Celebrated horror writer Clay McLeod Chapman reads from his newest book, Kill Your Darling, about a man whose son was hideously killed years before and the killer was never caught. We discuss Clay’s lifelong fascination with horror and what makes horror such a compelling, though still taboo, genre. claymcleodchapman.com Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    19 min

  5. MAY 26

    Deadly Lies, by Viviana Vasiu

    Attorney and editor Viviana Vasiu writes a taut thriller about a murder in a sorority house, informed by her own college experience in Kappa Alpha Theta and navigating Rush. We discuss the good and bad of sorority life and the reasons for its not-always-great reputation. vivianavasiu.com Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    17 min

  6. MAY 26

    Mercy, by Gigi Rios New

    TV writer Gigi Rios New bases her newest pilot, Mercy, on a real-life woman, Joan (Sophie in the pilot), who spent everything she had to keep her sick husband alive.  Upon his death, having lost almost everything, her mother-in-law demands she return the “heirloom” engagement ring. Her friends expect her to rejoin society in a manner they find acceptable, and are angered by the sarcastic and irreverent manner in which Sophie tries to navigate widowhood. Read with actress Jean Louisa Kelly. imdb.com/name/nm1946569 Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    11 min

  7. MAY 26

    Jocks: True Stories of America's Gay Male Athletes, by Dan Woog

    High school soccer coach and writer Dan Woog reads from, Jocks, his pioneering book about gay high school athletes published in 1997.  A closeted gay male for most of his life, Woog wrote this bestseller during a turbulent and often dangerous era for homosexual men, giving voice to a population unapologetically expected to be straight. After, we discuss the dramatic impact Jocks had on athletes, and the difficulty an administration had in trying to embrace its acceptance of it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Woog_(writer) Have any great writing? Send 2-5 minutes of it to WhyTheHellDidIWriteThis@gmail.com. And thanks for listening!

    22 min
  • 7 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

There's a lot of great writing out there, most of which you'll never know exists. Fortunately, I know how to find fabulous writing with a compelling back story.  You'll hear a writer read 2-5 minutes of their work, then we discuss the why the hell they wrote it (which is as fascinating as the writing itself). Yeah, I add my own thoughts at the end because I always think I have something insightful to say.  (Psst... it can be any type of writing - horror, fiction, comedy, TV pilot, etc. - and any kind of writer. One never knows when genius will strike.)

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