Podcast Episodes – The Narrative Breakdown

Cheryl reads the first chapter of The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults. The book is available as of September 6th, 2016. In this bonus episode, Cheryl reads the first chapter exclusively for Narrative Breakdown listeners. Like what you hear? Buy the book! Want to win a critique of your full manuscript from Cheryl? Purchase The Magic Words by 11:59 p.m. onSeptember 10, 2016 (Saturday), and send proof of said purchase to asterisk [dot] bks [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "THE SQUIDS ARE COMING! [Your Name]". The drawing will be held September 19, 2016.Full details and terms here.  (Need to see more before you commit? Check out another excerpt.)  And if you're in the New York, Winston-Salem, Kansas City, or St. Louis areas, please check out Cheryl's upcoming appearances for The Magic Words.  Thank you all for your support!

Why a misunderstood character can be very useful. Featuring Cheryl Klein and Matt Bird! Check out Cheryl’s The Magic Words, and Matt Bird’s The Secrets of Story — the best creative writing books of the year. Yes, we’re a bit biased but it’s true! Mentioned in this episode: The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for […]

Author David S. Atkinson discusses absurdist and weird fiction. Mentioned in the episode: David S. Atkinson’s website Not Quite So Stories Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories George Sanders H.P. Lovecraft Lewis Carroll’s  “Hunting of the Snark” Nikolai Gogol Franz Kafka Angie Tribeca Eugène Ionesco Etgar Keret Nathaniel Tower Aimee Bender Timothy Gager Treating a Sick […]

Moth storytelling sensation Adam Wade talks about his development as a performer and the tips he gives his students. Adam and the Moth were recently featured on HBO's Girls.  We highly recommend his new album, The Human Comedy. Mentioned in the episode: AdamWade.com The Moth Jean Shepard - The Great American Fourth of July  Woody Allen's Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on His Serious Films by Sander H. Lee Storyteller Peter Aguero Storyteller Jim O'Grady Storyteller Ed Gavagan Catherine Burns

Author Chris Vander Kaay discusses the ins and outs of various horror film subgenres and recommends a lot of movies along the way. Check out Chris’ new book, Horror Films by Subgenre. (Co-authored by Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay.) Their first book: The Anatomy of Fear Twitter: ckvanderkaay Films mentioned in the episode: Halloween Nosferatu Dracula (1931) George A. […]

Cheryl Klein shares her perspective on the habits of professional writers in a frank and illuminating conversation. You can now pre-order Cheryl's new book, "The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults."

TV writer and playwright Adam Gaines talks about writing good dialogue and more. Check out Adam's two play collections: Mixtape and Fire Sale

This is a creative writing podcast and a screenwriting podcast. In The Narrative Breakdown, Cheryl Klein, James Monohan, and other guest co-hosts discuss storytelling tips and techniques of interest to any writer, student, or fan of quality creative writing, screenwriting, playwriting, fan fiction, English literature, etc. Each episode, Cheryl and James draw upon their respective experiences in publishing and filmmaking to analyze popular novels, movies, plays, television shows, short stories, and song lyrics. Featuring various co-hosts and writers, as well as material from Cheryl Klein’s book ‘Second Sight’ and James’ iPhone app ‘The Storyometer.’

More about this show, for new listeners: This is a creative writing podcast and a screenwriting podcast. In The Narrative Breakdown, Cheryl Klein, James Monohan, and other guest co-hosts discuss storytelling tips and techniques of interest to any writer, student, or fan of quality creative writing, screenwriting, playwriting, fan fiction, English literature, etc. Each episode, Cheryl and James draw upon their respective experiences in publishing and filmmaking to analyze popular novels, movies, plays, television shows, short stories, and song lyrics. Featuring various co-hosts and writers, as well as material from Cheryl Klein’s book ‘Second Sight’ and James’ iPhone app ‘The Storyometer.’

Two thriller writers go deep into the dark subject matter of their genre. Mentioned in the episode: Alex Dolan’s THE EUTHANIST Alex Dolan’s website Jonathan Stone’s THE TELLER Jonathan Stone’s website ThrillerFest Vertigo Seven The Narrative Breakdown’s episode on Thriller Types and Tropes (starring Matt Bird) True Detective Season 1 Cormac McCarthy   We’re entirely user […]

Film and music critic Tim Grierson talks about the craft of writing reviews. Tim’s review of BIRDMAN for Deadspin Tim’s review of SPY for Screen Daily Tim’s review of SPY Deadspin Tim’s review of ALOHA for Deadspin Tim in conversation about animation director Don Hertzfeldt Tim in conversation about WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP Tim discusses filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul We’re […]

What should you consider when choosing the gender of your main character? Two exciting debut thriller authors, Alex Dolan and Gwendolyn Womack, join to discuss this topic and related issues. Gwendolyn Womack’s website The Memory Painter Alex Dolan’s website The Euthanist A Reunion of Ghosts (Alex’s recommendation) The Expats (Gwendolyn’s recommendation) The Accident (Gwendolyn’s recommendation) International […]

Veteran journalist Barry Newman talks about 43 years of writing literary non-fiction for The Wall Street Journal.  Mr. Newman’s book, NEWS TO ME, features ruminations about the craft as well as many examples of his work. Barry’s website and book link We’re entirely user supported at present and welcome your donations to narrativebreakdown@gmail.com via PayPal.   […]

Literary agents! What do they do? Why do you need one? How do you get one?  And when can we do lunch?  Cheryl talks to Brianne Johnson of Writers House about these topics and announces her own new project. Links related to this episode: Writers House Brianne’s Publishers Marketplace Listing Another interview with Brianne Johnson Brianne’s […]

We discuss the scope of dramaturgy and how dramaturgs and literary managers collaborate with writers, featuring The Old Globe theater’s resident dramaturg, Danielle Mages Amato. Danielle holds an MFA in Dramaturgy and a PhD in Drama and Theatre from the University of California at San Diego. She previously worked as the dramaturg and literary manager […]