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 usefu

Idea to Execution

2 Mar 22nd, 2019 34m 21s

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.Consume:Check out Jonathan Mann’s Song A Day Y

Know Your Limitations

1 Apr 5th, 2019 32m 38s

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. ****Consume: The graphic

Honesty

Feb 21st, 2020 29m 48s

What does it mean to tell your story honestly?Consume: Moonface by James KimCreate: Take a moment in your life in which you remember exactly how you felt. Think through all the details of your feelings. How did the feelings start? How did t

Getting Intimate

Jul 26th, 2019 33m 2s

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 responsi

Silence

Jul 12th, 2019 30m

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 a

Dialogue

Jun 14th, 2019 33m 49s

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 ta

Playing Games

May 31st, 2019 51m 8s

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

Towards a Poor Podcast

May 17th, 2019 29m 32s

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 a

Collaboration

May 3rd, 2019 33m 3s

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 wo

Trailer

Start With This: Trailer

Mar 8th, 2019 2m 54s

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 topic

Art is Disposable

Jun 28th, 2019 31m 24s

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

How to Like

May 14th, 2021 48m 58s

There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure.CONSUME: Podcast ¡Uy Que Horror! particularly the episode “2012: Kurse a di Xtabai (Belize)” CREATE: Think of your least favorite film or book or show. Not one you hate or one that is offensive and

Five Easy Rules to Become a Great Writer!

Mar 12th, 2021 47m 28s

Just follow these simple rules and something something...CONSUME: Elmore Leonard’s famous rules of writing https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/tips-masters/elmore-leonard-10-rules-for-good-writingCREATE: Write a 200-500 word story about

Rhythm & Rhyme

Aug 9th, 2019 32m 7s

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

Perceiving the Audience w/Sarah Maria Griffin

Sep 14th, 2021 58m 48s

Author and poet Sarah Griffin joins us to talk about how the awareness of an audience affects our writing.Guest: Sarah Maria Griffin, https://twitter.com/griffskiCONSUME: “AACK Cast!” a podcast about the comic strip Cathy by Jamie LoftusC

The Burnout Cycle w/Janina Matthewson

Aug 13th, 2021 50m 43s

Burnout is real and it comes around on the regular.Guest: Janina Matthewson, https://twitter.com/j9andifCONSUME: Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! (anime series)CREATE: Think of a story or project you’ve let sit idle. Write a letter from the

Minimal w/Brie Williams

Jul 9th, 2021 37m 16s

Writing more with less.Guest: Brie Williams, https://twitter.com/briezillionaireCONSUME: Getting on with James Urbaniak (podcast), specifically episode 22 “Status”CREATE: Write a 200-400 word short story, It can be a monologue. Or it can

But How Does It End?

Jun 11th, 2021 48m 31s

How do you land the ending?CONSUME: Three options: 1)The last three pages of Inherent Vice, starting where the character gets on the freeway. 2) The last four minutes of Six Feet Under. Easily found on youtube by searching “Six Feet Under end

Like This But Better

Jun 11th, 2021 4m 34s

Elevating basic language to something special. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other ar

Low Barrier to Entry?

May 13th, 2021 4m 8s

They say that podcasting has a low barrier to entry. Wtf does that even mean? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feed

The Tease

Apr 9th, 2021 39m 36s

What makes a good tease? Listen and find out.CONSUME: “Lupin” French Crime/Adventure Drama on NetflixCREATE: Write a 200-600 story that follows the line: “I found them/her/him waiting for me when I got home, but they/she/he had been dead fo

How to Dislike

Mar 30th, 2021 3m 48s

It's easy to dislike something, but much harder to do it well. (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http://patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and conne

Keep It Weird

Mar 10th, 2021 2m 52s

What makes something weird, and is that a good thing? (This episode is available exclusively on Patreon. Hear the rest at http: patreon.com/startwiththis)Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with ot

Melodrama

Feb 12th, 2021 29m 36s

Mightly push your powerful writing to the top of the highest literary peaks! Or… work on your craft.CONSUME: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett or its sequel, World Without End. Or, for a less committal and free option, the BBC fiction p