Start With This
Night Vale Presents
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 writing topic. Then they give listeners two short assignments: something to consume and something to create. Make something—anything. Then make something else.
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Top 10 Start With This Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Start With This episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Start With This for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Start With This episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
But How Does It End?
Start With This
06/11/21 • 48 min
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 ending”. 3) Pick one of your favorite ending. Could be a podcast, movie, tv show, book, whatever. Reexamine it carefully. What kind of ending is it? Is it mirroring the opening? Is it following the characters to the end? Is it a tangent? Or is it doing something else? Does it have a button? Most importantly, what specifically makes it a great ending for you? The more you can pay attention to that, the more you can develop your own tastes of what you like in your own work.
CREATE: Think of your least favorite film or book or show. Not one you hate or one that is offensive and irredeemable in your mind. Just a story you found lacking. Now write a 200-400 review of that film, book, or show. But make it a rave review. No need for superlatives like masterpiece or perfection. Focus your review on all the things that this story got right.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com
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BONUS: Q&A #2 Preview
Start With This
08/16/19 • 5 min
Here’s a short preview of our second members-only bonus Q&A episode. To hear the whole thing and to ask your own follow-up questions, join our community: http://patreon.com/startwiththis
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
BONUS: Q&A Preview
Start With This
04/26/19 • 11 min
Jeffrey and Joseph answer listener questions for Episode 1 (Idea to Execution) and Episode 2 (Know Your Limitations). Join the SWT Membership community to gain access to this full episode, to ask your own questions, and see what other listeners are making.
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Non-Lovecraftian Horror
Start With This
11/13/20 • 38 min
There's so much more to horror, we couldn’t stop at Lovecraft.
CONSUME: Watch any of the movies on Joseph’s horror movie recommendation list: https://twitter.com/PlanetofFinks/status/1311695218505379841?s=20
CREATE: Think about an irrational fear you have of something real. This should not be a fear that is reasonable, but something like: fear of flying, fear of wasps, fear of the dark (these are all just fears Joseph has, I’m sure you have your own). Now instead of thinking about the source of that fear, think about your own feelings. What kinds of fears are activated by this phobia? Loss of control? Fear of the unknown? Fear of pain? Now write a 300-500 word story about that fear, but replace the focus of your fear (wasps, flying, etc.) with a supernatural entity. Could be a ghost or a zombie or a demon or an alien or whatever. But still, even though it’s now a supernatural story, try to recreate the exact feeling of fear your phobia gives you.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththisFollow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.comhttp://www.nightvalepresents.com
Word Count
Start With This
11/01/19 • 29 min
In writing, words are your currency. So how can you maximize your spending on a budget? In this episode, we talk about how word counts can break up longer projects into achievable goals, are a form of accountability in your own process, and influence how your audience perceives your work. Plus, we discuss how knowing your own voice will help you decide how many words you want to dedicate to describing something in great detail or with great efficiency.
Consume: Geoff Ryman’s novel 253. Learn more about it on Wikipedia and access it on Archive.org
Create: Use a random number generator to generate ten numbers between 1-100. These ten numbers are now your word counts for each section of a ten paragraph writing piece. Follow the counts exactly and pay attention to how the word counts impact the pacing and flow. For added difficulty, find a way to let the word count influence the content of the story.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo:
https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written by Joseph Fink. Currently performed by listener Mike Lynch. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Honesty
Start With This
02/21/20 • 29 min
What does it mean to tell your story honestly?
Consume: Moonface by James Kim
Create: 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 they develop? What happened to those feelings? Tell that story. Except: change every other factual detail. Create a fictional story about someone who is not you, doing something you weren’t doing. It could be a member of a biker gang in the 50s or an alien in some distant future world. But keep the honest details of your feelings there. See how the honesty of your feeling affects the otherwise fictional story.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Don't Forget Your Story
Start With This
02/07/20 • 29 min
A lot of writing is fine-tuning your writing, or creating clever structure, but the most important thing is the story itself.
Consume: Read “Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado.
Create: Write a 200-400 word story with the following outline:
- A is with B.
- A loses B.
- A makes a choice that brings B back.
- A and B are back together, but different as a result of that choice.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Jeffrey Cranor (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Writing for Performance (Live from Boston)
Start With This
01/24/20 • 84 min
We’re live from Boston with special guest Bilal Dardai, alum of the Neo-Futurist theater company and writer for the podcast “Unwell.” In this episode we talk about writing specifically for performance.
Consume: Gnome Sane by Joey Rizzolo, New York Neo-Futurists
Create: Write a 100-word story, 3rd person, someone confessing a crime. Then, write it again in 1st person by the person confessing. Then write it one more time for live performance. Think about what the performer should do with their body. How is the audience involved?
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written by Joseph Fink and performed by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor, and the live audience. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Outlining
Start With This
01/10/20 • 27 min
Outlining your story is like a puzzle for plot. In this episode, we talk about how mapping out what will happen before you start writing gives your story shape, and makes it much easier to write. This way, you can land a satisfying ending and give focus to your process to free your brain up for new discoveries.
Consume: Listen to The Shadows, a six-episode podcast series by Kaitlin Prest.
Create: Write a six section outline with a max word count of 60 words for each section. Give your project a beginning, middle, and end. Have the character’s growth matches the plot, and that the ending is set up by the structure. The goal is to figure out what happens within each section.
Join the SWT Membership community to share your work, give feedback, and connect with other artists:
https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about our show by wearing our logo: https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo).
Theme written and performed by Joseph Fink. If you'd like your own cover of the theme song featured on this show, email us at [email protected] or share it in our membership community.
Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
Know Your Limitations
Start With This
04/05/19 • 32 min
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 novel, Here by Richard McGuire
If you don’t have immediate access to this book, do a quick google search to get the idea and check out this Guardian review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/17/chris-ware-here-richard-mcguire-review-graphic-novel
Create: Use a random number generator to select one thing from each list. Then write and record a 2-minute monologue incorporating each of the 3 random elements. (If you can, try setting the bluegrass song behind your piece and see what it does to the piece.)
100 Greatest Bluegrass Songs (incorporate the song title in your piece): https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/bestcountry/bestbluegrass_songs.html
Most Populated US Cities List (incorporate the city): http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/
World’s 50 Best Foods List (incorporate at least one sentence or phrase from your food item description): http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-dishes/index.html
Join the SWT Membership community to see what other listeners are making: https://www.patreon.com/startwiththis
Help spread the word about the show by wearing our logo on your torso:
https://topatoco.com/collections/startwiththis
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Credits: Jeffrey Cranor (host) & Joseph Fink (host), Julia Melfi (producer), Grant Stewart (editor), Vincent Cacchione (mixer). Rob Wilson (logo). Produced by Night Vale Presents.
http://www.startwiththispodcast.com
http://www.nightvalepresents.com
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FAQ
How many episodes does Start With This have?
Start With This currently has 62 episodes available.
What topics does Start With This cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Start With This?
The episode title 'But How Does It End?' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Start With This?
The average episode length on Start With This is 32 minutes.
How often are episodes of Start With This released?
Episodes of Start With This are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of Start With This?
The first episode of Start With This was released on Mar 8, 2019.
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