Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
by James Thayer
Is this your podcast?Insights from recent episode analysis
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Platform Reach
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
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Total monthly reach
Estimated from 2 chart positions in 2 markets.
By chart position
- 🇨🇦CA · Education#1335K to 30K
- 🇵🇱PL · Education#181500 to 3K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
1.6K to 9.9K🎙 Daily cadence·213 episodes·Last published 6d ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
5.5K to 33K🇨🇦91%🇵🇱9% - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
1.6K to 9.9K
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Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
On the show
From 22 epsHost
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Recent episodes
Episode 232 - More on making our dialogue engaging for readers.
Aug 28, 2026
27m 42s
Episode 231 - Techniques to make our dialogue grab readers.
Aug 21, 2026
25m 06s
Episode 230 - Creating a dastardly villain.
Aug 14, 2026
26m 57s
Episode 229 - Juice up the setting.
Aug 7, 2026
26m 24s
Episode 228 - Avoiding dullness in our story.
Jul 31, 2026
25m 54s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/28/26 | Episode 232 - More on making our dialogue engaging for readers. | Readers love dialogue. It's as if they are part of the scene, sitting there and listening to our characters argue or romance each other or plan something important. Here are additional techniques to grip readers with our dialogue. Also: V.S. Naipaul's rules of writing. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 m... | 27m 42s | ||||||
| 8/21/26 | Episode 231 - Techniques to make our dialogue grab readers. | Dialogue is like a Snickers candy bar: it's good. Here are eight techniques for making conversations in our story engage the reader, things we should do and things we should avoid. Also, how did Sue Monk Kidd handle her first rejection? And Meg Cabot on how to keep going so we finish our story. Support the show Buy the master class. | 25m 06s | ||||||
| 8/14/26 | Episode 230 - Creating a dastardly villain. | The shark. Dracula. Draco Malfoy. Cathy Ames. Annie Wilkes, Hannibal Lecter. Jadis the White Witch. Aren't these villains masterful creations, and don't they keep readers glued to the story? Here are ideas on how we can create wonderful--is that the right word?--villains. Also, we can keep our first-person narrator from being off-puttingly self-referential. Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course cover... | 26m 57s | ||||||
| 8/7/26 | Episode 229 - Juice up the setting. | Every element of our story should add interest, including the settings. What if--because of the plot or characters--we must place a scene in an otherwise dull place? We can juice it up. We can make it lively and fascinating. Here is how the masters do it. Support the show Buy the master class. | 26m 24s | ||||||
| 7/31/26 | Episode 228 - Avoiding dullness in our story. | Every element in our story should contribute to entertaining the reader including our settings. We can replace our dull settings with fascinating locations, and here's how to do it. Also: what's wrong with this sentence? Running along the street, the purse bounced against her leg. It's a funny dangling modifier. Funny if it doesn't appear in our story. Here are thoughts on dangling modifiers, and how to avoid them. Plus, the rule of exceptions. &... | 25m 54s | ||||||
| 7/24/26 | Episode 227 - Becoming a close observer. | Almost all successful fiction writers are close observers. We can teach ourselves to be close observers, and use those observations in our characters and settings. And here are examples of close observations from the masters, those small details that bring their stories to vivid life. Support the show Buy the master class. | 28m 05s | ||||||
| 7/17/26 | sentence structurewriting techniques+3 | — | novels | — | sentence shinewriting techniques+3 | — | 26m 42s | ||
| 7/10/26 | clichesplot development+3 | — | — | — | clichesbold plot+4 | — | 26m 14s | ||
| 7/3/26 | character descriptionwriting techniques+3 | — | — | — | charactersenses+5 | — | 26m 23s | ||
| 6/26/26 | settingplotting technique+3 | — | — | — | settingsnovel writing+3 | — | 25m 43s | ||
| 6/19/26 | writing techniquessentence structure+3 | — | — | — | strong sentenceswriting techniques+3 | — | 26m 44s | ||
| 6/12/26 | writing intensityfiction+3 | — | — | — | writingfiction+5 | — | 24m 15s | ||
| 6/5/26 | writing techniquesstorytelling+3 | — | — | — | cut to the chasestory strength+3 | — | 29m 37s | ||
| 5/29/26 | storytellingwriting techniques+3 | — | — | — | first chapterstory elements+3 | — | 25m 26s | ||
| 5/22/26 | writer's voiceliterary voices+3 | — | — | — | writer's voiceliterary voice+5 | — | 26m 43s | ||
| 5/15/26 | writing practiceEdgar Alan Poe+3 | — | — | — | writingpractice+5 | — | 26m 49s | ||
| 5/8/26 | character developmentscene writing+3 | — | — | — | charactersscene+5 | — | 26m 41s | ||
| 5/1/26 | plotting toolsscene development+3 | — | — | — | ratchetplotting+5 | — | 25m 51s | ||
| 4/24/26 | writing advicefamous authors+3 | — | Episode 214 - Famous writers show us how to write and live. | — | writingauthors+7 | — | 26m 18s | ||
| 4/17/26 | plottingcharacter development+3 | — | Save the cat | — | save the catplotting+3 | — | 25m 53s | ||
| 4/10/26 | point of viewcharacter thoughts+3 | — | — | — | point of viewfiction writing+3 | — | 31m 32s | ||
| 4/3/26 | writingcreativity+3 | — | — | — | writing tipsfun writing+3 | — | 26m 13s | ||
| 3/27/26 | plot patternsfiction writing+3 | — | — | — | fictionplot patterns+5 | — | 26m 53s | ||
| 3/20/26 | character developmentstorytelling techniques+3 | — | — | — | blunderscharacter travel+5 | — | 27m 06s | ||
| 3/13/26 | writingimagery+4 | — | — | — | writingdetail+5 | — | 29m 50s | ||
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Chart history for Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
Peaked at #133 in Canada, currently #133 in Canada.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | — | #133 | #133 | — |
| PL | — | #181 | #181 | — |
Chart Positions
2 placements across 2 markets.
Chart Positions
2 placements across 2 markets.