
Episode 217 - Why and how to practice. And Edgar Alan Poe.
From Essential Guide to Writing a Novel by James Thayer
May 15, 2026 · 27 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of practicing writing, inspired by Edgar Alan Poe, and emphasizes the need for scenes in storytelling.
Writing is like learning the violin. We can get better. Here are reasons we should practice, and suggestions how to do so. And what sparked Edgar Alan Poe's imagination? Also: how much of our story should be scenes rather than summary? The answer: should fill our story with scenes that play out in real time in front of the reader like a movie. Support the show Buy the master class.
People in this episode
Host: James Thayer
Topics covered
- writing practice
- Edgar Alan Poe
- storytelling
- scenes vs summary
- imagination
Keywords
- writing
- practice
- Edgar Alan Poe
- story scenes
- summary
- imagination
- novel writing
More episodes of Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
- Episode 221 - Writing that is more intense than real life. · June 12, 2026 · 24 min
- Episode 220 - Cut to the chase. · June 5, 2026 · 30 min
- Episode 219 - How to get our story going. · May 29, 2026 · 25 min
- Episode 218 - Our writer's voice. · May 22, 2026 · 27 min
- Episode 216 - Too many characters is a scene. · May 8, 2026 · 27 min
- Episode 215 - The ratchet, a strong plotting tool. · May 1, 2026 · 26 min
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