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Writing Class Radio is for people who love true, personal stories and want to learn how to write their own stories. There's no better way to understand ourselves and each other than by writing and telling our stories. Everyone has a story. What's yours?

Credits

Allison Langer
Andrea Askowitz
Evan Surminski
Matt Cundill
Aidan Glassey
Justina Shandler

1: The Pilot: The Hardest Thing To Write About

Allison Langer and Andrea Askowitz created a podcast of their writing class. On this episode you'll hear what qualifies Andrea to be the teacher. And why Allison insisted the world needs this podcast. We believe that once you write about the thing you don't want to write about, that thing has less emotional power over you. Allison reveals the hardest thing in the world to write about. Content warning: this episode contains a story about the loss of a child.

Writing Class Radio is a podcast where you’ll hear true personal stories and learn a little about how to write your own stories. Writing Class Radio is equal parts heart and art. By heart we mean the truth in a story. By art we mean the craft of writing. No matter what’s going on in our lives, writing class is where we tell the truth. It’s where we work out our shit, and figure out who we are.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Writing Class Radio is co-hosted by Allison Langer (www.allisonlanger.com) and Andrea Askowitz (www.andreaaskowitz.com). Writing Class Radio is produced by Diego Saldana-Rojas, Andrea Askowitz and Allison Langer.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2: How Are You? Really?

In our first class of the semester, we got the writing prompt, "How are you? Really?" Danny and Inessa are two students in the class who share exactly how they are. Danny's story involves underwear. Inessa's involves stabbing hormones into her belly to create eggs that may become her future children. Both stories are about how they are influenced by their parents. Aren't we all?

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

3: What Is the Story You Tell about Your Relationship with Your Mother?

Hear what Inessa, Danny, Bo, Jahn, Allison and Andrea confess about their relationships with their moms and how those relationships have shaped their lives. We all tell stories, including to ourselves. The truth is, you never know how the people you love will respond to what you write about them. You may be surprised.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

4: Field Trip to the Fertility Clinic. Freezing Eggs at 6 a.m.

Andrea follows Inessa to the fertility clinic early one morning as she goes through the process of harvesting her eggs, an undertaking not entirely of her doing. We heard in the second episode that Mama put down $10,000 toward the procedure. Inessa paid the remaining $2,000. Turns out Inessa is not the only one in class who has or is currently going about having children without getting knocked up.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5: The Lies We Tell

Danny and Bo reveal the lies they've told, especially to themselves. And then the fallout. Danny falls in love with two women but neither knows about the other. Everyone is happy, until he hears a knock at the door. Bo admits to his many sexual encounters with women, sometimes in the same day; all an attempt to cure himself from being gay.

Andrea talks about the importance of feedback and encourages the listener to find a writing group. She says feedback can be delicate, especially with any new writing and reveals her own difficulty receiving feedback, especially positive feedback as it poured in about this podcast. She talks about how important it is for students to resist the urge to comment on student's lives--as much as we want to say, "Dude, don't have sex with women who aren't your girlfriend!"--and to keep the feedback specific to the writing. And she encourages you to go to writingclassradio.com, or our Twitter or FB page and pick a daily prompt, set a timer and write. If you like what you wrote, Andrea says, "Keep going with that."

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6: Wendi Tells the Story of her Ex-husband’s Murder. Writing Is an Exercise in Trust.

Today we give you Wendi Adelson the way she revealed herself in the first semester. Andrea talks about hot topic, cold prose, a writing technique where the narrator pares down the writing in a difficult moment. The story is told without sentiment. It’s just reported. Two weeks into the semester, Wendi came back with some of the answers to students’ questions. In her first story she hinted at not feeling like she can publicly express how she really feels, a theme she repeated in the next story. In her writing though, she seems to express how she really feels. Wendi responds to the prompt: What is the story you tell about your relationship with your mom?

Sometimes prompts bring up memories we don’t consciously realize are still affecting us. In response to the prompt Lies, Wendi realizes people think she’s happy even when she’s not. And later in the same class Wendi responds to the prompt: Your last intimate moment.

Andrea says, “I think Wendi’s working on a bigger story. More than just what happened, which was that her ex-husband was murdered. Her bigger story is about what it means for her to be authentic. Wendi writes a lot about how people react when they hear her story. She also writes about her own reactions--how she wishes she could be as true in person as she is in her writing.” Andrea spoke to Wendi about her experience in class. Wendi said she felt good about the classes’ reaction. She says she felt empowered to tell her side of the story.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

7: Story Structure Is Sexy

How should a story be structured? Start from the very beginning by using the concept of story spine. Story spine, a technique articulated by the playwright Ken Adams, is the backbone of every traditional story. In this episode, Allison uses the story spine to write about her return to dating after having children on her own. Inessa writes about a date that goes wrong and Jahn uses this structure to tell stories about the first time he got a boner.

In each story, the story spine structure brings clarity to the writer and makes the story easy for the listener to follow. Andrea uses her own life as an example of why she fell in love with the story spine and why you will too. Witness the creation of these stories as you learn a new (old) way to structure your own.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

True Story: Nobody Likes New Year's Eve.

We’re interrupting our first semester to give you a taste of who’s to come in our second semester. You’ll meet Frenchy, who took Andrea’s writing class years ago and is now back. Does she get a kiss on New Year’s Eve? You’ll also meet Tobi Ash and hear why she’s been avoiding New Year’s celebrations for 30 years. Cynthia Castillo who wished for a tragic life to write about until tragedy hit. Nicki Post takes us on a trip to Korea, one of her many adventures out of the country. You’ll hear from Season One’s Bo, who would rather stay home on New Year’s Eve and from Allison, also a Season One student, who tells us about waiting for her man.

Andrea tells the story behind Auld Lang Syne, that mysterious song we all know but don’t know. And it wouldn’t be New Year’s without resolutions. Because Andrea is a total dud, every year she resolves to drink more. But two weeks in, she’s back on the wagon. This year she resolves to try harder. And she challenges you to make a New Year’s Resolution you can keep--start writing. If you already write--keep writing.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8: You Don't Have to be a Clown to Write Funny

This episode is about writing humor. Andrea tells a joke only she thinks is funny, then calls our humor expert, Jay Wexler, who confirms just how funny her joke is. Jay is an attorney and the author of five books.

Later in the show, Jay shares his ten suggestions for writing humor. Andrea adds four. Together, they have 14 suggestions for writing humor.

Terry DeMeo introduces herself before telling a story in front of a live audience, at Lip Service. In her own words, Terry wonders about who she is. She’s a former lawyer and currently a life coach. Also a writer. The story Terry tells is about undying her hair, but you’ll realize as she realizes that the story is about much more than hair. She tells her story in front of a live audience in Miami. Andrea notes that while many of the audience members are over 40 years old, no one lets her hair go gray, except Andrea. Terry’s story is called Fifty Shades of Gray.

Jay Wexler’s 10 Humor Commandments (Plus Four):

1. Do not start with a joke.

2. Piggy back on the absurd hilarity of the world.

3. Use self-deprecation.

4. Stuck? Break into a non-prose element, like a chart or graph.

5. Write about bad or awkward sex.

6. Mine your pain and humiliation.

7. When in doubt--deadpan. Less is more.

8. Be brutal in your editing.

9. Don't feel funny? Get your ass out of the chair!

10. Add an animal.

11. State the obvious.

12. Use call-backs.

13. Land on the joke.

14. Create surprise.

After hearing Terry’s story, Andrea goes through Jay’s ten humor suggestions and shows how Terry used many of them successfully. You don’t have to be a clown to write humor, you just have to be willing to face your fear.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9: Who Cares About Your Story? What Are the Stakes?

We’re talking about stakes. And we don’t mean those slabs of meat you eat if you’re not a vegetarian, but what makes a listener or a reader care about a story. And we’re talking about what we have to lose as storytellers when we tell our stories.

One thing we know about memoir writing is that the narrator lived to tell the tale. So if we know the narrator lived, why do we care? The job of storytellers is to make us care. Andrea talks about a writing webinar with Lea Thau, host and producer of Strangers, http://www.storycentral.org/strangers/. Lea describes how the written story is different than the event that actually happened. There's the situation and what the story is about.

The most pointed way to figure out what the story is about, is to ask: What’s at stake? What is there to be lost or won? The biggest mistake people make is thinking that a dramatic experience equals a story.

Andrea uses a personal example to illustrate this point. While Andrea was giving her vows, her uncle Bob went down. She realized that nobody was listening and then saw a man on the ground. The wedding went on, Bob survived, but no one heard her vows. The situation is that Bob went down but the real story, what was at stake was whether or not Andrea felt heard.

We discuss what the students in Writing Class Radio have to lose by telling their stories.

In Episode 3, Allison told a story, which implicates her mom. And her mom got pissed. And Danny dropped out. Sometimes we don’t know what’s at stake in telling our stories. That for some, there are real risks. But in the end, we think not telling our stories is riskier.

We take you into class where Inessa struggles with how she wants to live without hiding. Inessa’s afraid to look bad, but she knows that hiding is worse. That’s her conflict. Those are the stakes. So we’re rooting for her. Go Inessa. You can do this.

You also hear Wendi in response to the prompt: What Do You Have to Lose? And Terry tells us how her friend Fred’s death sparked the fear of losing all the people who share her past. Inessa tells a longer story about holding out for true love. Her mama describes her own life at Inessa’s age (40) and how Inessa’s life falls short of mama’s expectations. Mama wants a wedding and a baby. Her papa’s 20-year-old suit is still hanging in the closet waiting for that special day. Will Inessa continue to follow her own heart? Will she ever please her parents?

You will hear a story by Christopher Alonso, a listener in Ohio, in response to the prompt: A time I fucked up.

Coming up in the next episode: Andrea tells her story about the time she challenged herself to go 24 hours without talking about herself. And you’ll hear Jahn Dope’s story about being a 250 pound black man in a very vulnerable position. The episode is about writing a story meant to be told out loud.

There’s no place in the world like writing class and we want to bring you in.

Visit our musicians page to learn about the talented and generous people who allowed us to use their songs.

There’s more writing class on our website(www.writingclassradio.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/writingclassradio/) and Twitter (@wrtgclassradio).

If you love the lessons you get on each episode, you can get them ALL in one place--our three-part video series. $20 for one part or $50 for the series. Click on Video Classes on our website.

Writing Class Radio is now open to submissions from our listeners. Go to the submissions page on our website for guidelines. We pay!

If you want to be a part of the movement that helps people better understand each other through storytelling, please go to writingclassradio.com and hit the DONATE button.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.