Small Town Life, Third Languages, and Writing Tips

In this episode 309, we’re joined by guest host Alyssa Pressler to feature Bobby Finger’s debut novel The Old Place, an insightful and funny portrait of small town Texas life. Plus we talk about writing in a second or third language, share listener pitches and book recommendations, and more.

Today’s Featured Authors:

Bobby Finger Time Stamp: 17:22

Bobby Finger, co-host of the popular podcast Who? Weekly, brings us his moving debut novel The Old Place, about the secrets submerged within a small Texas town.

Micki Berthelot Morency Time Stamp: 49:50

We discuss Haitian author Micki Morency’s blog post about how she writes in her second and third languages.

Host Updates:

         Sarah: I just gave a talk to Charlotte Lit about the business of screenwriting. In February, I’m offering a more in-depth, craft-focused screenwriting seminar–go herefor tickets.

         Landis: Today, I leave for Ireland for a twice-postponed golf trip that was supposed to happen three years ago.

         Alyssa: My anniversary is tomorrow with my husband, which is exciting! In more bookish news, we’re about halfway through Promising Pages’ annual Booktober fundraising event, which That’s Novel Books is a sponsor for and a drop off location for. Promising Pages helps local kids build their at-home libraries throughout the year, and they do a big push in October to get a bunch of books as well as monetary donations to help with that mission.

Book Recommendations: Time Stamp: 9:10

         Sarah recommends:

         When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff

         Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell

         Landis recommends:

         Ithaca by Claire North

Mark West, Storied Charlotte Blog, recommends:

The Metaphorest by Martin Settle

Alyssa Pressler, That’s Novel Books, recommends:

The Change, by Kirsten Miller

2-Minute Tip: Time Stamp: 44:55

Don’t miss Charlotte Lit co-founder and executive director Paul Reali’s tip about how to harness momentum in your writing.

Writing Tips:

From Micki Morency’s blog post “How to Write in Your Third Language,” we get these tips: Time Stamp: 49:50

  • Writing in a second or third language is difficult, but possible. The same foundational principles about character and story apply.
  • If you want to write in another language, immerse yourself in it by reading first.
  • Don’t let anyone steal your voice! What makes you unique can come through in any language.

 We also continue our tour through the back catalog of our community blog, as laid out in Landis’s blog post. Time Stamp: 58:36

Community Voices:

Martin Settle shares his elevator pitch.

Takeaways

         Time management is key for writers, whether managing time efficiently through keeping up momentum between writing sessions, or finding pockets of time during the day to write. And you can use your writing time to its best advantage by writing what you’re most passionate about!

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