This week on Radio FreeWrite, The Cru takes a step back from writing to talk about... reading.

What should writers be reading? Does it matter if it’s fiction, nonfiction, or even audiobooks? And do audiobooks actually count as reading?

We dig into all of it, including:

• Why writers need to read widely across genres
• Considerations of audiobooks and oral storytelling in modern writing
• How classic works like Frankenstein, Beowulf, and The Iliad still influence storytelling today
• How and when to use cultural shorthand in fiction
• That it's ok to quit a book

Along the way, we share what we’ve been reading lately, and how those influences've show up in our own writing.

We do still bring you stories! Tune in around the 17:25 mark.

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

In our 151st episode, The Cru dives into the unsettling world of Shirley Jackson, author of the infamous short story The Lottery.

We explore what makes Jackson’s writing so enduringly disturbing, from her use of the uncanny and the “horror of the mundane” to her razor-sharp final lines. Along the way, we discuss why The Lottery remains a staple of high school reading lists even as many readers find her lesser-known stories far more powerful.

We also touch on Jackson’s life, her dual career writing both domestic magazine pieces and psychological horror, and the lasting influence she’s had on modern writers.

Stories begin at the 21:30 mark.

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

We gathered on a cold, snowy, generally Clevelandwintery evening in January to celebrate our 150th episode at Forest City Brewery! Joined by a few friends and a lot of Spud's extended family, we recorded an intimate live episode. Enjoy!

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.