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.

This week on Radio FreeWrite, we do something a little different. Instead of writing to a new prompt, we bring in a finished draft and talk through what happens after the writing part is over. We listen to a complete short story together, then start dissecting it to figure out where it’s strongest and weakest points are. Then, we chat about how it might grow.

From there, the conversation wanders into line edits versus big-picture fixes, giving feedback without rewriting someone else’s voice, and how stories stretch and break when they grow from flash into something longer. This is how writers talk with each other behind the scenes, when we're sitting on overturned tractor tires deep in the Maine woods with a tin mug of shine in our hands. IYKYK

Anyway, whether you’re trying to revise your own work or figure out how to give better notes on someone else’s, we've got something for you here.

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.

The Cru dives deep into one deceptively small word with outsized consequences: had.

Before writing from the prompt fanfaron—a swaggering bully or cowardly boaster—we get into a lively craft discussion about the pluperfect tense (the “past of the past”). Why does it so often feels forced? How, as a writer, do you know it's actually doing meaningful work on the page? Murph makes the case against overusing had, PC breaks down how context can replace grammar, and Father Spud champions the musicality of the pluperfect in Southern oral storytelling.

Stories this week begin around the 16:30 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.

The Cru is joined by Carolyn, aka The Whisky Type, to chat all things writing, typewriter, and whisky related. We had a great conversation about the importance of sharing your work, and the joy common to cigars, whisky, and typewriters: they're all meant to be enjoyed slowly. After you tune in, be sure to check out Carolyn's website!

NB, stories begin around the 17:15 mark, and while they weren't sponsored by Lagavulin (yet!), like many a Scottish babe they owe some significant part of their inception to a dram of the golden stuff.

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 146th episode, the Cru gather for their annual yuletide retreat to Spliff's Christmas Cabin. There, we discuss hygge: the nordic word for coziness, conviviality, and joy. When a writer attempts to give their piece a vibe---a general impression, a feeling they want the reader to experience---how do they pull it off without it feeling saccharine? The last thing you want is your readers feeling pandered-to. We've got a bagful of tricks for you to try out, including some excellent advice from Spud regarding the use of tropes.

Stories begin around the 18:30 mark, and are exceptionally cozy. Except for one, which is terrifying.

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 this episode, The Cru chat about the frustrating demands of writing in the social media age. Modern authors are increasingly expected to build their own followings and endlessly promote themselves online—and that… just ain’t us. At the same time, PC scored his first contract through a Twitter contest, so the benefits of online interaction are real. Can writers be private, authentic, and still get published?

Join us live! Come write with us at Forest City Brewing on January 16th, 2026! Doors open at 7:30 (well, doors are open way before that, but we'll be there starting at 7:30) and recording will start around 8. We'll have a prompt ready for you to write and read into the show!

Stories this week start at the 12:40 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.