Working: A Master Class in Character Description
This week, host Ronald Young Jr. talks to writer Emma Copley Eisenberg about her new novel Housemates, which features a burgeoning friendship between two artists who decide to road trip across Pennsylvania together. In the interview, Emma explains how her nonfiction writing and her interest in history influenced this new work of fiction. She also talks about her \u201cfeast or famine\u201d approach to productivity, her desire to document her community, and her belief that physical descriptions of people are crucial to good fiction writing.\xa0\n\nAfter the interview, Ronald and co-host June Thomas ponder why the most difficult projects can be the most exciting. They also talk about how rare it is to see good depictions of fat people in fiction.\xa0\n\nIn the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Emma talks about a toxic mentor character in Housemates and why it\u2019s so troubling when teachers of the arts abuse their positions of power.\xa0\n\xa0\nSend your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.\n\nPodcast production by Cameron Drews.\n\nIf you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows\u2014you\u2019ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices