19.10: Introducing Our Close Readings Series
You\u2019ve probably seen us posting about our Close Reading Series, and in his episode, we finally officially introduce it!\xa0
For most of the remainder of 2024, we\u2019ll be diving into five core elements of writing by focusing on five different literary texts. We\u2019ll spend five episodes on each one, and then we\u2019re going to\u2026 drumroll please\u2026 interview the author(s)!
As you know, we\u2019ve spent lots of time reading, writing, talking, and recording our thoughts about different elements of the craft. But this year, we wanted to ground our episodes in specific texts that you could read along\u2013 and analyze\u2013 with us!
Below is the schedule for each book or short story we\u2019ll be diving into. The date on the right in parenthesis is the air date of the first episode in our series that will begin talking about that text. We highly recommend you read the book by that date, as we will be talking about the entirety of the text for all 5 episodes (including spoilers!)\xa0
First up: This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
You can buy this (and all the other books!) through our bookshop link-- this is linked in our bio in addition to right here:
https://bookshop.org/lists/close-readings-season-19
Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline
Voice: This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar (March 17)\xa0
Worldbuilding: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (May 12)\xa0
Character: \u201cYou Perfect, Broken Thing,\u201d \u201cThe Cook,\u201d and \u201cYour Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home\u201d by CL Clark (July 7)\xa0
Tension: Ring Shout by P. Dj\xe8l\xed Clark (September 1)\xa0
Structure: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (October 13)\xa0
Thing of the Week: SHINOBIGAMI: Modern Ninja Battle RPG
Homework: Take a scene from a work that you love and five highlighters/crayons/colored pencils - use one color to underline/highlight places where the voice comes through, one for great worldbuilding, one for character moments, one for any moments of tension, and one for moments that move the plot forward. What colors do you end up with? Where do they overlap? What are the colors of the moments you love the most? What would the colors of one of your scenes be?
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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