November is National Novel Writing Month. That’s right, the goal is to write a whole novel in a month. For more information about National Novel Writing Month, check out NaNoWriMo.org.

While the very idea of writing a whole novel in a month may seem daunting (okay, it is daunting), don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Have you already started your novel and now you’re stuck? Again, we can help. Below you'll find a list of ten Free Library Author Events Podcast episodes in which some of the literature world’s brightest lights offer loads of tips, tricks, techniques, and methods for writing. There’s common-sense structural advice, thoughts on how to edit your work, and how we think up ideas/premises/plots/characters/you-name-it.

We’re already into November so let’s jump right in!

Colum McCann | Letters to a Young Writer: Some Practical and Philosophical Advice

Recorded April 3, 2017

First up, a National Book Award winner brings a vast accumulation of experience to bear in a nuts-and-bolts guide for aspiring novelists. This episode is absolutely jam-packed with very real practices and exercises for writers of all kinds.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

Melissa Broder | Death Valley: A Novel with Hilary Leichter | Terrace Story: A Novel

Recorded October 25, 2023

These two recent novelist guests just plain have a lot to say about their craft and storytelling. They can especially help those who are writing novels that are a bit narratively "out there."

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

Hernan Diaz | Trust

Recorded May 9, 2023

This Pulitzer Prize-winner created one of 2022’s most critically acclaimed novels, one told from multiple points of view and in-universe genres. He has plenty to say about the angles from which we approach our fiction.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast.

Airea D. Matthews | Bread and Circus

Recorded June 1, 2023

Philadelphia’s 2022-2023 Poet Laureate combines poetry, prose, and imagery to tell an intimate story about the author and her family. While this is a memoir, her thoughtful writing tips transcend any genre. And the multi-textual nature of her work can help push your novel-writing to places you perhaps hadn’t thought of.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

Ayana Mathis | The Unsettled: A Novel

Recorded October 10, 2023

This is another recent Free Library Author Events guest. Matthis’ discussion of her latest novel will assist writers who are crafting historical novels, especially those that dovetail into the present day.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

 

Beth Kephart | Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir

Recorded August 6, 2013

Writing a novel in the first-person point of view? Trying to get to deeper truths about family and self in your fiction? This author, while discussing the nature of memoir, will make you think more profoundly explore the interior realities that good fiction can expose. Plus, there is a bonus mini-writing class at the end.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast.

Eileen Myles | A “Working Life”

Recorded April 25, 2023

Writing is hard work! (Especially writing a whole novel in a month.) This author not only discusses the pragmatic and practical aspects of our daily ablutions as writers, but she also explores the deeper sense of fear and mortality that exists just beneath our work.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

Edward Hirsch | A Poet’s Glossary

Recorded April 10, 2014

What does poetry have to do with the writing of novels? Plenty! This talk will make you think about the words you use, the choices you make in your prose, and the vocabulary you insert into your novel. Yes, what we’re trying to say in our work matters, but how we say it matters too.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast.

Joshua Ferris | The Dinner Party with Jim Shepard | The World to Come: Stories

Recorded May 24, 2017

This is another excellent literary duo. Pay particular attention to the craft lecture that Jim Shepard offers midway through the talk — one of the best we’ve heard.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

George Saunders | A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Masterclass on Writing, Reading, and Life

Recorded January 18, 2021

Should we compare our books to those of the great Russian novelists? Sure, why not? In this talk, iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol are used as a master class on what makes great fiction click.

Enjoy this episode on the Free Library Podcast or the Author Events YouTube page.

Browse the Free Library Author Events page for more upcoming author discussions.