Big two-hearted writer (day jobs, emotions, and saving our hearts)
Release Date: 04/11/2025
The story inside you
Storyscaping
I'll admit it: I'm wiped out! But I wanted to leave you all with a final bit of encouragement before I break for the summer, so after some introductory remarks, here's the rough script to another trailer idea I worked on. Can you hear the difference in the sound? The "sonic ID" I recorded with the Shurt SM7b, and had Katie's help making me sound my best. The middle bit I recorded with the Shure MV88+ in my car, in my parking garage at work. It sounds OK. Then the actual "story inside you" script I think I recorded on my phone in the closet — just for workshopping purposes, didn't have time...
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Everyone should make a narrative podcast (music)
Storyscaping
What is it that gives narrative podcasting its unique power for intimate connection with listeners? In previous episodes, we talked about two key elements: words (scriptwriting and editing), and the voice (recording and narration). In this episode, we talk about the third key element: music. .......... Show notes: I ran out of time to list these in the episode, but had a whole thread on Voxer with two of my friends about musical memories. Two other standouts for me were my sister bringing pop music into the Davis household for the first time, the Beatles’ ’62-66 greatest hits...
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Beige, gray, and off-white words
Storyscaping
How do you explain your job to a kid? How do our career choices affect who we become as people? And how do our day jobs shape our approach to personal creative projects? If you've ever faced these questions yourself — or were just dying to hear about working in corporate marketing — this one's for you. .......... Show notes: Thanks to the generous contributors to Freesound.org for two key sounds for this episode: ambience, and . And thanks also to the musicians of Blue Dot Sessions for . Other music from . As I was audio editing this piece, I realized that one of the...
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Functioning toward the goal
Storyscaping
Are you working on your narrative podcast with the hope that winning an Ambie or hitting a million downloads will make you happy? Let's take a few minutes to think about it. I'm inspired by a very successful friend to mull over why we do creative work, how we deal with critics, and what creative living can look like. ……………. Show notes: Sometimes you have to let idea rest and then come back to it: I started this draft a year ago after “Sam” first told me about interviewing for this other position, but in that initial draft, I just introduced the general theme and...
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To be, or not to be (verbs, vocation, and overcoming self-doubts)
Storyscaping
What happens when you try to write an entire ten-minute podcast script without using is, am, are, and were? What happens when you follow a rule (and a profession) that encourages brevity above all else? What happens when you're afraid you don't have any big ideas? Listen and find out. .......... Show notes: This script started as an early-morning creative constraint free write (avoiding forms of the verb "to be," but took seven more drafts to discover a satisfying conclusion. (Does that make you feel better? Stick with it!) The Elements of Style, (Note, I updated pronouns because...
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Many stops do not follow (maturing as creators, writers, and podcasters)
Storyscaping
What's your timeline for developing as a creator? How long does it take to become a "master" as painting, podcasting, or another art form? A humorous commute moment inspired this reflection on the creative journey, with some perspective on being patient with ourselves and motivation. .......... Show notes: Making-of note: most of my episodes begin as text documents, but for this one, I recorded a voice memo while driving right after seeing the sign that sparked the idea. I then uploaded that voice memo to Descript, exported the transcript, then edited three more drafts in TextEdit. Then...
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Barfing storage bins (lessons on big creative and podcasting projects from the Davis house)
Storyscaping
Have you ever had an argument with your partner or roommate about loading the dishwasher, straightening up the living room, or how you handle some other household task? Does your spouse's habit of doing _______ drive you crazy? This episode's for you. For this one, we go into our basement, get a look at a little family history, and emerge with some helpful observations for tackling big creative projects — especially the importance of editing your work. .......... Show notes: Get a few quick in step three of this post 17 successful authors on The value of in audio editing a fitted...
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People in holes (narrative podcast scriptwriting and story structure)
Storyscaping
Years ago, I was trying to get into advertising, but failing, so I ended up doing manual labor for a while instead. It was a dirty, frustrating, paid-in-cash period — but resulted in some valuable life skills, and a perfect illustration for a universal story structure you can put to use in scriptwriting for your narrative podcast. In the first half of the episode, I tried to recreate a rich sense of scene with sound effects, and also use them in a rhythmic, almost musical manner. How did I do? ………… Show notes: Kurt Vonnegut “” video The ancient mythology equivalent of...
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Sins of the fathers (parenting, karma, and why we share stories)
Storyscaping
Are you grieving something? Do you doubt your parenting when your kids have a hard time? Are you seeing younger generations going through the same things you did (or did to others)? This one's for you. .......... of Pacific Boychoir Academy singing the national anthem (and other videos) Graph of Another favorite Thanks to everyone who’s uploaded to , and to musicians at Blu Dot Sessions: , .......... Want to learn how to write your own personal essay podcasts about the hard, or heartwarming things in your life? We cover scriptwriting a lot in our online podcast .
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Oh look, a squirrel! (dog-walking, scriptwriting, and staying focused)
Storyscaping
Do you ever struggle to avoid distraction when you're supposed to be writing? Or do you have a dog? This episode's for you. My daughter's recent dog-sitting gig gives me a great prompt for the challenges of "staying on the sidewalk" when scriptwriting, sharing some of my typical distractions, and then passing on my most valuable practice for staying on task. ………. Show notes: — adoption center for older dogs who need a new home Tony Schwartz, A “master study” can be done by typing or hand-writing out a passage from a great work, or more loosely, by reading a passage you...
info_outlineHave you ever struggled with putting more of yourself into your job than it's giving you back? Or do you have a somewhat-creative day job that leaves you with little creative energy left for your writing and podcasting? This episode's for you. In this personal essay inspired by the "iceberg technique" of Ernest Hemingway, I reflect on a lesson about "guarding my heart" that it took me way too long to learn — and experiment with a slower, more pared-back style of narration and sound design.
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Show notes:
- A great feedback partner can help you uncover additional layers in your work that you hadn’t managed to differentiate yourself, and that’s what Jacob did with this draft. My thought was there is no such thing as a perfect job (i.e. role or workplace), so accepting that can help us maintain the emotional distance we need to preserve creative energy for our own projects. But what Jacob pointed out was the duality in that original statement: no such thing as a perfect job” could also mean accepting “good enough” in our own creative projects — because it’s creative living, not the individual creative projects, that are the real point. We’ll return to this latter idea in another episode, working title “The artifact is not the point.”
- Hemingway's story "Big two-hearted writer" is what this episode title riffs on, but it's his novel The Sun Also Rises that I've read multiple times.
- Another creative input that has prompted me to keep evaluating my delivery and narration is First Person Story. It's been a delight to collaborate with Harriett, and each other creative medium we interact with can help us enrich our perspective on podcasting, creative writing, or whatever our expresion of choice is.
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Storyscaping exists to inspire the next great narrative podcast: yours! The goal is to cover a wide range of creativity-and-podcasting related topics, a sort of curriculum that doesn't feel like a curriculum:
- Finding, and keeping creative motivation
- Story elements and structures
- Sound quality and connecting with listeners
- Your unique narration and voice
- Defining boundaries in creative work
- Accepting messiness in the creative process
- Sustainability and how not to podfade