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Episode 94: Robbie Maakestad

The Written Scene

Release Date: 09/30/2025

Episode 103: Julia Lemke show art Episode 103: Julia Lemke

The Written Scene

For author and poet , discovering the healing and connecting nature of poetry changed the course of her writing career. In this episode of , Julia talks about how a spiritual epiphany guided her and its effect on her book, loving the library as a kid and how many books she could check out, reading books as a child that are now banned, majoring in Packaging in college and what that really is, the muscle memory of creation as a kid and how it changes as we age, accepting the feeling of not knowing what's next after completing a large project, finding relevancy in a fast paced society, why we...

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Episode 103 Teaser: Julia Lemke show art Episode 103 Teaser: Julia Lemke

The Written Scene

For author , poetry felt inaccessible. Fortunately, all it took was finding her voice to unlock and open doors. Please enjoy this teaser ahead of next week's full episode of . Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

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Episode 102: Janell Strube show art Episode 102: Janell Strube

The Written Scene

Author may also work as a tax accountant but her extensive use of spreadsheets made writing much easier. In this episode of , Janell talks about the writing lessons learned from going down rabbit holes, being the kid with their nose in the book instead of playing, viewing writing as feeding and nourishing people, the power of realizing and also believing you're a writer, having a day job that competes with time to write, zooming out to see just how much we've written over time, volunteering within a writer community and how that benefits us, developing thick skin through critique groups,...

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Episode 102 Teaser: Janell Strube show art Episode 102 Teaser: Janell Strube

The Written Scene

Not all teachers are good. But even the bad ones can be motivating, just as it was for author and memoirist . Please enjoy this teaser ahead of next week's full episode of . Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

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Episode 101: Barbara Carlton show art Episode 101: Barbara Carlton

The Written Scene

Author led a previous life as an architect, a job she's now retired from, but a job that was very much like writing a novel. In this episode of , Barbara talks about the fortune of having a good publisher, how her love of music played a role in her writing, writing like you're in a mine with only a headlamp, reading kid lit just fo the joy of reading it, why taking a lot of writing classes can prevent the enjoyment of specific genres, the fear of "now what?" after finishing a novel you've worked on for many years, cross-fertilizing by writing different genres, how writing at an older age can...

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Episode 101 Teaser: Barbara Carlton show art Episode 101 Teaser: Barbara Carlton

The Written Scene

For author , the inspiration for her novel, as it can be for many authors, was right there on her own street. Please enjoy this teaser ahead of next week's full episode of . Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

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Episode 100: Matt Bell show art Episode 100: Matt Bell

The Written Scene

When it comes to writing, there's no shortage of joy of the process in author and professor , and it's obvious from the smile you can hear in his voice when he talks about it. In this momentous episode (100!) of , Matt discusses growing up in a family of environmentalists and its impact on his writing, the joy of maintaining consistency in a story, creating an outline after the first draft, not being nostalgic with past drafts of stories, finding 30 year old anthologies with now well-established authors, becoming a writer later in life and its advantages, how the only control a writer has is...

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Episode 100 Teaser: Matt Bell show art Episode 100 Teaser: Matt Bell

The Written Scene

For author and professor , writing a novel can be a great starting point to understand and maybe even conquer anxieties and fears. After enjoying this brief teaser ahead of next week's full episode of , please be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share. Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

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Episode 99: Taylor Garcia show art Episode 99: Taylor Garcia

The Written Scene

When it comes to writing, to author it's more than just a thing we do. It's a career, albeit just a really enjoyable one. In this episode of , Taylor discusses the potential reasons why men are reading less fiction, growing up in a matriarchal family environment, having a healthy dose of life for storytelling purposes, a cruel suggestion from a grad school professor, seeing the world as a story, working non-creative jobs, finding a love of editing and feedback, ironic redemption for a character, letting ideas marinate for a long time before writing, bringing things together in a story that...

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Episode 99 Teaser: Taylor Garcia show art Episode 99 Teaser: Taylor Garcia

The Written Scene

According to author , as cruel as it can be, having a higher and formal level of writing education can help not just your writing craft but also explain why the greats are the greats. If you enjoyed this teaser, please be sure to subscribe ahead of next week's full episode of . Share, rate, and review, if you're feeling extra helpful. Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era

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More Episodes

Author, researcher, and professor Robbie Maakestad is not lacking in confidence when it comes to submitting. At least not right away.

In this episode of The Written Scene, Robbie discusses what he's learned about writing through teaching, using a highlighter to organize notes, the formulaic nature of early reader books, how we learn to read and the impact it has on our reading style, falling in love with essays and essay writing, creating emotion when writing non-fiction, the various ways to find needed writing communities, submitting writing and his process, rarely paying to submit writing for publication, lessons learned as a writer from also working in publishing, being an early reader for a publisher as early as possible on your writing path, and much more. 

Please be sure to subscribe, rate, review, and share this and all episodes of The Written Scene. You can also subscribe to our once-a-month newsletter by clicking or tapping here.

Music: Addis Ababa by Eshi Era