Now That's A Great Story

A twice-a-week look inside one story, book, screenplay, or song, and how the piece reveals the writer's backstory and artistic worldview. Hosted by best-selling author Paul Kix.

Episode 21: The Creative Couple 11/10/2021

Episode 21: The Creative Couple Sonya and I chat with Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer, who co-wrote Mr. Nice Guy, a novel about two sex columnists who sleep with each other and critique their performance in competing publications. Mannnn, our conversation is as fun as their book. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/21120002

Episode 20: How to Lead a Still Life 11/03/2021

Episode 20: How to Lead a Still Life Are you stressed? Stymied by your writing projects? Well, I talk with Rebecca Pacheco, the author of Still Life: The Myths and Magic of Mindful Living. That book transformed how I see the world. This is one of the best episodes we've done. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/21035426

The Power of Strangers 10/27/2021

The Power of Strangers We're back! Today we've got a special guest, Joe Keohane, author of The Power of Strangers. Sonya and I loved the book and, from within The Salon, we talked with Joe about why you need not only friends but strangers to enrich your life and improve your health. To talk with a stranger is a lot like interviewing someone as a journalist, and Joe and I discuss the practical things you can do to improve your own interviewing techniques. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/20956271

Episode 18: Noah Lefevre of Polyphonic: BONUS Episode 06/10/2021

Episode 18: Noah Lefevre of Polyphonic: BONUS Episode From within The Salon I talk with Noah Lefevre, the creator of the YouTube channel, Polyphonic, which to date has over 84 million views. Noah and I talk about how and why he started his music- and storytelling obsessed channel, the flow state that every creative type knows, entrepreneurship, and blowing up in your early 20s. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/19426451

Episode 17: In the Lull 05/27/2021

Episode 17: In the Lull Sonya and I talk about the travel I plan to do next month and what that means for today, which is nothing, which is rest. We discuss how I've tried in the past to deal with these lulls in the schedule. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/19260395

Episode 16: A battle with more What Ifs 05/13/2021

Episode 16: A battle with more What Ifs Sonya and I discuss how I'm fully vaccinated and ready to travel—but the archives aren't open. And if the archives aren't open now, what will happen if they never open? This episode, like the last, is less about the physical world than our mental states. There are also practical tips on when you should stop your book research. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/19091252

Episode 15: A battle with the funk 05/06/2021

Episode 15: A battle with the funk Sonya and I talk about the depressive funk that came over me last week: what caused it, why certain thoughts worsened it, and how I overcame it (for now). If you're a writer who deals with your own depression and anxiety—in other words: calling all writers!—give this episode a listen. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/19003346

Bonus Episode: The art of great podcast storytelling, with Jody Avirgan 04/29/2021

Bonus Episode: The art of great podcast storytelling, with Jody Avirgan Jody Avirgan joins me in this bonus episode. Jody launched ESPN's 30 for 30 serialized podcasts, and now host his own podcast while executive producing Death at the Wing, hosted by Academy Award Winner Adam McKay. Jody and I discuss the differences between a great "talk" podcast and a narrative one. Our conversation occurs within The Salon, the private membership forum I run, of which Jody is a member. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18907763

Bonus episode: Uncommon Success, with John Lee Dumas 04/13/2021

Bonus episode: Uncommon Success, with John Lee Dumas In this bonus episode I talk to the great John Lee Dumas, the entrepreneur and podcaster whose new book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, inspired me. JLD's been inspiring me for years now. He's one of the reasons I decided to break out on my own. The two of us discuss how the life and career you want are never as far away as you imagine. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18707633

What to think about when you think about structure 04/13/2021

What to think about when you think about structure Think about the people who make stuff up for a living—especially if you're writing a nonfiction book. Sonya and I discuss why nonfiction authors should be inspired by novelists when structuring their books. We also talk about some of the novels that have inspired me. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18707351

Episode 11: Why idleness is the path to greater productivity 04/06/2021

Episode 11: Why idleness is the path to greater productivity It's true! Sonya and I have found it to be the case in our own lives and especially—especially!—when doing book research. We talk about how you should schedule your day to incorporate more downtime, and what that downtime has meant for us and our family and how I had a come-to-Jesus after my last book was published. I needed to be there more for my kids. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18624167

Episode 10: Up in your business 03/30/2021

Episode 10: Up in your business If you're gonna write a book, you've got to create a business to support it. You've got to turn yourself into an LLC. Sonya and I talk about all the benefits—fiscal but mostly psychological—working within an LLC has provided us. We give some tips to avoid some of the mistakes we made along the way. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18529619

Episode 9: The tricks to overcome boredom and distraction 03/23/2021

Episode 9: The tricks to overcome boredom and distraction The answer is not: scroll Twitter. It's instead a certain technique I learned a few years ago and have had to apply this week, when working through an absolute deluge of old research files. Sonya and I talk about this technique, and what works for her. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18419918

Season 2, Episode 8: Life as an interracial couple 03/16/2021

Season 2, Episode 8: Life as an interracial couple Sonya and I talk about meeting, marrying, and having kids as an interracial couple. We've each learned a lot from each other and our experiences, me probably more than Sonya. I see the world now with new eyes because I am the father of Black children and the head of a Black household. We talk about how my education in the Black experience is akin to Prince Harry's. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18336695

What to do when you see problems everywhere 03/09/2021

What to do when you see problems everywhere Sonya and I talk about a quote from Ralph Abernathy's memoir: How the problems he and MLK faced in Birmingham were, he believed, God guiding them to the solution they needed. I read that passage at just the right time in my own book research. We talk about what happens when you hit insurmountable obstacles, and how they can guide you to the solution you need. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18235511

Season 2, Episode 6: How to find time to do what you love 03/02/2021

Season 2, Episode 6: How to find time to do what you love Sonya and I talk about the way to report or write a book while holding a full-time job. The first step is to—you ready for this?—listen to your body. We explain what we mean and also share stories of how to steal time out of your day...even at that full-time job. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18143555

Season 2, Episode 5: When to travel for book research 02/23/2021

Season 2, Episode 5: When to travel for book research Where to go to do your book research is easy. When to travel is the question to ask, and one we learned the hard way. Tons of stories here and tons of tips to avoid the mistakes Sonya and I made. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/18045266

Season 2, Episode 4: Notes Will Keep Us Together 02/16/2021

Season 2, Episode 4: Notes Will Keep Us Together The evolution of our marriage is also the evolution of how I learned to take, with Sonya's guidance, ever better notes. We talk about the various systems we adopted and discarded to arrive at something, with my book on Birmingham, is truly efficient, and in no small part awesome. The better a writer's notes system, the less frustration he/she/they encounters in writing a book. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/17956496

Season 2, Episode 3: How NOT to start book research 02/09/2021

Season 2, Episode 3: How NOT to start book research Sonya and I talk about the mistakes I made with my first book and how I've tried to correct those mistakes in the early going of the research for my second book. You may think book research is reading as widely as possible. It is actually reading as deeply as possible. Learn from my mistakes. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/17853317

Episode 2: How to land an agent, and a book deal 02/02/2021

Episode 2: How to land an agent, and a book deal This week, in Episode 2, Sonya and I break down how to find an agent if you don't have one. We cover what you should be looking for in an agent and how to identify the traits that will best help you. We also talk about what happens when you're book goes to market, and all the stress and joy that comes with it. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/17761817

Episode 1: The Proposal 01/26/2021

Episode 1: The Proposal The proposal is the first step to writing a book. Sonya and I discuss the proposal for my first book and the different approach we took this time. We talk about how to stay motivated, how long the proposal itself should be, and how, with my new book, we decided the proposal had to include the social justice movement of 2020. It affected our interracial family, which meant it was also relevant to a proposal on Black-and-white relations. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/17651489

Season Two Trailer: The Process 01/26/2021

Season Two Trailer: The Process This season covers the process of writing a book, specifically how my process for writing my forthcoming book can help you write yours. Expect a week-by-week diary of not only what I'm learning but how that research into the Civil Rights Movement still shapes our nation. My wife Sonya will co-host. We'll talk about the teamwork necessary to write a book and discuss what it means to be an interracial couple, heirs to the vision of which Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/17650913

Episode 31: Season (One) Greeting 12/23/2019

Episode 31: Season (One) Greeting I talk about my decision to switch the podcast away from a weekly format to a seasonal one. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/12507167

Episode 30: Ambition and obsession in America's coolest kitchen 11/25/2019

Episode 30: Ambition and obsession in America's coolest kitchen Author Kevin Alexander comes on to talk about the crazy rise and maturation of Gabriel Rucker, the chef in Portland who fathered America's farm-to-table dining revolution. Rucker's boozy story is the centerpiece of Kevin's Burn The Ice, which is the rarest of foodie books: The one I couldn't put down. I've known Kevin since 2008 and he's transformed as well, from a struggling grad student to a James Beard winner. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/12153428

Episode 29: After Show: Question for You 11/21/2019

Episode 29: After Show: Question for You I've got a question for every listener of this podcast—and I want your answers! /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/12114599

Episode 28: The Art of Living Well, with Ryan Holiday 11/18/2019

Episode 28: The Art of Living Well, with Ryan Holiday I talk with the fascinating Ryan Holiday, the entrepreneur and everyman philosopher, about a sequence of Stillness is the Key, Ryan's latest book, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Ryan's work has had a huge influence on how I see and process the world, and I'm hoping you'll be just as enlightened. For full show notes—and there are plenty, given Ryan's erudition—head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/12059777

Episode 27: The Story of the Billigans, with Don Van Natta Jr 11/11/2019

Episode 27: The Story of the Billigans, with Don Van Natta Jr The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Don Van Natta Jr joins the show to discuss the time that he, a reporter whom Bill Clinton loathed, played a round of golf with the president. The day is recounted in Van Natta's best-selling book, First Off The Tee, and Don and I talk about how the game is perhaps the best insight into the lives of men who run the world. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/11987774

Episode 26: After Show: The Novelty of It All 11/07/2019

Episode 26: After Show: The Novelty of It All I loved Kitty Sheehan's approach to the story she told Monday, and made that approach—a first-person essay that actually has an omniscient point of view—the focus of today's After Show. Because trying something new, persevering when others tell you you shouldn't because it's new, has its rewards. For show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/11931932

Episode 25: The Strongest Woman in the Room, with Kitty Sheehan 11/04/2019

Episode 25: The Strongest Woman in the Room, with Kitty Sheehan I talk with the teacher-turned-writer Kitty Sheehan, and the essay that took her 40 years to write, describing what happened one day in 1978 to her and her family. Kitty's piece went viral after it was published, and our conversation captures the story's appeal: its emotional rawness, its humor, and its hope, for Kitty and anyone who aspires to have their voice recognized by the world. For full show notes, head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/11887421

Episode 24: After Show: When Bad Things Are Good Things 10/31/2019

Episode 24: After Show: When Bad Things Are Good Things I talk about how a couple aspects of Tribe apply to my life and the lives of many of my friends. For full show notes head to https://www.paulkix.com/podcast. /episode/index/show/paulkix/id/11839517

Now That's A Great Story

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