Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

James Thayer brings a no-nonsense, craft-focused approach to novel writing that stands out for its clarity and directness. Each weekly episode reads almost like a chapter from a well-organized writing manual, covering everything from sentence-level mechanics to big-picture plot construction. Thayer works at both scales equally well, moving from topics like eliminating meaningless modifiers to building character arcs across a full novel. His episode on using argument and conflict to create compelling dialogue is a masterclass in a single sitting. The show has accumulated 205 episodes with a 4.8-star rating from over 420 reviewers, which suggests the audience recognizes the quality of instruction on offer. Thayer writes with clear, efficient prose himself, and that sensibility carries over to his spoken delivery. He does not waste your time with lengthy personal anecdotes or tangential stories. You get the lesson, illustrated with examples, and then you get back to your own writing. Recent episodes have tackled procrastination, incorporating humor into fiction, writing scenes with multiple characters in motion, and formulas for constructing strong sentences. If you learn best from structured, step-by-step instruction rather than freewheeling conversation, this podcast will feel like it was made specifically for you. Thayer treats novel writing as a skill that can be taught, and then he teaches it.