This week, the Cru dives into a strange and powerful prompt pulled from Norse mythology: Ginnungagap, the vast, primordial void of fog (that's fog, not frogs, WebEater!) that exists between worlds.

From that idea, the conversation spirals into something every writer knows too well: the "creative" void. What do you do when nothing is flowing? When every sentence feels forced? When the story just won’t come together?

We dig into:

• Writing through creative blocks and burnout
• The difference between natural flow and “forcing it”
• Channeling frustration and anger writing into something useful
• Using constraints and prompts to unlock unexpected breakthroughs

As always, we take the prompt and turn it into original flash fiction, written fast, read aloud, and shared in its raw, unpolished form. Tune in around the 13 minute mark for those.

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

In this episode of Radio FreeWrite, The Cru explores the absurd, satirical style of Gilbert and Sullivan and explores how far you can push an idea once you follow it to its most ridiculous logical conclusion.

But it goes deeper than just playful storytelling. We dive into the power of creative partnerships, from legendary collaborations to our own experiences trying (and sometimes failing) to find the right artistic partner. What makes a collaboration work? Can another writer strengthen your voice without overpowering it? And is great creative chemistry something you build… or just get lucky enough to find?

Of course, we dish out some Gilbertian stories of our own. Tune in around the 11:45 mark for those.

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.

This week on Radio FreeWrite, The Cru takes a step back from writing to talk about... reading.

What should writers be reading? Does it matter if it’s fiction, nonfiction, or even audiobooks? And do audiobooks actually count as reading?

We dig into all of it, including:

• Why writers need to read widely across genres
• Considerations of audiobooks and oral storytelling in modern writing
• How classic works like Frankenstein, Beowulf, and The Iliad still influence storytelling today
• How and when to use cultural shorthand in fiction
• That it's ok to quit a book

Along the way, we share what we’ve been reading lately, and how those influences've show up in our own writing.

We do still bring you stories! Tune in around the 17:25 mark.

Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do.

Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.