The Cru sit down with board game designer Bruce Glassco, author of Betrayal at House on the Hill, to chat about narrative game design and literary inspiration in board games. Bruce shares his inspiration for a haunted house game, as well as the challenges (and tricks to overcome them) of writing a horror-genre board game. It's a fun conversation ranging from Wuthering Heights to the challenges of playtesting.

Stories begin at the 25:45 mark and include a cursed bargain and the price of eternal youth; a wizard's quest for a magical artifact; survival horror in a...zoo?, and a family's moral reckoning; and a psychological horror about addiction and memory.

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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 you will hear all about second person point of view. You'll enjoy a few choose your own adventure-style (NB- they can't be actual Choose Your Own Adventure stories, as that's trademarked) stories, and you'll hopefully share in the nostalgia the Cru has for those marvelous works of the 80s and 90s. You'll also learn about the immersive narration second person pov provides, including the dangers of using the reader as a character. It's a fun writing challenge, and you're sure to enjoy it.

Stories begin around the 16:30 mark and include a tale of murder and woe; a nightmarish exploration of your own house; an acid trip; and a booby-trapped haunted house.

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!

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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.

Welcome to Spooky Season! In our writing craft discussion this week, we focus on first person narration. It can be particularly powerful for horror, but can wear on readers when they have to read "I, I, I" over and over again. So, it must be treated with care! BUT, for those willing to practice with it, it opens plenty of doors. From unreliable narrators to the horrific tension found only inside the head of a madman, we cover it all.

Stories this week begin around the 20:40 mark and include a hallway full of zombies; a cantankerous tattoo artist; true, spine-tingling horror; and a bewitching Belgian tongue.

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 the Cru studies Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. We discuss his life, his career, and the styles and themes towards which he gravitated. Place and time were super important to Mahfouz, and Krispy shares what it was like to walk through Cairo following Mahfouz's footsteps. Then we shamelessly steal his style as an author imitation challenge, learning from his style to strengthen our own.

Stories begin at the 23:30 mark and include the life of a jinn, told through her own words; a train ride with two people who differ on how to experience culture; and a meditation on place, time, and acceptance.

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!

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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, the Cru dives into the world of submissions: the grind of rejection slips; the rare joy of a personal note from the editor; the endless predawn hours of "why did I have to fall in love with writing;" and the importance of READING THE DANG GUIDELINES when sending your work to literary magazines. We swap insights on what editors look for, how to handle feedback, and the value of old-fashioned gumption.

Stories this week begin around the 31:30 mark (yeah, we packing in a LOT of information about submissions) and range from cosmic tragedy to intimate loss: a plane serenaded by the song of regurgitation; a quiet reckoning beneath a sky that fades to black; and a love realized only in retrospect.

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!

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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.

The Cru returns for Season 5 of Radio FreeWrite! In this episode, we set fresh writing goals, reflect on unions and collective action, and laugh about Monty Python as we take on the Scots phrase ca’ canny: a call to ease up, work slow, and resist.

Stories this week begin at the 16:30 mark and explore resistance in many forms: a poetic plea for freedom from work and a greening earth, a Joycean sketch of paralysis on the farm, a futuristic Uber ride tinged with climate anxiety, a fantasy where unchecked power threatens destruction, and a Labor Day reflection on the risks and strength of workers.

Prompt: Ca’ canny — Scots expression meaning go easy, don’t exert yourself, go slow; also in trade union parlance: work to rule or restrict output so as to exert pressure on employers.

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!

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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 the Season 4 finale, the Radio FreeWrite crew looks back on their writing goals—ranging from dialogue practice to poetic experimentation—and what they’ve learned along the way. Krispy shares how a season of poetry shaped his approach to language, while PC, Spud, and WebEater reflect on growth, discipline, and finding focus as writers.

Then, inspired by the prompt Batrachomyomachia (“the battle of frogs and mice”), they read original first-draft stories: an epic blank-verse poem on anxiety, a dark fantasy battle between spectromancers, and a tender late-night encounter with a mysterious elk.

Perfect for fans of flash fiction, writing craft discussions, and storytelling challenges with a literary twist! Stories start around the 17:45 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!

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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 we got deep into writing nerd territory, swapping stories about the books that shape our craft—Slaughterhouse‑Five, Catch‑22, and one Nabokov short story WebEater dissected like he was an eager fifth grader who'd just been handed his first owl pellet. We talked about borrowing and adapting structure from other authors, the little lies we tell ourselves to keep writing, and that weird optimism/pessimism dance that happens whenever Vonnegut comes up. And also, cat anuses *.

Then we read first‑draft stories inspired by Propaganda, featuring a secret East German book smuggler, a fantasy bureaucracy obsessed with sacred flames, and a hilariously depressing mini‑monster‑truck rally.

Happy writing everyone! Stories start around 19 minutes in.

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.