Best Writingtips Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 495: On Being Merciless with Peter Rubin of Longreads 1:09:15

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18h ago1:09:15

1:09:15

"When I came in [to Longreads], I didn't come in and say, I think we need to grow aggressively. I said, 'Let's figure out who we are. Let's figure out what other people aren't doing, that we do , and that we can do better.' And so the only real thing that changed when I first came in was to try to make the editors known quantities," says Peter Rubi…

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#292 – Motivation for Writers: Tracking Progress and Learning from Noir Fiction 42:23

7d ago42:23

42:23

Welcome to Episode 292 of the Spun Today Podcast! In this episode, host Tony Ortiz dives deep into the writing life, inviting listeners into another motivating free writing session. Tony shares his latest writing stats and candidly discusses the ups and downs of creative consistency, including the struggles of writer’s block and the magic of findin…

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Episode 494: Co-Writing a Memoir, Becoming a Publisher, and Finding the Passion with Jeremy X. Wagner 1:17:34

8d ago1:17:34

1:17:34

"As a reader, if I were a fan reading this book, I want the good, the bad and the ugly. I want you to rip the band aid off and tell the truth. Because, from my from my experience, I've read a lot of memoirs that are super boring and just fluff," says Jeremy X. Wagner, co-author of Curtis Duffy's Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef (Dead Sky Publishing). We…

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Episode 493: Masha Hamilton Asks Is the Writing Worth Rearranging Your Calendar For? 1:18:16

15d ago1:18:16

1:18:16

"This has to be meaningful to you. It has to be a story that won't leave you alone, a story that you're willing to rearrange your calendar for," says Masha Hamilton, whose Atavist Magazine story is titled "I've Gone to Look for America." Today we have Masha Hamilton, a journalist, a novelist, a fan of the show, a fan of Pitch Club. You’ll want to v…

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#291 – Crafting Horror and Humanity: Behind the Scenes with The Night Visitor’s Blu Topalli and Peter Stass 1:39:26

16d ago1:39:26

1:39:26

On today’s episode of Spun Today, host Tony Ortiz sits down with the powerhouse creative duo Blarime ‘Blu’ Topalli and Peter Stass—veteran writers, filmmakers, and the minds behind the atmospheric new horror podcast, The Night Visitor. Together, they dive deep into the art of collaboration, exploring how blending backgrounds in gothic fiction, come…

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Episode 492: The Host Becomes the Hosted — Brendan O'Meara in conversation with Daniel Littlewood 52:01

22d ago52:01

52:01

"My editor was like, hold on, you need to put your thumb on the scale of why this matters. Now, there's no first person in this, but you have your thumb on the scale, you need to assert your own point of view. Like, this matters, why? says Brendan O'Meara, author of The Front Runner: The Life of Steve Prefontaine Mariner Books. Who the heck does th…

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Bonus: Daredevil’s Writing Lessons (Companion to Ep. 288) 3:30

22d ago3:30

3:30

Daredevil isn’t just a great superhero story — it’s also packed with lessons for writers. In this bonus episode, I pull together key takeaways from our Episode 288 breakdown and frame them as quick, standalone insights you can apply to your own creative work. And don’t miss the free companion guide that goes along with this episode! The Spun Today …

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Episode 491: How Tracy Slater Broke Her Book into Steps 1:13:31

29d ago1:13:31

1:13:31

"Writing a book is so overwhelming. I need to have a book that's like so many steps in between. So what I do to manage my own anxiety and overwhelm about that is I'm really, really obsessed with breaking everything into little steps so that all I need to do is the next step and then I don't get overwhelmed," says Tracy Slater, author of Together in…

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Episode 490: Seeing the Fish and the Tank with Jeff Chang 1:16:30

29d ago1:16:30

1:16:30

"When I got back to [writing], it was like an athlete or a martial artist coming back to the practice, and the endorphins start running back. And you remember the joy that you had in it, also the struggles of it, but you're back in it, and then I couldn't be stopped," says Jeff Chang, author of Water, Mirror, Echo. Today we have Jeff Chang, and wha…

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#290 – Building the Lucas Literacy Lab: One Writer’s Journey from Home Classroom to School Founder 1:23:31

30d ago1:23:31

1:23:31

Welcome back to the Spun Today podcast! In this inspiring episode, host Tony Ortiz sits down with returning guest Amanda Lucas—educator, writer, and now founder of her very own microschool, the Lucas Literacy Lab. Amanda shares her incredible journey of resilience, starting from homeschooling her daughters during the pandemic to navigating the bure…

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Episode 489: Staying Power, Book Promotion, Platform, and 'Slip,' a Memoir-Plus with Mallary Tenore Tarpley 1:25:20

1M ago1:25:20

1:25:20

"For many of us, myself included, it's easy to want to be on the New York Times bestseller list, or the USA Today bestseller list, and to try to get an amazing number of week-one sales, but it's important to remember that those lists are really hard to get on, and there can be this nice long tail in terms of the impact of a book where maybe it does…

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Episode 488: Bill McKibben, the Dark Realist, Faces the Light 59:25

1M ago59:25

59:25

"The point of my book and the point of this big day of action that we're doing across the country is to drive that notion away that this isn't alternative energy, that it's the obvious, straightforward, common sense and very beautiful way to power the world going forward. To use the analogy I've been using, it's not any longer the Whole Foods of en…

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#289 – Voices of 9/11: Recounting Stories from New Yorkers (Re-release) 2:23:45

1M ago2:23:45

2:23:45

Welcome to Episode 269 of Spun Today, where we dive deep into personal stories of resilience, reflection, and creativity in the face of one of the most transformative events in modern history—the 9/11 attacks. Today, we are honored to have a plethora of voices sharing their firsthand experiences, each providing a unique lens on that tragic day. Fro…

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Episode 487: Robert Weintraub and the 'American Hindenburg' 1:22:36

1M ago1:22:36

1:22:36

Robert Weintraub is a best selling author and, most recently, wrote "American Hindenburg" for The Atavist Magazine.. We’re going to hear from lead editor Jonah Ogles about his side of the table and how he advises people to model their stories after previously published ones and how there’s never really a wasted moment by doing as much research as p…

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Episode 486: Cartooning is the Children's Table of Art, says Roz Chast 1:04:57

2M ago1:04:57

1:04:57

"I really love this medium. I think cartooning is an incredible medium. There aren't a lot of rules. You can, if you can, really make it up. You can make it suit you," says Roz Chast a cartoonist and artist whose work routinely appears in The New Yorker. So today we have Roz Chast. You know Roz Chast, and if you don’t, quite frankly I hope we never…

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Episode 485: Tensions and Textures with Poet Patrycja Humienik 1:07:41

2M ago1:07:41

1:07:41

"God, I feel like I'm still enduring that, like it's this sort of ongoing thing where I'm not sure I ever if I'll ever get to a place where I feel like my work and ambitions for the work and daydreams about writing and art-making ever meet my taste," says Patrycja Humienik. For Ep. 485 we've got Patrycja Humienik. She’s a poet and her debut collect…

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#288 - Daredevil’s Gray Morality and Emotional Hooks: Storytelling Insights for Writers 1:03:49

2M ago1:03:49

1:03:49

Welcome to Episode 288 of the Spun Today Podcast with Tony Ortiz, where creativity takes the spotlight and storytelling is always at the heart of the conversation. In this episode, Tony dives deep into the writing brilliance of the Daredevil TV series, exploring seasons one through four and unearthing valuable insights every writer and creative can…

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Episode 484: Rax King is Sloppy 1:06:03

2M ago1:06:03

1:06:03

"I am tyrannical about noise and about quiet. I don't feel that I can control the amount of mess I make. I mean, I know I can, but I kind of can't. And there's just so many things about my character that are really detrimental to having a writing process, which I need, and it's just so opposed to everything that's going on in my disgustoid little s…

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Episode 483: Off the Page and Into the Ears with Julia Barton 1:17:44

2M ago1:17:44

1:17:44

"That is the main difference between storytelling for the ear and writing, is that the cost of revisions is so much higher," says Julia Barton. We have Julia Barton. Julia was the third hire, I think I have that right, with Pushkin Industries, the podcast giant founded by Malcolm Gladwell. She was the executive editor of Pushkin and helped develop …

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Episode 482: Matthew Wolfe and the Grammar of Delight 1:23:20

2M ago1:23:20

1:23:20

"You have to finish it out. You have to report it, even if it's financially a terrible idea," says Matthew Wolfe. OK, it’s that Atavistian time of the month so we’re here to talk about Matthew Wolfe’s “The Talented Mr. Bruseaux: He made his name in Chicago investigating racial violence, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But American’s first …

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#287 – Creative Accountability, AI Tools for Writers, Insights from Ta-Nehisi Coates and More! (Free Writing Session) 51:34

3M ago51:34

51:34

Welcome back to the Spun Today podcast! In this episode, Tony Ortiz dives deep into the creative process, taking you behind the scenes of his own writing journey. This is a special “free writing session” episode, where Tony shares his candid writing stats—celebrating the progress, confronting the setbacks, and reflecting on what it really takes to …

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Episode 481: Nieman Storyboard's Mark Armstrong Believes in the Beginners' Mindset 1:06:33

3M ago1:06:33

1:06:33

"Listening to podcasts, it's like, how do I start making them? That's been my approach, essentially try and take that beginner mindset into anything and try to teach myself new skills," says Mark Armstrong. Who do we have today? It’s Mark Armstrong! He is a producer, a writer, a singer, working at the intersection of storytelling and digital media.…

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Episode 480: Dana Jeri Maier Doesn't Trust Anyone with a Neat Desk 58:42

3M ago58:42

58:42

"Yeah, join the club of people who feel inadequate," says Dana Jeri Maier, a cartoonist and author of the graphic book on creativity Skip to the Fun Parts. This incredible artist is the author of Skip to the Fun Parts: Cartoons and Complaints About the Creative Process. It’s one of the best books on creativity because it deals with doubt, it deals …

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Episode 479: Jeff Sharlet and Finding Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens 1:15:59

3M ago1:15:59

1:15:59

"You're an outsider. And as you linger in that space, you start to become an insider ... but you're still an outsider. Don't forget that, even though you know more about it, you're an insider and an outsider," says Jeff Sharlet about when he's reporting on, say, far-right religious groups. OK, we’ve got Jeff Sharlet, which is pretty stunning when y…

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#286 - Finding Inspiration Through Loss, Pandemic Reflections and Honoring Pablo 1:39:53

3M ago1:39:53

1:39:53

Welcome to Episode 286 of the Spun Today Podcast, the show anchored in writing but truly unlimited in its scope. I’m your host, Tony Ortiz, and today we’re diving into something both personal and nostalgic: a throwback tribute episode to my good friend and Spun Today alum, the late, great, Pablo Mosquera Jr. In this heartfelt installment, we revisi…

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1
Episode 495: On Being Merciless with Peter Rubin of Longreads 1:09:15

1
#292 – Motivation for Writers: Tracking Progress and Learning from Noir Fiction 42:23

1
Episode 494: Co-Writing a Memoir, Becoming a Publisher, and Finding the Passion with Jeremy X. Wagner 1:17:34

1
Episode 493: Masha Hamilton Asks Is the Writing Worth Rearranging Your Calendar For? 1:18:16

1
#291 – Crafting Horror and Humanity: Behind the Scenes with The Night Visitor’s Blu Topalli and Peter Stass 1:39:26

1
Episode 492: The Host Becomes the Hosted — Brendan O'Meara in conversation with Daniel Littlewood 52:01

1
Bonus: Daredevil’s Writing Lessons (Companion to Ep. 288) 3:30

1
Episode 491: How Tracy Slater Broke Her Book into Steps 1:13:31

1
Episode 490: Seeing the Fish and the Tank with Jeff Chang 1:16:30

1
#290 – Building the Lucas Literacy Lab: One Writer’s Journey from Home Classroom to School Founder 1:23:31

1
Episode 489: Staying Power, Book Promotion, Platform, and 'Slip,' a Memoir-Plus with Mallary Tenore Tarpley 1:25:20

1
Episode 488: Bill McKibben, the Dark Realist, Faces the Light 59:25

1
#289 – Voices of 9/11: Recounting Stories from New Yorkers (Re-release) 2:23:45

1
Episode 487: Robert Weintraub and the 'American Hindenburg' 1:22:36

1
Episode 486: Cartooning is the Children's Table of Art, says Roz Chast 1:04:57

1
Episode 485: Tensions and Textures with Poet Patrycja Humienik 1:07:41

1
#288 - Daredevil’s Gray Morality and Emotional Hooks: Storytelling Insights for Writers 1:03:49

1
Episode 484: Rax King is Sloppy 1:06:03

1
Episode 483: Off the Page and Into the Ears with Julia Barton 1:17:44

1
Episode 482: Matthew Wolfe and the Grammar of Delight 1:23:20

1
#287 – Creative Accountability, AI Tools for Writers, Insights from Ta-Nehisi Coates and More! (Free Writing Session) 51:34

1
Episode 481: Nieman Storyboard's Mark Armstrong Believes in the Beginners' Mindset 1:06:33

1
Episode 480: Dana Jeri Maier Doesn't Trust Anyone with a Neat Desk 58:42

1
Episode 479: Jeff Sharlet and Finding Real Toads in Imaginary Gardens 1:15:59

1
#286 - Finding Inspiration Through Loss, Pandemic Reflections and Honoring Pablo 1:39:53