How far am I willing to go? How much work am I willing to do? Two powerful questions today’s guest asked herself at the start of her writing journey as she considered what it meant to be a writer. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is a writer, podcaster, teacher, and publisher on the show to talk about writing, podcasting, and her latest book, Pool Fishing, a collection of stories connected by place and featuring characters who live on the fringes of society. In our conversation she shares insights into the act of writing and being a writer, the fluid nature of creativity, the challenges present in short stories, why writing dark fiction can help us make sense of the world, and rejection. We also talk about her podcast, Writers on Writing, which started as a radio show in 1998. 27 years later, it continues as a way for her to learn more about the writing process and share what she discovers with writers around the world.

• Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
• Writers on Writing
• Pen on Fire
• Pool Fishing by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
• IngramSpark
• Podcast Movement
• Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell
• Scott Turow
• The secret structure of great talks by Nancy Duarte
• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
• “I apologize for such a long letter – I didn’t have time to write a short one.” – Quote from Mark Twain
• Orange County Noir
• Double Indemnity (1944)
• Kelp Books
• Richard Bausch
• Kelley Baker
• Margaret Atwood
• The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience by Kelton Reid
• Episode photo from Envato Elements: Stairs of an indoor pool with clear water