Lori Ostlund, Doug Henderson, and T. K. Rex discuss hopeful fiction, metaphor, the Midwest, balancing humor and darkness, crafting characters who feel like real people, the Flannery O’Connor award, and a third addition to the pantser/plotter dichotomy: poet.

Stuff we mentioned in the episode:

• Lori’s novella Just Another Family
• flannery o’connor award
• Flannery winner Iheoma Nwachukwu
• Rainbow Railroad