Ep 39: How a Tumblr post became a novel

<p>In Episode 39, I’m chatting with Whitney French about her novel in verse, <em>Syncopation</em>, a science fiction novel about two women searching for meaning and purpose in a catastrophic world where memory is currency. </p><p>We talk about the musicality of <em>Syncopation</em>, how a random Tumblr post birthed the idea of the book, and what characters can teach us about ourselves. I ask Whitney to don her writing coach cap to share some strategies for achieving writing goals and overcoming popular writing challenges, and we go back in time to find out about Whitney’s Tree Sessions, a writing program she held under trees for writers who wanted to embrace nature while creating art.</p><p>This was such a fun conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.</p><p><strong>Chapters</strong></p><p>00:00 – Introduction</p><p>1:54 – Tree sessions</p><p>6:22 – Describing her year in one word</p><p>7:42– How to structure a novel in verse </p><p>10:58– Nature eliminating itself in <em>Syncopation</em> </p><p>12:58 – How a Tumblr post became a novel</p><p>16:42 – What characters teach us about ourselves </p><p>19:57 – Musicality in Syncopation </p><p>22:28 – Intersections of migration</p><p>25:05– Common challenges among writers </p><p>29:58– Strategies to help writers</p><p>38:39 – About Hush Harbour Press </p><p>43:19 – Secret to staying on the journey of her art </p><p>_____________________</p><p><strong>Listen on YouTube</strong>: <a href="https://youtu.be/LW5iwa9qvSw" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://youtu.be/LW5iwa9qvSw</a></p><p>_____________________</p><p><strong>Guest’s links</strong></p><p>Buy Syncopation: <a href="https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/products/syncopation" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/products/syncopation</a></p><p>Visit the Hush Harbour website: <a href="https://www.hushharbour.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.hushharbour.com/</a> </p><p>_____________________ </p><p><strong>Host’s links</strong></p><p>Find out more about the show: <a href="https://www.journeyoftheart.com/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.journeyoftheart.com/</a></p><p>Follow Journey of the Art on Instagram: ⁠<a href="https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.instagram.com/journeyoftheartpod/</a>  </p><p>Book a one-on-one with Lola: <a href="https://wordcaps.com/coaching/" ta