There are many ways to write a compelling narrative nonfiction podcast. Is it personal or factual? Does it include interviews? Are there conversational moments?
In this workshop, Yves will discuss the importance of writing engaging, thoughtful scripts for narrative nonfiction podcasts, no matter their style. She will provide tips on writing for audio and building impactful scenes and narrative arcs. Attendees will learn strategies for writing episodes that are intimate and immersive, even when the subject matter is dense, complex, or emotionally heavy.
Attendees can expect to learn how to write for their own (or their hosts’) distinct voice, how to raise the stakes and intrigue in their scripts, and how to avoid common pitfalls that can flatten audio stories. We’ll discuss how to start a story, how to end one, and how to make the journey in-between enjoyable for audiences. Attendees will explore writing more economically and with more clarity, with opportunities for exercises and feedback.
Attendees are encouraged to bring ideas that they are interested in or working on, so that they can leave with strong direction for their scripts and more confidence in their stories. Great scripts turn into podcasts that listeners don’t want to end. Whether attendees are new to writing for podcasts or have a few scripts under their belt, they’ll leave the workshop with the tools to turn a great idea into a captivating story.
You will be asked to bring:
A laptop or tablet
A notebook and pen/pencil
A smartphone or other portable device with audio recording capabilities
Headphones
An idea for a podcast episode you'd like to write
Workshop Stories in Sound: Writing for Nonfiction Podcasts
Leader Yves Jeffcoat
Fee $1125-$1275 (These prices include lodging and meals. Special pricing is available for our Local Community members.)
Experience Level Beginner, Intermediate; Folks with no experience or limited experience writing scripts for podcasts are welcome. Ages 21 & over only.
About the Leader
Instagram: @notapologizing
yvesjeffcoat.com
Yves Jeffcoat is a writer, podcast host, and podcast producer living in Atlanta. Her writing has been in The New York Times, Paper Monument, Lapham’s Quarterly, Art in America, The Bitter Southerner, and elsewhere on the internet and in print. She is currently the co-creator and co-host of the iHeartRadio podcast On Theme, a show about Black storytelling in all its forms.
Over the course of her career in podcasting, Yves has been a researcher and developer, a host, a writer, a producer, and an executive producer. She has created podcasts with iHeartRadio, Afropunk, Hulu, and Wondery that reflect her interests in Blackness, history, healing, and resistance. And she has written, hosted, and produced hundreds of podcast episodes, including ones for Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast, Afropunk Solution Sessions, This Day in History Class, and season one of Hulu’s Your Attention Please.
Yves has also hosted live events and moderated and participated in panels, including ones at Afropunk festivals, Podfest, and the Atlanta Design Festival. Yves’s work is inspired by her Black, Southern roots and her fascination with the past and how people make history.