Ann Napolitano on Overcoming Rejection and Despair as Part of the Writing Life & Kirthana Ramisetti on The Art of Foreshadowing

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

How To, Books, Education, Fiction, Arts

4.8 • 733 Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the first part of this episode, Bianca interviews Ann Napolitano, inspiring Oprah Book Club pick author of Hello Beautiful. During the multi-layered interview, Ann shares her journey as a writer, discussing the long path to publication, the importance of perseverance, and the role of gratitude in her success. She reflects on her experiences with rejection, the joy of writing, and the challenges of maintaining discipline in a writing career. Ann shares her insights on the writing process, the importance of beta readers, and the challenges of crafting character depth. She shares her unique approach to storytelling, including the role of obsession in developing narratives and the necessity of revision. Ann also discusses exploring the balance of multiple perspectives in writing and the emotional truths that guide her characters' journeys.

In the second part of this episode Bianca interviews GMA book club pick author Kirthana Ramisetti—whose novels have received acclaim from Time, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, Associated Press and more. Kirthana discusses her latest novel, The Other Lata, which explores unique narrative structure, character development, and the blending of genres. She shares insights into her writing process, the importance of foreshadowing, and how pop culture influences her work. Bianca and Kirthana also discuss the challenges of writing from a single POV and the significance of giving characters agency, particularly in the context of complex antagonists. The interview closes with Kirthana reflecting on her experiences as an author, highlighting the joy of writing and the creative journey.

Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You've heard me say it all the time on the podcast that you need to circle the building of your work
0:04.8	to find the best entry point into it. But this process doesn't just ensure strong opening pages.
0:10.8	It allows you to navigate the whole building with confidence, knowing which doors to throw wide open
0:16.4	and which ones to keep locked, which walls to smash down and which ones to reinforce, as you create a
0:22.5	space you'd like to live inside. In my circling the building of your work webinar, I'll guide you
0:28.1	through the transformation of my latest work in progress, showing you examples of my constantly
0:33.4	evolving pages in my quest to find the best way into a story I've always wanted to tell.
0:39.6	In doing so, I'll highlight the intentionality you need to bring to your decision-making,
0:44.7	how to play around a point of view, structure, timeline, voice and other essential elements of
0:49.7	craft, how to frame a narrative and choose the lens through which you'd like to view it,
0:54.8	the questions you'll need to ask yourself throughout the process, how to frame a narrative and choose the lens through which you'd like to view it, the questions you'll need to ask yourself throughout the process, how to circle back from false starts,
0:59.4	and how rewarding the entire process can be. You'll also be assigned to other delegates to
1:04.0	work with after the webinar to gain objectivity, input and fresh perspectives as you circle
1:09.7	the building of your own work in progress.
1:12.4	This course will be run on the 13th of May from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
1:16.8	For more information and to register, go to Bianca Murray and look for the courses tab.
1:33.7	Hi there and welcome to our show, the shit no one tells you about writing.
1:41.2	I'm Bianca Murray and I'm joined by Carly Waters and Cici Lira from PS Literary Agency.
1:47.8	Hi everyone. Today we have an incredibly special guest joining us. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward, which has sold in 27 territories and has been adapted into an
1:55.6	Apple TV series that aired in 2023. She is also the author of the novels A Good Hard Look and Within Arms Reach.
2:04.4	She received an MFA from New York University and has taught fiction writing from Brooklyn's
2:09.9	College MFA program, New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies,
	...

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