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The First Draft Club
by By Mary Adkins | Author & Book Writing Coach
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Latest episodes
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S11 E14 What to Do if Your Book Is Too Short
October 7, 2026 · 15 minIf your draft comes in under the standard word count for your genre, you've probably heard some version of the same advice: don't think about length, just find where the story's thin and fix that. I get why people say it, but I don't love…
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S11 E13 Amy Griffin's Controversial Bestselling Memoir, "The Tell": A Hot Take
September 30, 2026 · 29 minIn her bestselling 2025 memoir The Tell, written with ghostwriter Sam Lansky, Amy Griffin describes having no memory of her childhood sexual abuse until an MDMA therapy session. But in a recent interview with New York Magazine, Griffin…
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S11 E12 Finding a "Narrative Perch" for Your Memoir: An Interview with Greg Marshall, Part 2
September 23, 2026 · 25 minThis is part two of my conversation with memoirist Greg Marshall. In our conversation, we cover how to write a better paragraph, a technique Greg calls "literary Mad Libs," and how nonfiction writers should use all the same tools that…
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S11 E11 Finding a "Narrative Perch" for Your Memoir: An Interview with Greg Marshall, Part 1
September 16, 2026 · 26 minThis week I'm talking with my dear friend Greg Marshall, our memoir instructor inside the Book Incubator. Greg talks about how he wrote his own memoir, Leg, and how he didn't abandon the material in early drafts when it wasn't working. He…
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S11 E10 What is Publishers Marketplace, and Why is it a Writer’s Best Untapped Resource?
September 9, 2026 · 19 minRegister for my free workshop, How Much Money Can You Make On Your Book?, at workshop.thebookincubator.com. Live on Sep 10th or register to get the replay! Publishing is a black box for aspiring authors. You don't know what you don't know…
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S11 E09 6 Ways to Make Writing Easier and Less Painful
September 2, 2026 · 16 minIn this episode, I'm sharing six ways I've found to make my own writing more pleasurable—the actual habits that get me into the story faster and with less friction. Some are practical (like why I don't write sitting at a desk). One of them…
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S11 E08 You Like Your Outline but Now You Don't Want to Write the Book
August 26, 2026 · 10 minFor years I've said the reason I'm not an outliner is that once I've outlined a story, I feel like I've already written it—and it stops being fun. But a writer in the Book Incubator recently brought me a more specific version of this…
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S11 E07 How to Fix a Character’s Arc Without Rewriting Your Whole Plot: A Revision Lesson from My General Contractor
August 19, 2026 · 12 minI was talking recently with a writer in The Book Incubator who'd hit a very specific kind of revision fear, and that conversation (along with being mid-remodel and thinking about load-bearing walls) led to today's podcast episode. I walk…
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S11 E06 Beware of These Common Publishing Scams Everywhere Right Now
August 12, 2026 · 20 minThere's a scam going around publishing right now, and I couldn't stop thinking about it until I made an episode about it. A few months ago I got targeted. Then three different writers emailed me asking if an email they'd received was real…
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S11 E05 Rufi Thorpe and I Talk About How, Why, and What We Teach (Part 2)
August 5, 2026 · 31 minThis is Part 2 of Mary's conversation with Rufi Thorpe, where they finally try to take on the question everyone in this world pretends is already settled: can writing actually be taught? Mary and Rufi get into what they think genuinely…
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S11 E04 Rufi Thorpe and I Talk About How, Why, and What We Teach (Part 1)
July 29, 2026 · 38 minIf you've ever wondered whether creative writing can actually be taught—or felt discouraged by a workshop, MFA program, or critique group—this conversation is for you. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Mary Adkins sits down with…
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S11 E03 Redefining “Success” as a Writer and Author: Interview with Crime Novelist & Fellow Texan Mary Lowry
July 22, 2026 · 47 minMary Pauline Lowry is a crime writer and fellow Texan who just published her debut novel LAST NIGHT WAS KILLER. In this interview, we talk about what success actually looks like when you're a working writer. In this episode, Mary Pauline…
About the show
A podcast to help you overcome resistance and write with more joy, clarity, and confidence. If you’re working on a novel or memoir, stick around. Whether you haven’t written a word since your 5-paragraph essay days or you have an MFA in Creative Writing, this podcast is now your weekly coffee date on your journey to finish your first draft. Visit maryadkinswriter.com for more resources.