Please read “The Bed and Breakfast” before listening to the episode.

Molly Dektar is the author of two novels, The Absolutes and The Ash Family. Her short stories have been published in the Best American Short Stories 2024, the Yale Review, N+1, the Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and the Sewanee Review, among others. The recipient of a Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a residency at Hawthornden, Brooklyn, she is from North Carolina and lives in Queens, NY.

Follow her on Instagram here.

This interview is available here on Substack and on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms.

**

Would you Like Your Story Reviewed?

I’m offering a review right here on the show. If you want my professional feedback on your short story, here’s how it works:

* Join the paid subscriber community at letsdeconstructastory.substack.com

* Leave a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts (and send me a screenshot!)

* Email your draft (up to 15 pages) to kfordon450@gmail.com

Let me know if you’d like your feedback to be anonymous, if you want your name shared, or if you’d just prefer your comments emailed to you instead of being discussed on air.

I’ll be selecting one story each month to talk about live on the podcast.

I cannot wait to read your work.

***

In July and August, we will be on summer hiatus, working on the fall schedule.

Please feel free to send story suggestions anytime!

Cheers,

Kelly

I recorded a short episode chock-full of advice from the last few podcast episodes. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you would like me to record more of these. I am cleaning up some old recordings, and I’m always struck by how often the person I’m interviewing offers the most unexpected yet sound counsel.

PS: It’s Andre Dubus III :) My apologies for botching that.

***This summer, we’re introducing a brand-new benefit to build community here on LDAS. We’re piloting a “Listener Submission” segment where I will deconstruct a story from an audience member live on the air.

* The Format: I will pick a submission (up to 15 pages) and provide a “Report Card” with three specific areas that are working, plus ideas for revision.

* This is a Tiered Benefit for paid subscribers: All you have to do is join as a yearly member, leave a review on Apple or Spotify, and send me a copy of your story (up to 15 pages) at kfordon450@gmail.com.

**

Congratulations to Let’s Deconstruct a Story podcast guest, Erika Krouse, who won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize this month for her collection, Save Me, Stranger. Erika discussed one of the stories, “Jude,” here on the podcast last year.

Congratulations also to ‘Pemi Aguda, whose new novel, One Leg on Earth, was published by Norton this month as well. It’s already racking up rave reviews! ‘Pemi discussed her story, “Manifest,” here on the podcast from her collection, Ghostroots, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

**

Paid subscribers are welcome to join me for an interview with Madeleine Stein on June 11th at 6 pm EST about her prize-winning story, “Too Beautiful,” first published in The Hopkins Review.

***

How “Let’s Deconstruct a Story” works:

Read the story below carefully. This is important because the interview will contain spoilers.

During our session, the author will discuss their personal practice and analyze craft elements: plot, character, setting, dialogue, pacing, and revision. The aim is to learn how the story was built, with the hope that this will help you with your process.

Here’s a copy of Madeleine’s story:

Madeleine Stein is a fiction writer living in the Hudson Valley. Her work has appeared in The London Magazine, The Hopkins Review, The Kenyon Review, Ambit, Raymond Carver Review, Saranac Review, Cairo Times, and Orbis. She taught at the American University in Cairo and New York University.

**I’ll send the Zoom link to paid subscribers one week before we record.

**

Lastly, the podcast episode (audio only) with Molly Dektar will be released on Apple and Spotify for all listeners on June 1st. Be sure to read her story first here at The Harvard Review.

If you would like to access the video recording of our interview, it’s already available to paid subscribers here.

Hi Everyone,

In this episode, I sit down with Jim Shepard to deconstruct his short story “The Queen of Bad Influences.” If you haven’t read the story yet, I recommend reading it first—this is a full short story analysis and writing craft breakdown, and we go deep.

This conversation is all about how a story works beneath the surface. We break down point of view (POV), story structure, character tension, and emotional conflict, and how these elements come together in strong historical fiction writing.

At the center of the story is the relationship between Constance and Minna—two young women navigating intimacy, repression, and expectation in early 20th century England. Set against the backdrop of the RMS Lusitania sinking, this story shows how catastrophe in fiction creates pressure that reveals character.

If you’re interested in:

how to write stronger short stories

how POV shapes character

how structure impacts emotional payoff

or how historical fiction can explore complex relationships

this episode will give you a clear breakdown you can apply to your own writing.

Bio:

JIM SHEPARD is the author of seven previous novels, most recently The Book of Aron (winner of the 2016 PEN New England Award, the Sophie Brody medal for achievement in Jewish literature, the Ribalow Prize for Jewish literature, the Clark Fiction Prize, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award) and five story collections, including Like You’d Understand, Anyway, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and won The Story Prize. His short fiction has appeared in, among other magazines, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, McSweeney’s, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, Esquire, Tin House, Granta, Zoetrope, Electric Literature, and Vice, and has often been selected for The Best American Short Stories and The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories. He lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with his wife, three children, and three beagles, and he teaches at Williams College.

Want Your Story Deconstructed on the Podcast?

I’m offering a Craft Report Card right here on the show. If you want my professional feedback on your short story, here’s how it works:

Join the paid subscriber community at letsdeconstructastory.substack.com

Leave a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts (and send me a screenshot!)

Email your draft (up to 15 pages) to kfordin450@gmail.com

Let me know if you’d like your feedback to be anonymous or if you want your name shared.

I’ll be selecting one story each month to deconstruct live on the podcast.

I cannot wait to read your work.

Upcoming Episode:

June 1st: Molly Dektar:

Please read “The Bed and Breakfast” before listening to the episode.

Molly Dektar is the author of two novels, The Absolutes and The Ash Family. Her short stories have been published in the Best American Short Stories 2024, the Yale Review, N+1, the Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and the Sewanee Review, among others. The recipient of a Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a residency at Hawthornden, Brooklyn, she is from North Carolina and lives in Queens, NY.