Past guest Lindsay Lewis returns to the show to join Ted for a special announcement, which directly affects whether "past guest" is still the most appropriate way to introduce her.

Trust us--it will all make sense after like 60 seconds.

For Lindsay's upcoming book tour dates, visit lindsaylewiswrites.com.

This is a podcast explicitly about the craft of writing—except when it’s not.

For these “Fanning Out” bonus episodes, Ted is joined by his videographer pal Matthew Simmons not to talk about things they’ve made but rather to revel in the work of others and what it can teach us.

Like the show’s regular episodes, it’s a celebration of human creativity (or something that sounds 42 percent less corny). Here, they’re just doing it from the perspective of fans, and they’re going beyond books and writing to dive into TV, movies, music, and whatever else they can credibly find an excuse to discuss.

There are categories. There are digressions. And today, there is an obviously exhaustive, scientifically accurate draft of 14 songs from the 1960s until today that they find particularly well-suited to a road trip playlist.

Ted is joined by Lindsay Lewis, who fell in love with books when she realized she could escape algebra class by peeking at the romance novel hidden on her lap. Now she entertains herself by making the characters in her head kiss. Her debut novel, a sports rom-com titled It’s a Business Doing Pleasure With You, will be published by Alcove Press this August.

Lindsay tells us about the book and why she aims to give readers a sense of found sisterhood through her work before she and Ted bond over their long roads to publication. She then offers two writing tips, one about self-editing and another on what she looks for when a scene just isn’t working. Plus Ted is contractually obligated to ask her about the four rows of Post-Its lining the wall in her writing closet.

Learn more about Lindsay and pre-order her book at lindsaylewiswrites.com.

Ted is joined by Marc S. Perlman, whose debut novel, The Riddle of the Trees, was published this March, more than a decade after he first conceived of it while biking through the Belavezskaya Forest from Poland to Belarus.

Marc gives us an overview of the book, an espionage thriller, and the role that place played in inspiring its writing before offering his best writing tip, which he first heard articulated by the legendary Ken Follett and involves the strategic sprinkling of unresolved details. Marc also shares a pretty great use for some loose-leaf paper and a calendar during the outlining stage.

Learn more about Marc and his work at marcsperlman.com.

This is a podcast explicitly about the craft of writing—except when it’s not.

For these “Fanning Out” bonus episodes, Ted is joined by his videographer pal Matthew Simmons not to talk about things they’ve made but rather to revel in the work of others and what it can teach us.

Like the show’s regular episodes, it’s a celebration of human creativity (or something that sounds 71 percent less corny). Here, they’re just doing it from the perspective of fans, and they’re going beyond books and writing to dive into TV, movies, music, and whatever else they can credibly find an excuse to discuss.

There are categories. There are digressions. And today, there is the James Bond movie franchise: the good, the bad, and the ugly—not to mention the unexpected, the uncomfortable, and one all-timer of a video game.

Ted is joined by Marie Ellis, a Sunday Times number 1-bestselling ghostwriter and editor for books as well as the founder of the boutique content agency Muse. When she’s not working with clients on nonfiction projects, she’s applying her 15-plus years of experience to her own novelistic pursuits.

After taking us inside the world of a professional ghostwriter, Marie shares her best writing tip, which involves mapping out where she’s going ahead of time, in part because it helps her find some unexpected gems along the way.

Learn more about Marie and her work at musecontent.co.uk.

This is a podcast explicitly about the craft of writing—except when it’s not.

For these “Fanning Out” bonus episodes, Ted is joined by his videographer pal Matthew Simmons not to talk about things they’ve made but rather to revel in the work of others and what it can teach us.

Like the show’s regular episodes, it’s a celebration of human creativity (or something that sounds 57 percent less corny). Here, they’re just doing it from the perspective of fans, and they’re going beyond books and writing to dive into TV, movies, music, and whatever else they can credibly find an excuse to discuss.

There are categories. There are digressions. And today, there is the season seven finale of Seinfeld, officially called “The Invitations” but forever remembered as that time where, yes, they really did kill George’s fiancée. Plus: The Oscars!

Ted is joined by Shobha Rao, the author of the short story collection An Unrestored Woman and the novels Indian Country and Girls Burn Brighter. Shobha has won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction and was a Grace Paley Teaching Fellow at The New School. Girls Burn Brighter was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was a finalist for the California Book Award and the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Shobha’s best writing tip? It involves figuring out when to let a piece of writing (or an entire novel) go—and what that actually looks like in practice.

Learn more about Shobha and her books at shobharao.com.