I recently discovered a wonderful writing podcast. It’s actually a radio program out of UC Irvine. The program is Writers on Writing, and the host, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, chats with writers about their writing, and with people in the publishing industry about writing.

In this particular podcast, Barbara talks with author Kevin Canty about his book The Underworld, and with literary agent Noah Lukeman. Noah wrote the book The First Five Pages, and in this interview, he talks about how agents and editors can tell in the first few pages of a manuscript whether an author ‘has the chops’ to carry the rest of the story. Noah appeals to us to take the craft of writing seriously, and to constantly write to improve our ability with the craft.

Fascinating interviews! Give them a listen!

The Noah Lukeman half of the program starts at about 28 minutes into the podcast.