In this episode, Julia F. Green and Ralph Walker welcome special guest Caroline Manring to help dissect Elizabeth McCracken’s short story “Something Amazing,” from her 2014 story collection Thunderstruck.
Reading: “Something Amazing” by Elizabeth McCracken
Manring applies her poetic training and knowledge to the story, discussing the soundtrack and musicality of McCracken’s prose. She explores how melody, prosody, and other poetic techniques convey the themes of grief, loss, and hope. This conversation pays special attention to how words sound, symmetry and stasis in sentences, and using alliteration and metaphor to convey emotion and enhance meaning. Writers who want their work to sing will enjoy this conversation, including the prompt to find and enhance the poetry in their prose.
Prompt: Read a sentence or paragraph aloud, thumping the table for each stressed syllable. Notice the rhythm of that beat. Are your sentences flowing in a rhythmic pattern? Or do the stressed syllables come all at once?
Change some of the words and reread the sentence aloud again, noting how the rhythm and tension may have shifted. How does that change the experience and emotion of the writing?
Do you have feedback on this episode or thoughts on the story? We'd love to hear from you! Connect with us on social media or leave a comment.
Caroline will be joining this year’s Journey to Jupiter Writing Retreat as an instructor! Learn more and apply now: 2025 Journey To Jupiter application & info.
Guest Bio:
Caroline Manring is a poet and essayist whose collection Manual for Extinction won the National Poetry Review Book Prize. Her other books include Flesh & Language (forthcoming, Cornerstone 2027) and Ceruleana (NineMile), and her prose and poetry has appeared in Colorado Review, Conduit, Denver Quarterly, Sixth Finch, Seneca Review, Verse Daily, and elsewhere. She writes the humor series Notes from the Dishwasher Cafe on Substack, and lives in Ithaca, New York, where she also raises twins, leads bird walks, and plays fiddle in a family band.
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Writing in the Dark is co-hosted by Julia F. Green (Substack, Bluesky, website) and Ralph Walker (Twitter, website) and edited by Aaron Fyler, with cover art by Jarmusch.
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