Today we talked with Lisa Timmons – the teacher for our newest writing class – Creating a Scripted Podcast! And got the real scoop about murder podcasts.

First off, what do you think is the biggest difference between a scripted podcast and a regular screenplay?
In screenwriting, writers are told, “Show, don’t tell.” However, in a scripted audio podcast, it’s the opposite: “Tell what you can’t show.” Whether it’s through the device of a narrator, through slightly expository character dialogue or through creating a distinct audioscape, you’re forced to shift your storytelling tools from a visual to an audio perspective.

What are some of your favorite scripted podcasts out now?
At the moment, I’m really loving Alice Isn’t Dead, My Dad Wrote a Porno, and the classic Welcome to Night Vale.

How much murder does a person’s podcast need to have to make it in the podcasting biz? How much murder should they have if they’re in the murder biz?

Crime podcasts seem to be multiplying faster than a pair of unsupervised elementary school guinea pigs. And that’s because like sex, murder sells! You can never have enough murder in your podcast! But in all seriousness, humans have been passionate about murder and crime since forever (read the Bible lately?) and the intimacy of the audio podcast format only seems to heighten the creepiness you can achieve in your storytelling. I’m not saying that you have to write a murder-based audio podcast, but if the podcast idea burning a hole in your soul has murder in it, I certainly wouldn’t kick it out of bed…or out of my ears.