The Inside Voice: Thoughts from a Novelist
C. S. ZolondekA novelist’s weekly newsletter about his works and writing in general.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 15 | Founded | 5 months ago | Last Issue | a month ago |
| Active | |||||
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cszolondek.substack.comLatest Issues
How do you think about culture when you build fictional families?
Building this family was a pleasure, largely because of its cultural complexity. The pleasure came attached to an obligation. Throughout the writing, I remained conscious of the stereotypes and biases the story might inadvertently reinforce...
UPDATE: Version 1.1 of The Outside Voice is now available. Also answering: Do you write linearly from beginning to end or out of sequence?
UPDATE: Version 1.1 of The Outside Voice is now available.
The plot hasn’t changed. What changed is how often characters are named. Based on some reader feedback, I replaced many of the character names with pronouns or removed them from di...
How did you decide what the outside voice actually was? Its true nature and origin?
As the author, I have a complete map in my head of exactly how the outside voice works — the role of seeing a person, the reason the dreams occur, the conditions under which the voice can be stopped. Much of this internal framework was cons...
Why did you set the novel in Michigan and Georgia?
Michigan was the easy choice. I am from there, and I made a promise to myself early on that if I ever wrote a novel, it would be at least partially set in my home state. The harder question was where in Michigan.
I considered setting more...
What was the easiest chapter to write?
Probably Chapter 4 — and for two reasons. It is the shortest chapter in the novel, and it was written to be entirely sensory.
Chapter 4 is Beast’s first chapter. Writing it presented a specific and enjoyable constraint: Beast is, in this c...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
C. S. Zolondek holds a doctorate in anthropology and works in academia. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, his love of cultures and complex characters has shaped his storytelling style. The Outside Voice, published in 2026, is his debut novel.
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