107: Lares et Penates – Writing Physical Spaces that Feel Real

We got deep into the weeds about setting this week: how to write physical spaces that feel lived-in, how objects reflect characters, and why “it smelled like cat pee” might be the most emotionally evocative line in your draft. Also: house gods, heirlooms, and what it means to belong somewhere.Then we read stories for Lares et Penates, the Roman spirits of the home, which gave us cozy magic, hauntings, and one fantastically grim dinner party.Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do. Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.