The Difficulty
A podcast hosted by Chad Prevost
The Difficulty
A show about the choices that shape a creative life — and the courage it takes to make them.
For writers in the middle of something hard, readers who think deeply about story, and creatives who refuse to stop.
"The difficulty in life is the choice."
— George Moore
About the show
What this is.
Each episode of The Difficulty explores the decision points that define writers, creators, and anyone building something that matters. From the architecture of great storytelling to the very personal question of why we create at all, the show goes wherever the conversation demands: craft, courage, failure, reinvention, and the stubborn belief that the work is worth doing.
New episodes weekly. Two formats: solo essays and interviews. Occasional live episodes. Always returning to the same question — what's the choice in front of you, and what does it cost to make it?
Free download
The Difficulty Field Guide.
An eight-page printable that names six of the difficulties every working creator faces — and a question worth asking yourself when each one shows up. The same shape as the show itself, in a form you can carry. Drop your email and I'll send the PDF.
Send me the Field GuideCheck your email. I just sent a confirmation link — click it and the Field Guide unlocks right back on this page.Something didn't go through. Try again, or email cthomasprevost@gmail.com.
You're in. Here's the Field Guide.
Eight pages, six difficulties, one question per. Print it, fold it, carry it, share it. You'll also get the next set of guides as they come out, plus episode notes when they help.
Download the Field Guide (PDF) ↓
Listen + subscribe
Where to find the show.
Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts YouTube RSS
Show feeds going live this week — links above will be wired up as each platform finishes review. In the meantime, subscribe with your email and I'll send the first three episodes when they drop.
Where the show points
Two specific kinds of work I help with.
The Difficulty is the show. Underneath it, there are two specific projects I'm building — both directly downstream of the same set of questions the show explores.
For writers
Crossroads Press.
A publishing service for writers with a body of existing work — Substacks, blogs, drafts, fragments, manuscript-drawer projects — who want to make a real book under a real imprint without losing what makes the work theirs. Tracked-changes editorial. Real ISBNs. Real distribution. Transparent pricing.
Visit Crossroads Press →For readers + teachers
IF/THEN Books.
An interactive fiction imprint for middle and high school readers — choose-your-own-adventure mysteries built around real decision points. Three Iris Blackwood detective titles release in 2026, with five more IF/THEN books in the queue. Free decision-tree guides and teacher's guides for every title.
About the host
Chad Prevost.
Ph.D. in Creative Writing. Author, editor, publisher with twenty-plus years in indie publishing and forty-plus titles produced. ICF-certified coach. Founder of Crossroads Press and the IF/THEN Books interactive fiction line. Writes The Descent on Substack — the long-form work this podcast often draws from.
Reach out anytime: cthomasprevost@gmail.com
The Difficulty · chadprevost.com · The choice is the work