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Well, it's officially gift giving season, and your family and friends might be asking, “What do you want for Christmas?”
Maybe you have a writer in your life and you want to get something special, and you’re wondering, What would support her? What would help her develop her craft?
Maybe you want to buy a gift for yourself.In this episode, I’m sharing 5 great gift ideas for writers. I have 5 categories with my personal recommendations for each.
You'll find links to all these gifts by clicking here and scrolling down to Links Mentioned In This Episode.
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Cause and effect is one of the major tenets of a cohesive plot so everything is knit together to shape your story.
Every cause leads to an effect.
It's often described as a chain reaction. One event leads to another, and another and another.
But when we think of cause and effect solely in what happens, we're missing a big piece of the story. When taken at face value, cause and effect can lead to relatively shallow stories where things just happen to the characters. The characters feel more like pawns to move the plot forward.
So what do we mean by cause, and what do we mean by effect? What's the cause? What's the effect?
In today's episode, we'll go deeper so that you can use cause and effect more effectively.
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How do you build character into the structure of your story? What's the story beneath the plot?
Structure alone won't create the energy and momentum a story thrives on. There's the story underneath driving the plot, and that's all about character.In this episode, I'll reveal 3 secrets about your character that will help you build momentum right into the structure of your story.
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Predictability may keep us feeling certain and safe in real life.
But it's fatal in story.
You never want the reader to see what's coming next. Once the reader can predict how the plot will unfold - when there's nothing to wonder about, worry about, guess, or infer - there's no reason to read any further.
So you want to stay one step ahead of your reader, and in most cases, one step ahead of your characters. You know what's going to happen to your characters. You know what the outcome of the story will be. But your characters don't, and neither should your readers.
So in this episode, you'll learn 4 ways to create and sustain uncertainty in your story and keep readers guessing.
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How do you write beyond the stock, archetypical villain? ? How do you make him or her believable and intriguing?
How do you surprise us?In this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways to make your villain multi-dimensional and complex, even if he or she's downright evil. You'll learn how to write a villain who fascinates.
Episode Website
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If I were to ask you what is your story’s central idea, could you sum it up in a few sentences?
A big challenge many writers face is keeping their story focused on one single driving point, let alone articulate it.
When there’s no central focal point, readers get lost, confused, frustrated and bored. They stop reading.
In today’s episode, I’ll give you 5 quick questions to help you get clear and focused on the central idea driving your story. The focal point from which all your story's events revolve.
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First-person often feels like the natural choice when writing a story. But first-person comes with its own set of challenges and limitations.
Sometimes first-person characters merely report the action without interesting contrasts between that character's version of the story's events, and what might also be true.
In this episode, I'm sharing 3 tips for writing in first-person. You'll learn how to write a character whose perspective creates gaps the reader is eager to fill, and how that character's arc plays out in the story.
Episode Website
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When reading fiction or a memoir, a reader's brain actively simulates the experience of the characters. The reader becomes so absorbed in the story, they experience it as though it's true. They believe in it.
But before a reader can believe in your story, you have to believe in it first.
In this episode, I'm sharing 3 pathways to building belief in your story. So readers believe in it too.
Episode Website
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What is an anti-hero and why do they fascinate us? How do they keep us invested in their plight scene after scene, even as they do immoral, criminal, or deplorable things?
In this episode, we'll talk about different anti-heroes from film and fiction, and I'll share 4 ways to write an anti-hero with complexity, magnetism, and unforgettable appeal.
Episode Website
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Getting results in our writing is great. But a result-oriented mindset can hinder creativity and authenticity.
In this episode, you'll learn how to evaluate your work based on 2 important qualities: presence and truth.
This is all about your emotional connection and belief in your story. It's a more transformational approach that values the ongoing journey, and the evolving relationship with your work.
Episode Website
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How much backstory do you really need? How much is too much?
Most first-time authors tend to overuse backstory, which can detract from the main story. In this episode, I'll share 3 common mistakes writers make, and I'll give you 3 new ways to think about backstory, so that it doesn't dominate your story, but enhances and deepens it.Episode Website
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One of the biggest impediments to our writing is time, and we all have unfinished drafts to prove it.
It always takes much longer than we think, and this can be dispiriting, not to mention stressful. Writing a book is a huge undertaking, and when time is sparse, it can leave us believing we don’t have what it takes.
In this episode, I'll challenge you to think differently about time, so you can get more writing done, and with more focus.
I’ll give you 3 tips to make more use of the time do you have, even if that time is sparse.
Episode Website
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We all hit a block at some point in the writing process, even the best of us. Accomplished writers know how to navigate that impasse, to notice when and why they're getting blocked so they can quickly move through it. But so many writers get stuck there and can't move forward.
In this reprise episode from the 2022 vault, I'll give you a pep talk. We'll explore five reasons you may be blocked. I'll share my own struggles with writer's block, along with my strategies to break through it.
Episode Website
Links mentioned in this episode:
Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group is Holding You Back (and What to Look For in Your Next Writing Tribe
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How do you show, don't tell? What's the difference? Are you telling when you think you're showing? Or showing the wrong things? Is there ever a good time to tell?
Show, don't tell is one of the trickiest things to understand, let alone master.
You need both showing and telling. It's just a matter of when and how.
So in this episode, I'll show you the difference between showing and telling, and how to blend both. You'll learn to tell so skillfully, it will feel like showing.
Episode Website
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Writers often feel overwhelmed when it comes to editing. But there's a lot of editing you can do quickly, regardless of where in the process you are.
In this episode, you'll get 5 quick and easy edits you can do on your own to make your story tighter, stronger, and more engaging to readers. As and added boon, it will make the story less overwhelming when it's time for you to revise.
This is all about cutting the excess, then fine-tuning your story right on the sentence level.
Episode Website
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What do you do when writing starts feeling heavy and overwhelming? When it stops being fun?
The number one thought process that's holding you back, and how it shows up in your writingHow to reconnect with your personal purpose for writing your storyStaying present in your writingThe importance of practice and play, and why your writing can only improve with this approach
In this episode, we'll unwrap what causes these feelings, and 3 ways to make it joyful again.
We'll cover:Episode Web Page
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How do you flesh out your characters? How do you go deeper?
Just as we can't know a person in one glance, we can't know the people in our stories fully in our early drafts. We come to know our characters more and more deeply as we continue to write and revise.
In this episode, we'll explore 4 overlooked ways to deepen your characters - common elements most writers miss.
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Writing a book is not a solo endeavor. Writers rely on beta readers to help them fine-tune their manuscript and ensure its success with agents, editors, and ultimately, their ideal audience.
What beta readers are, and why aspiring writers don't make the best test audienceAt what stage of the writing process to enlist beta readersHow to research and define your ideal readerWhere to find beta readers and entice them to work with youHow to get the right feedback to ensure the best outcome for your manuscript
But where do you find beta readers? At what stage of the process do you bring them in? What do you look for? And how do you work with them?
In this episode, we'll cover:Episode Web Page
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Plot twists are one of the most effective and exciting ways to bring intrigue and suspense to your story, and make it unforgettable.
But when not executed or timed right, a plot twist can backfire.In this episode, learn 3 techniques for writing a great plot twist, plus common pitfalls to avoid.
What a plot twist is, along with examples to illustrate3 techniques that all great plot twists shareHow to avoid plot twist clichésThe crucial difference between a plot point and a plot twist
You'll learn:Episode Web Page
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Often what gets in the way of an otherwise great scene is a lack of compelling character goals. Without a goal in each scene, a story lacks two vital things: tension and momentum.
In this episode, we’ll explore why you need a goal in every scene, and 3 types of goals that urge characters through the plot.
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