Episodes
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Ever receive feedback on your writing that crushed you to the core?
In this episode, learn 5 ways to make sure you not only survive, but get the most constructive feedback on your story, with more generative results.
You'll learn how to take a more active role in the feedback process, so you can leave with a more energized, excited vision for your story.Episode Web Page
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How do you create tension in your story that makes it impossible for readers to put it down?
By placing your characters in some kind of danger, even if it's subtle. Danger can be as harrowing as a plane crash, or as nuanced as unrequited love.
In this episode, we'll explore two types of danger to raise tension, and make your story unputdownable.
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Episodes manquant?
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How much backstory does your story need? And how much backstory does your reader need?
The two things you need to get clear on when it comes to backstoryThe importance of crafting backstory that adapts to your story The actor's technique to developing character through backstoryHow to decide what backstory is significant to your storyline and to your readers
In this reprise episode from the deep in the vault, learn what backstory is important for you to know as the author, and what backstory belongs on the page.
In this episode, we'll cover:Episode Web Page
Explore Your Character's Backstory with Your FREE Character Questionnaire Here
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Often writers create antagonists who do bad, immoral, sometimes evil things. They might be abusive or neglectful parents. An enemy. Or an otherworldly foe.
But when you're writing about your most trouble-rousing characters, you don't want to portray the givens. You want to surprise us. You want to create an antagonist who's unforgettable.
The stock villain gives the reader a stock reaction. And that's exactly what we want to avoid.
That's why in this episode, I'm sharing 5 ways to create a more captivating antagonist.So you can bring more nuance and complexity to your antagonist - and to your story.
Episode Web Page with Show NotesHave a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Send me a Text Message.
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How do you make writing a priority when other commitments compete? When you have a full time career and family?
We all know writing a book is a colossal commitment. And it's so easy to get off track, especially when so much is competing for our time and attention.In this episode, I’ll walk you through strategies to maximize your time, energy, and focus. So you can write without stress and overwhelm.
Re-frame your relationship to time and find a lot more of itCreate a writing environment that inspires youBring more vitality to your writing sessionsPlan and focus on the right next steps
You'll learn to:Episode Web Page with Show Notes
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Struggling with confidence when it comes to writing your story? Maybe you swing from excitement to self-doubt. Or you worry that no one will care to read it.
How to stay focused on the process, not just the end resultWhy writing what you think readers want is the wrong approach, and what to do insteadSetting manageable goals to keep you showing up consistentlyHow to use your own excitement as a guide to moving your story forward
Maybe you lack enough confidence to even start.
In this episode, learn 3 ways to boost your confidence. This is all about shifting your relationship to your work.
We'll cover:Episode Web Page with Show Notes
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What do you do when your novel or memoir doesn’t follow the typical plot structure?
What if there’s no crime to be solved, tsunami to survive, or evil wizard to slay?
What if your character’s only story problem is an internal one?
In this episode we’ll explore 4 thresholds your character will walk through at key points throughout your 3 acts. So you can plot your character-driven story, and keep readers invested every step of the way.
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We can all agree that your opening scenes are your only chance to capture your reader's attention. It's what hooks them into the story.
Your first scene and several scenes that follow are your story's setup.The setup is essential to master. You have to be concise, deliberate, and selective with what you reveal and withhold. You don't want to give too much away too soon.
Your beginning scenes must accomplish several things simultaneously. And in this episode, I'm boiling it down to 4 essentials.
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Our stories can become so overrun with ideas, they run away from us.
Each idea leads to another and another until you’re lost in the vortex. There are stories within stories. Endless possibilities. So many directions the story can go.
And then writing your story feels like an insurmountable task.
In this episode, I’m giving you 5 questions to explore, so you can rein your ideas in with more clarity, focus, and control.
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Most writers know how their characters need to change. They know what happens on the plot level. They know their character's struggles.
Often, though, the main character doesn't seem to change, even though the external events change dramatically. Other stories stay mainly in their character's interior without jumping into the fray of action.
Either way, the story can be static. The best stories blend both the inner and outer journey.
In this episode, we'll explore 3 approaches to help you integrate what happens on the plot level with your character's internal journey.
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There’s no shortage of writing advice. Especially in the online space. Google is not the best gatekeeper. And some FB groups are doling out conflicting advice, canned advice, bad advice. Writers hear the same advice so often, a lot of them have come to regard them as the only way to craft a story.
But these are often half baked ideas that are keeping you from moving forward. They’re taking you totally in the wrong direction. They’re myths.
Myths about plot and structure. Myths about how to create drama. And what it means to write beautiful sentences.
Myths that are taking you way off course. It’s either the wrong approach, or it just doesn’t go deep enough.In this throwback episode from Season 3, I’m debunking 4 common myths about story writing, and I’ll give you different approaches to apply to your pages.
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Why do readers read? Is it just for entertainment? To escape everyday life? Or is there a deeper need?
What is it about story that keeps us captivated from beginning to end?
It helps to understand why stories are so impactful and precisely what readers are hungry for when they turn to a book.
In this throwback episode from Season 3, we're going into the mind of your reader, and what they want when they turn to your story.
We'll explore what the reader is actually responding to when he forgets about the real world and gets entranced by the world on the page.
So you can use this intel to craft your story.
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Your first chapter matters.
Resist the urge to tell readers too much too soonWrite exposition that doesn't read like expositionChoose which characters to introduce, who to omit, and who to save for laterHow and when to use backstory and where to place itShape your first chapter Embed conflict and narrative tension right from the start
It's what binds readers to your story. It makes them care. And when they care, they can't help but keep reading.
There's a lot riding on your first chapter. So you want to get this right.
Bore them with too much exposition, long forays into backstory, too many characters and superfluous details, and your reader will grow bored, overwhelmed, and will stop reading.
In this episode, I'm sharing 5 ways to nail your first chapter.
We'll cover how to:Episode Website
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When a story moves us, it’s not because of beautiful writing, or a strong voice – it’s not because of a great plot. All these things are important, but those things on their own don’t move us.
What makes a story unputdownable and unforgettable is that the reader goes on an emotional journey of his or her own.
They don’t just feel for your characters, they feel with your characters.In this episode, I’m sharing 3 techniques to master emotions in your story. So you can move readers in a way that stays with them long after they finish your pages. A story they can’t stop thinking and talking about.
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Show, don't tell.
How many times have you heard this advice? You may understand the concept, but it's still not sinking in.
So, what's the difference between showing and telling? Should show don't tell be applied to every line and paragraph of a story? Are there times when it's better to tell?When do you show? When do you tell? And how do you write it?
In this episode, I'm going to tease apart the difference between telling and showing, using examples that integrate both.
Episode Website
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You want your characters' dialogue to sound natural, like real people talking. But what do you do when the dialogue just sounds mundane, forced, and dull?
Writing dialogue requires practice. And there are some ways to think about dialogue to help you write it better.In this episode, learn 5 do's and don'ts of writing stronger, more absorbing dialogue.
Episode Website
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If I had to pick one thing that makes readers stop reading, it's the overcomplicated plot.
Both novice and experienced writers fall into this trap. They include too many characters, too many events, storylines, and extraneous details that don’t feel connected or integrated.
This makes it confusing and frustrating for you as you write and revise. And a slog for your readers to get through.
When you overcomplicate your plot, your story lacks internal consistency or logic. It lacks the unified effect that pulls the story together, and keeps readers engaged all the way through.
In this episode, I'm sharing some simple ways to uncomplicate your plot. So you can move through revision faster, and with more focus. And ultimately, create a deeper, more engaging story for your readers.
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You want to bring more depth and complexity to your characters so that readers are interested and invested in what happens to them.
But how do you do that?
In this episode, I’m sharing 3 ways to create deeper, more fascinating characters.
These are often things I see lacking in student manuscripts, especially those more focused on plot. Plot and character really can’t be separated. But before you plot, you need to know who your story is about, and what makes him or her tick.
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There's a lot of confusion about the difference between who's telling the story (first or third person), and point of view.
I'll see stories with no point of view, a watered down point of view, or a confused and unfocused point of view.
Who's narrating your story is not the point of view.
They're related. But they're separate elements that serve different purposes.
So in this episode, I'm going to tease apart narration from point of view. And then I'll share 3 key points to craft a strong point of view.
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What are plot points? And why do you need them?
In this episode, we’ll talk about 3 major plot points, the purpose of each, and where in your story to place them.
What a plot point isThe foundational elements you need before charting your plot pointsYour 3 Acts and what percentage of your story each act comprisesWhere each plot point happens in each of your three acts and how they move your story forward
In this episode, you'll learn:Episode Website
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