Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchEpisode 230 - Creating a dastardly villain.
The shark. Dracula. Draco Malfoy. Cathy Ames. Annie Wilkes, Hannibal Lecter. Jadis the White Witch. Aren't these villains masterful creations,…
3 hours ago
Episode 229 - Juice up the setting.
Every element of our story should add interest, including the settings. What if--because of the plot or characters--we must place a scene in an othe…
1 week ago
Episode 228 - Avoiding dullness in our story.
Every element in our story should contribute to entertaining the reader including our settings. We can replace our dull settings with fascinating lo…
2 weeks ago
Episode 227 - Becoming a close observer.
Almost all successful fiction writers are close observers. We can teach ourselves to be close observers, and use those observations in our character…
3 weeks ago
Episode 226 - Ways to make our sentences shine.
Novels that endure not only have bold plots but are also beautifully written. Here are techniques on how to make our sentences shine. Also: should …
4 weeks ago
Episode 225 - Leave it all on the field.
Cliches can offer solid advice. Pedal to the metal. Go big or go home. Leave it all on the field. We should swing for the fences with a bold plot…
1 month ago
Episode 224 - Using all the senses to describe our character.
Some of us may describe our characters using only the sense of sight: what the reader sees when imagining the character. But we can also use sound, …
1 month, 1 week ago
Episode 223 - Readers can fall in love with our settings.
I talk about ways we can make our settings--the time and place of our story--irresistible to readers. They'll want to live there. Plus: we can use …
1 month, 2 weeks ago
Episode 222 - Small techniques can add up to forceful sentences.
Here are pocket-sized techniques that can result in strong sentences; small--even tiny--things we can add to our prose writing arsenal. Also, Eliza…
1 month, 3 weeks ago
Episode 221 - Writing that is more intense than real life.
For readers, fiction offers escape from their real lives. How can we make our writing intense, and so lift our scenes above real life? Details are …
2 months ago