Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchEpisode 67 - Lighting the writing fuse, and showing rather than telling about the setting.
What in our lives made us want to write? Here's a discussion about lighting that fuse. Also: here are techniques for showing rather than telling ab…
3 years, 3 months ago
Episode 66 - Creating characters readers love. Also; techniques for writing sad dialogue.
A main reason readers put a novel on their all-time top-ten favorites list is because they fall in love with a character. Here's how we can create c…
3 years, 3 months ago
Episode 65 - A writer's thoughts on ChatGPT. And the benefits of identifying our genre.
I've been checking out the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, and here are some impressions of its use for writers. And: what are the benefits…
3 years, 3 months ago
Episode 64 - How to get started writing, and tips on romantic and angry dialogue.
How can we get off the dime and start writing our novel or short story? Here are some thoughts. Also, readers love emotional dialogue; techniques t…
3 years, 3 months ago
Episode 63 - How to bring our settings to life, and writing the romantic scene.
Here is a strong technique for immersing readers in our settings. Readers will think they are right there with our characters. Also, almost all sto…
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 62 - A technique for bringing our characters to life, and writing the action scene.
Here is a strong technique to make our characters vivid and memorable for the reader. And also: most novels should have action scenes. The craft …
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 61 - How to detect and fix a sloppy scene. Also: how to unleash story ideas.
Sometimes a scene we've written just doesn't feel right. Something is amiss but we can't put our fingers on it. Here's a method to figure out what …
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 60 - Fabulous sentences of fiction, font fiddling, and slow motion.
A terrific way for writers to find inspiration is to hear legendary sentences from famous novels. Here are a few. Should we fiddle with fonts in ou…
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 59 - Plotting with a spreadsheet. And the unreliable narrator. Also, fiddling with the flow of time.
Can we use a spreadsheet to plot our novels? Some authors do. Here are thoughts about using Excel for outlining a story. Also, most main charac…
3 years, 5 months ago
Episode 58 - Making writing less daunting, and some techniques to avoid weak sentences.
How can we handle the dispiriting feeling that writing our novel is a huge, endless, and hard chore with completion far in the future, if ever? Here…
3 years, 5 months ago