Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchEpisode 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, 3 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, 3 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, 3 months ago
Episode 57 - An important tool, the timeline. Also, authorial distance.
Creating a timeline can help us keep things straight as we plot and write. Also, here's a discussion of authorial distance, which is the closeness o…
3 years, 3 months ago
Episode 56 - How many characters are too many? And he wore his guilt like a harness.
For each scene, the perfect number of characters exists. We'll talk about that number. Too few, and we don't have a scene. Too many, and the scene…
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 55 - How many words should we write a day? And the use of contrast.
How many words a day? Too fast, and our story might be sloppy. Too slow, and we'll never finish. Here are some thoughts about our pace of writing.…
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 54 - Fear of failure, author photos, and the use of humor.
Here are thoughts on how we might handle doubts about our writing abilities, the fear of failure. Plus, more tips on facing the camera. And: humor…
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 53 - Embarrassing stuff, and the middle of the novel.
We shouldn't write about embarrassing stuff, and here's a list. Also, here are techniques to rev up the middle of the novel, often the hardest part …
3 years, 4 months ago
Episode 52 - Making our sentences more lively, and avoiding reader disbelief.
Here's a strong way to make our sentences pop, to make our writing lively and energetic. Also: how to keep the reader engaged by reducing disbelief…
3 years, 5 months ago
Episode 51 - The wonder factor.
Let's apply the wonder factor to our stories, giving readers elements that will make them shake their heads and smile, and so remember our writing. …
3 years, 5 months ago