Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchEpisode14: The fourth wall, the ending, and some bad writing.
Our topics this episode are how to avoid breaking the fourth wall, onomatopoeia (clunk, thud, kersplat), and techniques on ending the novel. We'll a…
3 years, 11 months ago
Episode 13: More on dialogue, and techniques about foreshadowing and coincidences
Dialogue is so important to our stories that we'll talk more about it here. Then we'll move on to foreshadowing--including the Chekhov's famous gun-…
3 years, 11 months ago
Episode 12 - Dialogue
A fictional character's dialogue sounds like a person speaking in real life, but not too much like a person speaking in real life. In this episode w…
3 years, 11 months ago
Episode 11: Point of view and voice.
Here are techniques to control our point of view so that our story doesn't have a dizzying quality as the reader jumps from one character's mind to a…
4 years ago
Episode 10: More show and tell, and the grammatical person.
The difference between showing and telling is so important that we continue with it in this episode, including the technique of saving it for later. …
4 years ago
Episode 9: Showing versus telling
We'll talk about the most critical skill for vivid writing, showing versus telling. Showing reveals. Telling explains. Showing is almost always mo…
4 years ago
Episode 8 - Scene and summary
We'll discuss the difference between summary and scene., and why writing scenes rather than summaries is so important. Point of view will also be br…
4 years ago
Episode 7 - Crafting a scene
Good scenes have a certain form. This episode is about how to craft a compelling scene, including the need to begin a scene late in the chronology a…
4 years ago
Episode 7 - How to craft a scene.
Crafting a scene involves mechanics hidden from readers. Here are techniques that lead to the success of a scene: ways to grab the reader, immerse h…
4 years ago
Episode 6: Villains and sidekicks.
How can we create compelling villains and lovable and maybe eccentric sidekicks? How many characters should we put in a scene? How about basing a c…
4 years, 1 month ago