Podcast Episodes

Episode 37 - When to stop preparing and start writing.

How can we know when we've prepared enough?  Is it time to start chapter 1?  Here's a list of eight things we probably should have figured out before…

3 years, 11 months ago

Episode 36 - The most interesting to the least interesting aspects of a novel.

Some elements of a novel are more interesting than others, and some are less interesting.  Writers should give readers more of the involving and fasc…

3 years, 11 months ago

Episode 35 - A close look at scene structure, and avoiding mushy sentences.

Scene structure is an art hidden from the reader but critical for the success of a scene.  We'll talk about structure in this episode.  Also, here is…

3 years, 11 months ago

Episode 34 - Why and how to practice writing, and more thoughts on thoughts.

Should we as writers practice our craft?  What are the benefits, and how should we do so?  And here are more ideas about making clear to readers what…

3 years, 11 months ago

Episode 33 - Danger signs our plot is dull.

Here are eight signs that our plot isn't as interesting as we'd like, which is to say; it's dull.  And how to fix it.  Also, how do we carve out the …

3 years, 11 months ago

Episode 32 - A formula for showing, and clear and spare writing.

We should show as opposed to tell most of the time.  But sometimes telling is fine.  Here is a formula for when to show and when to tell.   Also, we'…

4 years ago

Episode 31 - Favorite novels and check-mark plotting.

Making a list of our favorite novels is fun and it can teach us something about writing, plus the strong technique of check-mark plotting.

Support the…

4 years ago

Episode 30 - Plotting and the power struggle.

Plotting our story is so important that we return to it here.  How can we know what works and doesn't work in a story?  We'll talk about plotting tec…

4 years ago

Episode 29 - The pattern of a novel.

Successful novels almost always follow a pattern, and we'll talk about the pattern in this episode.  Also, what put you in mind of writing fiction?  …

4 years ago

Episode 28 - The enchanter quality, and weather and rudeness.

Vladimir Nabokov said a writer should have the enchanter quality.  Here are examples from H.P. Lovecraft.  And how does Nora Roberts work?  Also, sho…

4 years, 1 month ago