Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchEpisode 177 - The description double duty technique.
Good descriptions of characters should do double duty: they can let the reader know what the character looks like and the description can also sugges…
1 year, 1 month ago
Episode 176 - Inventing a fabulous title.
The title is the book browser's first impression of our novel. The title should tempt the browser to pick up and open the book. Here are thoughts o…
1 year, 2 months ago
Episode 175 - Writing funny dialogue.
We can write dialogue that makes readers laugh. Here are thoughts on creating funny conversations between our characters. Plus, we don't need to ha…
1 year, 2 months ago
Episode 174 - How to ruin our story's first sentences.
A story's first sentence should make the reader ask, "What's next?" They should propel the reader into the story. Here's how to do it right and how…
1 year, 2 months ago
Episode 173 - The magic of dialogue.
Dialogue is fun to write and fun to read. Our story should have lots of it. Here's a powerful thing dialogue can do: it can reveal (that is, to sho…
1 year, 2 months ago
Episode 172 - Our first fifteen pages.
The first pages of our novel should contain certain elements and avoid certain elements. Here's a list of things to include and exclude in those fi…
1 year, 3 months ago
Episode 171 - Top ten list of bad advice for writers.
In these episodes I try to set out good writing advice but a lot of bad advice is out there, so here is a list of bad advice, and the list may help u…
1 year, 3 months ago
Episode 170 - Writing the crowd scene. And guilt and pride.
Here are techniques for keeping focus in a scene where there is a crowd, with an example from Harper Lee. And how Margaret Mitchell worked. Plus: h…
1 year, 3 months ago
Episode 169 - How to find a surefire plot.
Stephen King says there is no idea dump we can visit to find a good plot. We have to create our own plots. How can we do so? Here's a discussion o…
1 year, 3 months ago
Episode 168 - Making our first sentence sparkle.
Does our story's first sentence cause the reader to ask, "What's next?" Or does the reader say, "So what?" Here are thoughts on creating a tense, s…
1 year, 4 months ago