Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchEpisode 144 - One sentence can bring our character to life.
We'll build our character as we write along, adding descriptions and actions and dialogue. But there is a way with only one or two sentences to reve…
1 year, 4 months ago
Episode 143 - The three most important sentences when writing a scene.
Jack Bickham's three sentences on scene construction are the best I've found regarding how to write a scene. Here are why these sentences are import…
1 year, 4 months ago
Episode 142 - A big technique for literary writing.
Many listeners are writing literary novels and stories. Here is an important technique regarding construction of a literary story, and it also appli…
1 year, 4 months ago
Episode 141 - How to begin and end scenes.
The easiest thing for a reader to do is to quit reading our story. Here are ways to begin and end scenes that'll prevent that from happening. Our s…
1 year, 4 months ago
Episode 140 - Tips from Stephen King on writing dialogue.
Stephen King is a powerful storyteller, of course, and he is also a highly-skilled sentence-by-sentence writer. Here are his tips on writing dialog…
1 year, 5 months ago
Episode 139 - Writing in the first person.
Readers love first person novels, where the hero talks directly to the reader. Here are some techniques for first person writing. Also, famous nove…
1 year, 5 months ago
Episode 138 - How to live a writer's life.
Usually I talk about writing techniques but here are some living techniques for us writers. And some famous writers' favorite writers and novels. P…
1 year, 5 months ago
Episode 137 - Twenty-one rules of writing.
How can an injury be good for us writers? It was for Roald Dahl. And here are Strunk and White's twenty-one rules of writing. Also, Stephen King o…
1 year, 5 months ago
Episode 136 - Benefits of a character's otherness.
A strong way to make a character likeable, and to have the reader root for her, is to have the character experience "otherness." She's out of place.…
1 year, 5 months ago
Episode 135 - Maybe the strongest writing tool - contrast.
Contrast is among the strongest tools we writers can use. It's magic. Here is a discussion of how and where to use contrast. Also, Henry Miller's …
1 year, 6 months ago