Writer Unleashed
Writer Unleashed
Latest Episodes
299. How to Write Dialogue That Does More Than Talk
Your dialogue sounds natural. It’s exactly what these two people would say to each other. So why does the scene still feel flat? Making your characters argue won’t necessarily help. Neither will giving them clever things to say. What gives an e...
298. 3 Writing Misconceptions That Make Finishing Your Book Harder
You've written chapters, studied craft, maybe tried an outline or three. So why is it still so hard to decide where your story begins, which scenes belong, or what needs to happen in the middle?Often the trouble isn't effort. It's what y...
297. Why Your Story Feels Stuck (And 3 Questions to Get Moving Again)
When your story feels stuck, it's tempting to keep adding things: another scene, more backstory, a new subplot. But often the answer isn't to add more. It's to reconnect with why you're writing this story in the first place. In this...
296. What Your Plot Can't Do Without
Most writers can describe their plot in detail: what happens, in what order, how it ends. Far fewer can describe what their character actually gains, loses, or finally understands by the time the story's over.In this episode, I walk thro...
295. Your First Chapter: 3 Things That Lose the Reader
You've revised your first chapter so many times you could recite it, and it still isn't pulling a reader in. After years of reading first chapters, here's what I've learned: when one works, it's rarely because of the prose. It's because of what...