When is it a good idea to write from multiple points of view, rather than one point of view? And how do you do it? In this episode, I'll cover 4 reasons to use multiple points of view, how to write them, and common pitfalls to avoid.

What do you do when you're stuck in a scene, or you know the scene isn't working, and you just don't know why or how to move the scene forward?  In this episode, we'll go over three reasons your scenes are stalling and what to do instead.&...

Now that we're in a brand new year, it's a good time to reflect on what worked in the past year, what didn't work, and most importantly, what we can do differently to move the needle forward in 2025.Time is a precious resource, so we do...

You’ve lost motivation and may even have stopped writing altogether. So how do you get your mojo back so you can bring your work in progress to the finish line?In this throwback episode, we'll explore 5 reasons our motivation fiz...

Getting results in our writing is great. But a result-oriented mindset can hinder creativity and authenticity.In this throwback episode, you'll learn how to evaluate your work based on 2 important qualities: presence and truth.

The most common struggle writers have when writing a novel is structure. Both plotters and pantsers get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of material and ideas they have about their story. Invariably, the story becomes unwieldy and falls apart....

Why do we read stories? And why do we write them? We'll uncover the irresistible pull stories have on us, and why your story matters to those who read it. But in order for your story to matter to readers, it must matter to you first. So in this...

Keeping your story grounded in time balances the pace of your story and helps readers navigate your character’s journey. But how do you show the passage of time in your novel without jarring, or worse, boring your reader?In this episode,...

Well, it's officially gift giving season, and your family and friends might be asking, “What do you want for Christmas?” Maybe you have a writer in your life and you want to get something special, and you’re wondering, What woul...

Cause and effect is one of the major tenets of a cohesive plot so everything is knit together to shape your story. Every cause leads to an effect. It's often described as a chain reaction. One event leads to another, and another...

How do you build character into the structure of your story? What's the story beneath the plot?Structure alone won't create the energy and  momentum a story thrives on. There's the story underneath driving the plot, and that's all ...

Predictability may keep us feeling certain and safe in real life. But it's fatal in story. You never want the reader to see what's coming next. Once the reader can predict how the plot will unfold -  when there's nothi...

How do you write beyond the stock, archetypical villain? ? How do you make him or her believable and intriguing?How do you surprise us?In this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways to make your villain multi-dimensional and complex, even i...

If I were to ask you what is your story’s central idea, could you sum it up in a few sentences?A big challenge many writers face is keeping their story focused on one single driving point, let alone articulate it.When there’s no c...

First-person often feels like the natural choice when writing a story. But first-person comes with its own set of challenges and limitations. Sometimes first-person characters merely report the action without interesting contrasts betwe...

When reading fiction or a memoir, a reader's brain actively simulates the experience of the characters. The reader becomes so absorbed in the story, they experience it as though it's true. They believe in it. But before a reader can bel...

What is an anti-hero and why do they fascinate us? How do they keep us invested in their plight scene after scene, even as they do immoral, criminal, or deplorable things?In this episode, we'll talk about different anti-heroes from film...

Getting results in our writing is great. But a result-oriented mindset can hinder creativity and authenticity. In this episode, you'll learn how to evaluate your work based on 2 important qualities: presence and truth. This is a...

How much backstory do you really need? How much is too much? Most first-time authors tend to overuse backstory, which can detract from the main story. In this episode, I'll share 3 common mistakes writers make, and I'll give yo...

One of the biggest impediments to our writing is time, and we all have unfinished drafts to prove it.It always takes much longer than we think, and this can be dispiriting, not to mention stressful. Writing a book is a huge undertaking, ...

We all hit a block at some point in the writing process, even the best of us. Accomplished writers know how to navigate that impasse, to notice when and why they're getting blocked so they can quickly move through it. But so many writers get st...

How do you show, don't tell? What's the difference? Are you telling when you think you're showing? Or showing the wrong things? Is there ever a good time to tell? Show, don't tell is one of the trickiest things to understand, let al...

Writers often feel overwhelmed when it comes to editing. But there's a lot of editing you can do quickly, regardless of where in the process you are. In this episode, you'll get 5 quick and easy edits you can do on your own to ma...

What do you do when writing starts feeling heavy and overwhelming?  When it stops being fun?In this episode, we'll unwrap what causes these feelings, and 3 ways to make it joyful again. We'll cover: ...

How do you flesh out your characters? How do you go deeper?Just as we can't know a person in one glance, we can't know the people in our stories fully in our early drafts. We come to know our characters more and more deeply as we contin...