We can all agree that your opening scenes are your only chance to capture your reader's attention. It's what hooks them into the story.  Your first scene and several scenes that follow are your story's setup.  The setup is essential to master. You have to be concise, deliberate, and selective with what you reveal and withhold. You don't want to give too much away too soon.  Your beginning scenes must accomplish several things simultaneously.  And in this episode, I'm boiling it down to 4  essentials. Episode Web Page with Show Notes Not sure where to begin writing ..read more

Our stories can become so overrun with ideas, they run away from us. Each idea leads to another and another until you’re lost in the vortex. There are stories within stories. Endless possibilities. So many directions the story can go. And then writing your story feels like an insurmountable task. In this episode, I’m giving you 5 questions to explore, so you can rein your ideas in with more clarity, focus, and control. Episode Web Page with Show Notes Not sure where to begin writing? Need a way in to your story? Or a way through? Click here to download your FREE 9 Story Starters.   W ..read more

Most writers know how their characters need to change.  They know what happens on the plot level. They know their character's struggles.  Often, though, the main character doesn't seem to change, even though the external events change dramatically.  Other stories stay mainly in their character's interior without jumping into the fray of action.  Either way, the story can be static.  The best stories blend both the inner and outer journey. In this episode, we'll explore 3 approaches to help you integrate what happens on the plot level with your character's internal j ..read more

There’s no shortage of writing advice.  Especially in the online space. Google is not the best gatekeeper. And some FB groups  are doling out conflicting advice, canned advice,  bad advice. Writers hear the same advice so often, a lot of them have come to regard them as the only way to craft a story.  But these are often half baked ideas that are keeping you from moving forward. They’re taking you totally in the wrong direction. They’re myths.  Myths about plot and structure. Myths about how to create drama. And what it means to write beautiful sentences.  Myth ..read more

Why do readers read?  Is it just for entertainment? To escape everyday life? Or is there a deeper need? What is it about story that keeps us captivated from beginning to end? It helps to understand why stories are so impactful and precisely what readers are hungry for when they turn to a book. In this throwback episode from  Season 3, we're going into the mind of your reader, and what they want when they turn to your story. We'll explore what the reader is actually responding to when he forgets about the real world and gets entranced by the world on the page. So you can use this ..read more

Your first chapter matters. It's what binds readers to your story. It makes them care. And when they care, they can't help but keep reading. There's a lot riding on your first chapter.  So you want to get this right. Bore them with too much exposition, long forays into backstory, too many characters and superfluous  details, and your reader will grow bored, overwhelmed, and will stop reading. In this episode,  I'm sharing 5 ways to nail your first chapter. We'll cover how to:  Resist the urge to tell readers too much too soon Write exposition that doesn't read like ex ..read more

When a story moves us, it’s not because of beautiful writing, or a strong voice – it’s not because of a great plot. All these things are important, but those things on their own don’t move us. What makes a story unputdownable and unforgettable is that the reader goes on an emotional journey of his or her own. They don’t just feel for your characters, they feel with your characters.  In this episode, I’m sharing 3 techniques to master emotions in your story. So you can  move readers in a way that stays with them long after they finish your pages.  A story they can’t stop thinki ..read more

Show, don't tell. How many times have you heard this advice? You may understand the concept, but it's still not sinking in. So, what's the difference between showing and telling? Should show don't tell be applied to every line and paragraph of a story? Are there times when it's better to tell? When do you show? When do you tell? And how do you write it? In this episode, I'm going to tease apart the difference between telling and showing, using examples that integrate both.  Episode Website Not sure where to begin writing? Need a way in to your story? Or a way through? Click here to do ..read more

You want your characters' dialogue to sound natural, like real people talking.  But what do you do when the dialogue just sounds mundane, forced, and dull?  Writing dialogue requires practice. And there are some ways to think about dialogue to help you write it better.  In this episode, learn 5 do's and don'ts of writing stronger, more absorbing dialogue. Episode Website Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join ..read more

You want to bring more depth and complexity to your characters so that readers are interested and invested in what happens to them. But how do you do that? In this episode, I’m sharing 3 ways to create deeper, more fascinating characters. These are often things I see lacking in student manuscripts, especially those more focused on plot.  Plot and character really can’t be separated. But before you plot, you need to know who your story is about, and what makes him or her tick. Episode Website Not sure where to begin writing? Need a way in to your story? Or a way through? Click here to d ..read more