Beacons Podcast

In which Kat and Leah talk about creating your 2022 writing goals and how to run like hell towards them.

In which Kat interviews Leah who has to talk about herself and answer questions because those are the rules (said Kat).

In which Leah asks Kat questions about reading and writing and we all get to be nosy about Kat together, learning of Kat's brilliance and wisdom and cleverness.

In which Kat and Leah talk about why they write and how those roots come from books and writers they've been exposed to over their lives.

In which Kat and Leah discuss their approach to and feelings about scaffolding, the parts around a story authors add like how many parts stories are broken into or chapter titles or poetic interludes.

In which Kat and Leah talk a little about the beginning of the revising process in order to give themselves confidence for the long process ahead of them.

In which Kat and Leah go into more detail about how they wrote during the curve ball that is the pandemic. 

In which Kat and Leah attempt to get their podcasting legs under them and do a passable job. Updates about what they've been doing since the pandemic started and how they fared over the last year and three/fourths. 

In this sixth and final episode in the series on Nanowrimo, Kat and Leah talk about the "what next" part to finishing the first draft of a book.

In the fifth episode of the Nanowrimo series, Kat and Leah talk about the final push in these last few days of writing an entire book in a month.

Fourth up in the series on Nanowrimo, Kat and Leah talk about some issues that may be tripping up writers at the halfway mark from confidence to idea shifts to story management. 

In this third episode in the Nanowrimo series, Kat and Leah talk about potential blocks that marathon writers have in their writing, from inspiration to time to plot. 

In the second episode of a series about Nanowrimo, Kat and Leah talk about Nano writers harnessing that Day One energy so that we all begin as we wish to continue while writing our novels. 

In this first episode of a series of episodes about National Novel Writing Month, endearingly shortened by those in the trenches to Nanowrimo or Nano to save time for writing, Kat and Leah dissect the novel writing process as they prepare to churn out their 50K words in November.

Kat and Leah discuss what they consider when creating interesting and dynamic characters in their writing. 

The Beacons talk about why reading matters to people who want to publish stories and they tell you all about it in this episode about how to approach reading as a writer. 

The Beacons talk about the kinds of expectations writers have for themselves and why letting go of these often hindering ideas make for a better writing life. 

In today's episode, Kat and Leah revisit how they've been using side writing, which is the writing they do while working on a project. 

Kat and Leah talk about the ways writers sabotage their own writing lives and how they course correct their own writing processes. 

Kat and Leah throw open the writerly veil and talk about what their days look like as they try to squeeze writing into their lives. 

Kat and Leah give a brief overview of financial management and what they need to consider as they budget for their lives as writers.

In this episode, the Beacons talk about writing friendships and why they can be an important part of your writing life. 

National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner in November! Kat and Leah love writing marathons and talk a little about what they start to think about as they ready themselves for writing a book during Nano.

When do you cut deep and when do you pull back? Kat and Leah talk about writing the hard subjects that sometimes come from our own histories and experiences and how to handle them as writers.

A writer can struggle to tell their stories, but part of that struggle is writing, writing, writing and then not having anything published to show for all that work. In this episode, the Beacons discuss what it feels like and what to do when publication doesn't happen. 

Sometimes writers know their genre intuitively and others have a winding road to their niche. In this episode, Kat and Leah talk about how they found their genres and offer some tips and tricks to finding yours. 

On today's episode, Kat and Leah talk about how their approaches to time management have shifted as they move into the summer months.

Kat and Leah talk about the books they've been reading the last couple of years and how they decide what books to read. 

Today, Kat and Leah talk about their writing process and how it's changed since their debut episode earlier in the year.

In an episode that, as Kat says, "cuts close to the bone," the Beacons go over the different ways our writing lives are sabotaged. 

In which the Beacons talk about how they deal with feedback from readers and offer some tips and tricks for making this part of the writing process not sting so much. 

In this episode, Kat and Leah talk about writing groups, both online and in person, and the ways writing with others can help propel your writing forward. 

The Beacons talk a little bit about what it would be like to win an award or contest and different ways to think about that part of the writing journey. 

The Beacons go over how important it is to know your strengths as a writer and to be proud of what you do well. 

Kat and Leah talk about dialogue and how they make their characters speak in authentic ways and offer some tips and tricks about making dialogue convincing and interesting. 

Re-entry into writing on a project can be difficult, but the Beacons are here to whip you into shape. 

The Beacons talk about writing kits, the things they need to write so they are prepared to write at all times. From laptops to bank pens to notebooks, Kat and Leah talk about what they are using right now in their writing kits. 

In this episode, Kat and Leah offer their opinions on writing workshops and conferences and how they feel largely shut out of them. In their tips and tricks, they talk about how they can conquer these feelings and gain the skills gained from attending workshops or conferences. 

Sometimes the smaller parts of stories can help inform the larger world you are creating. Today, the Beacons talk about how they make sure everyone in their stories has a voice.

In this episode, the Beacons dive into Kat's favorite part of writing: world building. Kat will share her tips and tricks to help build your world for your stories and Leah, like many of you, will mostly take notes.

Advice often given to writers, the Beacons talk about what "writing what you know" means to them as writers who mostly write in genre. 

Kat and Leah talk about the different ways they are blocked in their writing and how they move through that age old nemesis of writers.

Kat and Leah talk about the resilience you need as a writer to keep going at any point in your writing life. 

A writing technique used by both Kat and Leah, they talk about their history with writing marathons and why they've relied on them for the last several years to up their word counts.

Short spurts are a writing technique used by Kat and Leah. They'll talk about what they are, how they do them, and why you should practice short spurts, too. 

Last episode, the Beacons covered submissions, so this week the topic is the dreaded rejection: how to handle them, how to move on from them, and why writers keep going (spoiler alert: because everyone gets rejected, so soldier on!). 

The next step after completing a project is submissions, which can be a scary step for most, if not all, writers. Kat and Leah talk about their experience with submissions and some tips and tricks that help them get through the submission process.

Kat and Leah talk about one of their favorite parts of the writing process, which is how side-writing works and why it's important to keep track of as you write.

Pre-writing for the Beacons looks a little different. Kat and Leah talk about how pre-writing does and doesn't fit into their processes.

Time management is a sticky subject for many writers, so Kat and Leah discuss how time management helps their writing lives. 

Kat and Leah talk about where they find inspiration and what new ways they'll search out inspiration for their writing this year.