The Taylor Stevens Show

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss summer plans for the podcast, and Taylor shares a gosling update. You can read the results on the Bookbub site here: https://insights.bookbub.com/state-author-newsletters-data/ If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You […] The post TSS383: A Show Update (and a Gosling story) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss the results of a recent Bookbub survey on author newsletters. You can read the results on the Bookbub site here: https://insights.bookbub.com/state-author-newsletters-data/ If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can […] The post TSS382: How are authors using email newsletters? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some recent storytelling observations from the screen that can apply to our writing. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on […] The post TSS381: Storytelling Lessons From The Screen appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to a listener's question on predictability. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please consider supporting Taylor on Patreon for Patreon-only […] The post TSS380: The Paradox of Predictability appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss the results of the International Thriller Writers AI Author Survey, published on March 14, 2023. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS379: A Discussion of the International Thriller Writers AI Author Survey appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to several more writing-related questions including the importance of theme, fully formed characters, and avoiding preaching in your writing. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as […] The post TSS378: Fully formed characters, the importance of theme, and more appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares and responds to material provided by author C.A. Newsome that explores reader expectations of characters. C.A. Newsome is the author of the (currently) seven-book Lia Anderson Dog Park Mysteries. You can check them out here. Steve also mentions a series […] The post TSS377: An Exploration of Character Expectations appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to several more writing-related questions. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please consider supporting Taylor on Patreon for Patreon-only teaching […] The post TSS376: Setting Aside Projects, Processing Story Ideas, and More appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to a variety of writing-related questions. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please consider supporting Taylor on Patreon for Patreon-only […] The post TSS375: Fan Fiction, Constructive Criticism, and More appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on dialogue that you can apply to your stories. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, […] The post TSS374: Thoughts on Dialogue appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some of the feedback and suggestions we had on book and series bibles. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have questions or suggestions for […] The post TSS373: More on Book and Series Bibles appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, we have a brief discussion on the advances in AI-generated voice technology that can be used for audiobooks, and Taylor shares some updates on her health journey. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with […] The post TSS372: AI Voice Technology and a Personal Update from Taylor appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to a listener message (thanks, Karl!) and shares her thoughts on the importance of being sure you get your entire character onto the page. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the […] The post TSS371: Getting your entire character onto the page appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss the idea of a series bible and discuss how Taylor keeps track of series information. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have […] The post TSS370: Do you keep a series bible? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on a recent book she read and how the story's suspense and pacing impacted her reading. During the show, Taylor mentions The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand. Thanks for joining us again this week, […] The post TSS369: What is Suspense? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on some ways the use of character description can add grit to the reading experience. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have […] The post TSS368: Make Your Character Description Count appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor takes a look at story by looking at the different elements we use to build our stories. During the show, Taylor mentions two books, the first was The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand, and the second was […] The post TSS367: Chapters, Scenes, and In-Betweens appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! Taylor is under the weather this week, but we very briefly discussed what we'd planned to talk about and provide a link to the source material, which is below: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1012213658816141/posts/5703081769729283/?cft[0]=AZWN00R7x0qOaN3Ec1nf6hhUYlgTdguumMA08QC_4xKDWoT94r4stP0DoJAYZmagCzHHwCAg9C2cMOnhzdwHF6BwnUEMZhDotlBvlA5Q3nC09bkQrkaPBf_4N6V96iZN3zrv4B9SE_ppd_op89Q6rcdFxVg2_S6-OydBcGayD5L2NI-OEROvlt6pEc-qNhH0dYU&tn=%2CO%2CP-R Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the […] The post TSS366: An update and an example of a writer using ChatGPT appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve share their major objectives for 2023. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear […] The post TSS365: What One Thing Do We Want to Accomplish in 2023? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve share their thoughts on the value of the new AI (artificial intelligence) tools that have been released recently, including ChatGPT. You can learn more about ChatGPT here. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing […] The post TSS364: What Should Authors Know About The New Artificial Intelligence Tools? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on writing using an Omniscient Narrator. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to […] The post TSS363: Taylor Responds to a Listener Question on Omniscient Narrators appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on writing using an Omniscient Narrator. Thanks for joining us again this week, and to John for sharing his knowledge with the Taylor Steven's Show audience. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to […] The post TSS363: Taylor Responds to a Listener Question on Omniscient Narrators appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! We're thrilled to have John Truby join us this week for an in-depth exploration of genre. He's written a book about the subject, The Anatomy of Genres: How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works, and he and Taylor dig deep into the subject of […] The post TSS362: An in-depth discussion of genre with John Truby appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, shares some insights she's had from watching the Pennyworth series on HBO Max AND from watching some friends play a story-rich video game. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your […] The post TSS361: Storytelling Lessons from the Screen and …. appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to an interesting listener question about the timing for introducing a second primary point of view character. Thanks to J.J. for the thought-provoking question. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You […] The post TSS360: It's All About Balance appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor responds to listener feedback and to online writing comments that she collects. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please […] The post TSS359: Taylor Responds to Listener Feedback appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on the importance of opening lines and paragraphs and provides a few specific examples. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find […] The post TSS358: Opening Lines and Paragraphs appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor discusses the importance of character agency and how when your characters don't exhibit agency, the story disappointments. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find […] The post TSS357: The Importance of Character Agency appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor discusses her writing process and how it needed to be tweaked in the writing of a new scene. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS356: Taylor Talks Writing Process appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss the opening and closing of story loops, and Taylor uses comedians as an example to explain the process. We also discuss comedian Sheng Wang and his show on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81276951 If you have questions or suggestions for future […] The post TSS355: What Can Comedians Teach Novelists about Closing Story Loops? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss the negatives and positives of including current events in novels. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. […] The post TSS354: Including Current Events in Novels appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on the oft-told phrase “Write What You Know.” If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please consider […] The post TSS353: Write What You Know? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve discuss Steve's observations on attending several sessions at Bouchercon 2022. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please […] The post TSS352: Take Aways from Bouchercon 2022 appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve use a discussion of two films to consider the importance of establishing story reality. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our […] The post TSS351: Establishing Story Reality appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, we discuss the difference between narration and internal dialogue, and then dive into our opinions on the mechanics of inner dialogue. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as […] The post TSS350: Narration vs Internal Dialogue appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on storytelling that she's had while watching shows and movies. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. […] The post TSS349: Storytelling Observations from the Screen appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some in-depth information on prologues provided by Taylor Steven's Show “Contributor at Large,” author C.A. Newsome. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find […] The post TSS348: A Primer on Prologues appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor concludes this four-part master class on plot holes and the best ways to overcome them in your storytelling. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS347: How to Find, Fix, and Write Your Way Around Plot Holes (Part 4 of 4) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor expands on last week's show on plot holes and the best ways to overcome them in your storytelling. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS346: How to Find, Fix, and Write Your Way Around Plot Holes (Part 3 of 4) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor continues her thoughts on plot holes and the best ways to overcome them in your storytelling. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our […] The post TSS345: How to Find, Fix, and Write Your Way Around Plot Holes (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on plot holes and the best ways to overcome them in your storytelling. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our […] The post TSS344: How to Find, Fix, and Write Your Way Around Plot Holes (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this short show, Steve asks Taylor how we can enhance the emotional impact in scenes. Please let us know if you like more of these ‘short take' kinds of shows. The post TSST02: Taylor and Steve Short Takes Episode Two appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on how she developed as a storyteller. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact information on the Connect page. Please consider supporting […] The post TSS343: Taylor on Storytelling appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on vagueness in description and highlights what specific types of vagueness to avoid. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our […] The post TSS342: To Vague or Not to Vague appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on how something as simple as character description can serve multiple purposes in your story. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS341: Character Description That Goes Above and Beyond appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares some thoughts on how what readers see in their minds impacts their understanding of what they read. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS340: Mental Movies and Reading Comprehension appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor continues her thoughts on the philosophy of story and how storytellers become illusionists while writing their stories. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find […] The post TSS339: The Philosophy of Story (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor shares thoughts on the philosophy of story and how storytellers become illusionists while writing their stories. If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our […] The post TSS338: The Philosophy of Story (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor uses a character on the show True Blood to launch into a discussion on the danger of character inconsistency. She mentions a worksheet available on Patreon, How to Solve Problem Scenes here. https://www.patreon.com/posts/hack-craft-scene-57649003 She also mentions episode 253, available here: http://theshow.taylorstevensbooks.com/how-to-maintain-character-consistency-throughout-your-story/ […] The post TSS337: Character Inconsistency appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, we step away from storytelling advice to hear Taylor's tale of dealing with banks in this age of diminishing customer service. We'll be back with more writing advice in next week's, post-Memorial Day show. She also mentions a Patreon story she wrote, […] The post TSS336: A Short Taylor Tale appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

Thanks so much for joining us again this week! In this week's episode, Taylor and Steve go deeper into the idea of linking ideas together to strengthen storytelling. She also mentions a Patreon story she wrote, which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/random-musings-66178012 If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we'd love to hear […] The post TSS335: Linking Ideas and More on Effective Communication appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.