The Writing Apothecary Podcast

Send us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary Podcast and another Writing Process Podcast. Today we have the lovely ML Jewell, I met Mel at Supanova in 2023 and she has become a permanent fixture in my life since. This was so insightful and exciting to interview her about her writing process and her books. Author Bio:M.L Jewell, or as most people call her, Mel, is a local Brisbane Indie Author. October 2023 marked the release of her first novel, Rise of the Witches. A dark adult urban fantasy about a small town plagued with flesh-eating monsters, government-suppressed secrets and magic.Mel enjoys crafting stories that aim to immerse readers in fantastical worlds teeming with magic, mythical beasts, and tales of love.Mel and her husband, Alex, live in Australia along with their two children. When Mel isn't writing or reading, she's spending time with her family. Website: https://www.mljewellauthor.com.au/ Social media links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mljewell.author/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.mljewell/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mljewell.authorWant exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. Follow the podcast on Instragram @thewritingapothecaryFollow Mandi on all socials: @mandikont

Send us a textWelcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to another return guest and my bestie Peta Hawker, she was one of the first guests on the podcast and I love any chance I get to chat to her. Her process has changed dramatically from when we first recorded this so it's fun to revist it all. Peta's Official BioMy daily grind involves content writing and knowledge management for a large organisation. When I'm not attached to my work computer, I like to squeeze our three cats (much to their chagrin), engage in linguistic wrestling matches with my partner or roll around on my yoga mat. A degree in writing and publishing and a diploma in yoga teaching remind me that I chose to quantify my passions with expensive pieces of paper, but I have no regrets about either one. Fantasy captured my heart when I was young, and it serves as the majority of what I read and write. Let's throw in a good dash of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a sprinkle of Jonathan Safran Foer and a pinch of Lewis Carroll and we've made a meal fit for my queendom.  Peta's Website: https://www.petahawker.com/ Peta's Social: @author.peta.hawkerWant exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. Follow the podcast on Instragram @thewritingapothecaryFollow Mandi on all socials: @mandikont

Send us a textCome inside the curtain of Supanova Brisbane - most lovingly knowns as Brisnova - and chat to the plethora of indie authors and a few traditonally published authors there. This was recorded in November 2024. My second supanova and honestly, probably the most chilled and exhausting event I've ever done. It spanned over three days from 10-6, which as a self proclaimed ADHD introvert that was a lot of masking and talking. But so well worth it. This year, I could have sworn that there were so many more authors than there was last year and we all had a ball, from seeing our names on a t-shirt, to hyping each other up, to helping people move booths mid con and having dinner all together. It was the start of something amazing and I now call some of these amazing authors close friends.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. Follow the podcast on Instragram @thewritingapothecaryFollow Mandi on all socials: @mandikont

Send us a textWelcome to Writing Apothecary and the next interview as we chat about the writing process.Today's chat is with a return guest, Sarah L Richhelm, who appeared on our Plot interview. It was great to have her back and chat about her process and how she liked editing...Official Bio:Sarah is a serial cookie-in-tea dunker and Spotify playlist curator and adores writing slow-burn, high-stakes fantasy romance you can giggle kick over.She graduated from the University of Queensland with a degree in Communications and—when she's not travelling—resides in Brisbane, Australia with her partner, a stack of TBR books she promises she'll read someday, and a growing array of indoor house plants. They're still alive. She thinks.Website: www.authorsarahlrichhelm.comSocial media links: https://www.instagram.com/sarahlrichhelm/Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. Follow the podcast on Instragram @thewritingapothecaryFollow Mandi on all socials: @mandikont

Send us a textWelcome to Writing Apothecary and the next interview as we chat about the writing process. Today's chat is with fellow creative entrepreneur Monique Kostelec. We chat about her process and how she loves almost every part of the process. Official Bio: At 18, Monique was adamant that she would be the next Amal Clooney. As it turned out, she was more suited for the path of George. Monique is a writer, screenwriter, actress & creative entrepreneur who runs The Novel Writing Project - a writing business created to help writers have the audacity to believe in their writing dreams, write their novels, and actually enjoy the journey along the way. Website: https://payhip.com/thenovelwritingprojectSocial media links: https://www.instagram.com/monique_kostelac/ Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. Follow the podcast on Instragram @thewritingapothecaryFollow Mandi on all socials: @mandikont

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary Podcast - and a side quest if you must - about Writing Process and the way that every author does it differently. I can't wait for youto dig into this. The same bite sized episodic format is back. To kick off the first episode you get to see a BTS all about my own writing process. I've broken down the questions that I ask my guests and give you an insight about how I write and how my madness leads to my novels in their various forms. Touching on how I plot, how I edit, what works for me and how I get through my process. If you would love to be apart of this side quest send me an email - hello@dreamingfullyawake.com and put Writing Process Podcast Guest in the titleWant exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. Follow the podcast on Instragram @thewritingapothecaryFollow Mandi on all socials: @mandikont

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our interview for the topic. Caroline and I dive deep into the all things fight scenes and how to better your writing of them.  In today's chat here are some of the things we covered:What defines a fighting scene?The kinds of fighting scenes.The language of fighting scenes.Caroline's take on all things fighting scenes. About Caroline:Caroline Logan is a writer of Young Adult Fantasy. She is currently working on her Scottish fantasy series: The Four Treasures. The Stone of Destiny, The Cauldron of Life and The Sword of Light are out now, with the final book - The Spear of Life out now.Caroline is a high school biology teacher who lives in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, with her husband and dogs, Ranger and Scout. Before moving there, she lived and worked in Spain, Tenerife, Sri Lanka and other places in Scotland. She graduated from The University of Glasgow with a bachelor's degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology. In her spare time she tries to swim, ski and paddleboard, though she is happiest with a good book and a cup of tea.You can find her here: Website, Twitter, InstagramYou can buy her books from here: Amazon, Cranachan PublishingTell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our next lesson on Fight scenes. We're looking at the emotional battlefield and how it can affect your character. We're covering:Depths of Fighting ScenesWhat is needed from the scenesWhat it takes to make the battlefield work.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.Faded Fragments out now! Buy a copy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CK3K5YLN or a signed copy (if you're an Aus or NZ resident) https://dreamingfullyawake.com/books/. This is novel in The Nexus Series. References:Angela Knight - How to Write Fight Scenes

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our next lesson on Fight scenes. We're looking at the emotional battlefield and how it can affect your character. We're covering:Character motivesGoing back to basicsInternal ConflictExternal ConflictEmotional triggersTell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.Faded Fragments out Septmber 29th. Mandi's first debut novel in The Nexus Series. References: Angela Knight - How to Write Fight Scenes

Welcome back to a episode and a new topic. The next two months we're exploring Fight Scenes and we have a great guest to top it all off. Fight scenes have always been a challenge for a lot of people, myself included, and we're going to explore two side of fight scenes:Emotional Fight ScenesAction Fight ScenesI'm so excited to get into the topics and explore what it looks like when we dive deeper into it. The guest we have is a new author and I can't wait for you to hear the chat I've had the pleasure of having.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our interview for the topic. Viv and I dive deep into creativity with an amazing chat to get you into the mood to sit your arse down and create. In today's chat here are some of the things we covered:Creativity Human DesignSupporting yourselfMorning pagesAbout Viv:In this current season, Viv Kruckow's soul purpose is following her joy and supporting humans to explore their creative essence and dance with their desires ~ because we all deserve ease, abundance and joy. This takes shape as mentoring creatives through 1:1 sessions, group containers, self-paced courses and writing.Viv is known for her warmth and gift of making those around her feel at ease. She takes her job very seriously (hello, Capricorn Sun) but approaches teaching and guiding with intuitive, gentle and nurturing energy. Viv prides herself on cultivating a safe space for creatives to be seen, heard and expand, and sits in deep gratitude that she gets to call this work.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our last lesson before our amazing chat with our great guest. I'm so excited to talk about Creativity and I'm going to preface this by saying that the best information that you can find is actually a Wikipedia page on Creativity, I'll link it in the show notes because it's so good. And I know, I know it's a wiki page but one of my university lecturers swore that it was and I'm taking his word on it. I'm also going to try and keep today's episode a little light but there is a lot to cover, grab yourself a beverage if you can. Key points:What Creativity is.Theories behind CreativityModels of CreativityKey research found here: Creativity WikiWriting Process soft launchThis wraps up our theory lessons on Creativity and The Muse. I can't wait for our next interview. You guys are going to love our chat. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.Books referenced:Big Magic by Liz GilbertCreative Calling by Chase JarvisThe War of Art - Steven Pressfield

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to a new lesson. Today we're looking at the history of the muse. And it was so much fun to go through and find what information I could about them. The Muses are inspirational goddess of literature, science and art. The 9 muses are:Calliope was the Muse who represented epic poetry. Her implement was the writing tablet.Clio was the Muse who had to do with history and she was always associated with holding a scroll.Euterpe was the Muse of lyrical poetry and music, and is always shown with an aulos (flute).Thalia represented both comedy and pastoral poetry and she was associated with the comic mask.Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy and her item was the tragic mask.Terpsichore was the Muse of dance and she was always associated with the lyre.Erato was always associated with love poetry. She had a type of lyre called the cithara.Polyhymnia represented sacred poetry and she was always depicted with a veil.Urania was the Muse of astronomy and she had a globe and compass.Who is your favourite muse?Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.

Welcome to a new topic! We're going to look at Creativity and the Muse. I make some pretty big statements too, but before that let's take a peek into what will come. It's also the first episode back after the huge year that was! I cover it in the episode.We'll be looking at the history behind the muse and just what creativity is. Creativity will not wait for you. It will dry up when you don't use it but it will still be there when you come back to it. It's something that you have to work with. The more that use of creativity, the more there is. Some of my favourite books on creativity explore coming back from being stuck or that you can have a day job and still create. If you're serious about your work you would have head all about Big Magic by Liz Gilbert and it still stands as one of my favourite books in the world about creativity. And it's my go to book to recommend for an easy read where you don't have to do too much work. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our interview with the most divine human ever. I got to interview Amie Mcnee who is the perfect most perfect guest for Writer's Block. It's been a challenge to get here! This episode is so delayed due to me getting the spicy cough and have been dealing with all of the fatigue that comes with it, but we're back and we're ready. In today's chat here are some of the topics we chat about:Writer's BlockProcrastination Amie's relationship with bothJournallingGiving ourselves permission to drop expectationsAnd so much more.This is a chat you don't want to miss and through some technical difficulties, it's come together so well. I really loved this chat so much and secretly or not so secretly was fan girling over this amazing woman. About AmieAmie McNee is an author, creative coach, speaker and podcaster. Amie writes both historical fiction and non fiction books about creativity and living a creative life. Amie helps thousands of creatives all over the world to move through resistance and chase their callings.You can find her here: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Podcast.Grab a copy of her book The Rules Upheld by No One here.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our last theory lesson on Writer's Block. It's a bit late as I had the spicy cough and was pretty exhausted. But we're back into it. Writer's Block is such a personal thing and I've loved hearing from you guys and opening up the conversation about Writer's block because it is so different for everyone and I think that it's a great opportunity to talk to other writers about how it feels or what you can do to help heal it, which is what we're talking about today.There are ways to help alleviate writer's block when you are working through it, some of these are my favourite ways to move through it, because it does take some time to move through it even when we think we don't need it. Key points:Moving your body is a big factor.Moving your space.Logging out of social media helps regain your sense of self.The Artist's Way is a big resource that you need. Writing yourself out of the block.Having rituals help you sit down and write. The important thing is to find what you need to make your life easier and to get yourself writing again. You need to find the touchstones that make you feel good and put you in the mindset to write, even when all you can manage is a couple of sentences. I'd love to know what your touchstones are for when you find it hard to write. Do you turn to different music or do you get out of your space and out write somewhere else.This wraps up our theory lessons on Writer's Block. I am bursting with so much excitement for our next guest. You guys are going to love our chat. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.

Welcome back to our second lesson on writer's block. I hope that you've all been productive. I know I have. Or at least I have tried to be. I've sent my manuscript to my editor and it's with BETA readers. It's making me so nervous but I'm trying to keep busy, which is good. I'm trying to get ahead with the podcast because it does take a lot of time and effort to get it done. I'm a one-woman production here. I write all the scripts, record, edit and mix all of the episodes on my own. I do have a friend who will help me with audio and mixing my ads because royalty-free music confuses me. Today we look at the emotional and environmental triggers of what can hinder our writing.Key points: Looking at how my father's death affected my ability to write.Environmental factors like:Cleaning your spaceMoving out of your space The main theme for this season is to be gentle with yourself and to acknowledge that these kinds of blocks exist. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to knowAlso, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.

Welcome back to a new year and a new topic. 2021 is behind us and I can't believe that we're in 2022! Wowiiiie.  I hope everyone has had some great time off. I spent some of my time off in Adelaide with my mum and basically being a mermaid and then just getting back into my retail job. Things are gearing up and are a little mental at the moment but that will pass. I know it will.But also, welcome to one year of The Writing Apothecary Podcast! We have covered so much ground and covered so many topics and we still have so many to go. I'm still going to stick to our fortnightly or bi-weekly episodes as I'm working through getting my novel ready to publication: spoiler alert, I'm doing myself and it will be a bi-product of a long term goal I want to work on. Today we look at what writer's block is or what it really isn't. The problem with Writer's block is that there are things you can to do support yourself to write yourself out of the block but it's also something that you sometimes need to take some time away from. I know it sounds counter productive but stepping away from what is troubling you will actually help you out of it. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our interview for revision. Today's guest is published author Jess Faraday and we talk about all things revision. As a traditionally published author she has a different take on revisions and an important one.In today's chat we talk about:First draftsTime between revisionsLooking as aspectsHow to flip the revisions on their headAnd some great nuggets on when to revise. I really loved this chat and it was such a fun and refreshing take on revisions. About Jess:Jess Faraday is the author of the Simon Pearce Mysteries, the Ira Adler Mysteries, and several standalone works of suspense. She lives in Scotland.You can find her here: Website, Twitter, Instagram, FacebookTell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to the Writing Apothecary and the last lesson for revision. Last week was a big one and we're following it up with the smaller things.  Life has been a bit hectic so this one is a little bit late, but better to be late than never!First thing is first, reading your draft out loud, does wonders. You can find the natural pace of the dialogue and all of the words you've missed or misspelled. Because our eyes are trained to see what is there, even if we miss it. Without going into a lot of detail, because we are going to be covering editing – don't worry there, we need to refine our writing before it gets to that point though. So let's take a look at what we need to step into when we're looking at the revisions of the smaller things. In this lesson we're covering:Grammar and punctuationMastering the imperfect perfect tenseMetaphorsModifiersClichésAttributionsSimplifying your wordsRevisions can go on and on and on. How do you know when you're done with them? How do you know it's ready for the next stage? And honestly? You will be able to remove yourself from the process. You'll be able to look at the way that it works and the way that it all goes together. Stories are never finished and they will always need tweaking, even when you come back to them 10 years later and they're published. This is the nature of our brains and you'll need to counteract that with moving on to the next project.  Your story will never please everyone and that's ok. It has to make you happy and you have to have a steady belief in it. If you do. Nothing will be able to shake you. Book References:Eats, shots and leaves - Lynne TrussThe Elements of Style -  William Strunk and E.B. WhiteTell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our new lesson on revision: the big picture. All of the work we have done to get here has actually been foundational. We've looked at what makes up a story and what is so important to a story but now we're turning it on its head and looking at it from a revision point of view and not a writing point of view. Both are very different. This is something I can't stress enough. Don't beat yourself up if this doesn't really compute the first time. It takes a bit of getting used to. But with revisions, you just need to be asking yourself the right questions. You can choose to pick a draft and focus on different topics but looking at the big picture and the big topics here are some of the most important.The main points from today's podcast:CharacterPlotPoVDescriptionDialogueSettingVoice FlashbacksAnd lastly looking at the themes of the story is something that, we as writers, don't unconsciously put into the story. It's a piece that we discover at this revision stage, because we can remove ourselves from the process. Once they're found we need to nurture them, dress them up and display them to have the theme resonate with the reader. The bigger picture is far more important than we realise and that means that we need to take the time to look at all of the parts of a story. It's important to take some time back before starting revisions, as well. Because time is a writer's friend. It gives you distance to look at the manuscript with fresh eyes, just like you would with editing.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary Podcast and back to another new topic! Cutting down the monthly topic to bimonthly has helped clear space and allow for me to have the mental capacity to work with my creativity instead of against it. I'm appreciative to everyone for still supporting the podcast. Our bimonthly topic is: Revision and I'm so excited.The aim is to take the lessons that are so personal and make them digestible and easy to follow. The first thing you need, before you even start revisions, is a first draft, which means if you haven't done that, you need to put in that work before you can start anything else. It is important to get that step out of the way. Any good writing teacher will tell you that they can't teach you to write and I am here to tell you the same thing. I can't teach you to write, I can give you all of the tools but you are the one who is ultimately the one who will bring it all together. A statement that one of my uni lecturers made in one of their lectures was that all writing is rewriting. And it was one of the most truest statements to date. All writing is rewriting. Take that in because as we look at the big picture of revision and the smaller details we need to understand that this is where the magic really begins. Our giveaway is still going and to go into the draw, check out my chat with Lindsay and head to the show notes on my website and leave your nugget of gold and sign up to the mailing list to get access to early episodes, BTS of the podcast and the winner of the giveaway. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to another episode of the Writing Apothecary Podcast and today do I have an amazing guest for you this week. As we look at our last lesson on genre we have the most amazing guest on board. Lindsay is such an amazing writer and so sweet. Our chat left me energised and so excited to tackle what was coming up. We chat about her favourite genres and what genre tropes work the best to entice readers.We go on a Nora Roberts tangent that brings us right back to mixing genres and how successful it is once you know the rules and you're able to break them and make something new.I can't wait to see more of what Lindsay has to come, we chat about her novel and the soap opera beginnings that she started with before she added the fantasy element, which is so fascinating. To celebrate our amazing interview, I'm giving away her "Future Bestselling Author" Mug to hold all of your beverages, whether it's tea, coffee or booze. To get a chance to go into the draw, head on over to this post and leave what genre's would you mash together and what their rules would be. For added entries like our Instagram and join our email list.About Lindsay:Lindsay Elizabeth is an author of fantasy with a healthy dose of romance, mystery, and twists. She chronicles her writing journey on her blog and Instagram and runs an online shop with lifestyle goods for fellow writers, readers, and creatives.You can find her here: Website, Instagram,  Twitter,  Facebook, Pinterest.You can buy her merch made with creatives in mind at her Etsy Shop.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to the Writing Apothecary and our last lesson for Genre. Today we're looking at sci-fi, horror and thriller. Science fiction or sci-fi as it's commonly known is another sub-genre of speculative fiction. It typically deals with imaginative and futurist concepts such asScience technologySpace explorationTime travelParellel universes Extra terrestrialIt's also known as the literature of ideas because it often explores the consequence of scientific, social and technology innovations.  Sci-fi has beginning in ancient times where it blurs the lines between myth and fact. Some of the elements of sci-fi include:Temporary settings in the further or alternate histories. Spatial setting or scenes in outer space or other worlds/parallel universes.Aspects of biology y in fiction for example: aliens, mutants and enhanced humanPredicted or speculated technology like robots, advanced computer interfaces, and advanced weapons. Undiscovered scientific possibility such as teleportation time travel and faster than light travel or communication.New and different political and social systems, which include utopian, dystopian, post-apocalyptic ad post scarcity.Future history and evolution of humans on Earth or on other plants.Paranormal abilities like mind control, telepathy and telekinesis.Ok let's move onto Horror, which is another genre of speculative fiction. This genre intends to frighten, scare of disgust readers. Horror creates an eerie and frightening at most for the reader and is often divided into psychological horror and supernatural horror sub-genres. They can also be seen as a metaphor for larger fears of society. One of the most defining character of the horror genre it that it provokes an emotional, physical or psychological response within readers which makes them react with fear.Some of the elements of Horror include but aren't limited to:GhostsDemonsVampiresWerewolvesGhouls The devilWitchesMonstersDystopian and apocalyptic worldsSerial killersCannibalismPsychopathsCultsThe macabreGore TortureWhich moves us to thrillers, they're a genre that overlaps sub-genres. They're characterise by the moods they elicit by giving readers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety.  Thrillers are often villain driven and present obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. This genre is one of the most expansive because it can't be narrowed down. You can have thrillers that are romantically driven, medically driver, police driven even politically driver and that is why this genre is so versatile, the only aspect that it needs it so allow the reader to have a common ground with the intensity of emotions they create. If a thriller, doesn't by definition, thrill then it's not doing its job. You want to take your readers breathe away as they read every word. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson? I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to another lesson of The Writing Apothecary.Today we're going to look at three different sub-genres: Fantasy, Romance and Mystery. If you're wondering why these three? Well, fantasy is my jam, I really love everything about it and it's the genre I know the most about. You know the age-old advice of write what you know applies here, ha! First, did you know that it was a genre of speculative fiction? It features magical and supernatural elements that don't exist in the real world. Some writers, like myself, like to use the modern world and add fantasy elements and some are inspired by myth and folklore. Fantasy is different and distinguished from science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific and macabre themes, but that's not to say that you can't have the macabre in fantasy. The different kinds of fantasy that are named (and don't feel like you need to stay in the confines of these) are: High or epic fantasyLow fantasyMagical realismSword and sorceryDark fantasyFablesFairy talesSuperhero fiction Just among many others. Some of the elements and characteristics of fantasy are:Good vs evilThe hero quest for power or knowledgeTradition bs changeThe induvial vs societyMan vs natureMan vs himselfComing of ageLoveBetrayalEpic journeyThe unlike and/or reluctant hero.Which leads us to romance. As we know it takes place between two people, as most commonly known but in the day and age, we know that romance doesn't always happen just between two people. It can be multiple. It's also a genre that many seem to just write off because it's just love and all other things, but it's a really popular market and has many sub-genres like:ContemporaryHistoricalRomantic suspenseParanormal romanceSci-fi fantasyTime-travelInspirationalErotic romance Chick lit.  Mystery novels are often known as a whodunnit novel where your readers turn into the detective to find out who the culprit is. The main character is also sometimes a detective or private eye who is trying to solve the case. The different kinds of mystery fiction include:Detective FictionTrue CrimeCosy MysteryLegal ThrillerPolice ProceduralHowtocatchemHardboiled FictionHistory MysteryLock-room mysteryThe standard method for a mystery relies heavily on the inciting incident where the main character finds the mystery aka the murder, or the cold case. Then there's the investigation, the twist before the breakthrough, and finally the conclusion.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and this month we're looking at Genre. If you're on the podcast's newsletter list you would have read that we're changing up the format a little. The podcast is moving to bi-weekly /fortnightly episodes to help with my sanity and give me some much needed space. It takes a lot to write, record and edit these episodes and I'm doing it all solo. I'm also taking time to focus on my novel and give you guys the best episode we can get. Genre is the French term for type, species, kind or glass of composition. It's a term that is used to distinguish a broad range of different kinds of writing from non-literary to the literary. Genre forms by conventions that change over time as culture invent new genres and discontinue the use of old ones. Often though our stories fit into multiple kinds of genres and sub-genres. Some genres have rigid ad strict guidelines and trope to stick to while others have the flexibility to move with. They also have different modes of writing within genres like realism, satire and surrealism. There are many ways that genre can be determined and some of them are literary technique, tone, content and even length. But don't get it confused with age categories, which can be either, adult, new adult, young adult of children. There are a lot of publishers who don't see new adult as a category and plant books that are NA in the YA category and I think this is wrong, there is a need for that in-between book where a character isn't quite an adult but isn't quite a young adult. Genres are:EpicsTragedyComedyNovel Short StoryJoin us for the subgenres we're going to be looking at in the rest of the episodes and the great interview.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Want exclusive behind the scenes and early access to episodes join up to the mailing list over here.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our interview all about Dialogue with romance, fantasy and sci-fi writer Alyce Johnson. In our chat we have a cover:How important dialogue is to a story.What classifies as bad dialogue.If a story can survive without dialogue.How Alyce uses tension in her stories. I had so much fun and her novella was a brilliant read. If you love this episode feel free to send it to someone who would love to listen to it. Alyce's BioAlyce moved to Victoria from sleepy Tasmania in 2013 to attend the Victorian College of the Arts and study Screenwriting, completing her bachelors in 2015. She dabbled in gaming for a time, working with Tin Man Games. While with them she edited the Gamebook Adventure Songs of the Mystics and wrote and edited for Choices: And The Sun Went Out, another Gamebook Adventure, and Koorie, a project for the Education Department. Now working in administration for youth mental health, she still spends a large portion of her time writing, currently working on not only her first romance novel, but also on sci-fi and fantasy projects. Alyce has taken part in the National Novel Writing Month since 2015. In 2021 she published her first ebook, Expecting: Novella One of The Tales of the Infused.Where to find her:@AlyceJohnsonAuthor on FacebookWhere to buy her books:Expecting: Novella one of The Infused on Amazon  and  Kobo.If you feel called to leave a review and a 5 star rating on Apple Podcast, it'll help other like-minded creatives find us. And if you'd love to work with me head on over to my site and check out the work with me 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and our last lesson on dialogue. I'd like to think that we all agree on how good dialogue is and what its purpose can be. You can use dialogue to make a story more lifelike and really it's the part that allows your characters to speak for themselves. In real life, you can't really get to know someone unless you talk to them and it's the same principle for fiction. Your readers will decide if they like your character just by what they say and then they will make the assumption of whether or not they want to actually spend time with them. The main points in today's lesson:We all speak differentlyCharacter's dialogue needs to be unique so they can stand on their own.Look at ways to give your characters different distinctions when it comes to their speech.Look at the way subtext works for your characters too.We are great at talking but we always have trouble communicating and why should our novels be any different? Capitalising on miscommunication is a huge strength in fiction because it makes it more true to life. When character seem like a puppet and that they're just things and creations of us writers, and they are, but to the reader, they need to be lifelike.Bad dialogue also can expose your writerly voice into the piece, when a reader can see the mechanisms behind the writing and the entire illusion of a story is lost. You can't use words that are out of character for your own character. Use profanity and swear words sparingly as they will jolt the reader out of the story.Whew and that's it, dialogue is done. Tell me what you think about dialogue, I'd love to know what you classify as good and bad dialogue.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and to our next lesson on dialogue. Today we're going to dig into the conventions of dialogue and have a look at indirect and direct speech. I think this is such an important aspect of writing dialogue. Without I think it's harder to understand how to write it and how to get it down on the page. We all know that when we are reading a story there are conventions that are required when it comes to signifying who is speaking.The main points in today's lesson:- Dialogue conventions include: quotation marks, new paragraphs, and tags.- Using conventions consistently will make sure that your story is polished and flows.- Stage directions also allow your reader to see your characters better on the page.- Direct dialogue is the ability to overhear what a character is saying in real-time.- Indirect dialogue is where the dialogue is summarised rather than spoken.Dialogue conventions are such an important part to your story, just as indirect and direct dialogue is. I'm hoping that this has helped you distinguish between them so that you're able to write better dialogue when it comes to your story.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to another lesson and a new month. We're going to explore dialogue, a topic that can make or break your story. We're going to look at the purpose of dialogue, indirect and direct dialogue, bad dialogue and conventions when it comes to dialogue. Today is a little introduction and some of the important points we cover in this episode:It's exactly why a reader is so invested.Your character moves through the story with the ability to gives us dialogue, whether it's indirect or direct. Dialogue is everything in fiction that isn't narration.Two main ways to show dialogue: Summary and Scene.Summary is where the action is summaries or “told” in inverted brackets. Scene is showing the moment in real time .Dialogue needs to also fit your story. The key to good dialogue is to make seem real but not too real but also make sure it as something important to add.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to another interview for The Writing Apothecary.Sarah and I have an amazing chat about all things plot, her WIP Acanthus and just how characters and plot are inseparable.In today's chat we cover:Just how Sarah breaks her plot down.How her plot arrived and she wrote it.And how she approaches her plotting.Sarah's BioSarah's childhood fascination with history and Tomb Raider morphed into her current love for writing Young Adult novels about “chicks in a sitch” – stories about resilient females with a supernatural twist. Acanthus, her current project, is an Aztec-inspired contemporary fantasy that takes the reader to an island paradise where human sacrifice is a necessary evil for peace and prosperity.She graduated from the University of Queensland and—when she's not travelling—resides in Brisbane, Australia with her partner, a large collection of teacups, and a growing array of indoor house plants.Where to find her:@thecommutingwriter on Instagram and Twitterhttps://www.authorsarahwendt.com/ 

Welcome back to the last lesson on plot.Once you've got your major dramatical question there needs to be a structure to support it and it might sound simple, but sometimes it gets lost with everything that is going on.  Every plot has a beginning, middle and ending. Plot and structure are inseparable. You can't have one without the other. The main plot points of today's lesson: The beginning has three key pointsIt has to drop your reader into the middle of the action.It has to provide all of the background information to get the reader up to speed.And it has to establish your major dramatic question. With starting in the middle of the action, you need to make sure that your readers can get enough of what is going on and why .The key to really getting enough through is to give what the reader needs at the time, they don't need to know more than what is necessary so that it doesn't take away from the story. The middle of a story will have some overlap with the beginning, it's natural but they are both very different part of the story.In the middle of the book you are further developing the relationship your reader has to your characters.The conflict that happens here needs to keep building and building until it can't no more. A key aspect here is to make sure that you're showing the climax of the story and not just telling your reader what happens.The End is the part of plot will be the shortest part of your piece. It tends to be the part that wraps up the story, nicely and in a bow. The end follows a pattern which I like to think of the three c's: there's the crisis, climax and the consequences.Your ending should feel inevitable but unexpected. You don't want your reader to have guess what is going to happen before you get there. Subplots serve as a lesser parallel to the main plot and in other cases a subplot can also be in contrast with the main plot point .Plot and character are inseparable here. It's all about your character's journey and their ability to work through it, so you need to make sure that your characters are strong, fully formed and three-dimensional to withstand the plot drama that is thrown their way. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.If you're looking for a cheerleader for your writing, then head on over to https://dreamingfullyawake.com/work-with-me/ and let's have a chat about how we can work together to get your writing on track. 

Welcome back to another episode of The Writing Apothecary, this is a week at looking at drama, real life and plot steps when we start to play around with plot.  Every plot has a major dramatical question that is either a yes or a no, with the few cases where it's a maybe. It's the central-most organised force in a novel, no matter what you're writing, there will always be a single question that will need to be answered and your plot? The main points in today's lesson:- Your protagonist is your most fleshed out, cohesive and dimensional character.- They need a desire.- Their desire leads to their goal.- Conflict is needed to help push the plot along.- As a writer, it's not our job to make our character's lives easy.Stories that truly move us are the ones that have real depth and even with external conflict you need to have a balance of internal conflicts, because your protagonist should be able to show your readers what it's costing them or what the effects of a wrong or even a good step means for them. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.

Hey guys, welcome back to anew month and a new topic. Drum roll please! This month we're tackling plot and like all fo the previous lessons this is just a step that we're building into our tool box.Today we're going to dig into a little bit of an introduction about plot. We all know that they're really important and that thy serve to be an essential part of the story, but they're not what makes your readers pick up your book. It's the characters and they're extraordinary snippet of life that you're writing about.The major points of today's podcast are:Plot is the core part of a story.The characters are an essential part of the plot. But the real work with plot is your characters, they need to be full formed, three dimensional beings who have real lives and have a real understanding about what they want or who they are.There are three main components to the plot. They are Character, The goal, and the conflict that stop the goal from happening right away. “Plot grows out of character. If you focus on who the people in your story are, if you sit and write about two people you know and are getting to know better day by day something is bound to happen.” - Anne Lammot.There are no new plots.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary and today I have a treat for you. We're sitting down to chat about Point of View with another dear friend of mine, Av. We met during our Writing and Publishing degree and is always a wealth of knowledge. Today we chat about all things point of view, focalisation and cats, because what is a writer without their cat?We go into detail about characters because, down to the wire, all of our storytelling comes back to our characters and just what point of view means to her. It also is a good look at the creative brain of something who is neurotypical and I think it's amazing!!  I loved talking to Av and our conversations are always full of wit, sarcasm and loooots of laughs and cat chatter. About Av:Av (she/they) is a Canberra-based writer and photographer. They have been published in Beat magazine, Lipmag, and defunct music magazine SLEIGH. She has also published essays in various zines and university publications, exploring how feminism influenced her upbringing. They live with their two cats, Mario and Peach, and an endless pile of ‘to-read' books.Instagram: @chemistrymindsLet me know what you took away from this week's chat and if you know someone who would love to listen in, share it with them. If you feel called to, leave a 5 star rating and write a review, it helps like minded creative find us. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and the last theory less on Point of View. Today we're looking at Distance and Focalisation. Just a word of warning, focalisation is a lot to wrap your head around it and I feel like every writer needs to understand to get the most out of their writing. The major points of today's podcast are:There are two kinds of distances: Emotional and Time.Emotional distance is the distance that readers sense between the narrator and the characters.It's a distance that affects how close the reader feels to a character.Time distance, our readers assume that the events of the story happened recently, like as in within a few moments.Focalisation is basically another term for point of view, but it's a bases in literary narratology. It gives expression to the perceiving mind or the sensibility in a text. It's the expression of a character or narrator's attitudes, thoughts, memories or experience at any given moment in the narrative.There are two kinds of focalisation: the external and internal focaliser.You need a POV contract with your readers and your characters to allow the story to flow and for your readers to know what they're reading. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.References:Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to another lesson on Point of view. Today we're looking at first, second and third person POV. We're breaking them down and really understanding what they are and what how they can affect your story. Have you ever read a book and really gotten lost in the character's story? Do you feel their pain or the mistakes that have happened to them or for them? Or maybe you've squealed in delight because you can see the way through their actions. And all of this comes down to what POV is used. The major points of today's podcast are:First-person uses I and has different layers.A character using first-person POV is the narrator or protagonist of the story.The First-person is quite intimate and my preferred POV.It is also a really unreliable narrator. Third-person is the most common and most used POV. It uses he/she and they/them as signifier. Multiple POVs are easier to manage in third-person POV.Omniscient third-person POV is also known as the god's eye view of the story. It's also good to use this POV sparingly. Second person, POV is one that is used less frequently and uses you as a signifier. Point of view is such a big topic and I could go on about it over and over again and not get tired of it. I hope you've taken something from this episode and I hope you come back next week. We'll be looking at distance and focalisation.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to a new month. You know what that means! It's new topic time. I can't believe how far we've come. We're looking at Point of View and expanding on what we learned in our Voice. This week's lesson is really short and sweet. The major points of today's podcast are:Point of View or PoV is really important to the story.You want your readers to care about your characters.PoV is the next level to voice.We'll be covering: First, second and third person narration, focalisation and distance and closing it off with a really great interview.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and our next guest on the podcast. Characters are such an important part of our stories and it's no surprise that this is the episode that I actually recorded two or three years ago when I decided I needed a podcast, but it seems that the world and my life wasn't quite ready for it.This interview is such a special one to me, and maybe it's because it's one of my close friends or maybe it's because there was so much laughter and I really got lost in the interview. What you don't see in this is the number of times I had to redo the introduction because I couldn't say Appalachian. Her head characters have inspired me and my writing so many times over and when we met on my play by post role playing site we instantly clicked where we became slow friends and learned so much about our characters and one another's lives. I really hope that you guys love our chat and an insight into Ru's head characters because they're all so unique, and just maybe she'll be able to get her book out. You should harass her about that. About Ru: Ru Tripodi is an urban fantasy writer who lives in the Appalachain Mountains, she is also an avid gamer, queen of characters sketches and serial procrastinator when it comes to writing. She lives with her family and band of cats. To find more about her follow her twitter @adagium.Let me know what you took away from this week's chat and if you know someone who would love to listen in, share it with them. If you feel called to, leave a 5 star rating and write a review, it helps like minded creative find us. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our next lesson about characters, and today we're getting to know them. We're looking at the symphony that it takes to make all of the working parts move in sync. To craft a believable, fascinating and memorable characters there needs to be a point where you start with them. Most of the time we create characters from memory and the mind. Your characters emerge as different versions of the people in your life. The major points of today's podcast are:Characters are a version of ourselves and the people we see in our lives. The best way to tell your readers about your character is to show them. The four methods of showing are: Action, Speech, Appearance and Thought. Action is in demand because it reveals so much about a characterSpeech can tell you a lot about a character with both the things they say and don't say and how they say them.Appearance allows you to draw conclusions about character from their physical looks, gait, clothing style and facial expressions. Thought allows your readers to see your character take up space and become their best friends. Names are important, don't forget to take the time to pick wisely.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Resources:Character Bio PDFGotham Writer's Workshop Writing Fiction Novel edited by Alexander SteeleThe Writer's Digest Character Name Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our next lesson centred around the desire and human complex when it comes to characters.I want to ask you, first, a few questions: Who is your favourite character? Or characters? What do you think makes them your favourite character?The major points of today's podcast are:All characters have a living, breathing desire if they are a fully formed and dimensional character.Desire is a driving force of human nature and when it's applied to characters it creates momentum to drive a story further, which is what we all want our stories to do as we write them. Your characters can have huge intoxicating desires, or they can have small and simple desires, but regardless of the size, your characters need to want it so badly that they will move heaven and earth to get there.They need to have contrasting traits, and these can be subtle, or they can be really conflicting.Just like with desire a main character's ability to change moves the story forward but sometimes doesn't get resolved at the end of it all.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to a new month and new topic. Welcome to character. Today we are looking at an introduction on character and how they are the central part of a story. Characters are the core of the story and interact with or influence every aspect and element of a story. Some character will turn up fully formed and others may not. Some may even be a facet of yourself or someone you know but at the same time they will have a mind and body of their own. They will be separate from you but they will also be a part of you.The major points of today's podcast are:Characters in our stories are a mixture of the best parts of us and also the worst.As we write characters we realise that bad things happen to good people and we can't expect them to be perfect. Characters, if they grow a lot, they begin to influence the course of the story and not the other way around. Most stories are character driven and it's our job to make sure that they are living, breathing, authentic character. This month's lessons are full of so much goodness and our guest will make you fall in love with characters all over again. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.Resources:On Writing - Stephen KingThe Writing Book - Kate GrenvilleBird by Bird - Anne LamottGotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction - Edited by Alexander Steele

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and our next guest on the podcast. I am really excited for you guys to meet him. Andrew and I met in uni while we were studying psychology and since then we have had a healthy back and forth competitive friendship built on chasing each other's word counts. In this interview Andy and I talk about all things setting and the importance of how integral setting is to the story. We also cover a different kind of setting, a societal setting that is something that most fantasy authors come across. It's that one piece of law that makes the story different to the real world.I hope you guys come along for the journey that is the chat about the setting, where we take the long and windy route through the questions. There are also plenty of outtakes to come because we couldn't stop laughing and joking all the way through. About Andrew: Andrew Irvine is a fantasy author who currently lives in Adelaide where he writes part time and works full time. He has recently adopted a kitten who has a zest fr life and enjoys sitting by him while he writes. He is an indie published author and is most widely known for this PSI series. You can find him trawling Twitter on @AndrewIrvine2 and you can find his books on Amazon and Book Depository.Andrew's books:Affliction (PSI 1)Coercion (PSI 2)Retribution (PSI 3)MonsterVilleLet me know what you took away from this week's chat and if you know someone who would love to listen in, share it with them. If you feel called to, leave a 5 star rating and write a review, it helps like minded creative find us. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our next lesson on setting. Today we're looking at setting and characters, the details, the reality and a brief look at pace in timeThe setting your characters are in is also as important as their voice is to them. With setting it can play a big role in who your character is. A setting elevated how your character dresses, talks, socialise, works, eats etc. Much like animals, humans behave in a certain way in their natural habitat, so placing your character in a space that is familiar to them will make it easy on them, but that doesn't mean that you should.The major points of today's podcast are:You don't want setting to be the main plot point, but you do want your readers to know where your character is.Setting can be a character in itself, treat it like it is. You need to know the details of the setting and somtimes only you need to know them so you can articulate it to your readers.Use the senses to explain your setting. Pacing is important as it helps set the tone of the story. There is so much to explore with character and the details of your setting. It's such an important part of your story, but then again what part isn't? Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our next episode on voice. Today we're looking at Place and Time when it comes to setting and how important it is for your story.When writers talk about place, they mean the specific and definite locations of a story on both a small and a large level. This is where we need to really nut it out, what planet are they on? What about the continent, country, state neighbourhood or street that the characters are in? What does the home they are in look like? Or what about the office building or the castle?The major points of today's podcast are:You want to ground your reader with the place, so they don't feel like they're in limbo when they're reading.Don't forget about looking at the weather. Would Twilight be the same if it was sunny?Place can affect the action of the story.Time is important to be able to give readers and writers alike a chance to understand your story.Setting can also enhance the emotional landscape.I love playing with how much time and space are important in a story.Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also, I would really appreciate it if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to a new month and a new topic. This month we're looking at the backbone of a story. This is a small introduction in to what to expect and how a setting can elevate a character and the story. Without it, you don't have a story. The major points are:Stories draw on authentic settings on time and place.Writers have the ability to choose to make up places, which works better for them. Setting really is the foundation of a story.We will be covering place and time, as well as looking deeper into setting and time and looking at pacing. This wraps up our first lesson on setting. I hope you're excited on what is to come. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also I would really appreciate if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more. 

Welcome back to the Writing Apothecary Podcast and to our first guest on the podcast. I am so excited for you guys to meet her. She is an amazing writer and woman and not to mention one of my close friends. She has to be one of my favourite writers so she is such a perfect person to be our first guest on the podcast. After a month of lessons, we break down Peta's character voice and how she differentiates the different voices in her debut novel. And really we go on tangents about characters and what they mean to us. The main points of our chat is: To find your character voice you need to write in it. Put them in a situation where you can see them react and their voices shine through.Peta is not a plotter, her character's voices come to her as she writes more of the story.Characters are our superhero part of us and say the things we can't.What did you take away from today's interview? Peta Hawker is a young adult fantasy author who is publishing her debut novel in 2021. She writes tales that involve sweeping landscapes, forbidden magic, and young people finding their power in a world that holds no hope. To find more about Peta visit https://petahawker.com or follow her on Instagram @peta.hawker.Take the time to head on over to Peta's socials and show her some love, because she has such an amazing writerly brain that I can't wait for you guys to see what I have known for years.I would love it if you took the time to leave a review and message, it helps other writers join our community and join in on the conversation with all things to write writing.If you would love to hear bloopers and behind the scenes of the podcast, make sure you join the mailing list to also get early access to the episodes before they go live. 

Episode 007Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our last lesson on Voice. This week we'll be looking at other ways to find voice and how to use it because there are other ways of using that we haven't covered. The different voices that don't fit into the box are:Diary/journal entry kind of voiceStream of consciousnessNo grammar or punctuationStyle choicesStylistic expressions goes hand in hand with voice. Looking at your sentence length, your grammar and your punctuation as it will allow your reader to see more about your character without you stating the obvious about them. Your choices for your character voice helps your reader stay close to their personality.Looking at your stylistic choices including your paragraph structure and your sentence length. This will differ from character to character as you reveal who they are to the readers. There are also two kinds of voice: active and passive voice and the best way to find out which you're using is to add "by zombie" at the end of the sentence when you read it aloud. It is a neat trick to help distinguish it. Consistency is also really important with voice. How do you drip feed your information to the your readers? What does your language look like? You need to keep your language consistent so that you don't jolt your reader. The biggest thing with voice? Don't worry about it until your edits. These are all really handy to know as a writer but they shouldn't be in the forefront of your mind as you write. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. To find your voice you need to write regularly and through a healthy and consistent writing practice can help you find your voice and the voice of your characters.Reading your work out loud also helps find the ebbs and flows of your characters so that you can be better at writing and helping your reader fall in love with your words. This wraps up our theory lessons for voice. I can't wait for you to listen to the amazing guest we have next week. Tell me what did you take away from this week's lesson?I'd love to know.Also I would really appreciate if you took the time to rate and review the podcast it helps people find our community and gets the podcast out into the world a little more. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and to our second lesson on Voice. This week I've broken down the ways that voice can show up in your writing. The most important takeaway from last week is that we need to learn to separate our writerly voice from our own authorial voice. Can we do that? Yes! And here's the way that it can be done. For this week I've drawn on the help from The Gotham Writers's Workshop Writing Fiction resource (I love this book, it has so much in it and it's so rich with info to help you as a writer)The types of voice:Conversational - This tone of voice is friendly, personable, sarcastic and real. It's a great voice for first person. Informal - It's a step up from conversational as it's not as dressed down, it's casual, every day language that isn't as personality heavy. It's a great tone to use in first person but can be achieved in third person as well. Formal - This one doesn't have as much chattiness to it as conversational or informal, it's a great voice for a larger cast so the characters don't get mixed up.Ceremonial - This detached voice is best used in third person as the character would be removed from the story and can recall a terrible event in a joking manner. The tone of voice you choose to use will depend on your character's personality once you chose your point of view. My favourite to use is a mix of informal and conversational because I love writing in first person.

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary podcast and I'm so excited that we're looking at a new topic for the whole month. And this month we're looking at Voice!We're looking at Voice!! And something I really love to work on with my own writing and my clients is differentiating my own writerly voice from that of my characters. It's a bit tricky to get the balance right, but when you do? You're a step closer to an amazing book. Here are some of the takeaways from the podcast:Voice is that something special that your story needs, without it, your piece doesn't have any life.It's easy to lose the dimension of voice and trying to separate yourself as a writer and the character is a hard thing to do. Don't feel discouraged. To find our character's voice we need to strip it back and look at who they are and what they would do in a situation, not what we would do. 

Welcome back to The Writing Apothecary Podcast and to our very last episode on Writing Practice. It's been so fun to go through the fundamentals of what a writing practice is.In today's podcast we're looking at what effects a healthy writing practice can have for your writing life.Here is some of the great effects of a healthy writing practice:A daily/week/regular writing time. You've put in the long yards and you're working it hardcore.You take more risks. As you build your writing practice, you're more inclined to take risks to get you to where you want to be.You find your writing jam. This gives you the ability to know what your writing ebbs and flow looks like because you know what your writing rhythm looks like.You find out what matters. Having the ability to find out what matters to you as a writer is so important!Next week we tackle a new topic...do you think you know what it is? Take your guesses and let's see who can get it right.