Podcasts about Deeper

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Payton hits late night! Kyle is STRANDED on I-10! Bagpiper in the studio? Today might be the CRAZIEST St Patricks Day we have ever had. First up today, Kyle is having a SLEEP DIVORCE. Then, Dyllan's LIST OF REAL LAST NAMES HAS US DYINGGG! Also, REMEMBER THE TIME and SO MUCH MORE!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While navigating the very narrow habitrail of daily living, it's very easy to forget there's an amazing, alluring and mysterious universe all around us that we simply cannot completely quantify (but take very much for granted). Over time, this daily dulling of our imagination can kill our heart, mind and soul, but only if we let it…If you've misplaced your sense of wonder and want to reclaim it, join Paul and his very special guest Fred Provenza on an exploration of the cosmos through the world of dreams this week on Spirit Gym.Download Fred's recent paper, Cosmic Dreaming: Memories of a Moment on Earth, for FREE at this link. Check out Fred's earlier work on Acres USA at this link.Watch Fred's recent discussion, Cosmic Dreaming: The Ecology of Food Systems and Human and Environmental Health, with the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine on YouTube.Learn more about the Behavioral Education for Human Animal Vegetation and Ecosystem Management (BEHAVE) program co-founded by Fred at Utah State University at this link.Timestamps 2:21 The conversation begins with prayers.4:59 What happens when God become an idea instead of a mystery?14:25 The one lesson all of us need to learn during our time on the planet.25:38 The book that saved Fred from a life of depression.31:16 What is consciousness?37:58 How Fred developed a course on Myth and The Management of Natural Resources.44:19 The danger of dogmas.56:57 “You depart from nature when the death you produce no longer feeds or supports life.”1:08:09 Has the human race become doers at the expense of losing out on feeling alive?1:11:35 How much do you want to be owned?1:33:13 The inherent creativity of human beings.1:38:08 Challenges, opportunities, living in an evolutionary spirit and transcending boundaries.1:51:36 The importance of studying principles that transcend time and space.ResourcesThe Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill MoyersLucid Dying: The New Science of Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death by Sam ParniaFind more resources for this episode on our website.Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear MusicThanks to our awesome sponsors:PaleovalleyBIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15Organifi CHEK20Wild PasturesKorrect SPIRITGYMPique LifeCHEK Institute We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.

These podcast sessions are offered as an introduction and ongoing support. Deeper subconscious journeys and structured programs are available inside the Hypnosis with Joseph app, where you can begin with free starter sessions:www.HypnosisWithJoseph.app

On this episode, Paul White talks about controlling our bodies. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5.

On this episode, Paul White talks about fornication. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:3.

The family settles its disagreements with violence.   Doc Hop pulls the worst card possible from her Deck of No Synergies: the Uncanny Cavy. Rex Maximus receives increasingly troubling messages from home. Ulysses demands the secret of his true parenthood.   STARRING - Austin Yorski: https://bsky.app/profile/austinyorski.bsky.social Laura Kate Dale: https://bsky.app/profile/laurakbuzz.bsky.social Quinn Larios: https://bsky.app/profile/rollot.bsky.social   SUPPORT - Patreon.com/AustinYorski Patreon.com/LauraKBuzz Patreon.com/WeeklyMangaRecap   AUDIO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrF-ZfdwIk Kirby Super Star OC ReMix by TSori & Others: "Until the Next Dance" [Meta Knight: Ending]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeEvMkYAU1o Katherine Cordova - YouTube Dragon Warrior VII OC ReMix by Bluelighter...: "Deeper in the Heart" [Days of Sadness] (#3762) EarthBound OC ReMix by The Vodoú Queen: "Get Down with Your Bad Self, Mr. Saturn!" [Hi Ho] (#4798) Hollow Knight OC ReMix by DaMonz feat. Christine Giguère: "A Dream" [Dirtmouth] (#4884) Mother 3 OC ReMix by Sebastien Skaf: "Your Warmth" [Theme of Love] (#4850) OC ReMix #499: Little Nemo 'Nemo for Strings' [Dream 1: Mushroom Forest] by Gux Zelda: Breath of the Wild OC ReMix by RebeccaETripp...: "Bard in the Rain" [Kass] (#4813)   COMMUNITY - Discord: https://discord.gg/YMU3qUH Wiki: https://dicefunk.ludo.au/

On this episode, Paul White talks about being sanctified. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:3.

Millennials didn't just change how people invest -- they changed what investing even looks like. Cheaper, faster, more automated, and occasionally more dangerous than anything that came before. The real question isn't whether to adopt their habits. It's which ones are actually building wealth and which ones are quietly lighting your portfolio on fire. Joe, OG, Jen Smith (Frugal Friends), and Doc G (Earn & Invest) sort the signal from the noise. What You'll Walk Away With The quiet Millennial investing shift that made building wealth more accessible than any generation before them -- and why most people missed it Why automation may be the single most powerful tool in your financial stack, and the one condition that turns it against you The difference between technology built to help you invest and technology built to keep you tapping the trade button How budgeting apps can create real spending clarity -- or accidentally trigger what the crew calls "procrasti-spending" Why fewer investment decisions often outperform more of them, and what the research actually says The hidden cost of frictionless trading and why the winning move is sometimes the most boring one available Where to take big swings if you want outsized rewards -- and why your long-term portfolio probably isn't the right arena How Millennials are diversifying beyond just assets, and what that broader thinking means for investors in their 40s The honest tension between values-based investing and long-term returns -- and how serious investors are navigating it without sacrificing either What growing portfolio customization actually means for everyday investors who aren't managing millions Why This Matters Now If you're in your 40s, you've watched an entire new financial infrastructure get built around a generation younger than you -- and you may be wondering what's worth borrowing. More access and more information don't automatically produce better outcomes. Knowing which Millennial habits genuinely compound over time, and which ones just feel productive, is the kind of edge that shows up in your account balance a decade from now. From the Basement OG makes his case for patience (again), Doc G steers things toward the bigger life picture, and Jen Smith grounds the conversation in the money habits real people actually use. Doug surfaces a trivia question involving a NASA probe budget -- and whether you think you know the answer or not, the basement scoreboard has a way of humbling even the most confident Stacker. Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode, Paul White talks about what we ought to do. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2.

This message is part of a series in the Book of Exodus, and you can get the first message in the series here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hxedZxcTGvVhuEU2zLMLvAbounding Grace is an outreach ministry of Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado.Pastor Ed Taylor is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Church – you can find more about him at edtaylor.org.Join us as we study through the Bible and learn of God's Abounding Grace. These podcasts correspond with our daily radio programs, which can be heard nationally. We pray you are blessed through these broadcasts.If you like what you hear on Abounding Grace - don't forget to follow us, and use the Share button to pass it on to your friends and family!

 Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong announced this week the district may need to close five to 10 of its 74 elementary, K-8, middle and alternative schools -- by the fall of 2027. Steadily declining student enrollment and rising costs are tied to the funding crunch, which amounts to $50 million for the next 2026-2027 academic year.  And now, the district recently discovered a $10 million dollar budget gap for this year. The district is moving forward with staff cuts and other reductions to shore up the current budget by June 30. We sit down with Armstrong to get more financial details and what she sees as the way forward. 

Sam Emadi explores friendship with God as a profound spiritual reality and pathway to deeper intimacy with the Divine. Despite sounding casual, biblical friendship with God represents a revolutionary truth: that believers can move from enmity with God to intimate fellowship through Christ's redemptive work. Emadi guides listeners through cultivating this transformative relationship, balancing God's transcendence with His invitation to know Him personally. Experience how understanding God's character deepens your connection to Him. Scripture: John 15:13; James 2:23; Galatians 4 Topics: Intimacy with God, Christian fellowship, Prayer life, Spiritual growth, God's transcendence

In this ScreenFish 1on1 Interview, Paul Boyd, director of SCARED TO DEATH, discusses the origins of the film and the ideas behind its intense title. He reflects on how fear in horror films can mirror or manipulate real-world anxieties, exploring the psychological impact on audiences. Paul also addresses the misconception that horror is “just for scares,” highlighting the deeper, more reflective aspects of Scared to Death that invite viewers to consider human nature, morality, and the consequences of fear.SCARED TO DEATH is in theatres now.

Follow @templeofloha on IG and Youtube! Join her community: Universal IntimacyRich sits down with somatic intimacy coach and tantra teacher Josephine Lauer for a raw conversation about sex, intimacy, and the emotional patterns that shape our relationships.They break down how guilt, shame, and conditioning affect the way we experience love, connection, and desire—and how tantric principles can help people build deeper intimacy with themselves and their partners.If you've ever wondered why relationships lose connection, how to communicate better with your partner, or how to approach intimacy from a more conscious place, this episode goes there.No fluff. No BS. Just a real conversation about love, relationships, and human connection.

On this episode, Paul White talks about God transcending time. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.

This message is part of a series in the Book of Exodus, and you can get the first message in the series here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hxedZxcTGvVhuEU2zLMLvAbounding Grace is an outreach ministry of Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado.Pastor Ed Taylor is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Church – you can find more about him at edtaylor.org.Join us as we study through the Bible and learn of God's Abounding Grace. These podcasts correspond with our daily radio programs, which can be heard nationally. We pray you are blessed through these broadcasts.If you like what you hear on Abounding Grace - don't forget to follow us, and use the Share button to passit on to your friends and family!

Hypnosis session is designed to help you break unwanted habits at the unconscious level and naturally replace them with behaviors that support your growth, clarity, and well-being. These podcast sessions are offered as an introduction and ongoing support. Deeper subconscious journeys and structured programs are available inside the Hypnosis with Joseph app, where you can begin with free starter sessions:www.HypnosisWithJoseph.app

On this episode, Paul White talks about true ministry. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10.

"The real healing of trauma is bringing your love and consciousness to it." In the wake of trauma, fear can take hold — in the body, in memory, and in the many ways we try to protect ourselves from feeling its pain again. In this intimate dialogue, Gangaji points to a deeper healing not found in escaping fear, but in bringing love and consciousness directly to the wound. She offers a powerful inquiry into what remains whole, innocent, and free — even after shock, loss, and disillusionment.   Learn more about Gangaji and her programs and 2026 events.  The next With Gangaji online global gathering is being held Sunday, March 15 @ 11AM PT.  Learn more to join the meeting here.  Gangaji is a teacher and author who speaks to people from all walks of life inviting them to fully recognize the absolute freedom and unchanging peace that is the truth of one's being. She shares the message that she received from her teacher, Sri H.W.L. Poonja: What you are searching for is already here.  Among other books, Gangaji is the author of Diamond in Your Pocket: Discovering Your True Radiance. 

As we dive deeper into our current sermon series through Galatians (UNCHAINED), we discuss the importance of guarding against the works of the flesh, being aware of contagious and contentious ideologies. We also give some historical perspective to what we find in Galatians 4 in regards to both Isaac and Ishmael.

Brian From talks with author Becky Harling about her new book FriendWise and the simple habits that help cultivate meaningful friendships. Drawing from her own cancer journey, Harling explains how intentional listening, empathy, and laughter can transform relationships in a culture facing a growing loneliness epidemic. The conversation offers practical encouragement for anyone longing for deeper connection and wondering how to take the first step toward richer friendships.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Freeing people from the fear of death frees them to live authentically. To Lauren, this is the deepest gift of mediumship – and it's also the crack in the foundation of the systems that keep people small. Jane and Sarah sit down with Lauren Nichols, a Boston-based psychic medium, former paranormal investigator, federal government employee, and new mama. Lauren shares how a period of personal upheaval led her to wander graveyards for peace — and ultimately to capture full-body spirit apparitions on camera. What started as an unlikely foray into paranormal investigation blossomed into a full mediumship practice centered on one core mission: making spirit communication accessible, human, and far less scary. The conversation moves from reframing "haunted house" phenomena as simple requests for connection, to the surprising ways motherhood has cracked Lauren's mediumship wide open, to her use of Spirit Box technology for live, audible communication with the deceased. Lauren also reflects on the current cultural and political moment through both her government lens and her spiritual one — and makes a compelling case that mediums may be uniquely positioned to help humanity evolve. Spirits aren't trying to scare you -  they're trying to talk to you. Lauren reframes poltergeist-style activity not as malevolent force, but as an expression of a soul's desire to communicate. Shifting from fear to curiosity, and from "entity" to "person," changes the entire dynamic of the experience. Fear of the spirit world is learned, not innate. Lauren argues that we aren't born afraid of spirit -  that fear is conditioned into us through Hollywood, culture, and religious framing. Humanizing spirits by seeing them as people first dissolves much of that fear. Motherhood is one of the most powerful mediumship development tools there is. After pausing her practice in early motherhood, Lauren discovered that survival mode had burned away her perfectionism and need to "try." The result? Deeper trust, more relaxed connection, and an ability to do more with less. You don't have to have everything together to serve spirit. The pressure to be "ready" or "perfect" before showing up as a medium is a trap. Presence and trust matter far more than polish. Spirit Box / ITC technology is alive and accessible. Instrumental Transcommunication — the practice of using radio frequency scanners to communicate with spirit — has roots going back to Tesla and Edison. Lauren uses a Spirit Box live and has heard her own family members' voices through it. She believes this technology can bring an additional layer of evidential healing to mediumship. Mediums have a unique role in the current collective reckoning. Lauren draws on her government career and channeling practice to articulate what she sees happening culturally: a dismantling of identity politics, a call to acknowledge privilege, and a collective push toward unity. She believes mediums — already practiced at clearing themselves and holding space — are well-suited to lead that conversation. Freeing people from the fear of death frees them to live authentically. To Lauren, this is the deepest gift of mediumship — and it's also the crack in the foundation of the systems that keep people small. On reframing scary spirit activity: "When you view it in your mind as something that is foreign — you're doing yourself and them a disservice, because you're not giving them the credit of being human first and foremost." On motherhood and mediumship: "Since having him, I have found more enjoyment and more ability to relax in my mediumship. I don't put so much stock in what I'm doing. I just trust." On perfectionism and presence: "The more you try, the less you do. Once you've been in survival mode and you've come out of it, everything else is just small beans — and you just have to be present for it." Lauren's Website:  www.psychicmediumlauren.com Lauren's Instagram: @laurenthemedium Website: https://www.mediumcurious.com Join Clair Club:  https://www.mediumcurious.com/digital-products-2-1 Explore the Intuition & Mediumship Course: https://www.mediumcurious.com Book a reading with Sarah Rathke https://www.sarahrathke.com/ Book a reading with Jane Morgan https://www.janemorganmedium.com/ Explore Jane's New Higher Calling Cohort https://www.janemorganmedium.com/higher-calling Jane's Substack: https://janemorgan.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mediumcuriouspod/

Send a textIn this episode, Annie Mr. A discuss their struggles with internalized shame and how they got through some (but only some) of it...Support the showIntro music by Poor Man's Poison. Check them out, they're amazing! Don't forget to check out Annie's erotica on Kindle and Amazon, found under Annie Goodman. You can also find us at Annieandmra.com, on Facebook as Annie Goodman, and Instagram and Twitter (X) as @AnnieandMrA.

Send a textThis Friday at 7:30PM EST I'm bringing back my popular show - Bio-Hack Your Best Life UNLIMITED (special edition) and we're going deep.The pineal gland is not just “spiritual folklore.” It's a neuroendocrine gland that regulates melatonin, circadian rhythm, cellular repair, and directly impacts clarity, intuition, and perception. When it's calcified, inflamed, or dysregulated, your cognition, sleep, hormones, and awareness suffer.In this live training I'll break down:• The real science behind the pineal gland• What disrupts and calcifies it• Nervous system and brainwave states linked to expanded awareness• Detox and optimization strategies• Light, frequency, breath, and biochemical biohacks• How to increase clarity, intuition, and higher perception safelyThis is where neuroscience meets consciousness.If you want sharper thinking, deeper sleep, stronger intuition, and expanded awareness — be there live.Friday at 7:30PM EST.Your next level is biological first.Support the show

She did ten years of therapy, ayahuasca ceremonies, shamanic healings, and coaching. The good feeling still kept fading. In this episode, Genea Barnes shares the quest that built Be the Wolf. Not the polished version. The real one. Growing up inside neglect, abuse, and trauma, she spent decades touching joy and losing it again. She chased every tool, every modality, every framework that promised change. And she kept cycling back to the same muck, the same heavy feelings, the same quiet voice saying nothing is ever going to work for me. What she eventually discovered wasn't on any healer's menu. It was a layer beneath the worthiness work, beneath the trauma processing, beneath everything the gurus teach. And everyone has their own unique version of it. Here's a look at what lives inside this episode:

On this episode, Paul White talks about persecution. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5.

In today's episode, Elizabeth sits down with Katie Sturino, founder of Megababe and longtime body acceptance advocate, to explore how stress, shame, and major life transitions can impact both mental and physical health. Katie opens up about her divorce and the season that followed, including gaining 70 pounds, facing borderline diabetes, and confronting the belief that her life was over. She shares how that chapter ultimately became a turning point in reclaiming her health and sense of agency.They discuss how chronic stress can manifest physically, including Katie's experience with shingles, and why nervous system regulation became a non-negotiable part of her healing. Katie speaks candidly about food noise, GLP-1 medications, and the mental relief that can come when constant internal chatter quiets. They also dive into luteal phase body image shifts, dressing room shame memories, and how rewiring the way you speak to yourself can be one of the most powerful forms of healing. This conversation is not about shrinking your body. It is about understanding your patterns, listening to your body, and choosing not to stay stuck.If you want to go DEEPER with me, my Substack is where I share even more behind-the-scenes, personal reflections, and wellness experiments, with new posts dropping every Thursday: https://substack.com/@thewellnessprocessFollow Katie Sturino:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiesturinoMegababe: https://www.instagram.com/megababeFollow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewellnessprocesspodTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewellnessprocessYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWellnessProcessSponsors:Use code WELLNESS15 for $15 off your first purchase at thirdlove.comText TWP to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Use coupon code TWP to save 15% at boncharge.comTonal is offering our listeners $200 off your Tonal purchase with promo code WELLNESS at tonal.comUse code WELLNESS at monarch.com for half off your first year. Go to naturalsloth.com and use code WELLNESS for 15% offIf you're struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15 minute call to get started: https://learn.nocd.com/TWPProduced by Dear MediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Men Need THIS Emotion To Fully Commit To You When you hear the term ‘all in’ as it pertains to relationships, what does that mean to you? At this age it doesn’t have to mean that one partner pays for the living expenses of the other. Usually midlife adults are living independently and can take good care of themselves. Let’s explore the DEEPER meaning of being ‘all in’ in a relationship and what that means emotionally. Let’s talk about…Men Need THIS Emotion To Fully Commit To You Resources: FREE Discovery Call ► http://jonathonaslay.com/coaching Join My VIP Group for $7– http://jonathonaslay.com/midlifelove Self-Love the Book: http://selflovethebook.com Recommended Books: http://jonathonaslay.com/jonathon-recommends

What does it mean to belong to God when the structures of faith you once trusted begin to fall apart? In this episode, Loren talks with Kara Root—pastor, spiritual director, and author of The Deepest Belonging and A Pilgrimage into Letting Go—about faith, loss, and the surprising ways God rebuilds belief when certainty collapses. Drawing from her own journey through the unraveling of a ministry-centered evangelical world, Kara reflects on how faith can be rebuilt from the ground up through pilgrimage, prayer, and honest encounters with suffering. The conversation explores the difference between inherited faith and lived faith, and why belonging to God often emerges most clearly when our illusions fall away. They also discuss the role of Sabbath rest, spiritual practices, and pastoral leadership in helping congregations navigate seasons of change and uncertainty. This episode offers a reflective and hopeful conversation about letting go of what no longer holds—and discovering the deeper belonging God offers in its place. Together they explore: How faith can be rebuilt after the collapse of inherited religious systems The spiritual significance of pilgrimage and letting go Why belonging to God is deeper than belonging to institutions The role of Sabbath, prayer, and spiritual practices in sustaining faith How pastors and churches navigate seasons of change and uncertainty   Rev. Kara K. Root is the author of The Deepest Belonging (2021), Receiving This Life: (2023), and A Pilgrimage Into Letting Go (2025, with husband, Andy). ​Pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, MN, a Christian community that shapes its life around worship, hospitality and Sabbath rest, she is a trained Spiritual Director and Certified Educator in the PCUSA.  Being mom to two intrepid young adults (and a goofy dog), and wife and proofreader to a wily theologian, spices up her vocational calling and keeps her fully immersed in life.   She has written for Sparkhouse, Working Preacher, Christian Century, Christianity Today, Faith and Leadership, Patheos and more. Kara leads retreats and workshops on sabbath rest, prayer practices, and church leadership and transformation.  ​​Kara and her husband, Andy, lead workshops and speak together through Root Creative, inc.   Mentioned Resources:

Designed to help you break unwanted habits at the unconscious level and naturally replace them with behaviors that support your growth, clarity, and well-being. These podcast sessions are offered as an introduction and ongoing support. Deeper subconscious journeys and structured programs are available inside the Hypnosis with Joseph app, where you can begin with free starter sessions:www.HypnosisWithJoseph.app

On this episode, Paul White talks about being orphaned. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20.

When betrayal trauma shatters your world, it's natural to search desperately for answers. Podcasts, books, courses, social media—there is more information available today than ever before. But is there a point when searching for more information actually keeps us stuck? In this powerful and compassionate conversation, Kristin Cary welcomes Shelley Martinkus, co-founder of Redemptive Living, to explore the difference between knowing facts about betrayal and engaging the complex, embodied process of healing. Together, they reflect on the early days of their own recovery journeys—when resources were scarce—and contrast that with today's flood of information, which can unintentionally become a form of emotional anesthesia. What if healing doesn't come from finding the “right formula,” but from slowing down, tending to your nervous system, and doing deep relational work—especially within safe community? You'll hear honest reflections about: • The difference between “snorkeling” the surface and “scuba diving” into deeper healing • How dopamine, distraction, and over-research can numb pain instead of restoring it • Why betrayal recovery must include the body, heart, and nervous system—not just the mind • The surprising power of trauma-informed groups in restoring belonging, agency, and hope • Why Jesus—not a professional, program, or process—is the true source of lasting healing If you've ever felt exhausted from trying to “do healing right,” this episode offers a gentle invitation to slow down, breathe, and trust that God is still at work—within you and through safe community. Link to Podcast Episode: The Truth Shall Set You Free; How Full Disclosure Can Benefit Couples in Recovery with Dan Drake and Dr. Janice Caudill: https://LivingTruth61.podbean.com/e/the-truth-shall-set-you-free-how-full-disclosure-can-benefit-couples%c2%a0in-recovery-with-dan-drake-and-dr-janice-caudill-1718683847/  

Deeper: Identity (Beto Guerra) by Pastor Harold Guerra

Interview with Brian Miller, Director & CEO of Astra ExplorationOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/astra-exploration-tsxvastr-high-grade-argentine-discovery-opens-in-multiple-dimensions-9016Recording date: 5th March 2026Astra Exploration (TSXV: ASTR) is a junior precious metals company with a focused two-country portfolio in Chile and Argentina, and a clear near-term strategy centred on its La Manchuria gold-silver project in Santa Cruz province. Following a strong PDAC 2026, the company is well positioned heading into what could be a transformational period of exploration.La Manchuria is a low sulphidation epithermal system with a dual-target structure. Near surface, the company has confirmed an expanding bulk disseminated gold-silver system — one that has grown with every drill programme conducted to date. Deeper in the system lies the primary prize: a potential high-grade feeder zone, the kind of structure that drives the most significant epithermal discoveries in Patagonia. Astra has been methodically building toward testing that target, beginning with near-surface drilling to establish scale and validate the geological model before committing capital to deeper holes.Two programmes have now been completed, totalling 7,500 metres across 36 holes. Of the 25 holes drilled in the second programme, 13 have been released with results. Twelve remain pending from the laboratory and are expected to be published by the end of March 2026. These represent a near-term, defined news pipeline that does not require the company to raise capital or commence new fieldwork to deliver.The third programme — another 5,000 metres — is set to begin within approximately one month. Astra holds roughly $4 million in cash, sufficient to fund this programme in full. The budget was structured at the time of the company's $6.2 million raise to ensure exactly this kind of operational continuity. The third programme will begin to shift focus toward deeper targets, moving the company closer to the high-grade feeder discovery scenario that underpins its long-term investment case.Argentina's operating environment has also improved significantly. Under President Milei's administration, permitting has accelerated and foreign investment capital is flowing into the country at a pace not seen in recent years. Santa Cruz province permits year-round drilling, removing the seasonal constraints that limit many other jurisdictions and enabling a consistent cadence of results throughout 2026.Beyond Argentina, Astra holds two Chilean projects — Pampa Paciencia, adjacent to two operating copper mines, and a high sulphidation target in the active Maricunga belt — that provide strategic optionality without requiring meaningful near-term capital. Pre-drill work is planned at Cerobio in Chile in the coming weeks, with the potential to unlock value through partnership or joint venture as the belt attracts renewed attention following Chile's improved political backdrop.For investors, the proposition is straightforward: a funded explorer with an expanding near-surface discovery, a high-grade feeder thesis yet to be tested at depth, a defined catalyst schedule across the next 60 to 90 days, and a macro tailwind from both gold prices and an improving Argentine investment climate. Astra enters the next phase of its programme with momentum, capital, and a story that is only beginning to register with the wider market.View Astra Exploration's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/astra-explorationSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Handsome Absalom is the rebellious son and usurper king who doesn't care for the people. But he points us to the perfect Son and the true King who not only cares but lays down his life for the people. In these chapters from the life of David, we see that sin has consequences, but God's faithfulness is greater.

Today's episode of the podcast returns to the Deeper Dive series to cover two combine risers in Jeff Caldwell & Seth McGowan. Additionally, I take the next step in preparing for Start-Up Drafts.TIMELINE || Jeff Caldwell -- 4:00 || Seth McGowan -- 22:45 || Start-Up Mock Exercise -- 36:15 || Rounds 1-3 -- 39:00 || Rounds 4-6 -- 49:00 || Rounds 7-9 -- 01:06:00 ||Caldwell -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYGguUd8FJQMcGowan -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzCYZsZTWFUSpreadsheet (Start-Up) -- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lXxL02UpRCnPooRdb_ZyT0iDt3ubt6GLyygvXVtVeHA/edit?usp=sharing Get full access to C.J.'s Substack at cjfreel.substack.com/subscribe

Zachary Foust joins us to talk government secrets, conspiracy theories & how everything is connected. Watch this episode ad-free and uncensored on Pepperbox! https://www.pepperbox.tv/ WATCH THE AFTERSHOW & BTS ON PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/UnsubscribePodcast

Panic Attack Help: Nervous System Mastery & Deeper Clarity (Part 3)You have traveled through the storm, and now the clouds are beginning to part. While Part 1 focused on finding the switch to quiet the noise and Part 2 prioritized repairing the stress loop, today is your ascent. We are no longer just managing or coping; we are stepping into true Nervous System Mastery.In this final chapter of our series, clinical hypnotherapist Martin guides you to plant a mental flag at your "peak of peace". From this new vantage point, you will learn to shift your perspective so that old worries, frantic thoughts, and the shadows of panic appear like tiny ants in the valley below. You are moving from the heavy weight of survival mode into the soaring freedom of absolute clarity.In This Episode, You Will Experience:Victory Breathing: A sharp, energized inhale designed to anchor your power and flood your system with emotional strength.The Mental Flag Visualization: A hypnotic process to plant an emotional anchor at the summit of your progress.Triumphant Release: Using a 6-second controlled exhale to let go of the last remnants of doubt.3 Daily Caring Tips for Absolute Clarity:The "I Have Arrived" Anchor: Use a physical touch-point (pressing thumb and forefinger) to instantly recall this state of peak calm.Strategic Stillness: Give yourself 60 seconds of internal, absolute silence to reset the decision-making brain and preserve vagal tone.The Gratitude Circuit: Before opening your eyes, name three things you are grateful for to flood your system with dopamine and oxytocin.Affirmations for Mastery:"I have arrived in a place of total peace." "I am the master of my internal environment." "My clarity is my strength, and I carry it with me everywhere." Complete your journey. If you are ready to fully commit to the journey of trauma-informed brain rewiring, come and join our community and explore the full Anxiety Breaker Course.Your support matters. This show is a grass-roots effort—just Martin, a microphone, and a laptop in a van. If this series helped you, please rate, review, and subscribe to help us reach those still searching for their own peak of peace.Smile often, walk with your head held high, and to your beautiful self... be kind.

How do you have deeper conversations on a first date (without it feeling like an interview or interrogation)? Here are 5 questions that will open up lively, informative, and connecting conversations.►Please subscribe/rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts http://bit.ly/lastfirstdateradio ►If you're feeling stuck in dating and relationships and would like to find your last first date, sign up for a complimentary 45-minute breakthrough session with Sandy https://lastfirstdate.com/application ►Join Your Last First Date on Facebook https://facebook.com/groups/yourlastfirstdate ►Get Sandy's books, Becoming a Woman of Value; How to Thrive in Life and Love https://bit.ly/womanofvaluebook , Choice Points in Dating https://amzn.to/3jTFQe9 and Love at Last https://amzn.to/4erpj7C ►Get FREE coaching on the podcast! https://bit.ly/LFDradiocoaching ►FREE download: “Top 10 Reasons Why Men Suddenly Pull Away” http://bit.ly/whymendisappear ►FREE download: “The Green Light Guide to Dating After 50” https://lastfirstdate.com/green-light-guide/ ►Group Coaching: https://lastfirstdate.com/the-woman-of-value-club/ ►Website → https://lastfirstdate.com/ ► Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/lastfirstdate1/ ►Get Amazon Music Unlimited FREE for 30 days at https://getamazonmusic.com/lastfirstdate  

On this episode, Paul White talks about God's wrath. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16.

Orlando's original hoard is revealed.   Doc Hop loses access to the magic of one of her oldest items. Rex Maximus absorbs and channels his ancestor. Ulysses takes his Adderall and beats the stuffing out of a bunch of creatures.   STARRING - Austin Yorski: https://bsky.app/profile/austinyorski.bsky.social Laura Kate Dale: https://bsky.app/profile/laurakbuzz.bsky.social Quinn Larios: https://bsky.app/profile/rollot.bsky.social   SUPPORT - Patreon.com/AustinYorski Patreon.com/LauraKBuzz Patreon.com/WeeklyMangaRecap   AUDIO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrF-ZfdwIk Kirby Super Star OC ReMix by TSori & Others: "Until the Next Dance" [Meta Knight: Ending]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeEvMkYAU1o Katherine Cordova - YouTube Dragon Warrior VII OC ReMix by Bluelighter...: "Deeper in the Heart" [Days of Sadness] (#3762) EarthBound OC ReMix by The Vodoú Queen: "Get Down with Your Bad Self, Mr. Saturn!" [Hi Ho] (#4798) Hollow Knight OC ReMix by DaMonz feat. Christine Giguère: "A Dream" [Dirtmouth] (#4884) Mother 3 OC ReMix by Sebastien Skaf: "Your Warmth" [Theme of Love] (#4850) OC ReMix #499: Little Nemo 'Nemo for Strings' [Dream 1: Mushroom Forest] by Gux Zelda: Breath of the Wild OC ReMix by RebeccaETripp...: "Bard in the Rain" [Kass] (#4813)   COMMUNITY - Discord: https://discord.gg/YMU3qUH Wiki: https://dicefunk.ludo.au/

(Parayana Vihara)

In Luke 5, Jesus performs two powerful miracles that reveal something deeper about the kind of healing we all need. A man with leprosy comes in desperation, believing Jesus can make him clean. Another man is lowered through a roof by his friends, hoping Jesus will heal his paralysis. But in both moments, Jesus shows that the greatest healing isn't just physical. Jesus reveals that He has the authority not only to heal bodies, but also to forgive sins and restore what is broken at the deepest level of the human heart. The healing Jesus offers goes beyond the surface. It changes us from the inside out.• Jesus meets people in their desperation and compassionately heals their physical and relational brokenness• Many of the struggles we face are symptoms of a deeper spiritual problem rooted in sin• True healing happens when Jesus forgives our sins and restores our relationship with GodKey Scriptures:Luke 5:12–26Ephesians 3:17–19Genesis 3Psalm 103:12Jesus invites us to come to Him with more than our surface problems. Bring your whole life before Him and allow Him to heal what's deepest in your heart. Ask God to reveal where you need forgiveness and restoration. If this message encouraged you, share it with someone who needs to hear about the healing only Jesus can bring.Bayou City Fellowship Spring Branch Campus | Kevin Barra | March 8, 2026https://linktr.ee/bayoucityfellowship

Join us for our Bio Hacking series, Mike and Mark explore the transformational power of conscious breathing through the lens of Patrick McKeown's groundbreaking book, The Oxygen Advantage. Backed by science, McKeown's methods focus on improving health, reducing stress, and optimizing performance through simple yet effective breathing techniques.Get the book on Amazon https://geni.us/PatrickOxygenAdvantageThe episode covers practical insights and easy-to-follow exercises to help listeners manage stress, improve sleep, and enhance focus. Breathing is something we do automatically, but Patrick reveals that most people are doing it wrong. By retraining your breath, you can unlock mental clarity, Resilience, and energy gains you never knew you had.

On this episode, Paul White talks about persecution. Accompanying scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:14.

Robach and Holmes cover the latest news headlines and entertainment updates and give perspective on current events in their daily “Morning Run.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robach and Holmes cover the latest news headlines and entertainment updates and give perspective on current events in their daily “Morning Run.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robach and Holmes cover the latest news headlines and entertainment updates and give perspective on current events in their daily “Morning Run.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.