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Unlock the intricacies of the Corruption Character Arc. Discover how fear, pride, and desire lead to a character's downfall.
Understand the Disillusionment Arc in storytelling, a powerful journey portraying human growth through confronting stark realities.
From magic to government, discover the 8 key pillars of worldbuilding that will make your fantasy world feel real.
Understanding the difference between antagonist vs. villain. Explore the complex dynamics that go beyond typical storytelling conventions.
Learn why the Third Plot Point is a vital turning point in your story structure. Understand how to set it up for a powerful ending.
Unleash the second half of the Second Act in your story. Explore how characters' decisions and inner growth drive the narrative.
Understand the importance of the First Act in story structure. Learn how the Hook, Inciting Event, and First Plot Point set up the plot.
Learn how the Hook grabs readers from the very first page with an irresistible question that piques their curiosity and keeps them reading.
Discover the secrets of the Lie the Character Believes. Explore the impact of this crucial storytelling element.
Learn effective strategies for juggling life and writing, including ways to maintain creative focus amid distractions.
Learn how to seamlessly transition out of big set pieces in your story. Discover practical tips for scene structure and transitions.
Learn how to troubleshoot your story's ending and craft a compelling climax. Tips on character arcs and themes for a satisfying conclusion.
Discover Enneagram types for writers and how they can enhance your understanding of yourself and your craft. Types 1-4 in this episode.
Annie Tan is a writer, educator, storyteller, speaker, and activist based in New York City. Annie's work as an educator and advocate has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Republic, PBS' Asian Americans, and twice on The Moth Radio Hour. Annie is currently working on her first book, a memoir. Her writing has been supported by the Vermont Studio Center, the Tin House Writing Workshop, and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference.You can find Annie on Twitter and Instagram at annietangent. Annie is available for speaking engagements and storytelling events: you can see more about Annie's speaking here. To contact Annie, email at annie@annietan.com or fill out this contact form.
Time management for writers starts with practical steps for aligning your daily schedule to your vision for your writing life.
To create fiction that offers life-changing hope, authors must be willing to also embrace the power of despair in fiction. Here are 5 tips.
Whether you're using a guided approach or just freewheeling, here are five ideas for how meditation can inspire your next story idea.
Here are four tips for how to use antagonistic proxies to your advantage, depending on your story's needs, without complicating your story.
One of the best tricks for writing memorable character relationships is to think of each relationship as an entity of its own. Here's how.
Four reasons why the dismissive statement "it's just a story" is not only erroneous, but one of humanity's most the dangerous lies.
Discover the versatile and effective technique of the backstory drip by learning four techniques for revealing backstory in your story.
When "good writing" strikes its steel upon the flint of archetypes, there is a sudden unity of truth between author and reader.
Learn how organic themes arise from plot (and vice versa) and specifically how to recognize five important elements of an organic theme.
Examines why negative reviews of your book may be impacting you and how to re-center your perspective afterwards.
While Sadie galavanted around Europe, Jeanne put reckless on steroids and talked with Jeff Frye, bank robber turned writer. Yes, a bank robber who got 20 years in a maximum security prison is now a published writer. So, what's your excuse?Resources from this episode:Symposium's NaNoWriMo Write-In Sprint, November 1st Skip the Vomit, Make a Plan by Craig WeedenWriter's Market Guide to Getting PublishedSymposium's One-on-One with Lane Shefter BishopMark Dawson YouTubeJeff Frye's websiteAll (read that as "most") OG Pipeline Artists podcasts can be found on pipelineartists.com/listen.Watch full episodes on YouTube.Follow us on Twitter:@recklesscr8tive@SadieKDean@jeannevb@pipelineartists@scriptmag
Explore nine positive character arcs in the Enneagram personality theory, including the Lie each character starts out believing.
His young adult novel, The Taking of Jake Livingston, is a now bestseller on Amazon. Find out how dyslexia and ADHD shaped Ryan Douglass' unique approach to writing. He also shares how being Black and LGBTQ impacts his learning differences. Understood is a nonprofit and social impact organization dedicated to shaping a world where the 1 in 5 people who learn and think differently can thrive. Learn more about How'd You Get THAT Job?! and all our podcasts at u.org/podcasts. Copyright © 2021 Understood for All, Inc. All rights reserved.
In this episode, Allison and Zibby talk all about why she launched her incredibly successful podcast, and how she got her book published that’s coming out in February! Zibby opens up about overcoming opposition when it comes to chasing her goals and dreams, the challenges that come with being a writer, and everything she’s gone through during the pandemic, and how she’s found joy in all of her goals. Follow Zibby:https://www.instagram.com/zibbyowens/ https://www.instagram.com/momsdonthavetimetoreadbooks/https://www.instagram.com/momsdonthavetimetoloseweight/ Follow Allison:https://www.instagram.com/allisonwalshconsulting/www.allisonwalshconsulting.com If you'd like to listen to Allison's interview on Zibby's show, click here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/allison-walsh-on-making-changes-one-at-a-time/id1535651286 Zibby's Bio:Zibby Owens is the creator and host of award-winning podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Zibby, named “NYC’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer” by New York Magazine’s Vulture, conducts warm, inquisitive conversations with authors as wide-ranging as Alicia Keys and Lena Dunham to Delia Owens and Natalie Portman, making her show a top literary podcast as selected by Oprah.com two years in a row. She also created the Moms Don’t Have Time to Lose Weight community and hosts the accompanying podcast.Before the pandemic, Zibby ran a literary salon, hosted her own book fairs, and was a frequent bookstore event moderator. During the quarantine, Zibby hosted a daily Instagram Live author talk show “Z-IGTV,” a weekly live show with her husband “KZ Time,” launched an online magazine called We Found Time, and started Zibby’s Virtual Book Club.Zibby is a regular contributor to Good Morning America online and the Washington Post, and has contributed to Real Simple, Parents, Marie Claire, Redbook, and many other publications. She has appeared on CBS This Morning, the BBC, NPR’s All Things Considered and elsewhere. Zibby serves on the boards of the Mount Sinai Health System, the Mount Sinai Parenting Center, and the Child Mind Institute, and co-chairs the Library Council of the New York Public Library. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Zibby currently lives in New York with her husband, Kyle Owens of Morning Moon Productions, and her four children, ages 6 - 13. She always has a book nearby.
We have an amazing conversation with Meghan Daum about life as a writer, the new culture wars, and the importance of being alone. It's a great one - enjoy! Meghan is the author of five books, including her latest work that Patrick highly recommends - The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars. In 2019 Meghan became a biweekly columnist for Medium. From 2005 to 2016 she was an oped columnist for The Los Angeles Times. Her work has been included in The Best American Essays and she has written for numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, and Vogue. She is the recipient of a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2016 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. She is on the adjunct faculty in the MFA Writing Program at Columbia University's School of the Arts. Find Meghan on Twitter: @meghan_daumVisit Meghan's website: https://www.meghandaum.com/Look out for Meghan's new podcast launching late July 2020! Full details (will be) available at: http://theunspeakablepodcast.com Deyus Life is a show about interesting people and interesting conversations. Have a question or want to be featured on the show? Email deyuspod@gmail.com or visit deyuslifepod.com. We read and respond to EVERY email - including yours.
Adrian Granzella Larssen is the founder of Sweet Spot Content. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of content-first career destination TheMuse.com. She's an absolute content guru and is an expert at helping people and companies elevate their content to the next level and beyond. Plus, she's just a really fantastic human being.Get on the list for Your Year Off.Connect on LinkedIn or follow her travels on Instagram.Check out the article Adrian wrote that I always go back to when I have writer's block: 7 Pain-free Ways to Become a Better Writer Starting Today
Kristina McMorris is best known as the author of Sold On A Monday, which spent 20 weeks on the NY Times bestsellers list. The novel is set during the great depression and is about a newspaper reporter who takes a photograph of two boys holding a sign, “2 children for sale.” The photograph kicks off a series of events that leads to a romance with a young woman at the paper, a run in with the mob, and a terrible quest to get to the bottom of the fate of the 2 children in the photograph.Get Sold on a Monday hereKistina's WebsiteBooks In this interview, we talk about how McMorris got interested in the great depression, the real photo that she based the novel on, and how she eventually got to meet one of the subjects in that photo.For our character test, we examine Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (bet that's not the sister you thought we'd choose). Finally we talk about how to live a story with a happy ending.As always, there's a free prize, which you can get by clicking here.Character Test is brought to you by The Write Practice Pro, a premium critiquing community for creative writers. You can learn more about The Write Practice Pro and join the community here.
Kevin J Anderson is the international bestselling novelist of books in the Dune series, Star Wars, Superman, X-Files, and more. In this episode, he talks about his love of hiking in the Colorado mountains while narrating novels, the importance of professionalism, and how to leave a legacy. Kevin J. Anderson's books Publisher Twitter (@TheKJA) Facebook Publishing MFA This is an interview about professionalism and about how to make it to the top of your field. Kevin upends the myth of the flaky writer. He is disciplined, structured, and turns his books in on time. Even more, he makes the claim that most of the writers at his level do the same. If you want to make it to the top, even the top of the writing world, this interview will inspire you and inform you about the path to get there. We also examine Lorelai from The Gilmore Girls and talk about how to make it to the top. Oh, and of course, there's a free prize. Character Test is brought to you by The Write Practice Pro, a premium critiquing community for creative writers. You can learn more about The Write Practice Pro and join the community here.
Download Your Free Guide - FIND THE WRITE MINDSET & GET PUBLISHED: The 5 Steps To Build Your Writing Confidence The thing is many talk about how to write a book, how to self-publish it and how to do book marketing but very few talk about how to actually get emotionally prepared to become a writer. I am talking about the write mindset here… There are many emotional barriers that newbie writers have in the very beginning and unless they overcome those they will not get to the stage of writing a book, let alone publishing and marketing it. As I already mentioned in one of the previous episodes 81% of people say they want to write a book…and only 1% DO. I strongly believe that although the 80-% come up with logical and objective excuses for not writing their books, in reality the reasons for not writing are mindset related. When people say that they don’t have time to write or that they can’t write well… the real reasons are much deeper. I think many of us used different credible excuses but in the reality we did not write the book because we were afraid and we were not ready. To be honest, I think all those who have not written a book yet think they are not ready. And I think absolutely all writers go through the same emotional journey in the very beginning. So believe me, even the most well known authors have been in your shoes before. We all think that our writing is not good enough. We are not yet ready to open up and share our writings and we are afraid of being judged. And that’s normal. All published writers have been there. I even think that even after reaching success, even after getting acknowledgement and status many writers still think that their writing is not good enough. There are different emotional barriers that stand between the newbie writer and his dream of seeing his name on a book cover. On the other hand the sad fact is that the only way to find readers is overcoming those barriers and actually publishing. Writer’s doubts are what we all experience and need to overcome to become authors. And sometimes those doubts are so strong that overcoming them alone is very hard. Sometimes you do need support and encouragement. So last week I decided to address that issue and create something that will help you out in case you are one of those writers, who is just starting. I created a guide called FIND THE WRITE MINDSET & GET PUBLISHED : The 5 Steps To Build Your Writing Confidence. I wrote that guide to help you get over the mental blocks to publishing your first book. I tried to explain there How To Become A Writer and what it takes to become a writer, so you know in advance and get prepared. You will also find out about The step most writers never take..although it is often the easiest one. And you’ll also learn What To Do With Your First Draft. I truly hope that this guide will help you with the emotional aspects I mentioned in this episode. So if you’d like to get my guide and build your writing confidence I am giving it out for free at www.anialexander.com/mindset I will truly appreciate if you could share the link with everyone who you think will need it and help us change the statistics and have more than 1% of people writing their books. So get your free guide now. Meanwhile let’s write and create amazing pieces that others will enjoy reading. Don’t miss the opportunity to join me and other Write 2B Read podcast listeners at our Facebook group.
The Climactic Moment is the reason your story is even being told in the first place. Needless to say, it's pretty important you get it right. Find out how!
The trouble with identifying the Inciting Event is that the term is applied rather wildly to half a dozen different moments in the story. Which is right?