Bonus: How 3 Writers Found a Clear Path Through All the Writing Advice
If you’ve read the craft books, listened to hundreds of podcast episodes, and studied all kinds of writing advice—but still sit down at your...
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Fiction Writing Made Easy
How do I write a book? How do I create compelling characters that readers will love? How do I build a believable world for my story? What does it even mean to write a story that works? Do yo...
Episodes
20 of 279 episodes#262. 10 Tips to Make Your Enemies to Lovers Romance Feel Believable
If you're writing an enemies to lovers romance, getting your characters from “I can't stand you” to “I love you” takes more than chemistry....
#261. 5 Mistakes Writers Make Using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet
If you’re using the Save the Cat! beat sheet to outline your novel but your story still feels flat, disconnected, or hard to draft, one of t...
#260. Student Spotlight: From Stuck at 25k Words to a Finished Draft With Lindsay Sfara
After stalling out on a draft she'd already outlined chapter by chapter, Lindsay Sfara discovered the story development work that has to com...
#259. How to Finish a Novel With Kids at Home & Limited Writing Time
Struggling to make forward progress in your novel? This free guide will help you identify what's really slowing you down and find a clearer...
#258. 5 Myths Keeping You From Finishing Your First Draft
If you keep working on your novel but never seem to get closer to “The End,” these five novel writing myths may explain why—and show you wha...
#257. Stuck in Chapter One or the Messy Middle? What Your Stuck Point Reveals
Stuck writing your novel? Wherever your draft stalls out—chapter one, 20,000 words, the messy middle—that spot isn't random. It's a clue tha...
#256. Why “Just Start Writing” Can Be Terrible Advice for New Writers
Everyone tells you to just start writing. Nobody tells you when. And if you keep starting your novel and stalling out a few chapters in, tha...
#255. Student Spotlight: How Grace Draven Learned to Write Faster (Without Sacrificing Quality)
Can a lifelong discovery writer write faster and embrace structure without losing the magic? Bestselling author Grace Draven wrote 62,000 wo...
#254. How to Outline Your Novel With the Hero’s Journey
Learn how to outline your novel using the Hero’s Journey—without mistaking this classic framework for a complete story blueprint. The Hero’s...
#253. 5 Common Mistakes That Make Your Character Feel Flat
If your protagonist feels vivid in your head but flat on the page, this episode will help you diagnose what’s missing—and fix the specific p...
#252. Value Shifts: How to Tell if a Scene Is Working (or Falling Flat)
If you’ve got a scene that feels flat and you can’t figure out why, this episode will help you diagnose what’s really going on—so you know w...
#251. Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 8)
What does it look like to go from feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about your novel…to finally making real progress? In this episode, I...
#250. Why Your First Draft Doesn't Match the Book in Your Head (with Gala Russ)
A book coach who's written 15 novels pulls back the curtain on what's really happening when your messy first draft disappoints you. Ever fin...
#249. 5 POV Mistakes That Pull Readers Out of Your Story
Most fiction writers are making at least one of these point of view mistakes. Find out which one could be hiding in your draft. You know tha...
#248. From Meet-Cute to HEA: How to Connect the Key Scenes of Your Romance Novel
Learn how to write the lead-up and reaction scenes between your key romance plot points so your story flows naturally from meet-cute to HEA...
#247. 5 Secrets to Writing YA Fiction (That Actually Feels Like YA)
Learn the five craft secrets to writing young adult fiction that actually feels like YA—so when you sit down to write your own, you know exa...
#246. Story Mapping: How to Map Your Novel With Sticky Notes (With Danyel Nicole)
What if getting stuck on your novel has nothing to do with your story and everything to do with HOW you're seeing it? Story mapping coach Da...
#245. 5 Ways to Show World Building in Your Novel Without Info-Dumping
Master these 5 worldbuilding techniques to immerse readers in your fictional world without infodumping or overwhelming them. If you've...
#244. How to Create Characters Readers Will Love (5 Essential Elements)
Readers don't fall in love with likable characters. They fall in love with characters who want something specific, stand to lose someth...