How much backstory do you really need? How much is too much?

Most first-time authors tend to overuse backstory, which can detract from the main story. In this episode, I'll share 3 common mistakes writers make, and I'll give you 3 new ways to think about backstory, so that it doesn't dominate your story, but enhances and deepens it.  

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

One of the biggest impediments to our writing is time, and we all have unfinished drafts to prove it.

It always takes much longer than we think, and this can be dispiriting, not to mention stressful. Writing a book is a huge undertaking, and when time is sparse, it can leave us believing we don’t have what it takes.

In this episode, I'll challenge you to think differently about time, so you can get more writing done, and with more focus.

I’ll give you 3 tips to make more use of the time do you have, even if that time is sparse.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What do you do when you want to write, but don't think you have anything to say?  Or you do have something to say, but don't know how to say it?
 
In this episode from the 2023 vault, you'll learn 3 powerful writing exercises to help you find your way into your story.

These exercises will help unearth material you can open up and use in your fiction or memoir.

Use them to start a story, warm up, or get unstuck.

Episode Web Page

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  

Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.

Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

You asked, I answered.

In this episode, I’m answering 5 questions I hear over and over about character development.

Questions like:

• What makes a strong, memorable character?
• How do I give my character more depth? 
• How can I make readers care for my characters?
• How do you decide whether or not to eliminate a character from a story?
• What is the proper way to write my character's thoughts?

These are smart questions. Because character is the heartbeat of your story. It’s what drives your plot, and gives meaning to everything that’s happening. When you know your character inside and out, it makes all your other story decisions so much easier. 

So, grab your pen and paper. And  download this episode so you can easily access it.

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What separates published authors from aspiring authors? Do they have more talent? More time? 

Nope. 

They just approach writing with a different mental construct. 

In this episode, you'll learn 3 things published authors do differently. 

We'll cover: 

• Why talent isn't enough, and what you need to cultivate instead;
• 3 mistakes aspiring writers make that eventually stop them in their tracks;
• Why seeking qualified feedback  is essential, and two ways to ensure you get  the best feedback;
• How to choose which feedback is relevant. Remember, it's your story, so you're the best arbiter of you're own work; and
• How to set clear, achievable goals to bring your manuscript to the finish line.

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What makes short stories different from novels? Aside from the obvious difference in length?

And what can novelists learn from short stories?

In this episode, I'm breaking down 3 structural elements of short stories, along with an example of how it's done.

 If you're writing short stories, you'll learn how to organize and shape your material.

And if you're writing a novel or memoir, you're  going to get tons of value from this, too. 

Because we'll be talking about how to  articulate and build conflict as an organizing structure.

This will help you shape chapters and scenes. Most important, this episode will help you learn the economy of language. So you can write any story with more elegance, shape, and potency.

Whether you aspire to write short stories or novels, you'll learn how to use repetition and variation to amplify your story’s conflict and theme.

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Now that summer's officially over and we're on the cusp of Fall, what better time to rekindle or start a consistent writing practice?  

Call it a habit, routine, or ritual, but it's all about creating an ongoing and thriving relationship with your writing. The value of consistent practice is cumulative. You create space in your life to deepen your craft, expand your skills, and navigate challenges.

In this episode, you'll learn how to:

• Harness your peak times to create and schedule focused time to write; 
• Start seeing opportunities instead of obstacles; 
• Manage expectations and honor the progress you're making; and
• Find meaning and purpose in your writing practice so you can go the distance, even if you don't write every day.

Episode Webpage

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

There comes a time when the story we're writing just isn't coming together as we envisioned.  Writing's become too  overwhelming and complicated.  So, we're tempted to quit. Quit the story. Or quit writing altogether.

But just because you're coming up against obstacles and setbacks, even if they feel insurmountable, that's no reason to quit.

In fact, that's the worst time to quit.

In this episode, we'll talk about what to do when you hit what Seth Godin calls, the dip.

I'll give you 4 questions to ask yourself before you abandon ship.  And I'll help you decide what you should quit so you can go on to write an exceptional story.

Episode WebPage

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

As summer begins its exit, and Fall approaches, I curated 5 episodes to refresh your writing.

These are some of the most downloaded episodes. You'll get everything from plot and character development, show vs. tell, how to select story details, and how to stay motivated.

Think of this as your end of summer playlist.

Here you go:

Episode 37: Three Questions to Ask Before You Plot Your Story

Episode 22: Three Ways to Avoid Character Stereotype

Episode 81: Story Details: What to Leave In, What to Leave Out

Episode 90: Four Ways to Master Show, Don’t Tell

Episode 29: How to Reignite Your Motivation To Write

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What's the difference between biography, autobiography,  memoir, the immersion story, and personal essay?

In this episode,  you'll learn about the possibilities available to you in the creative non-fiction genre.  You'll get clear on what makes these forms alike and different,  and what elements you need to be aware of when  writing one or the other. 

You'll learn: 

• The similarities between creative non-fiction and fiction;
• The difference between autobiography and memoir;
• What literary journalism is, and how  the author is  the protagonist in the story;
• The two voices essential to memoir; and
• The distinction between memoir and personal essay. 

Episode Web Page

“I love Writer Unleashed!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show. This helps me support more writers — just like you —to bring the story burning in their imagination onto the page.  Click  here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

How do you write the bad guy?

The villain. The antagonist. The one who makes life difficult for your protagonist?

How do you make this person believable and fascinating? Not just a stock cartoon character nobody believes in or cares about?

One of the biggest pitfalls when writing villains -- aka, antagonists -- is over simplifying them.

But your most troublesome character is just as important to develop as your protagonist. So you've got to get to know him or her as intimately as you know your main character. 

That means, you know your antagonist's deepest desires, fears, worldview, and motives.

You want to explore who this person is as a human being.

In this episode, we're exploring 5 secrets about your antagonist you should know.

So that you can bring more texture, complexity and humanity to him or her. And  make even the most evil villain fascinating to your reader.

Episode WebPage

Free Resource mentioned in this episode:

13 Questions to Deepen Your Character: Create Multi-Dimensional Characters Who Breathe On The Page and Defy Stereotype

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Want to bring your manuscript closer to published, but don't want to drop thousands to hire an editor?

 In this episode, you'll learn to edit your story yourself. 

You'll get answers to common questions like:

Do I edit as I go? Or do I edit after the manuscript is done?

How do I edit for coherence and continuity?

Where do I begin?

In this episode, I’m going to give you a  4-step strategy for self-editing your story.  

We’re going step by step.

From the big picture all the way down to the sentence level. 

This 4-step strategy works at every stage of the drafting process.

You can use it with a finished manuscript. Or a work in progress.

Because this process will keep your story focused and on track. 

You'll learn to evaluate: 

• Story events as major actions, each with its own resolution;
• Chapters as self-contained, complete narrative units;
• Individual scenes and how they all fit in your overall story structure; and
• How to look at paragraphs and sentences for power and progression.

Episode Web Page

Also Listen To:

Episode 99: How to Nail Down Your Story In 3 Simple Sentences
Episode 98: Should You Hire An Editor?
Episode 68: How to Use Subplots to Amplify Your Novel

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Ever feel like no matter how much time you spend on your plot, your story’s just not coming together?

Maybe you're generally happy with your structure, but when you go to break down those story beats, all you find are a lot of plot holes.

And now you’re overthinking everything, wondering how your characters and scenes work within your plot.

In this episode I’m sharing  5 common plot problems and what you can do to fix them, or avoid them completely.  This will help you know what’s relevant in your story,  what you can cut, and what you can develop more deeply. 

We’ll explore:

• How to define your central story problem from which every other event will spin;
• How to build and intensify your plot;
• The internal change your character is forced to make, and why she/him resists it;
• The missing causal factor that moves your plot forward, and;
• How to up the ante so that your ending feels simultaneously surprising and inevitable. 

Episode Website

Also Listen To:

Episode 69: How to Create Plot Continuity With Character Thought

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Scenes set up the structural pace of your story.

Some scenes are more action driven, so they move at a faster clip. Other scenes are more reflective, and move slower. Some scenes have more intensity, some have less.

Which is why you need different types of scenes. 

In this episode, we’ll explore  5 must-have scenes to include in your story. 

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

If I asked you what your story was about, could you sum it up in a few sentences and tell me all I need to know to want more?

Maybe you have too many ideas swimming around your head, and your story is running away from you.

Either way, you have a hazy, rambling idea about what your story is all about.

That's every story in its early stages.

So, in this episode, I want to invite you to do a little exercise in nailing down your story idea in 3 sentences.

You'll zero in on:

• Who your story's about, and what happens to set this person down a path she/he never saw coming;
• The trouble and complications that follow; and
• The payoff or promise the reader can expect by the end

Bottom line?

If you can drill your story down to a few clear, focused sentences, you can write a clear, focused story.

This 3-sentence framework  will help you avoid bogging your story down with unnecessary digressions and clutter. You'll know what to keep in. And what to keep out.

This will make your first drafts easier to write. Your works in progress easier to revise.  So you can build a story that's a great read.

Episode Website

Link mentioned in this episode:
Free 3-Act Worksheet

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What does an editor do precisely? How do you choose an editor you can trust with your manuscript?   How much do editors charge?  And is hiring one worth the investment? 

In this episode, I'm answering the most frequently asked questions I get about editors. 

I'll demystify the editing process. So you can make an informed, prudent decision on whether to invest in an editor or not.

And you'll get an inside view on how to edit your own work.

We'll cover:  

• The 3 phases of editing every book goes through.
• How much editors charge at each stage of the process.
• How to choose the best editor for you.
• How to offset editorial costs. 
• When to hire an editor, and when to hold off.

Episode Webpage

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group Is Holding You Back (and What To Look For In Your Next Writing Tribe)
• Fiverr
• Upwork

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

How do you tell the difference between genuinely bad writing and writing that's actually good... but you think it's bad because you're being over critical?

How do you manage not liking what you write because you know you can do better? And so you end up not writing anything.

What about when you want abandon your dreams of becoming an author because you re-read your work and you hate it all. And now you believe you're not good enough.

Well, that's the story you're telling yourself. And it ends today.

In this episode, I'm sharing how to evaluate your work with more objectivity and appreciation.

So you can get on with it.

You'll learn:

• Why we’re the worst judges of our own work
• Why perfection is the lowest standard there is
• The necessary gap between your vision and where your story is now 
• The ship and learn approach to elevating your story 

Episode Website

Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group is Holding You Back (and What to Look For in Your Next Writing Tribe)

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Why do readers read?  Is it just for entertainment? To escape everyday life? Or is there a deeper need?

What is it about story that keeps us captivated from beginning to end?

It helps to understand why stories are so impactful and precisely what readers are hungry for when they turn to a book.

In this episode we’re going to explore what your reader is actually responding to when he forgets about the real world and gets entranced by the world on the page.

 So you can use this intel to craft your story. 

Episode Website

Link mentioned in this episode:

Episode 35: Three Storytelling Techniques to Steal From Superbowl Ads

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

We're often instructed to hook readers in our opening paragraphs by enticing them with story questions. 

All good. 

But you can't really plant questions in the beginning without knowing how your story will ultimately end. 

There's a link between your story's beginning and its end. 

So the best way to hook your reader is to start with the end in mind. 

This creates two things readers crave: 

Curiosity and Suspense.

But there's an art to it. A great opening both reveals and withholds. 

So, in today's episode, I'm breaking down 3 story openings crafted with the end in mind. 

You'll see how the opening and ending are linked. Plus 3 techniques you can use to open your story. 

Not sure sure how your story ends? No worries. I've got you covered there, too.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Lots of writers believe you can't deeply develop character until you know what happens on the plot level. 

But this is backwards. 

Ultimately, what moves your story forward is your protagonist's reactions, choices, and actions. 

Not the external events that activate those reactions. 

Your plot doesn't just need structural coherence. 

It needs emotional and psychological coherence.

Simply put, before you develop your plot, before you write your opening scene, you need to know who it affects and why. 

In today's episode, we're breaking down 3 simple steps to deeper character development. 

You'll learn:

• Two things driving your plot. Hint: It's not what happens. 
• How to drill down your protagonist's desire to the specific and concrete. 
• And how to unlock the unconscious drives that both fuel and thwart your protagonist. 

Once you do these 3 steps, everything you include on the plot level will have meaning. 

And your readers will know why it  all matters. 

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Call it your hero.  Or your MC. 

But all stories need one main protagonist.  When we don’t know who your main character is, we have no one to root for. 

Why is picking one character to focus on a good idea?

We need to know who we’re experiencing your story through. Your protagonist is the portal.  It's how we hook into your story from the first page to the last.

In this episode, you'll learn why focusing on one character creates a richer experience for the reader, and an easier writing experience for you.

You'll learn what to do when you have multiple character viewpoints, co-protagonists, and other characters who have a stake in the action. 

And I'll give you 3 questions to help you nail the main star of your story.

So grab a pencil and let's do this together.

Episode Website

Link mentioned in this episode:

Episode 89: What Plotters and Pantsers Both Get Wrong About Story

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Writer Unleashed is coming up on its 2-Year Anniversary!

So in the spirit of celebration,  I'm giving you a 5-episode playlist to help you wherever you are in your writing process right now. 

Narrowing down the list to just five was not easy breezy. I sifted through nearly 100 episodes, and I poured everything I've got into creating each and every one of them for you. But I drilled down to the ones that tackle some of the most common challenges throwing writers off their game, and I'm excited to share them with you.

If you’ve already listened to these in the past, go listen again. Because as you know, practicing your craft over and over is how you truly master writing. There are so many valuable tips and techniques that will help you dial in on everything from integrating character with plot, to crafting believable dialogue, to handling backstory, to crafting a stellar opening scene. 

So, if you missed any of these, listen to them now.
Or listen again. 


Episode 55: Is Your Story Plot Driven or Character Driven?

 Episode 78: Five Elements of a Riveting First Scene

Episode 50: How Much Backstory Does Your Reader Really Need to Know?

Episode 52: The Number One Mistake Writers Make With Dialogue

Episode 26:Writing About Someone You Know - Is Your Story Worth It?

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What does it take to make major breakthroughs in your writing consistently? 

How do you put yourself into an optimal state of creativity every time you sit down to write?

When it comes to mastering your story, you need to be in a flow state. When you’re in flow, your creativity,  your output, the quality of your writing is turbo-charged.  You make more progress in half the time. 

But flow isn't just something you just flow in and out of.  You need to create the conditions for flow to happen.

Drawing on the latest research from Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal,  you'll learn the 4 triggers that drive flow, and how to maximize them to get more quality writing done, time after time.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Still not grasping the art of show, don't tell? That's because it's never fully explained.  So writers show too little, or too soon, or they show poorly. Often, they don't show at all. In this episode, you'll ll get clear on what showing is, what telling is, and 4 effective ways to show like a pro. 

Episode Website

Links mentioned in this episode:
Episode 69: How to Create Plot Continuity With Character Thought

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Do you write your first scene over and over, trying to get it just right? But you never feel like you're nailing it?

Many writers spend way too much time on their opening scene without considering its role in the main character's entire arc of change. 

There's a relationship between your first scenes and last scenes.

To take the reader on the journey along with your character,  you want to craft your opening and ending scenes with each other in mind.

In this episode, we'll look at the relationship between your first scenes and final scenes, and how to write them.

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Plotters plot and pantsers wander.  One approach isn't better than the other. They're just different impulses. But both are equally futile.

Pantsers  can wander aimlessly ad infinitum, and plotters often focus only on plot at the outset. Which is why they still get stuck in the messy middle.

What both plotters and pantsers get wrong  is how to bring story elements together to focus their material.

In today's episode, we'll break down 3 story elements that work together in concert to create a story: Desire, Theme, and Plot.

Episode Website

Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 46: What Theme Is and Why It Matters

FREE 3-Act Worksheet

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Many writers have fixed ideas about the best ways to write and finish a story. But they don’t work for every writer.  And in many instances, they don’t even work for the writers who swear by them.  So in this episode, I'm going to challenge 3 common rules I hear over and over, and give you a different perspective to try on.

Episode Website

Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 11: How to Make Time to Write When You Have No Time

Splendid Spoon - Plant-based, feel-good food ready-to-eat meals

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

There’s no shortage of writing advice. Especially in the online space. Google is not the best gatekeeper. And some FB groups  are doling out conflicting advice, canned advice,  bad advice. Writers hear the same advice so often, a lot of them have come to regard them as the only way to craft a story. 

But these are often half baked ideas that are keeping you from moving forward. They’re taking you totally in the wrong direction. They’re myths. 

Myths about plot and structure. Myths about how to create drama. And what it means to write beautiful sentences. 

Myths that are taking you way off course. It’s either the wrong approach, or it just doesn’t go deep enough. 

In this episode I’m debunking 4 common myths about story writing, and I’ll give you different approaches to apply to your pages.   

Episode Website

Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 1: Why Write What You Know is Bad Advice
FREE 3 Act Worksheet

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

We all hit a block at some point in the writing process, even the best of us. Accomplished writers know how to navigate that impasse, to notice when and why they're getting blocked, so that they can move through it. But so many writers get stuck there, and they can't move forward. In this episode, we'll explore five reasons you may be experiencing writer's block. And you'll learn some strategies to blast through it.

Episode Website

Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group is Holding You Back (and What to Look For in Your Next Writing Tribe

Download Your FREE 9 Story Starters Here

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Between careers, kids, and everything else life throws our way, sometimes we have to step back from our writing. Sometimes for months. Sometimes for years.
So, how do you get back to your writing after a long hiatus? In today’s episode, I'm sharing  strategies I’ve used to get back into the writing zone after an extended break. You'll also learn the secret to staying motivated, plus how to create an environment that supports your writing. 

Episode Website

Link Mentioned:

Download Your FREE 9 Story Starters Guide Here

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Rejection never feels good. And it can throw our entire identity as a writer into doubt. 

The question is…

How do you get your confidence back? So that you can get back to work?

In this episode, you'll learn 4 strategies to get back on track. So you can stop identifying with the rejection and become a more resilient and skilled writer.

We'll also cover why even good books are rejected by publishers, and why you, as an unknown debut author, has an advantage.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Your story opening is your only chance to hook your reader.  So you want to start strong. It doesn’t matter if the middle of your story is brilliant. Or your second chapter is fantastic. It doesn't matter if your story starts picking up speed 7 pages in. 

Readers won’t wait for that. 

In today’s episode, I’m going to break down 4 story openings to spark some ideas. So you can craft a story opening that keeps readers longing to read more.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What makes a piece of writing feel false? What makes it feel true?  Why does it move us? Or fail to? How do we drop readers directly into a character’s experience so that they become the character and go on the journey with them? In this episode, you'll borrow 3 acting techniques for writing stories  that feel more real, more believable, and more true.

Episode Website

Download your FREE Character Questionnaire

Also Listen to:
Episode 81: Story Details: What to Leave In, What to Leave Out

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Details are the lifeblood of your story.  And writing is all about the selection of those details. But how do you decide which details matter? 

When we sit down to write, we’re often bombarded with too many details. We’re in this constant and brutal battle with the facts of our experience, the details of the world, and the needs of our story.

The question we must continually ask is, What do I leave in? What do I leave out?

But selecting the right story details is easier than you think. Because you already know how to do this. You select what's worthy of your attention moment by moment, whether you're conscious of it or not.

In this episode, we’ll explore what you already know about selecting details, and how to bring that instinct directly to your fiction or memoir.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What makes your story a page turner? What makes it so irresistible that readers devour every page? In today’s episode, we’re breaking down 4 tips to writing a page turner. Techniques that go beneath and beyond common structures like the Hero’s Journey, Save the Cat, and the traditional 3-Act.  So you can make your story stand out from the pile.  And keep readers hooked scene by scene.

Episode Website

FREE 3-Act Worksheet

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Ever receive feedback on your writing that crushed you to the core? 

In this episode, learn 5 ways to make sure you not only survive, but get the most constructive feedback on your story, with more generative results. 

You'll learn how to take a more active role in the feedback process, so you can leave with a more energized, excited vision for your story.  

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Scenes are the building blocks of your story.  But how do you craft scenes that draw us in every single time? That keep us turning the page?  In this episode you'll learn how to craft spellbinding scenes from beginning to end.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• The difference between scene and summary.
• Four essential things each scene should give your protagonist.
• How to set each scene's intentions.
• What it means to "advance your plot" and how to do it.
• and how to structure your scenes from start to finish. 

Episode Website

Also Listen To:
Episode 78:  Five Elements of a Riveting First Scene

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Your first scene is crucial. It’s what sets your story in motion. It's where you keep your reader or lose em'.  So you want to craft this scene with intention.  In this episode, you'll learn 3 essential things your first scene must accomplish.  And we'll explore 5  core elements that go into every successful first scene, with examples from Neil Gaiman's  novel, American Gods, and Lucy Grealy's memoir, Autobiography of a Face.

Also Listen To:
Episode 69: How to Create Plot Continuity With Character Thought

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

There’s no one size fits all way to write. Still, there’s no shortage of advice on how to do it.  But some advice can derail you for months, maybe years. Advice like reaching a certain word count per day. Or crafting your story with an ideal reader in mind. Or outlining before you’ve felt  your way into your story.  So, today I’m going to counter some of the most common advice I hear over and over and give you another perspective.  

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

 Writing is solitary.  And if you’re anything like me, you like to dip into some inspiration from time to time for a creative boost or deeper insight into the craft. So much of our progress depends on how we feel about the work. So in this episode, I’m going to pull some of my favorite  quotes and unwrap them for the wisdom and creative fuel they offer on  writing technique and  the writing life.

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Have you ever thought, Writing should be easier for me than this?  I sure did. I didn't know there was a craft to writing a novel. I thought talent and sheer  passion would see me through. And then I became a professional competitive dancer and learned that desire and talent were just starter fuel. The truth is, writing is no easier than mastering any other art form. Talent is not enough. Technique on it's own is not enough. So, what does it take to master the art of writing? In this episode, I share what I learned as a dancer about bringing heart and technique together, how to practice deliberately to bring your work closer to a publishable caliber, and why perfectionism is restricting you.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

How do you keep a consistent writing routine when you're life is hectic as all hell?  How do you find time to write and  fulfill life's never-ending hamster wheel of responsibilities?  And where do you find the energy?  In this episode, you'll hear the strategies I've been using for years to let writing co-exist with a crazy busy, but beautiful  life as a single working mom. You'll learn a more abundant way to think about time, how to ride the momentum when you're at your best, and how to protect your creative time fiercely.   

Books mentioned:
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Also Read:
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast

Also Listen To:
#15 How to Find Your Creative Flow

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

How can you be more efficient with structuring your story? How do you balance structure while keeping the story fresh and surprising? In this episode we're going to talk about 5 essential storytelling techniques that will help you structure your story into a riveting experience for your readers. You'll also learn how to hook your reader in your opening sentences instantly using one simple word.

Also Listen to:
Episode 71: Captivating Characters
Episode 72: 3 Ways to Craft a Compelling Point of View

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

Do you ever feel like you're tying yourself up in knots with all the different points of view your story has?  POV is one of the most misunderstood and often poorly taught story elements. It's also one of the most important story decisions you make.  But there's so much confusion about POV. In today's episode, we'll untangle some of the confusion. You'll learn what point of view is (and what it's not) and the 3 main constructs that create point of view.  And  a writing exercise to drive it all home, so grab something to write on and write with.

Also listen to:
Episode 71: Beyond the First Draft: Captivating Characters

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

You have your first draft. Or maybe you're stalled in your current work in progress. Now what?  How do you finish what you started? Today, you'll learn how to move forward with your work in progress, or revise the  draft you already have.  This is part  1 of a 3 part mini series, Beyond the First Draft. This episode focuses on character development. You'll get clear on who your story is about, what your main character wants, how to build complexity into your characters, and how to reveal their nuances.

Grab your FREE Character Questionnaire and Email Series here.

Episode Show Notes

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

There's a lot of writing advice floating around. But most of it shackles writers more than it helps, and sometimes leads to paint-by-number stories.  In this episode, learn common traps when it comes to plot, action, backstory, show, don't tell, and point of view. You'll turn around misconceptions and learn what to do instead.

Episode Website

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

How do you create tension in your story that makes it impossible for readers to put it down?

By placing your characters in some kind of danger, even if it's subtle. Danger can be as harrowing as a plane crash, or as nuanced as unrequited love. 

In this episode, we'll explore two types of danger to raise tension, and make your story unputdownable.

Episode Web Page

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What does character thought have to do with plot? It's the connective tissue that brings continuity to your story, scene by scene. It helps fill in all those plot holes. And it keep your reader grounded in what's happening as your story advances. 

Character thought is part of the action. It's the connective tissue that accomplishes 3 things:

1. reminds your reader what happened earlier,
2.  establishes desire and motive in the present, and 
3. creates suspense about what might happen next. 

In this episode, you'll learn 3 ways to have characters think their way through your scenes to give your plot continuity.

https://nancipanuccio.com/69

Also Listen To:

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

How do you harness the depth and complexity of your story material? And orchestrate all those story threads so that they intensify your plot?  By creating subplots. Learn two ways subplots work,  plus three places your subplots may already be hiding out in your WIP waiting to be developed.

NanciPanuccio.com/68

Links mentioned:
FREE Character Questionnaire
nancipanuccio.com/character/

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.

What’s the most overlooked way to show how a character feels?

The vowel scale - the poet's secret weapon.  Just like musical notes, vowel sounds have frequencies that create vibrations in the reader's body, making them feel with your character. In today's episode, you'll learn how to use the frequencies of these vowel sounds to reinforce the emotion, tone, images, and meaning of your story.

Also Listen  To:
Episode 13:  How to Write For Emotional Impact

Not sure if your idea has what it takes to become a powerful story? This free quick guide will help you uncover the heart of your idea in just three simple steps. You’ll walk away with a one-sentence premise you can build your entire book on, and the clarity and confidence to keep going.

Download Your Quick Guide Here

Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.