Explore every episode of the podcast Fiction Writer's Toolshed: Practical Tools for Authors

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 I want to help you with the actual fiction you're working on-- for free.

Since launching Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I've been turning my own writing process into practical, repeatable tools. Now I want to put those tools to work with other writers. You get specific, detailed help with your writing, and I get to test and refine the tools through real use.

In this episode, I explain the offer, how we'll work together, and what I'm asking in return: subscribe to Unstoppable Maker, my newsletter, and let me share a useful portion of the advice so other writers can learn from it, too. You and your story can remain anonymous, and we'll agree on what I can share.

To get started, subscribe below and reply to the welcome email. You don't need a polished explanation-- just tell me where you're getting stuck.

Unstoppable Maker also brings you one useful writing tool each week. This invitation stays open while I can responsibly make time for it, with no guaranteed turnaround.

This episode is for you if you have ANY fiction writing questions, but some examples are: 
- How do I write a novel as a beginner?
- How do I outline a novel, chapter by chapter?
- How do I write a fantasy novel?
- How do I write a thriller or mystery that keeps readers guessing?
- How do I write characters with depth?
- How do I write a villain readers can't hate?
- How do I write a plot twist that works?
- How do I write dialogue that sounds natural?
- How do I add tension to a scene?
- How do I actually finish writing my book?

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 What does selling a screenplay require beyond writing a good script?

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, screenwriter and novelist Doug Hall returns to discuss the business of screenwriting.

Drawing on his experience of selling a screenplay to Trimark Pictures and optioning scripts across several genres, Doug shares his perspective on understanding potential buyers, approaching producers, sending query letters, and staying flexible when an unexpected opportunity appears.

Doug also explains why he recommends one specific and underestimated thing to all screenwriters, and how it can help you break into the business.

A practical conversation about the relationship between the stories you want to write and the business of getting them made.

Questions explored:

- What should screenwriters understand about potential buyers?
- How can flexibility help when pitching a screenplay?
- Why does professionalism matter in a screenwriting career?
- How can writing a single-location script improve your storytelling?

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Could writing your ending first help you build a more satisfying story? In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I talk with screenwriter and author Doug Hall about choosing your destination before writing toward it.

After reaching roughly page 80 of a 100-page screenplay without knowing how to end it, Doug changed his approach. He explains how starting with an ending helps him develop character conflict, dialogue, theme, and the midpoint-- and build toward a payoff that feels unexpected but earned.

Doug also shares how a bet led him into screenwriting, how he wrote the original draft of Leprechaun in the Hood in five days, and why the ending you start with can still change.

Whether you're writing a novel, short story, or screenplay, this conversation offers a way to think about how the story you're building supports the ending you want to deliver.

This episode is for you if you have questions like:

- Should you write your story's ending first?
- How do you write a satisfying ending?
- How can knowing the ending help you plot a story?
- How do you make a twist ending feel earned?
- How can an ending guide character development and conflict?
- What makes a story's midpoint interesting?
- Can you change your ending after you start writing?

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How do you turn a screenplay into a novel? Mathew Tekulsky returns to Fiction Writer's Toolshed to help me work through a real version of that question: I'm trying to turn a musical I co-wrote with Jacob Lowry into prose.

Neither of us has completed this exact kind of adaptation, so we build a current best approach together. Mathew suggests working through the script scene by scene, adding the point of view, interior experience, and selective description a novel can provide. We talk about how to expand a scene without padding the story, why rereading can reveal threads worth developing, and what happens when a musical's songs carry moments the novel must tell another way.

Later, we discuss another difference between the forms: a novelist can finish a book largely through their own efforts, while a film brings actors, producers, financing, and new creative input into the process.

Learn more about Mathew and his books: https://www.mathewtekulsky.com/

This episode is for you if you're asking:

- How do you turn a screenplay into a novel?
- Can you write a novel from a script or stage play?
- How do you adapt a musical into a novel?
- What should prose add to a scene that already works on stage or screen?
- How do you add point of view and interior thought to a screenplay?
- Can you adapt a script one scene at a time?
- How do you expand a script without padding the novel?
- How is finishing a novel different from getting a screenplay produced?

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How do you adapt a novel into a screenplay? Award-winning, bestselling author Mathew Tekulsky joins me to talk through the choices he makes when bringing his own fiction to the screen.

Mathew wrote his novels before adapting them, but a finished book is only the starting point. He describes how he finds scenes to dramatize, why he removed a character from the screenplay of Saving Annie, and how he created new action in a scene when a short story gave him the seed of a film.

We also discuss keeping screenplay description lean, leaving room for actors, and studying movies with a writer's eye. 

Learn more about Mathew and his books: https://www.mathewtekulsky.com/

This episode is for you if you're asking:
- How do you adapt a novel into a screenplay? 
- What should you keep or cut when adapting a book for film?
- How do you turn a prose scene into action an audience can see?
- Can you remove a character when adapting your own novel?
- How do you expand a short story into a feature-length screenplay?
- How much description should you put in a screenplay?
- Should you write the novel or the screenplay first?
- How do you get started on a writing project you've been putting off?

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What does "kill your darlings" actually mean for fiction writers-- and how do you know which parts of your story should be cut? 

In this episode, I explore a problem with one of writing's most popular pieces of advice: and give you a solution that works well for me. I'll give you a way to decide. 

I also break down two ways you might notice a possible "darling" in the first place. 

Then I give you three questions you can use to test if something is a darling.

Most importantly, I reverse the usual advice. 

This episode is perfect for you if you have questions like:

* What does "kill your darlings" mean in fiction writing?
* How do I know what to cut from my story?
* How do I know if a scene belongs in my novel?
* What should I do when beta readers dislike a scene I love?
* How do I decide whether feedback means something should be removed?
* Can a good scene still be wrong for the story?
* How do I know what reader experience my story is creating?
* Should every scene match the same tone or mood?
* What if my favorite part of the story doesn't fit the rest?
* When should I change the story instead of cutting the thing I love?
* How can discovery writers decide what belongs after drafting?
* How can I revise fiction without cutting the things that make it unique?

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Robert E. Howard didn't tell Conan the Barbarian's life in chronological order. One story might find Conan as a young thief, another as an older adventurer, and another somewhere entirely different-- and somehow those gaps make his world feel bigger rather than incomplete. 

In this episode, I'm joined again by writer and editor Matt Click to talk about what Conan can teach fiction writers about writing stories and series out of order.

We explore an approach I'm calling modular continuity: creating stories that work independently while still belonging to the same character, world, and larger continuity. Instead of filling in every step of a character's life, you can establish important anchors, leave open space between them, and write the adventures that interest you. 

Along the way, we talk about Robert E. Howard and pulp storytelling, why the Hyborian Age feels so enormous, Conan's surprising humanity and intelligence, The Tower of the Elephant, Savage Sword of Conan, Frank Frazetta-- and the extremely important question that started this entire conversation:  Why does Conan rip so hard?

Questions this episode explores:
Can you write a fiction series out of chronological order-- and do it well? 
How do you keep continuity while leaving gaps in a character's timeline? 
What is modular continuity? 
How can standalone stories still feel like part of a larger series? 
Can leaving parts of your fictional world unexplained actually make it feel bigger? 
Why has Conan the Barbarian remained such a compelling character? 
What can fiction writers learn from Robert E. Howard's approach to serialized storytelling? 

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What makes your writing original when your story idea isn't completely new? In this episode, I explore why 'original fiction' isn't about having an idea nobody has ever had. 

I'll use Pokémon to show how influences can pass through one creator and become something new. Then I give you a simple exercise for finding the fingerprints already present in your own fiction.  

Most importantly, I make the case for why the fiction only you can write is worth making and putting into the world.

In this episode, I answer questions like:

• What makes your writing original if your story idea isn't new?
• How do I know if my story is original enough?
• What truly makes one writer's work different from another's?
• Do fiction writers need completely original story ideas?
• How do your influences and personal experiences shape your writing?
• How can you use creative influences without feeling like you're copying?
• How can you find what is uniquely yours in your own writing?
• Why can two writers start with similar ideas and create completely different stories?
• Why does your individual perspective matter as a fiction writer?
• Why is the fiction only you can write worth finishing and sharing?

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Fiction Writer's Toolshed -- Episode 26

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How do you write a scene that actually earns its place in the story? A scene can be well "structured", full of dialogue, conflict, action, or exposition and still feel like nothing happened. 

In this episode, we talk about how a scene is a specific sort of container, and how to fill it. You'll learn how to separate activity  in a scene from real change, choose a change target, and use a simple "dial" to track what changes and by how much.

This approach works for outliners and discovery writers, and it leaves room for slow burns, fast changes and even intentional stillness. 

Along the way, we'll use Robert McKee's Story as a jumping-off point and adapt and simplify the idea for prose fiction, comics, screenplays, and other forms of fiction.

The question to carry back to your manuscript: What will be different because you spent the reader's time here?

Questions this episode helps answer:

• How do you write a scene that actually moves a story forward?
• What is the purpose of a scene in fiction?
• How do you know whether a scene is necessary or earning its place?
• Does something meaningful have to change in every scene?
• How can outliners and discovery writers use the same scene-writing tool?

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Trey Parker and Matt Stone's famous South Park writing rule is deceptively simple: if the beats of your story are connected by "and then," you may have a problem. Instead, they recommend building stories with "but" and "therefore," so one event causes or complicates the next.

It's great writing advice. But how do you actually use it to fix a story? What's the formal tool?

In this episode, I trace the idea from Parker and Stone's viral 2011 NYU writing lecture, to The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, all the way back to Aristotle's Poetics from 2000+ years ago. A chain to find a chain.

Then we turn the principle into a practical fiction-writing tool: the Causal Chain Audit.

If your novel, short story, or screenplay feels like a stack or 'gathering' of good scenes that somehow still isn't pulling you forward, this is a diagnostics tool you can use directly on your draft (and maybe even on your outline).

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Links from Steven:
https://www.thesukha.co/for/writers

https://www.thesukha.co/post/the-magic-and-science-of-flow-states

What actually happens when a writer enters a flow state? And can you learn to reach that true flow state more reliably?

In this follow-up conversation with Steven Puri, founder of The Sukha Company, former vice president at Fox, and former executive vice president at DreamWorks, we dig into the origins, science, and practical experience of flow.

Steven explains how psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (it took me forever to Google this name and actually find it) identified similar patterns among high-performing athletes, artists, musicians, scientists, and other creators. We talk about losing track of time, becoming less distracted, quieting self-judgment, and reaching that strange point where the work begins to feel... different in a way that only flow can feel. 

We also revisit my recent episode about writer's block. Steven challenges part of my original argument, and together we work toward a more complete explanation of what can stop writers from beginning-- or cause them to reach for a distraction halfway through the work.

Let's get started.

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Links from Steven: 
https://www.thesukha.co/for/writers

https://www.thesukha.co/post/the-magic-and-science-of-flow-states

How do you get into a flow state as a writer-- without needing the perfect morning routine, the perfect playlist, or some magical burst of inspiration?

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I'm joined by Steven Puri, founder of The Sukha Company and creator of the Sukha flow-state app, to talk about practical ways writers can focus more deeply and build conditions that make creative work easier to repeat.

Steven brings a pretty unusual perspective to the conversation. He previously served as a vice president at Fox and an executive vice president at DreamWorks, worked alongside some of Hollywood's top screenwriters, and produced the digital effects for Independence Day, whose visual-effects team won the Academy Award.

We talk about what Steven learned from watching elite writers work under real deadlines... and how much their productivity often depended on understanding themselves rather than following some universal creative routine.

If you've ever wondered how to get into flow while writing-- or how to make focused creative work more repeatable-- this conversation gives you several things to experiment with immediately.

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Ever sit down to write a scene you can already see perfectly in your head, and watch it go stiff and lifeless the moment your fingers hit the keys?

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, we look at the gap between the part of your brain that makes the story and the part of your body that has to get it onto the page-- and why, for a lot of writers, the bottleneck is the hands.

You'll learn how to draft fiction by talking into the voice recorder already in your pocket, and why speaking a first draft isn't just three times faster than typing it. SPOILERS: It's that you can't revise while you're talking. There's no backspace on a mouth.

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Ever feel like you're writing the kind of story you think you're supposed to write instead of the one you actually want to tell?

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, we explore the hidden cost of filtering your creative instincts through trends, genre expectations, and the pressure to fit in. You'll learn why developing your unique creative voice isn't about inventing a style-- it's about removing the filters that keep your strongest-- and most intimate-- ideas from reaching the page.

Along the way, we'll look at how Hellboy creator Mike Mignola found the work that made him unmistakably himself, and I'll walk you through a simple Creative Core Audit to help you uncover the recurring themes, questions, and ideas that make your writing uniquely yours.

If you've ever struggled to sound like yourself, worried your ideas were "too weird," or felt torn between writing for the market and writing what genuinely excites you, this episode will give you a practical framework for finding your creative center—and the confidence to build stories that only you could write.

Join the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. Every Thursday, you'll get one simple, practical writing tool to help you make the next decision, solve the next story problem, and keep writing.

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A multiverse isn't the only way to create different versions of the same characters, worlds, and stories.

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I'm joined by my longtime collaborator, editor, and Absolute Tabletop co-founder Matt Click to explore polycontinuity: a method for building multiple distinct continuities from the same fictional property.

Matt and I discuss how to identify the core elements that make a fictional property recognizable, how new continuities can create more creative freedom, and how writers can reinvent familiar material without erasing or contradicting the original version.

If your fictional universe has become crowded, restrictive, or trapped beneath the weight of its own canon, you may not need another timeline.

You may need a new continuity... polycontinuity, that is.

Is multiverse fiction overused? Is introducing a multiverse or time travel simply lazy writing when it is handled incorrectly? What makes a multiverse story feel fresh and unique instead of repetitive or confusing? And is there a better way for writers to create alternate universes, reboots, and new versions of familiar characters?

This episode introduces an answer to all of that and more-- polycontinuity, a storytelling framework that helps writers build separate fictional continuities without connecting them through a traditional multiverse.

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Is writer's block real? I make the case that it absolutely is-- but that almost everyone misunderstands what's actually happening when they experience it.

This week I'll talk about writer's block in a new way, and I'll hand you a simple three-part equation for getting unstuck and moving again.

If you've ever pushed all the way to the end of a project only to feel like the ending didn't quite itland, this one's for you.

Come find me on Threads @makeexist-- I'd love to hear what you're working on. 

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This week's episode is my current best approach on getting into the water of writing, and a specific mentality while doing it.

I'll also discuss a specific, sneaky kind of danger that catches-- and often KILLS-- more writers than the big scary projects ever do. There's a warning in here I really want you to hear, and some good old fashioned inspirational talk to get you writing. We need you.

Ready to free dive?

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This episode is for every writer who has ever stopped cold in the middle of a scene because they didn't know the perfect line, the perfect detail, the perfect plot turn, or the bravest thing the story was asking them to say.

We're talking about what happens when a draft opens up a gap,  and how writers can keep moving instead of freezing at the edge.

If you've ever felt stuck because you didn't know enough yet, this one's for you. 

Learn the two keys on the keyboard that are a secret bridge.

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Your favorite characters weren't born perfect-- and yours won't be either.

In this diagnostic follow-up to "You're Strangling Link, Wolverine, and Mario," we look at the warning signs that you're trying to perfect your story before it has had a chance to exist. From getting stuck wit Name Lock to hiding in the Lore Panic Room, polishing endlessly on the Page-One Treadmill, this episode gives you practical tools to stop suffocating your ideas and start letting them grow.

Make the 8-bit version first.

The icon can come later.

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Your favorite characters weren't born perfect. Wolverine, Mario, and Link all started as strange, rough, and surprisingly humble ideas before evolving into cultural icons over years-- sometimes decades.

In this episode, we explore why modern creators often get trapped trying to perfect their work before anyone ever sees it, and how that fear can suffocate great ideas before they have the chance to grow. By looking at the fearless creative process behind classic comics and video games, we uncover an important truth: iconic things become iconic through evolution, experimentation, and time-- not perfection on day one.

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Every writer knows the feeling: the cursor blinking, the page going nowhere, the project that started with such promise now collecting dust.

In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I sit down with Ramona Ausubel-- award-winning author and longtime teacher-- to talk about her new book Unstuck: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page (a LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2026).

Whether you're staring down a first draft, stalled in the middle, or trying to finish something you've been carrying for years, this conversation is a doorway of its own. We had a great conversation that will help any auther get Unstuck.

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In this episode, we go to a quiet corner of the toolshed, where I sit down with author J.A. Merkel to talk worldbuilding, long-term creative projects, and the ideas behind The Fourth Portal (1 book released) and The Fall Gauntlet (3 books released, with 4 coming this summer).

From early inspiration to publishing ambitious, interconnected stories-- this episode is all about what it really takes to bring big ideas to life.

Get your ebook copy of The Fall Gauntlet, Book One here: https://jamerkel.com/newsletter-sign-up/

About The Fall Gauntlet:

Seventeen-year-old Benji Calyx finally has a chance to save his mother from her off-world prison. All he has to do is win the Fall Gauntlet, an ancient, fight-to-the-death tournament designed to please the gods and goddesses, and keep them at bay.

Benji has made it to the finals. He's trained for this moment for seven long years. There's just one problem. The hulking man behind the bear mask is his estranged younger brother, Soren.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

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 You're probably not stuck-- you're just not aware of what part of the journey you're on.

In Part 2 of The Creation Funnel, I'll give you a full diagnostic of the 8 stages of making anything, so you can figure out where you are and what to do next.

Each stage comes with:

• Signs you're there
• Signs you're struggling
• What's really going on
• And one practical tool to move forward

Because when you don't know where you are… every part of the process feels wrong.

Clear the confusion. Stop spinning your wheels.
Do the work that belongs to the stage you're in.

Let's go. 

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There's a moment on a long road trip where it feels like you should already be there… but you're not even halfway.

Most writers quit in that moment.

Not because they're incapable-- but because they don't realize it's part of the journey.

In this episode, I lay out The Creation Funnel: a practical framework for understanding exactly where you are in a creative project-- and why it feels the way it does. It's a map for your creative journey.

If you've ever wondered:

• "Why is this so hard right now?"
• "Was this idea ever good?"
• "Why can't I finish anything?"

This episode might change how you see your work entirely.

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In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, we're talking about the moment before the work-- the hesitation, the resistance, and the quiet lie that you need to feel like it before you begin.

And how a Blood Punch might set you free. 

This episode breaks down two core ideas that can radically change how you approach your writing practice.

We also explore the trap of endless ideation: how keeping projects in your head feels safe but ultimately keeps them from ever existing, and why sometimes what you need isn't more planning, but a decisive, imperfect burst of action.

If you've ever found yourself standing at the edge... knowing you should write, intending to write, but not starting... this episode is your push.

And when I say go… go.

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For a lot of writers, the novel has quietly become the default starting point.

If you're serious about writing, the assumption often becomes:
start planning your novel… or your trilogy… or your series.

And if you're not doing that, it can start to feel like you're not quite doing the "real thing" yet.

But in this episode, I want to suggest something that might sound uncomfortable at first:

For many writers, you probably shouldn't be writing a novel right now.

Not because novels are bad.
Not because you shouldn't write one someday.

Novels are incredible creative undertakings. But I bet you shouldn't be writing one right now.

Join us inside the Fiction Writer's Toolshed to find out why.

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A lot of writers are starving themselves creatively-- and they don't realize it.

Not because they lack ideas.
Not because they lack discipline.
But because they aren't finishing things.

In this final episode of a three-part series on the things that quietly destroy writers, I talk about something incredibly simple that turns out to be surprisingly powerful:

Finished work. 

Not outlines.
Not worldbuilding.
Not half-drafted novels.

Actual finished pieces of fiction writing.

When writers go months (or years) without finishing anything, they lose the psychological and creative fuel that keeps a writing life alive.

In this episode, we explore three key "nutrients" that finishing small pieces provides. 

Enjoy, and welcome to the Fiction Writer's Toolshed.

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When most writers start, writing feels light.

It's curiosity.
It's wonder.
It's something you can't stop doing.

But somewhere along the way, something shifts.

Writing becomes measurable.
It becomes evaluative.
It becomes work.

And slowly, quietly, almost without noticing…

Something important disappears.

In this episode-- the second in a short mini-trilogy about things that quietly erode writers from the inside-- I talk about what happens when improvement becomes the primary goal, when awareness turns into self-policing, and when every time you "pick up the ball" it feels like you're suddenly playing under professional-level expectations.

You'll hear:

• How growing skill can accidentally crowd out creative joy

• Why self-awareness becomes destructive when it turns into constant judgment

• The subtle difference between healthy craft discipline and over-regulation

• And why trying to force joy directly almost never works

If your writing has started to feel heavy…
If you've been procrastinating something you used to love…
If everything feels like it has to justify its existence…

This episode isn't about fixing your technique.

It's about rediscovering something you may have lost without realizing it.

And once you see it, a lot of the weight starts to lift.

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I struggled with separating the concepts of Fiction Farming vs. Fiction Cooking for a long time.

And while it might sound strange, confusing those two modes may be quietly destroying more writing momentum-- and more long-term creative joy writing fiction-- than almost anything else.

In this episode, I introduce a distinction that completely changed how I understand procrastination, "writer's block," and the shame spiral that comes from sitting down to write and walking away feeling like you failed.

I call it Fiction Farming vs. Fiction Cooking.

You'll learn:

• Why your brain uses these two different modes

• Why judgment kills ideas in one mode-- but is essential in the other

• How mixing the two creates unnecessary friction and ultimately leads to not writing

• And how to diagnose which mode you're actually in before you sit down to work

This is the first episode in a short mini-trilogy about subtle habits that quietly erode writers' confidence over time.

If you've been hard on yourself lately, this one might bring some relief—and a clearer path forward.

Join the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. Every Thursday, you'll get one simple, practical writing tool to help you make the next decision, solve the next story problem, and keep writing.

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This episode is the diagnostic follow-up to the 6 Pillars framework, but can also be useful on its own.

For each pillar, I share a few signs it may be underdeveloped– and one practical thing you can try to strengthen it. If you want clearer insight into why your writing gets stuck, this is where the framework turns into tools.

In the previous episode, I laid out The 6 Elemental Pieces of Being a Fiction Writer– a framework for understanding writing mastery as a system of skills, not a single talent.

In this episode, we get practical.

This is the diagnostic half of the framework: for each pillar, I walk through a few common signs it may be underdeveloped– and one concrete, testable thing you can try to start strengthening it.

The goal isn't self-judgment.
It's clarity.

When writers get stuck, it's often because they're trying to fix the wrong problem. This episode is about learning how to identify where friction is actually coming from, so effort turns into progress instead of frustration.

In this episode, I cover:

• How to diagnose issues across craft, ideation, design, process, sustainment, and taste

• Simple signals that point to the real source of stalled projects

• One actionable exercise per pillar– designed to be tried, not believed

• Why exhaustion, resistance, and inconsistency are information, not failure

• How to treat your creative capacity as infrastructure, not a resource to burn

If you've ever felt like you're working hard but not moving forward in a way that sticks, this episode gives you tools to figure out why– and where to focus next.

The Make Existian Toast

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May you slay false perfection, the old foe of done.

May you make all you dream of, and let making be fun.

And may you count who can make what you make– only one.

Sláinte.

Join the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. Every Thursday, you'll get one simple, practical writing tool to help you make the next decision, solve the next story problem, and keep writing.

Get the next tool delivered to your inbox.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Craft matters– but it's not the whole picture.

This episode introduces The 6 Elemental Pieces of Being a Fiction Writer, a framework for understanding why writers stall, burn out, or struggle to finish work– even when their craft is solid. If you want a clearer map of what actually governs writing progress, start here.

Most writing advice focuses on craft.

And craft matters. A lot.

But it's only one part of why writers finish work– or don't.

In this episode, I lay out a framework I call The 6 Elemental Pieces of Being a Fiction Writer. It's a way of looking at writing mastery not as a single skill, but as a set of distinct, improvable competencies that work together over time.

The problem isn't that craft advice is wrong.
It's that it's incomplete.

When we try to solve every writing problem with craft alone, we miss other invisible factors that quietly stall projects, drain momentum, or cause burnout. This episode is about making those factors visible– so they can actually be worked on.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why writing mastery isn't one skill, but a system of skills

• The six pillars that govern how writers actually finish work

• How blind spots– not lack of talent– cause most stalls

• Why many "craft problems" are actually design, process, or sustainment problems

• How to think about mastery as a reusable map, not a checklist

This episode sets up a practical diagnostic framework we'll use going forward. If you've ever felt like you're working hard but not progressing in a way that sticks, this gives you a clearer map of why.

The Make Existian Toast

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May you slay false perfection, the old foe of done.

May you make all you dream of, and let making be fun.

And may you count who can make what you make– only one.

Sláinte.

Join the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. Every Thursday, you'll get one simple, practical writing tool to help you make the next decision, solve the next story problem, and keep writing.

Get the next tool delivered to your inbox.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Feeling paralyzed by what to write next? 

This episode introduces the Mosaic Method– a practical way to lower the stakes, keep writing, and make progress without committing to the "one perfect project."
If choosing feels harder than writing, this tool is for you.

Choosing what to write shouldn't feel like a branding decision– but for a lot of writers, it does.

When your body of work is small, every project can feel like it has to represent all of you. That pressure creates paralysis: fear of choosing wrong, fear of losing readers, fear of starting with the "wrong" idea.

In this episode, I walk through a tool I use to break that paralysis: the Mosaic Method.

Instead of treating any single piece of writing as the door to your career, the Mosaic Method reframes your work as a growing body of tiles– small, finished pieces that eventually form something larger. You'll learn how to shrink the emotional stakes of starting, keep multiple projects alive without burning out, and make real progress without waiting for "the right idea."

This episode covers:

• Why "what should I write first?" is often the wrong question

• How small, finished pieces build momentum better than big commitments

• A practical way to keep writing when novels feel overwhelming

• Why dedicated, focused time matters more than constant note-taking

• A simple voice-memo workflow that turns speech into usable draft material

If you're stuck choosing between ideas– or stuck because choosing feels impossible– this episode gives you a tool you can try today.

The Make Existian Toast

-===============-

May you slay false perfection, the old foe of done.

May you make all you dream of, and let making be fun.

And may you count who can make what you make– only one.

Sláinte.

Join the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. Every Thursday, you'll get one simple, practical writing tool to help you make the next decision, solve the next story problem, and keep writing.

Get the next tool delivered to your inbox.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Today, I double down on the core idea behind the show: fiction writing is a craft made up of learnable, testable skill, and tell you a little bit about my background as a working writer.

You'll also hear about two guiding principles that shape the show:

The Current Best Approach: treating every tool as provisional, adaptable, and open to change

Showing how the sausage is made: documenting the real, messy, day-to-day process of writing instead of mythologizing it after the fact

If you've got half-finished drafts, rewritten openings, or a growing pile of "someday I'll write that" ideas, this episode will help you begin to understand why you're stuck-- and what this show is designed to help you build instead.

This isn't about hype, shortcuts, or finding the "one true way."

It's about finishing work, diagnosing problems, and building a toolbox you can use again and again.

Let's get started.

This podcast is part of Make Exist, where we create tutorials, tools, and resources for creative work.