Join us at the Story Works Round Table as we sit down with Alethea Lyons, author of the supernatural dark fantasy Seer of York series, published by Brigids Gate Press. She writes various forms of SFF, with a particular love for science-fantasy, dark fantasy, dystopias, and folklore. We talk about the particular challenges facing writers of series and sequels.
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Sarah Branson returns to talk about getting to know your characters. We dig into the different roles characters play, depending on their relationship to the protagonist and how well we need to know them in order to write them well. Sarah’s novel, North Country, is available now.
“You have to put yourself in their life and try and figure out what their motivations are.”
This week, Alida and Robert welcome author and writing coach Beth Barany back to the Round Table for this author statement workshop. Grab your paper and pen, and write along with us as she takes us step-by-step through the creation of your author’s statement of purpose. No kidding, this might be the most important sentence you write in 2021!
This week, Alida and Robert welcome author and writing coach Beth Barany to the Round Table to talk about her method of drafting a series, revising multiple books, using loyal readers while she’s still drafting, and more. This is one of those episodes where we set out to talk about one thing and talked about a dozen. I think you’ll find we go in surprising directions with loads of takeaways!
This week, Alida and Robert welcome author and writing coach Beth Barany to the Round Table to talk about her method of drafting a series, revisions, using loyal readers while she’s still drafting, and more. This is one of those episodes where we set out to talk about one thing and talked about a dozen. I think you’ll find we go in surprising directions with loads of takeaways!
This week at the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Carlee get touchy feely as we explore the challenges and benefits of making your reader really feel your character. how do you move from sympathy to empathy to true personal connection?
Is Catcher in the Rye worthy of its status as a timeless classic? Dust off your copy–I know you had to read it in your high school English class–and join the conversation at the Story Works Round Table podcast. We look at what made the book special when it came out, whether it should be consider YA or adult. And we dig deep to address the question of timeless literature. Can the times get too far ahead of a story for it to remain a classic? What do you think? Does Salinger’s Holden Caulfield continue to deserve our attention today?
With the Covid-19 version of Thanksgiving upon us, what better way to spend our alone time that with a writing prompt to boost our creativity & moods! This week at the Story Works Round Table, we discuss the value of writing prompts and bring you a bunch to choose from. Write with us or pick your own. Happy Writing!
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Carlee, and Robert go deep with the question of what is genre, anyway? It’s far more useful to us writers than a marketing category. Writing to market is often confused with marketing. And what about those of us who strive to be “pure artists,” putting categories at the end of the process? Whether you aim to meet or subvert reader expectations, there’s more to your genre than meets the eye.
At this week’s Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Carlee discuss using all of your senses in writing. We focus so much on the movie in the mind, that we can lean too heavily on the visual in our scene building. But a well-chosen sensory detail can make a scene memorable, even surprising. Focusing on a sensory detail, especially the least obvious of details will shape your reader’s experience in powerful ways. Tuning in to your own senses while you write can invite insights from your subconscious mind to come forward.
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Robert, and Carlee explore opening scenes and what you should include right away to establish who and what the story is about. Missing the mark with your opening scene could mislead the reader. Make sure you shape your opening to shape the reader’s experience.