Story Works Round Table

conversations about craft

for writers and readers curious about writers

SWRT 300 | Finding Penrose – Paula Sheridan’s book-to-film journey

SWRT 300 | Finding Penrose – Paula Sheridan’s book-to-film journey

Author Paula Sheridan turns a fascinating real life story to a novel & then to film while holding onto creative control of Finding Penrose. This week, Alida and Kathryn welcome Paula Sheridan back to the Round Table to discuss her new project, Finding Penrose.

Paula’s novel has already captured the hearts of celebrities, plus the media, with 100’s of articles already published. And with two renowned film producers adapting Penrose’s story for the big screen, they’re now in talks with a Hollywood director and actors.

This heart-warming and captivating tale is based on the real-life story of Penrose Matsile, a young boy in 1922 Colonial Africa who was stolen from his village and forced into a life of slavery. Despite the unimaginable odds, Penrose spent his entire life courageously fighting to reclaim his identity and freedom.

SWRT 299 | Authors Talk Women’s Fiction

SWRT 299 | Authors Talk Women’s Fiction

This week at the Story Works Round Table, five authors sit down to talk women’s fiction. Alida Winternheimer is joined by D. Liebhart, Heidi McIntyre, Amanda Speights, and Jen Telger to discuss their genre and their stories. There is a lot more to women’s fiction than strong female characters or women authors. The diversity of the genre makes it distinct from other genres, keeping the writer’s hands unbound by conventions or reader expectations. Though writing stories that range from historical to magical realism to contemporary and medical, they have a lot in common…especially a deep commitment to realism and their characters’ emotional journeys.

SWRT 125 | Fleshing Out Description in Revision

Why is description so important? And why should we focus on it, both in our first draft, and the subsequent ones? How does writing in a flow state change your ability to describe as you draft? How can you revise in description? And when should you step away from your draft in order to craft it? In the end, don’t let lack of description stop forward momentum. You can, and should, fix it later!

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SWRT 124 | Talia Carner, part 2

SWRT 124 | Talia Carner, part 2

How is the story behind the Third Daughter relevant to today’s world? Why did Talia take the story into the past rather than the present? Did the publisher object to the content of the book? And how can you keep it relatable to the readers, despite the content?

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SWRT 123 | Talia Carner, part 1

SWRT 123 | Talia Carner, part 1

How did Talia come to be an author? And what inspired her to write The Third Daughter? How did fact and imagination merge? And what sources did Talia find to flesh out the Third Daughter?

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SWRT 122 | Building Religion into Your World

Why should we talk about world-building with religion? Should your characters have a belief system? And how can you use it to create rich depth for your world and your character motivation? How should you present it in your work? And how can you make it natural to your world and your characters?

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SWRT 121 | The Power of the Endnote

What is an endnote and why are we talking about it? How is it different from a resolution? Or the end of a scene or chapter? How can you use a “full circle” moment to really make your endnote powerful? And why should you craft it before you even get to the end of your story?

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SWRT 119 | Writing Tics…and what to do about them

What is a writing tic? And is it always a bad thing? We talk about throat clearing, voice issues, using filter words, and having a POV stranglehold. All of these are things you want to fix in revision, but having them isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as you recognize them. And what you do after you recognize them can change your writing behaviors for the better!

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SWRT 118 | Beyond Motivation part 2

SWRT 118 | Beyond Motivation part 2

We start off this episode with a recounting of Kathryn’s progress, before diving into bringing self-awareness and cross-contextualization into your goals processes. How can we adapt systems in our life that already work in order to help us complete our goals? And how much productivity are we actually capable of each day? Robert gives us an update on his progress and we talk about the insane amount of pressure we put on ourselves, and how we can help motivate ourselves each and every day. We all want to live the life we love, one day at a time. It’s just about finding the balance to do so!

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SWRT 117 | Beyond Motivation

SWRT 117 | Beyond Motivation

We jump into reviewing our progress on this year’s goals, and spiral into a conversation about our processes, mindset, and how to measure progress. Are we motivated by pain, reward, or something else? How can you re-frame your goals in order to recognize what you have accomplished, rather than beat yourself up for what you didn’t? Ultimately, it all comes down to living the life you want to live, one day at a time!

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