We’ll be spending extra time with our families this month, but will be back with all new podcast episodes in January...
SWRT 271 | Character Motivation
We’re talking character motivation. It’s crucial to every element of your story and you’ll do yourself a favor by having a handle on it in the prewriting stages. We talk about the protagonist, the reader, and you, the writer. Also, how motivation relates to flaws and conflicts, and how a series differs from a standalone.
SWRT 11: Pacing
What is pacing? How do you decide the best pace for your story? And how do you achieve that pace? What kind of effect can pacing have for your readers? And why is pacing so different between books and movies? Check out the things we’ve mentioned section to check out those books we talked about – those we loved and even those we didn’t.
SWRT 10: Write What You Know
Do you always have to write what you know? And what defines what you know? How do you craft a character based on yourself? What about characters we have nothing in common with? We talk about building worlds based on our own, and where we research in order to create compelling worlds. In need of research assistance? We offer a wealth of resources we find useful, and recommend that you read bibliographies!
SWRT 9: Story Ideas
Where do story idea’s come from? Can you cultivate ideas or do you have to wait for inspiration? We talk about travel, dreams, visions and how the writing process truly is one of discovery. Do you need an idea in order to write? And is creativity a limited well or a muscle you can whip into shape? What if someone else steals your ideas? You will be surprised where some of our inspiration comes from!
SWRT 8: Active Protagonists
What is agency? And how do you keep your protagonist active? Do coincidences and natural disasters take away character agency? What is they try/fail cycle and what does Alida have against it? What is the difference between a reaction and a response? When should you plan your characters agency? And how do you handle reaction scenes? In the end just ask yourself: “did my character lose a hand?”. If he did, then you have a pretty good chance – he’s active!
SWRT 7: Endings
Are endings hard? What makes a good ending, and how do you make it surprising and inevitable? How do you resolve a book differently if it’s a short story, versus a novel, versus a novel in a series? And how can you create that satisfying ending for both you and the reader?
SWRT 5: Subplots
What exactly is a subplot? When do you need them? Who should they revolve around? And can they really alleviate the soggy middle syndrome? And please don’t forget your characters have lives too! Don’t make them live entirely in the main plot line.
SWRT 6: Openings
Want to know what it takes to write a good opening? How do you hook your reader and get them invested in your story? How do you create character empathy and what are the action steps that you need to take in order to write a great opening?
SWRT 4: Book Covers with Daria Brennan
Can an author do their own cover? What is it like to work with a professional cover designer? And how should you start the process? We explore market and genre conventions, as well as some tricky pitfalls of wanting a person on your cover. We even talk about how hard it was to find the houses for Alida’s covers! Stay tuned for an amazing side by side cover comparison, as well as a very generous offer. Make sure you check Daria out!
SWRT 3: Are We Our Characters?
Do we write ourselves into our novels? Is everything we write autobiographical? And what if you don’t have the experiences your characters do?