Hosted by James Thayer, the podcast is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft a novel. It
What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing in the present tense? And the past tense? Al
It's hard to make a big meeting scene interesting. Much of the time meeting scenes should be a
Good advice about designing your own book cover; don't. If you self-publish your novel don&ap
Some of us have a hard time beginning the writing of our novels or short stories. Here are the reas
We can avoid inert paragraphs by having our descriptions do more than one thing at once. Descripti
Should we categorize our novel as literary or commercial? What are the benefits and drawbacks of do
Jack Bickham says that scenes should be followed by sequels. Here are thoughts on how to write a se
What is the best way to plot our novel, plotting from scene to scene? Here is a discussion of the c
What if we are stymied in our plotting, and can't think of enough story? Here are some thought
We writers get to experience the joy of creating something--a character, a setting, an event--out of
Most of us subscribe to the our-words-should-be-a-clear-window-to-the-story technique but some write
A phrases notebook is a remarkably useful tool for writers. Here's how to create one. Also, s
Can we writers get into a mental state called the flow or the zone, then write 40 pages? Maybe. He
Character-driven stories--which delve deeply into the hero's change and growth--can be moving a
At some point all writers are new writers. Here are some sure-fire fiction writing techniques that
How we dress our character will show--that is, to reveal--much about our characters to the reader.
Huge rewards for fiction readers are a character's emotions; love, fear, gratitude, respect, lo
In the last episode we talked about major dialogue techniques. Here are smaller ones--but still imp
Dialogue in fiction is fun to write and fun to read. Here are seven techniques that'll help ma
Let's talk about stupid writing, And: how to get our story going without over-explanation and
