Writer Unleashed

How do you make writing a priority when other commitments compete? When you have a full time career and family? We all know writing a book is a colossal commitment. And it's so easy to get off track, especially when so much is competing for our time and attention.In this episode, I’ll walk you through strategies to maximize your time, energy, and focus. So you can write without s

Struggling with confidence when it comes to writing your story? Maybe you swing from excitement to self-doubt. Or you worry that no one will care to read it.Maybe you lack enough confidence to even start. In this episode, learn 3 ways to boost your confidence. This is all about shifting your relationship to your work.We'll cover:How to stay focused on the process, not just the end

What do you do when your novel or memoir doesn’t follow the typical plot structure? What if there’s no crime to be solved, tsunami to survive, or evil wizard to slay? What if your character’s only story problem is an internal one?In this episode we’ll explore 4 thresholds your character will walk through at key points throughout your 3 acts. So you can plot your character-d

We can all agree that your opening scenes are your only chance to capture your reader's attention. It's what hooks them into the story. Your first scene and several scenes that follow are your story's setup. The setup is essential to master. You have to be concise, deliberate, and selective with what you reveal and withhold. You don't want to give too much away too soon. Your begin

Our stories can become so overrun with ideas, they run away from us.Each idea leads to another and another until you’re lost in the vortex. There are stories within stories. Endless possibilities. So many directions the story can go.And then writing your story feels like an insurmountable task. In this episode, I’m giving you 5 questions to explore, so you can rein your ideas i

Most writers know how their characters need to change. They know what happens on the plot level. They know their character's struggles. Often, though, the main character doesn't seem to change, even though the external events change dramatically. Other stories stay mainly in their character's interior without jumping into the fray of action. Either way, the story can be static. The

There’s no shortage of writing advice. Especially in the online space. Google is not the best gatekeeper. And some FB groups are doling out conflicting advice, canned advice, bad advice. Writers hear the same advice so often, a lot of them have come to regard them as the only way to craft a story. But these are often half baked ideas that are keeping you from moving forward. They

Why do readers read? Is it just for entertainment? To escape everyday life? Or is there a deeper need?What is it about story that keeps us captivated from beginning to end?It helps to understand why stories are so impactful and precisely what readers are hungry for when they turn to a book.In this throwback episode from Season 3, we're going into the mind of your reader, and what t

Your first chapter matters. It's what binds readers to your story. It makes them care. And when they care, they can't help but keep reading. There's a lot riding on your first chapter. So you want to get this right.Bore them with too much exposition, long forays into backstory, too many characters and superfluous details, and your reader will grow bored, overwhelmed, and will stop

When a story moves us, it’s not because of beautiful writing, or a strong voice – it’s not because of a great plot. All these things are important, but those things on their own don’t move us. What makes a story unputdownable and unforgettable is that the reader goes on an emotional journey of his or her own. They don’t just feel for your characters, they feel with your c