Hello Writers! Podcast
Books for Writers: Part 3
In this video, I share a collection of books to help you expand your descriptive vocabulary and enrich the inner and outer lives of your characters. Grab the books! Writers Helping Writers bookstore Transcript: Stephanie (00:06):Hello writers....
The “Right” Way to Write a Novel
If you are writing your novel at all, you are doing it right. There is no “right” way to write a novel…so please stop searching for it. Transcript: Stephanie (00:06):Hello Writers. Now, some of you may have heard me talk before about the debacle...
What Makes a Novel Work?
The effectiveness of a novel is a pretty subjective thing, and there are many skills and strategies involved. But there are three pieces that, if they are in place, create a solid foundation for a novel. In this video, we explore those three...
How to Identify Your Novel’s Theme
One month into the Covid lockdown of 2020, our family decided to get a puppy. (Actually…I decided, convinced my husband, and surprised the kids.) Things to know: We’d never had a dog before. I had no idea what I was doing. I thought it would be...
How to Describe a Fictional Character
How do we create characters that are nuanced and complex without being stereotypical, flat, or strange caricatures of themselves? The key is to know them. Like, really know them. Recommended reading: How to Plan a Character Arc Transcript:...
How to Plan a Character Arc
Who is one of your favorite fictional characters? [I’ll give you a minute to think.] Once you’ve named one, I’d like you to take a minute and think of three ways you would describe the character. Try to only use one of them as a physical...
Point of View 2: Where Is Your Narrator Standing in Time?
Is your narrator looking back on the story with the benefit of perspective? Or is the narrator moving through time along with the events of the story? In this video, we look at all of the places a narrator can be standing (and the advantages and...
Point of View 1: Who Is Telling This Story?
You know that feeling when you walk into a room full of people and there are several different conversations going on? Or when you come downstairs to find that your video game-playing teenager forgot to put on his headphones in one room while your...
Lies Writers Tell Themselves
Writers, we tell ourselves some things that aren’t true. Here’s what they are and - more importantly - some steps to reframe them so that we can meet our writing goals. Transcript: Stephanie (00:06):Hello writers. Today I wanted to share with you...
How to Manage the Inner Critic
“It’s such a confidence trick, writing a novel. The main person you have to trick into confidence is yourself.” - author Zadie Smith One of my favorite memories of my oldest is when she decided that she wanted to learn to cross the monkey bars on...