by Stephanie Dethlefs | Jun 14, 2022 | Accountability, First Draft, Mindset, writing life
Who supports you in your writing goals? Who is giving you regular feedback? Who is your writing community? In this look back at an older episode, we are busting the myth that writers need to work in isolation, and building ourselves a team to help us from the first...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Jun 13, 2022 | Audience, First Draft, Planning your book, Revision
Have you ever read or heard a story that left you uninterested or unengaged or just plain bored? A trap that novelists can easily fall into is that of not knowing (or not sharing) what the novel is really about. In this episode we are exploring what questions to ask...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | May 27, 2022 | Accountability, First Draft, Mindset, Planning your book, writing craft, writing life
You know that there’s value in planning your novel ahead of time, but you just can’t quite make yourself do it. You are not alone! In today’s episode, we talk about the plotter/pantser continuum and how to explore the options for starting a novel in a way that is...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | May 17, 2022 | First Draft, Planning your book
Knowing where your novel starts and ends provides structure, efficiency and focus within your novel-writing journey. In this episode, we explore three strategies for making these early decisions in a way that feels true and right for your story. Transcript: Hello...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | May 3, 2022 | Character Development, First Draft, Planning your book, writing craft, Writing middle grade, Writing schedule, Writing YA
While secondary characters might seem less important than your protagonist, they actually serve a very important purpose. They drive the story forward and give the protagonist context, relationships, roadblocks, relief, and more. In this episode, we look at the role...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Apr 19, 2022 | Character Development, First Draft, Planning your book, Uncategorized
How do we create primary 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. And it’s more than knowing things like their favorite sandwich or where they grew...
