by Stephanie Dethlefs | Aug 9, 2022 | First Draft, Planning your book, Reading for Writers, writing craft, writing life
We all know that writers should also be avid readers. But do you know what it looks like to actually study a book to see what makes it work? In this episode, we’re exploring what it means to read like a writer by using a “mentor text” to study specific craft...
by Stephanie Dethlefs | Jul 5, 2022 | Audience, Character Development, First Draft, Planning your book, Revision
Your protagonist is not just bouncing from one event to another. They are changing as a result of those events. In this episode, we dig into your protagonist’s arc of emotional change, both why it matters and how to establish it. Text version: Hello writers! Here is...
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...