In this conversation with writer Michele Reisinger, we talk about bad advice from writing teachers, her process for placing stories with publications, what a successful writing day looks like, and how she writer in traffic!
163 – Laying The Foundations for StoryADay May
In which I talk about prepping for StoryADay May and what to do if you’re having trouble writing right now.
162 – Premee Mohamed Writes Too Much
Premee Mohamed is an Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction writer whose first novel, “Beneath The Rising” has just been released. But I discovered her through her wonderful short stories.
In this conversation we talk about what a good writing day looks like (and what to do on those other days), the inspiration for some of her stories, her writing process and how she organizes her ideas, why short stories are like tattoos, and how the phrase “it’s just photons” makes writing easier.
LINKS
Twitter: @premeesaurus
Curious Fictions: https://stada.me/cfpm
Buy Her Book: https://stada.me/bkpm
161 – Come and write with me
In which I talk about the live writing sprints I’ve been running and the importance of stories in times of stress.
160 – Creativity in a Time of Crisis
So we’re in a pandemic. Does that mean we have to stop being creative? Quite the opposite. The world needs more art, right now.
159 – Talking About Creativity And Mental Health with Gabriela Pereira
As well as running DIYMFA, Gabriela Pereira often speaks at conferences about issues other than the writing craft, including entrepreneurship and mental illness.
Today, we have a frank discussion about Gabriela’s history with mental illness as one part of a very full life that also includes running a business, having a family, and being a creative person.
We also talk a little about writing emotion when you struggle with your own.
(If you need help and live in the US, please text HOME to 741741. In Canada, 686-868, In the UK 85258. In the UK and Ireland, call 116 123. In Australia, call 13 11 14)
158 – Writing Love & Intimacy with Dr. Lanae St. John
What are we really talking about when we talk about sex? Join me for a conversation with sexuality educator Dr. Lanae St. John. We talk about how to portray true intimacy on the page (without any weird noises), how to make consent sexy, and where to find a model for your next villain.
LINKS:
The Mamasutra – https://www.themamasutra.net/
Read Me: A Parental Primer For ‘The Talk’ – https://www.amazon.com/Read-Me-Parental-Primer-Talk
157 – Gabriela Pereira from DIYMFA Part 1
We talk about the pillars of a writing life, why Gabriela wanted to create a do-it-yourself DIYMFA, and that old favorite: Imposter Syndrome.
Continue reading “157 – Gabriela Pereira from DIYMFA Part 1”
156 – What To Do When You’re Bored With Your Writing
Sometimes what used to work for us no longer works.
In this podcast I talk about the benefits and downsides of your writing commitments, I encourage you to scare yourself, and I revisit the subject of habits, and check in to see how you’re getting on.
Also: I preview some coming changes to the podcast
LINKS:
The StoryADay Short Story Framework, in case you want to write a story today but aren’t sure how to get started: https://storyaday.org/framework
The StoryADay 3 Day Challenge, in case you need a little extra accountability and you work best with a curriculum: https://storyaday.org/3DC
155 – Stop Procrasti-learning and Start Writing
Listening and reading are wonderful things, but what if they are holding you back from writing and finishing stories?
We learn writing by writing. Isn’t it time you stop stalling?
LINKS
“Listening” by Bob DeRosa on Escape Pod: https://stada.me/listening
The 3 Day Challenge: https://stada.me/3dc
154 – A System for Delighting Readers
Today I’m going to show you a system for delighting readers (and editors), so that you get great reviews and raving fans who will share your work with other readers who also love what you’re writing.
Links:
https://stada.me/ssf – The StoryADay Short Story Framework
153 – Skillz
Here at the end of January, I take a mini look back at the first month of the decade and talk about writing habits, reading habits, Alexa skills, Medium and more.
[1:20] My Short Story Reading Challenge, The Bradbury Method, my method.
[9:30] Good luck to the NYC Midnight contestants
[10:00] New ways to access StoryADay content – Medium & Alexa
[10:55] 10th Anniversary
[11:46] The StoryADay Podcast
[14:00] February’s theme at StoryADay and what’s special about Leap Day
Links:
If you want to know more about Alexa skills, contact Raphael Schaad on LinkedIn
Here’s a list of my favorite stories from January 2020
152 – Reboot Your Writing Resolutions
It’s not a character flaw. If your resolutions have slipped and you haven’t kept up all those big plans you made for this year (already!), it’s not that you’re a loser. It might just be that you haven’t built the behaviors into your day in the best way.
This week I apply the Fogg Behavioral Method to real writers’ problems and help them troubleshoot (and fix!) the most common sticking points.
Free downloads:
https://stada.me/openingsreport
https://stada.me/creativitybundle
151 – ConLangs (Constructed Languages) and Culture with Seumas MacDonald
Languages evolve from the cultures that produce them, which offers a fertile world for writers to explore, whether you are writing contemporary, realistic fiction or futuristic and fantasy worlds.
This week I talk with Seumas MacDonald a linguist and ConLang (constructed languages) expert, about language, culture and how you might think about using linguistics in your fictional worlds.
[LINKS]
Do you already think about spoken language in your writing? What was your ‘aha moment’ from this podcast? Join the discussion:
https://stada.me/151
150 – Habits, Writing, and the Fogg Behavioral Method
Tiny Wins (a combination of Tiny Habits and Epic Wins) and how you can use them to reinforce your good habits, along with an explanation of Stanford University researcher BJ Fogg’s Behavioral Method — a framework that explains why we do what we do (and sometimes don’t!)
The Fogg Behavioral Method
149 – Looking Back & Looking Forward
In which I give you a peek into what I’m working on at StoryADay and encourage you to take a clear-eyed look at how far you’ve come, and what’s next for you.
LINKS:
Annual Review Worksheet: https://stada.me/annualreview
148 – Terrific Titles or How To Hook Your Reader
A title is the sizzle that sells your story, but too many writers still struggle with this important part of the writing process.
Today’s podcast helps you level up your title game.
LINKS:
Get the free download: https://stada.me/500titles
Get Tobias S. Buckell’s It’s All Just A Draft (clicking this Amazon affiliate link helps support this podcast) https://amzn.to/2PH31Fu
147 – Let The Yeast Do Its Work
This week’s podcast features a clip from an episode from two years ago, in which I talked about the different cycles in a writing life. And I apologize in advance for making you crave some freshly baked bread…
Try this StoryADay Annual Review Worksheet to help you review your year, assess which phase you’re in, and plan for the future.
146 – Voice Assistants with Raphael Schaad
Today I talk with Raphael Schaad about audio and voice assistants and all the opportunities (and pitfalls) for authors.
Raphael, who works with innovative entrepreneurs who are interested in tapping the power of voice-interaction, talks with me about how writers can take advantage of these powerful new technologies.
Continue reading “146 – Voice Assistants with Raphael Schaad”Episode 145 – Ending Strong
It can be hard to write endings (So many logistics! So tired from writing the whole story!), but the ending is the thing that sends your reader off into the world feeling good about your story…or deflated because you let them down.
In this week’s episode I talk about the importance of endings, and a powerful way for you to think about them so you can delight your reader.
Also: I talk about StoryADay’s writing prompts for November and my impressions of the 2019 edition of the Best American Short Stories anthology, edited by Anthony Doerr.
LINKS:
Penny For The Guy Writing Prompt
A writing prompts about openings & endings
144 – Mastering The Middle
Last week in the podcast, I shared five tips for a successful NaNoWriMo. Lots of people have told me it helped get them through the first week so: yay!
In this week’s episode I talk about the difficulties of reaching the middle of creativity challenge at the exact same moment you reach the midpoint of the novel.
(Short story writers, stay with me because a lot of what I’m going to talk about applies to you too!)
You are not imagining things: this is hard. The middle of a novel is the notoriously hard, and the middle of the challenge is hard for different reasons.
The Midpoint of the Challenge
The midpoint of the challenge is tough because you’re tired. The novelty has worn off. You’ve started to question why are you ever decided to put in all this work. And you may feel that your story isn’t worth the effort.
Allow me to help.
Continue reading “144 – Mastering The Middle”143 – NaNoWriMo Survival Tips
Whether you’re taking part in NaNoWriMo this month or simply trying to keep your rating on track, I have five tips from the trenches of the extreme creativity challenge world.
Recommended:
The Nature Fix by Florence Williams
Bright Line Eating by Susan Pierce Thompson
No Plot, Not Problem by Chris Baty
Save The Cat Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody
Power Nap by Andrew Johnson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXBG1-1zI_E
142 – An Audience Of One
In which I talk about how writing helped me in the wake of a recent, unexpected loss, and the importance of writing for an audience of one.
LINKS
Listen to my recent interview on the Unmistakable Creative Podcast: https://stada.me/unmistakable
Listen to me talk about short stories on the Kiingo podcast: https://stada.me/kiingo
An Audience Of One by Srini Rao: https://amzn.to/2Mroq3w (aff)
141 – Changing Seasons
There are different seasons in your writing life. Today, I talk about how to navigate the switch from creation mode to ‘everything else’ mode, along with some tools to ease that transition.
140 – Finishing Your Stories
Fresh from the trenches of StoryADay September, a question about how to get to the resolution of a story.
Plus:
More Julie on the Kiingo.com podcast: https://kiingo.com/blog/short-stories-with-julie-duffy
Sign up for daily prompts this September: https://storyaday.org/next-challenge
139 – Your Hero’s Journey, as a writer
It’s tough to cross the threshold from the ordinary world to the magical world where you are a writer. I know. And i have some ideas…
LINKS
StoryADay Superstars: https://members.storyaday.org/join
138 – Top Tips for StoryADay September
Are you ready to write a story a day this September so you can prove to yourself that you CAN make writing a priority, you CAN be more creative, you CAN get unblocked and write stories that amaze yourself and delight readers?
I share my top tips for a successful month of extreme writing.
Sign up for daily prompts during September at
StoryADay.org/next-challenge
137 – Today Is The First Day of the Rest of Your Writing Life
The StoryADay community shares what they’re writing and they’re most likely to get that writing-high (you know the one, right?)
And in this episode I encourage you to make this last part of 2019 the best of your writing life.
This coming week I’m sending out a series of emails with my best tips for creating a fulfilling writing life. Make sure you sign up for that and information about StoryADay September:
StoryADay.org/next-challenge
136 – Art Is
Do you give yourself permission to make your art, to write? Do you feel like you have to ask permission? What ripples spread out when you write?
135 – Courage
This week someone accused me of doing something decadent. It was meant as a joke, but it got under my skin, and It got me thinking about all the things we have to do as writers that might seem decadent to ‘normal’ people.
134 – Dialogue and Distractions
Talking about dialogue, I discovered a rule that can sometimes be broken. Also: procrastination!!