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”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
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 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”
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
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)
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.
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
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
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
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
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?
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.
Talking about dialogue, I discovered a rule that can sometimes be broken. Also: procrastination!!
Are you holding yourself back? In this episode, I look at three events that have me thinking about what we all have to gain from doing our creative work with integrity, tenacity and bravery.
Readers can’t love your story if they don’t love your character.
LINKS
A raw, mini episode to celebrate the successful conclusion of StoryADay May 2019
links:
Day 31: https://StoryADay.org/2019-05-31
SWAGr for June: https://storyaday.org/swagr-jun-2019/
A popular resource at StoryADay is the StADa Short Story Framework.
Now it’s available to everyone as a download: https://stada.me/framework
Also in this episode I talk about the upcoming events at StoryADay after May finishes, including the Critique Week and StoryFest and, of course, StoryADay September!
11 days into StoryADay May 2019 and things might not be going quite as you planned, in your writing.
In this episode I share some strategies for saving your StoryADay May 2019, and share some feedback from other writers who are engaged in the challenge.
Also: I absolve you of any guilt for past writing sins and encourage you to stride into the future with a clean conscience!
LINKS:
StoryADay/NaNoWriMo Livestream: https://stada.me/ywp-flash
Save Our StoryADay emergency post: https://stada.me/sos
This week I talk about character: how to take the inner journey of your character and show it through external actions.
Finding support for your writing can seem like a weird idea; isn’t writing all about one person, alone in their room, listening to their imaginary friends?
It turns out that support from other writers (with whom we are absolutely not competing) is a great way to advance your own writing.
In this episode I talk about where to find support, how to make the most of it, and how to grow your network in the least-painful way possible, even if you are chronically shy.
LINKS
This week’s writing prompt: https://storyaday.org/wow-connection
In your writing practice, what counts as ‘writing’? Do you give yourself credit for reading time? Revisions? Taking classes? Or do you feel guilty about now being productive when you aren’t adding new words to a story?
RESOURCES
Does Thinking Count As Writing: https://stada.me/think
Learning To Make Choices: https://stada.me/choice
Writing Prompts – Scenarios: https://stada.me/scenarios
Writing Prompts – Word Lists: https://stada.me/wordlists
Beyond Word Count: https://stada.me/track
Stay Excited About Your Writing: https://stada.me/excited
Write When You Don’t Feel Like It: https://stada.me/dontwanna
Leave a comment on this post: https://stada.me/126
Setting writing goals is one thing. Living with them, quite another.
This month’s theme at StoryADay is Goals Vs. Reality.
LINKS:
Your invitation to the March Hangout: This event has passed
Breaking Writers’ Block ebook: https://amzn.to/2Xq13My
The YouTube version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/QNfeGG6hsPA
What kind of writer are you? What kind of culture do you want to create? What kind of writing life are you aiming for?
In this episode I ponder these questions and talk a little about this month’s theme of Flash Fiction.
And I invite you to share what inspires you, right now: https://stada.me/124
:LINKS:
Seth Godin’s The Big Sort https://stada.me/g-bigsort
Chuck Wending’s blog post about writers and day jobs https://stada.me/w-dayjob
Story Review: Joan of Arc Sits Naked In Her Dorm Room https://stada.me/rr-joan
More short stories:
And You Thought Your Last Breakup Was Bad: Five love stories by Matt Leibel https://stada.me/leibel
Seven Stories by Alex Epstein https://stada.me/epstein
Sh*t Boyfriends, stories by Kathy Fish and Dorothy Bendel https://stada.me/valentine
:CREDITS:
Main title music by Alan McPike: https://www.standardstrax.com/
Incidental music by Rebecca Reads www.fiverr.com/rebecca_reads
What do you do when it’s difficult to write? Here’s what I did this week.
You can find all the links and discussion I talked about, here: https://storyaday.org/when-writing-stalls
And here’s the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group (SWAGr) for Feb 2019: https://storyaday.org/swagr-feb-2019/
As a writer, what do you need? Do you need a desk? A room of your own? Scrivener? A pad and paper and something to lean on?
The answer is probably ‘it depends’. And it’s important to figure out what you need, and when.
Other writers (often in the form of writers’ groups) can help you find your groove as a writer.
In this episode I talk about finding your groove, and the value of writers’ groups.
In which I encourage you to celebrate the end/start of the year however makes you happiest!
If you want planning docs find them here: https://stada.me/pace
If you want to set some goals for January, check in at StoryADay.org on Jan 1 for our SWAGr group.
And if your goals are simply to stand in front of the mirror every day and say “I am a writer” (see last podcast for identity), that’s OK too (I suspect if you do that, you’ll end up actually writing).
Other resources at StoryADay to help jump start your writing after a break:
Help! I’m Drowning In Story Ideas: https://stada.me/stadadrown
Does Thinking Count As Writing?: https://stada.me/stadathink
Should you focus on your goals (the outcome you want) or your identity (“I am a writer”) if you want to succeed?
This week I talk about the idea that it is much easier to create a good habit if you see yourself as the type of person who DOES a thing, rather than as someone who wishes they had the ability/time/resources to do a thing.
LINKS:
Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://stada.me/atomic (Amazon affiliate link)
StoryADay Set & Meet Goals post: https://stada.me/pace
Encouraging you to find the creative joy in your writing at this midpoint of NaNoWriMo (or what ever writing challenge has you down), through playfulness.
Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer
Check out the Keep Writing Workbook from StoryADay
Advice about how to get unstuck when you still have 30,000 words to write!
RESOURCES:
Unsticking Yourself thread on Twitter: https://stada.me/unstuck
Tony Conaway’s article on public readings: https://stada.me/tonytalk
Further reading: What To Do When You’re Stuck In The Middle of Your Novel, (https://stada.me/wdstuck) from Writer’s Digest, with advice from the excellent DIYMFA book by Gabriela Pereira
James Scott Bell’s book: Write Your Novel From The Middle
NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writers’ Month, is well underway. By this point in week two your story might have become a little bit, well, stuck.
In these next two episodes I share tips and advice from myself and others about how to get unstuck when you still have 30,000 words to write!
Unsticking Yourself thread on Twitter: https://stada.me/unstuck
Tony Conaway’s article on public readings: https://stada.me/tonytalk
Further reading: What To Do When You’re Stuck In The Middle of Your Novel, (https://stada.me/wdstuck) from Writer’s Digest, with advice from the excellent DIYMFA book by Gabriela Pereira
James Scott Bell’s book: Write Your Novel From The Middle
Join our critique ‘week’, Oct 21-31 (because wouldn’t it be nice if every week had a couple of extra days to get stuff done?) and get access to the Revisions & Critique Mini Course as well as having me and 3 of your peers critique your work.
Use the code: octearlybird before noon (EST) on Sunday, Oct 21 to save $20
https://stada.me/crit18
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and
become better writers today, not ‘some day’.
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and inspire each other.
Registration for 2024 open now-June 8, 2024
A 6-part journey through the short story.
Starts July 28, 2023