Creator's Guild Podcast

How does a conversation jump from metal detecting to toothpaste to strawberry flavoring?

Well, you're about to find out.

Jared is out this week, so jump into a crazy conversation as Chris is joined, once again, by Caleb, but this time there's no supervision!

Bro! Do you even plot?

Do you know a plot twist when you see one? One about a plot reveal?

Hey, those sound like the same thing, right? Well, they are actually different aspects of plot creation.

"But how do they differ?" one might ask, and we're so very glad you did.

Join Jared and Chris as they sit down, once again, with the talented Liz Verity to discuss these important plot devices and how you can be a better writer if you understand the difference.

Is wrestling real? Maybe. But one thing's for sure: wresters are incredible athletes and have to be masters at their craft to pull off the feats they do in the ring. If you want to create great things, you have to work on becoming great and honing your skills, you also have to learn all the rules that make what you're doing good. Once you understand the rules and you've mastered them, then you can figure out how to break them to create masterpieces that are uniquely yours. Join Jared and Chris as they discuss with Caleb what it takes to become good enough to break the rules and forge a path of your own.

Do you know how to make your characters jump off the page with their own unique personalities?

The world you create needs characters, and those characters must have...character!

Join Jared and Chris as they chat with Liz about the importance of giving your characters the diverse personalities that will make them each unique and make your readers fall in love.

More stories after Duncan the Dragon?

Absolutely!

Author Lynn Combs is back and she is going strong. Join Jared and Chris as they talk about new children stories in the works, progress on on Avalina's tale, and upcoming events with Lynn.

And, as always, travel with them down the warrens and ways that twist and turn in unimaginable directions.

We all have things we're passionate about.

Ideas. Moral quandries. Philosophical perspectives.

When it comes to story telling, remember: It's about the story.

Join Jared and Chris as they talk about the pitfalls of monologuing and embedding your world views into the stories you tell. What does that do to readers? How can you avoid falling into the trap?

Good writers will invite everyone to read, regardless of the perspectives the author wants to share.

Have you tried wring and just can't get the story out of your brain fast enough?

Caleb has been there, tried that, and that was enough.

For now, he won't be a writer.

Join Jared and Chris as they have another discussion with Caleb and dive into his thoughts and challenges around writing a story.

Steaks... no, stakes!

What kind of stakes does your story have? Steaks or stakes? Or, maybe a little bit of both?

Stories need stakes, and if your story already has stakes, maybe it needs higher stakes.

Join Jared and Chris in another episode with Liz Verity as they talk about the importance of story stakes.

Sometimes things don't make it into a book, and sometimes those things are still fun to hear, read, or discover.

There are plenty of parts that got cut from A Flight From Shadows, and there will be cuts from future books, too. But sometimes readers get a glimpse at those parts that didn't make the final cut.

Join Jared and Chris as they share a lost piece of book 1 that sheds some additional light on characters who show their faces to the world of Duradim.

Dr. Seuss

Else Holmelund Minarik

Gary Paulsen

Roald Dahl

Lynn Combs

Children's books really can reach from the past and pull in memories. What were the stories that you grew up on that forever shaped you and still inspire you today?

Join Jared and Chris as they discuss children's literature, some of the challenges you'll face if you want to get published, and stories Chris hopes to turn into children's books of his own.