Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only three private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.
• New book out for writers: Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books by Valerie Ihsan, J. Thorn, and Miranda Weingartner
• Erick is publishing an anthology; call for submissions for Back in the Ground (horror inspired by PNW); https://caretakerpress.org

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• goal: create workshops for retreat, create the lesson plans for upcoming class, create memoir checklist, finish taxes
• son's birthday
• have a couple more conferences to pitch
• Tax Start this week! (find time in between meetings, the gym, and my son)

• Erick:
• roadtrip gave me two short story ideas and wrote them

• inspired by the anthology submissions

Just finished:

I'M READING: Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

Monica by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)

• Show Notes:

How do you explore, or understand, the world and your own values in the books and stories you write?

"I love this weird stuff. How can I use this?"

If you explore this, you'll engage yourself.

The magic is I unconsciously know there is a lot to learn.

Connect the dots of inciting incident to the relationship

When the themes come up, now I know how to steer this (know where we are going). (Starts out unconsciously.)

Engaging with the mystery. Making sense of relationships.

Stories that won't let me go are the ones that I learn from.

No original stories but that's a propellent. Where you go with the trope is up to you.

Open to the magic. "It doesn't start at the end."

• Next Episode: Kathy Giorgio (writing with a chronic illness)
• Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie's Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie's Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie's Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick's Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick's free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick's Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick's Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon