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You’ll be quickly drawn into Paula’s story of researching, writing, and publishing her book that shares the heart-wrenching details of child soldiers in Colombia alongside her own coming-of-age reflection as someone who was born, but not raised, in Colombia. Paula Delgado-King is the author of Leonor. It’s her first book that started as a policy paper when she was a grad student at Columbia University in International Affairs back in 2001. At the time, Paula was interested in what the United Nations was doing to help children exercise their rights and she focused her attention on Bogotá, Colombia. It was a natural point of focus for Paula who is originally from Bogotá, having been born there, but her family was forced to leave when she was 9 due to threats against her family. When she traveled to Bogotá, to start researching and reporting about the experiences of children, it was her connection with Leonor, a young girl from a halfway home in Bogotá, that had her eager to return every couple of months to learn the latest in her story. Paula’s passion and dedication to sharing this story is evident. It took her a long time, but she knew it needed to be out in the world. As writers, it’s interesting to think about how long it can take to get our stories into the world. You may be able to relate to what Paula has to share in this episode and find you’re ready to write your story. Paula’s book is a unique blend of nonfiction and memoir. An exploration of a culture that’s familiar, yet at the same time not familiar, and writing with an awareness of needing to effectively explore her experience in connection with Leonor’s. Paula was pulled into Leonor’s story because of her experience as a woman who was under attack simply for being a woman. She kept in touch with Leonor for about 19 years to ensure she correctly captured the truth and the details of Leonor’s experience. Paula made the decision to eventually add her own story to help make Leonor’s story more accessible to a reader. It’s an exploration of connecting with her heritage and exploring her own coming of age story when she wasn’t able to grow up in Colombia. There were certainly many challenges in the writing process to weave her story with Leonor’s. She was very thoughtful and diligent in making sure she was true to her voice and Leonor’s voice. It’s not an easy topic, but it will make you stop and reflect on your own life. You also don’t want to miss hearing about Paula’s writing process and balancing it with motherhood. She also shares about navigating rejection and what she learned along the way. It’s an episode that is sure to inspire, so go ahead and click the button below to listen. Who is Paula Delgado-Kling? Paula Delgado-Kling holds degrees in comparative literature/French civilizations, international affairs, and creative writing from Brown, Columbia, and the New School, respectively. ​Leonor​, for which she received two grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts, is her first book. Excerpts of this book have appeared in Narrative, The Literary Review, Pacifica Literary Review, and Happano.org in Japan. Lately, Paula’s side gig is that she has, to her great surprise, become a tennis mom.
You can connect with her online here: IG @pauladelgadokling Faceboo

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Episode 44: Healing Through Storytelling

If you’re interested in memoir, here’s another great episode of the podcast that follows an emerging theme we have going right now focused on the power of sharing our stories. In this week’s episode, Elizabeth talks with Lenore about how her need for healing, after experiencing a myriad of health symptoms, encouraged her to create a podcast dedicated to sharing her story about being a survivor of a true crime. But, it was ultimately through the process of writing her stories that she found healing. When mental and physical illness started to take hold of her life, Lenore met with a psychologist who shared with her the impact PTSD can have on your life. If you’ve experienced any trauma, you may be familiar with the toll it can take on your well-being. Lenore started to use writing as a therapeutic tool, much like our guest, Cheydrea, from last week’s episode, and it became her most important strategy for managing the intensity of her emotions. The healing was not overnight. It took Lenore years and years to work through the trauma she experienced. We often start to layer our trauma and because of how our culture functions, we keep moving forward without looking back. However, the compounding effect of this can be detrimental to your health, and that’s what Lenore started to see in her own life. While we all have different experiences, we can learn so much from each other’s stories. There’s a common understanding about the journey of overcoming experiences and processing the feelings that can be relatable. When you know you’re not alone there’s so much healing that happens and your story can help someone else navigate their life. 

I think that's why the power of telling our stories, no matter the details of the trauma or the hardship that we went through,  it's the process of overcoming and the feelings and the um, coping mechanisms that are very relatable and that's, I think, knowing that we're not alone in those, that's how we get through and I think that's what's really powerful about memoir.  - Lenore

Lenore’s own podcast was her approach to recording her experience as a way to get her ideas out so she can eventually write her book. Her focus was on the power of the survivor and the qualities all human beings share for survival. Often the focus in true crime is on the perpetrator because of our fascination with criminal minds as a culture, but what about the survivor?

 While Lenore was working with the psychologist and remembering her experiences, writing allowed her to have some emotional detachment from her experience. She discovered her strength was through writing her stories which allowed her to get it out of her and onto paper, and she found her voice through the creation of her podcast. If you think you can’t remember something, start writing about it and you’d be amazed at what you can remember. 

 I think that's, you know, that's the power in, in a good story told  a way that, um, really allows the reader to, to find, um, their own journey because, I mean, that's the point. -Lenore

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In this episode, Elizabeth talks with Andrea Seiler (pen name: Cheydrea) about her experience writing a memoir. During the process, Andrea shifted into writing poetry and creating art, which brought so much healing to her life creating a transformation she wasn’t expecting. Her life has been forever changed because she started writing down her stories. 

Andrea started writing down the stories of her life during the pandemic, and there was a point when depression started to set in and she knew she needed to do something to shift. She started creating artwork, an unexpected yet welcomed direction for her, because the writing process had brought up a lot of pain and her art helped with healing. 

She knew writing a memoir could take a long time and so she went back through her writing and started to take out the pieces that were easier to handle. It allowed her to manage the overwhelm of the pain she was experiencing. She was not a poet before she started writing her book, but it was through poetry she was able to find her voice and amplify it to share with the world.   

Writing was the medium that helped her through a really difficult time when she was spiraling into depression and falling out of love with so much in her life. As humans, we all have different ways we navigate the tough moments in our life, and for many of us, it is through writing that we are able to find healing. She was motivated to write to help rid herself of the pain. It was the most logical solution to write poetry and include her artwork. 

Andrea’s daughter encouraged her to publish it as a way of showing what’s possible to heal from trauma and your life stories. She discovered what was possible when you use a creative medium to share your story with others and how much bravery there is with that. 

You can hear the gratitude for the journey her writing took her on when you listen to Andrea on this podcast episode. She feels confident now and knows how to use her voice. You don’t want to miss a visit to her website which is absolutely beautiful and feels like a warm invitation from a friend to sit down and have a conversation. 

Quote from Andrea
Writing is clarity. And even now in my state as I sit here, if I'm confused about something or I'm in turmoil about something, I'm going to go sit down and start writing because I need clarity. 

Where can you find Andrea online:
Book: ​A Poet's Playground (https://amzn.to/3Y2IgbL) affiliate link to support our podcast
Website: ​https://cheydrea.com/​
Social media: @cheydrea 
She shares her podcasts @andrea.writer.artist on Instagram. 

Are you ready to write your memoir? Save your seat in the upcoming Memoir Cohort Course: https://inspired-writer-collective.ck.page/42427911ef

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In this episode, you'll learn about Elizabeth's Memoir Cohort Course and the huge benefit of writing in community. You'll discover that when you take this upcoming course, you'll get the benefit of two writing coaches! As our fall schedules get underway and we settle in for the end of the year, I'm excited to begin thinking about the next cohort of the Memoir Master Plan Group Course. So much of the struggle in trying to write and work on a memoir is that we, as the writer, are so close to the material. It's difficult to look at one's life and see the core message screaming to be shared. That's where the group learning environment and support is key. One participant shared this testimonial: "Elizabeth is wonderful to work with. I felt right at home when I took her memoir writing class. When we were in group she helped me feel seen and heard because I have some learning disabilities. I enjoyed the group dynamic and the course material was very helpful and unique. I feel Elizabeth's class helped prepare me and propel me forward in my writing!"In the multi-week course, we hammer out the core message (or main theme) of your memoir before diving into a detailed outlining process. We start with a broad outline of key concepts before dissecting which specific moments will be best to emphasize the intention of each scene. You'll conclude the course with a detailed outline that takes the guesswork out of what to write next. You won't fall victim to distraction or lack of focus when you sit down to start writing. You'll have confidence that the story you are crafting is one that is valuable to the overall message."The guidance offered in the Memoir Course results in the formation of a thorough outline that empowers you to begin drafting your memoir with confidence. The Memoir Course facilitates development of the scene-by-scene outline needed to make drafting the book as easy as sitting down and allowing words to flow."All of the recent course participants had made prior attempts at starting their memoirs on their own. They struggled with lack of accountability, support, and clear direction. Self-doubt takes over and we freeze. This small group cohort provides that necessary accountability and guidance many found lacking on their own.Don't take my word for it...one of my course participants said it best. "This is the course I didn't know I needed! I am incredibly grateful for the resulting ease with which I am now able to draft my memoir, turning my dream into reality. "Are you missing support and accountability in your writing process? Are you in need of more structure so you know what to write when you finally carve out the time to sit down? The he group is kept to a small cohort, so space is limited! You can SAVE YOUR SEAT here. If you're still unsure whether or not this is the right course or time for you, schedule a coffee chat with Elizabeth to talk more about your specific project and writing goals here.
Affiliate links to books mentioned in this video:
* Old Friend From Far Away by Natalie Goldberg (*correction from Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg that's mentioned in the video) Save the Cat by Blake SnyderStory

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Our Book Club selection for the month of August was Go As A River by Shelley Read and we’re talking about it in this week’s podcast. There is so much packed into this novel that is both enjoyable for readers and for writers. We balance our discussion this week with insights for both, but definitely lean into what we learned as writers. We’re not putting all of the details in the newsletter because we, of course, want you to go listen for yourself, but we’ll share a brief overview of what we touched upon and hope that, if you haven’t already, you’ll add this book to your list. For writers, we talk about the brilliant flow of adding backstory in scenes where the main character, Victoria, touches an object, such as her father’s rifle, and it brings up a memory that gives us insight into her experience and her family’s history. It’s an approach that is both reflective of the human experience, because we all have stories to tell about objects in our homes, but also lends itself to a seamless flow of language that doesn’t disrupt the story. There’s poetic language that you can find on just about every page of the book. It creates a rhythm to the story that is very engaging. It’s a great reminder of how poetry is a resource for writers of all genres to explore the precision and beauty of language. We also touch upon character development, the 3 Act structure, writing about a place, and how this novel, while fiction, can also help memoir writers. For readers, we discussed how the book just kept getting better and better with each turn of the page. In a workshop we attended led by the author, Shelley Read, she talked about how as she’s traveled the world now on her book tour that so many readers have come up to her to gush about how well she creates the feeling of belonging to a place. It creates a connection between people because we all have places in our lives that touch our heart, and this book accomplishes that for readers. Also, there’s a main character that you’re rooting for from start to finish as you read. It’s what readers expect. They want to have a main character they believe in and read about their transformation. It definitely happens when you read this book.

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It’s Part 2 of our podcast series with guest Mariska Maas (@rubreart). This week Elizabeth chats with Mariska about the readability and visual branding of your book. For many authors, it might not be the most exciting part, but depending on your genre, you may be able to have a little bit more fun with it than you think. Mariska has a “Cinderella” approach to her design process meaning she wants to create a one-of-a-kind design for every book. If you haven’t seen her Instagram page, @rubreart, it’s worth it to see her beautiful artwork, even if the covers and book interiors aren’t in your genre. She also emphasizes authors do not need to spend a lot of time on formatting if you have someone helping you, so if this is stopping you in your tracks from moving forward to publish, this is your friendly reminder to ask for help. For listeners of the podcast, she’s offering a 5 percent discount on her services if you book within 3 months of listening. She’s booking cover design and formatting clients into 2025 right now and offers a 3 week turnaround time on the project. Authors, this is a great way to book a service and set a hard deadline for yourself, especially if you are self-publishing. It’s very similar to what would be expected of you from a traditional publisher who wants to stick to deadlines to get your work out into the world. While the interior design of the book might not be the most exciting, it’s certainly the most important because it’s where your reader is spending the most time. Not every genre allows for a lot of design on the interior, but fantasy and romance genres are certainly where you’ll see more of it, and it’s a fun way to give your book a little something extra to delight the reader’s eye. When you’re formatting your book, there are a lot of details to pay attention to with respect to where the text falls on the page, the presence of hyphens, and making sure the beginning and end of chapters are up to industry standards. This is just a small drop of water in a gallon bucket when it comes to all of the details you need to pay attention to for your book. You don’t have to do this part alone, and in fact, it’s advisable to make sure you always have extra sets of eyes on your book or hire a formatter so you can focus on your writing. Of course, mistakes are going to happen. We’re all human and it’s only natural there will be times when a book goes to print and something is missed in the formatting stage. Don’t panic. Breathe. Take the steps to fix the error and move on with your day. For more about formatting the interior of your book and to hear a great strategy for how to get started right now, go listen to Podcast #40 right now! Who is Mariska Maas? Mariska Maas is the owner of the bookish design agency Rubre Art. She is a passionate book designer and illustrator. And has made it her goal to make a Cinderella one of a kind fit design for each and every book that she works on. No matter if it is for an indie author or a publisher, for everyone deserves amazing covers, interior formatting and illustrations. In her free time you can often see her doing arts and crafts, or reading a book from her never ending TBR.
Where can you find Mariska? Website, Linktree which includes the service request form, Instagram,

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In this week’s episode, the first in a two part series, Elizabeth interviews Mariska Maas (@rubreart) about cover design. Elizabeth connected with Mariska on Instagram about book design, especially for writers who are interested in self-publishing, and so this week the emphasis is on cover design and next week will be about formatting the inside of your book. Mariska, who lives in the Netherlands, has been in the book design industry for a long time. As a fellow bookworm, she discovered the publishing industry as her avenue to connect her art and books. Mariska has her own company now where she helps indie authors create book covers that bring them the same recognition as they would receive from a traditional publisher. If you approach Mariska for your book design, the first step is to respond to a series of questions to provide as much detail as possible. The more detail you provide, the easier it is for her to make sure the cover displays important elements of your book and aligns with current industry standards for your genre. You need to have a good idea of what you want for your book because that allows for the best possible cover art. All of Mariska’s cover art is illustration, no photos, because it’s easier to align with current trends and it’s her expertise. If you were to decide to walk through the cover design process with Mariska, you would receive mock ups and have the opportunity to request changes and express your opinion about what you like and don’t like. What’s great about Mariska’s process is she wants you, as the author, to be happy with the outcome and she helps guide you to make sure you get the cover you want and that will be noticed in bookstores and online. Your book cover is your best marketing tool. Mariska recommends connecting with a book cover designer as soon as you have a clear idea about the book you’re writing. A lot of artists can get booked way in advance, so if you wait, you might not get the cover in the time frame you expect. So, start shopping around now, even if your manuscript isn’t ready. Peak your readers’ curiosity with the cover art, so when it becomes available, the cover is recognizable and readers will want to pick it up. It’s important to note that if you’re hoping to be traditionally published, there’s a very slim chance you’ll get to use a cover you have someone design for you because publishing houses often have a direction they prefer to go based on how they design their books in house. As an indie author, when you self-publish, having a book cover can add an element of excitement to your book writing process because you start to see your book come to life. When you see the cover, it’s the start of visualizing your book being complete and ready for readers. Your cover helps sell your book. You have 7 seconds to appeal to a reader. Even if your book is amazing, if the cover doesn’t connect with readers, you won’t sell books. If you’re listening to this podcast within 3 months of it’s launch date, so that would be up until November 25, 2024, Mariska is being incredibly generous to our audience by offering a 5% discount with the code IWC5 on the interest form you complete. You’ll want to jump on this opportunity as soon as possible because she’s already booking authors into 2025. It’s an investment in your writing to take the leap and hire a cover designer. 

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Have you ever found yourself stuck when trying to develop your characters?

You’ll find guidance in this week’s podcast episode, #38: Having Fun With Character Development Using Coffee Chats.  

Stephanie shares her experience approaching character development from the perspective of calling the process “coffee chats”. Whether you enjoy spending time in a coffee shop, or not, you’re familiar with the experience of meeting someone for coffee. 

You know a conversation you have over coffee is never linear and can ping pong between being surface level and full of depth. 

It’s what makes this approach so much fun. You imagine you’re sitting down to have coffee with one of your characters and you start asking questions. There’s no formula for what questions you ask first or last, and you don’t need to ask all of your questions at the same time. In fact, it’s recommended you space out your coffee chats over the span of time it takes to write your book. 

A coffee chat takes away the pressure of needing to feel like the process needs to be so formal. It eases the stress of thinking it needs to be done in a special way. There’s your way and that’s what matters. This is simply a way to frame it for having more fun. 

Your characters evolve over time. They encounter things you don’t plan for as a writer, and sitting down for a coffee chat can help you go deeper. You won’t know all of the answers at the beginning. 

Character development doesn’t happen in one sitting. It’s a process. 

If you’re like Stephanie and enjoy going to coffee shops, it can be fun to do your coffee chats with your characters in that setting. You might find inspiration from conversations around you, or from watching people. 

Coffee chats are not just for fiction writers. If you’re writing a memoir, you can use this approach to capture the characterization of people in your life who’ve influenced your thinking or were important to you. You can use it to answer the questions for yourself.  

You can bring depth to the voice of your character by using coffee chats. If you’re sitting there wondering why it matters for you to write your book, it’s because it’s your unique voice. No one else has your experiences. No one else has your world view. All of that comes through your coffee chats with your characters. 

Give it a try and let us know what you discover! 

You can also download a FREE PDF of 50 questions to ask your characters during a coffee chat here. 

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This week’s podcast episode with guest, Alyssa Brade, is packed full of insights into mitigating burnout as a Mother and Author. You’ll come away with insights and strategies for your writing. You’ll find yourself connecting right away with Alyssa’s stories of motherhood that led her to write, Mommy Needs a Minute: From Burnout to Empowerment (this is an affiliate link, so if you click here and purchase you’ll be supporting the Inspired Writer Collective). Alyssa talks about the exhaustion that comes with being a new mom and trying to do everything for everyone, and ultimately losing herself in the process. She was trying to navigate childcare while: working, going to school, maintaining a relationship with her husband, and managing her home. A traumatic experience involving one of her sons, and becoming very sick herself, led Alyssa to evaluate her priorities and where she needed to put her energy. She was exhausted from pushing hard, a feeling many moms can relate to, and it led her to share her insights about how to mitigate burnout and hold onto your identity with the hope of helping other moms not feel so alone. Alyssa wrote her book in 12 months and is a self-published author. Here are a few of her tips she shares about how she was able to get writing done: making sure she met a daily word count goal, writing even when she wasn’t feeling inspired, choosing a time of day to write for an hour. The words Alyssa wrote were far from perfect every day. This is a reality of the writing process. It’s not going to be your best writing every time you sit down. Alyssa emphasizes the importance of making the time to write. Even when you don’t feel like it. Even if you’re not inspired. Alyssa shares her experience with publishing and marketing her book. She encourages you to get started even if you’re not sure what you’re doing. You’ll learn a lot in the process and what works for someone else may not work for your book. Alyssa goes on to talk about her struggles with entering motherhood and taking on that identity. It wasn’t what she had planned for, but she has since embraced the joy of the journey. She continues to work on not losing her own sense of self as an Author. She shares words of encouragement to other moms and women about holding onto what you enjoy and not letting motherhood consume you. Also, that it’s okay to grieve the loss of an aspect of your identity, and this should be normalized. The pressures of society often make many women feel guilty for how they feel about becoming a mom. You’ll appreciate hearing the honesty and down to earth perspective shared by Alyssa in this podcast episode. It’s real and relatable. If you’re interested in listening to additional podcasts that touch upon this topic, you can find more discussions in the following episodes (these links take you to our YouTube channel): Episode 34, Episode 20, Episode 13, Episode 7

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Our Book Club selection for July was Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. It’s the latest contemporary romance by Stephanie’s favorite author that has received many accolades across bestseller lists and was a Good Morning America Book Club this summer. As Stephanie continues to work on her own contemporary romance series, which will be written using a pen name, Abby’s books and daily social media posts are a continuous source of inspiration, however, this book threw a curveball. A fair warning here, there may be some spoilers and unpopular opinions ahead, or simply opportunities for great conversations about what it looks like to discuss a book from a reader’s perspective and a writer’s perspective. The viewpoints do not always align. Just for the Summer is an example of success for an author who knows her readers and has established a solid backlist, even when it’s not quite the rom-com you expect. We can agree to disagree. If you go on Goodreads, there are plenty of 1-star reviews right alongside the 5-star reviews of Just for the Summer. Every reader is different. It’s a helpful reminder to anyone pursuing a writing career that even the authors whose books are appearing on best seller lists get the 1-star reviews. You definitely want to be careful about judging this book by its cover. The image doesn’t reflect the level of mental health darkness that develops for Emma. It’s a common discussion thread amongst Abby’s readers that they’re left navigating so many emotions when reading her books, but the love story doesn’t feel memorable in this one. We weren’t left feeling like we were forever hopeful for the main characters. It was surprising because the genius hook at the beginning of the book of a Reddit thread that brings Emma and Justin (the romantic heroine and hero of the book) together creates the expected rom-com vibe. While Abby does research her books with great care and sensitivity, it went too far into the family drama for Emma and wove in character connections from her other books that didn’t make sense to us. There was a difference between listening to the book and reading it. Stephanie shares how she felt like she wasn’t paying as close attention when listening to it. The narrators are so good and the experience felt similar to putting a Netflix series on in the background while you’re doing other things, so you’re not paying as close attention. A closer read, with the book in hand, brought to light the depth of Emma’s mental health challenges that presented a dark, troubling story line that overshadowed the sweetness of the love affair. We invite you to listen to the podcast to hear the details of our discussion. Our next Book Club selection is Go As A River by Shelley Read. We attended workshops by Shelley at the Mountain Words Festival in May 2024, and were inspired by her story and experience of her first novel becoming an International Bestseller. We look forward to sharing insights from her workshops and the book. We’d love to have you join the conversation with us, so if you’re interested in being a part of our Book Club podcast recording please fill out the interest form here. 

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