Michael La Ronn is a bestselling author who has published over 100 books while maintaining a full-time corporate job and family life. After a near-death experience in 2012, he transformed from aspiring writer to prolific author, developing systematic approaches to productivity that he shares in his non-fiction books and YouTube channel. Michael writes primarily science fiction and fantasy featuring bold underdogs, and has built a substantial following through his Author Level Up YouTube channel with nearly 50,000 subscribers. His expertise lies in time management, dictation techniques, and maintaining consistent writing output through innovative productivity methods including mobile writing, visualization techniques, and strategic project switching.

In this episode:

• How a near-death experience in 2012 sparked his writing calling
• Managing 100+ books while working full-time and raising a family
• The three ways to manage time: add, edit, and delete
• Writing on mobile devices using Scrivener and Microsoft Word
• The power of switching between projects to avoid writer's block
• Visualization techniques for solving story problems
• Documentation-based outlining for pantsers who write by discovery
• Dictation workflows using voice recorders and AI transcription
• Using "Pikachu" as a dictation safe word for error correction
• Capturing story ideas religiously for 15 years in digital notebooks
• Building sustainable writing habits without burnout
• The Author Level Up YouTube channel and writing app tutorials

Resources mentioned:

• Scrivener app
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft OneNote
• Apple Notes
• Evernote
• ChatGPT and Claude
• Grammarly
• ProWritingAid
• ProsWrite (AI transcription software)
• Google Notebook
• Microsoft Excel
• Plotter

Book Recommendations:

• Be A Writing Machine by Michael La Ronn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985174480?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
• Be A Writing Machine 2.0 by Michael La Ronn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMYYJ182?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
• How to Dictate a Book by Michael La Ronn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG55P5Q?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Connect with Michael La Ronn:

• Website: https://authorlevelup.com/
• Fiction website: https://www.michaellaronn.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

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