Show Notes:

01:17 What does it mean to me to “help you take your writing to the next level”?

02:50 The “next level” is the next step to becoming a better, more authentic version of myself.

05:00 Two ways fear can be beneficial: it can alert us to danger, it can help us understand we are working on legitimately valuable things.

06:15 Five negative consequences of fear that we don’t confront: it causes us to act in negative ways, it can cause us to perform below our optimum level, fear fuels the engine of resistance, it limits our willingness to interact with others, and it magnifies the perceived consequences of even the smallest failure.

07:58 The Fear of Failure

11:26 Four ways to address the fear of failure, and failure itself, to make both less of a roadblock.

14:28 The Fear of Success

20:45 Some words of encouragement: The cost of not following your artistic impulse, the cost of not pursuing the next level for yourself and your creative work, is too high to allow the fear to win. Begin, even today, to find ways to make fear your fuel, rather than the thing that holds you back.

21:47 Share, comment, provide feedback: it helps others find the podcast (and blog) and also helps me know where I am being successful, and where I’m missing the boat.

links:

www.MoreStoriesPodcast.com

www.WordsMatterESW.com

Subscribe, rate, review:

iTunes -https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/more-stories-creative-writing/id908970807?mt=2&uo=4

Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=54682&refid=stpr

RSS - http://morestories.libsyn.com/rss

Why are writing prompts so widely used in writing instruction, and are they really helpful? I say, yes, to both, and here's why...

00:36 Welcome!

01:05 A confession

03:34 Dose my online content (podcast, blog, video) address YOUR needs?

04:35 Your input is valued, and I hope you’ll take a few minutes to let me know what you’d like to hear more of.

06:02 Intro to the topic of the day: Using writing prompts and exercises.

07:15 Why are prompts so widely used in writing instruction? 

07:21 Prompts are a starting point.

08:24 Prompts provide a point of immediate comparison.

09:26 Prompts can create creative momentum.

10:14 Are prompts actually helpful?

10:38 Writing exercises help us stretch.

11:15 Prompts and exercises help us see our work with new eyes.

12:02 They can help bring a sense of play back into our creative lives.

12:45 Prompts can break free something we didn’t even know existed.

13:57 HERE IS YOUR PROMPT: He saw her, before she saw him.

14:42 Thank you, share, leave feedback, and a brief preview of the next podcast.

www.MoreStoriesPodcast.com

642 Things to Write About

Steering the Craft

What If?

The 3 AM Epiphany

Now Write!

The Writer’s Lab

Episode 8: Fall Into Submissions

I was recently asked to describe my annual process of submitting to literary magazines, and the same person suggested I devote an episode of the podcast to that topic.

In five steps, I break down the essential elements of a submission plan, and talk, just a little, about HOW the process plays out in my own writing world.

00:54 I am so thankful that we have had, in one day, more listeners of the podcast than listened in the first five weeks of the podcast, combined. THANKS!!

01:56 More Stories the creative writing podcast is now available in Stitcher, on various Windows Phone apps, and the new native Windows Phone app, as well as on iTunes.

03:44 Intro to the content of the episode: How I attack my annual submissions of short stories to literary magazines.

05:34 Step One: Have a Plan. A plan is not a vague notion of what you HOPE the end result will be. The plan should be intentional, reasonable, and written down.

09:35 Step Two: Identify the appropriate, potential markets for your work. Base your list of desired publications on criteria that meet your desired publication perimeters.

15:16 Step Three: Prioritize and stratify your potential markets, and submit from the top (most desired publication) down (less desired publication). I rank my tiers by these ideas: how strongly do I desire to see my name (and my work) published in that magazine, how often do writers whose work has appeared there go on to win awards or other honors, how well-respected is the publication in literary circles, and how esthetically pleasing is the magazine. Your method of ranking is likely to be different than mine.

18:28 Step Four: Finding markets, preparing the manuscript, sending submissions, and keeping track of submissions, acceptances, and rejections all take time. You have to set aside the time to actually do the work of submission. Developing a workflow will help you avoid common mistakes, like sending the wrong file or not meeting guidelines of individual markets.

21:45 Step Five: Send the stories, then get back to writing.

23:31 Thanks, leave feedback (PLEASE!). Let me know if anything was confusing or you’d like to hear more detail about. Or, give me some tips about how YOU tackle the submission process.  

Links:

www.MoreStoriesPodcast.com

Meridian Literary Magazine

Glimmer Train Stories

Duotrope

Writer’s Digest

Writer’s Chronicle

Poets and Writers

Writer’s Market

Links:

http://www.jenniejarvis.com

http://jarviswrites.wix.com/jenniejarvis#!projects/cm8a

http://www.beatingwindward.com

episode archive: www.MoreStoriesPodcast.com

subscribe via itunes: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/more-stories-creative-writing/id908970807?mt=2&uo=4

rss feed:

http://morestories.libsyn.com/rss

Show Notes:

When Jennie Jarvis and I spoke in episode six about conferences, I also interviewed her about a book she had written for Beating Windward Press. The book is called Crafting the Character Arc: A practical guide to character creation and development.

In this episode, Jennie and I talk about about her book, what makes it different from other books on character development for writers, and what unique perspective she brings to the idea of improving our fictional characters. 

We also delve into the general state of publishing, why properly developed characters can give you and edge, and how the process of proposing and writing a non-fiction, craft-related book is different from other kinds of publishing.

00:36 Welcome and Thanks

02:52 Intro To Jennie Jarvis

03:25 Beginning of Interview, focus on Crafting the Character Arc: A Practical Guide to Character Development

03:58 Who the heck are ya, Jennie?

06:15 Applying the “Major Dramatic Curve” to all sorts of writing.

07:52 What’s different about this book, compared to other craft books focused on character?

09:12 Structure, and how some elements of structure can be beneficial to prose.

12:09 Readers live in an increasingly visual world, and that effects our writing.

14:10 Process of writing and submitting a craft, non-fiction book, and how it might differ from a fiction book.

15:57 The non-fiction proposal.

18:33 How specific the proposal has to be.

21:55 How to contact Jennie and buy the book.

23:45 Thank yous, links, subscribe and give feedback (please).

Show Notes

More Stories - The Creative Writing Podcast

Hosted by Eric Sheridan Wyatt

Episode 6: Conquering the Conference with Confidence

Resources:

Jennie Jarvis

http://www.Jenniejarvis.com

Twitter and Facebook: @jarviswrites

5Writers Blog

http://www.5writers.com

Florida Writers Association

http://www.floridawriters.net

FWA Annual Conference

http://www.floridawriters.net/2014_FWA_Conferences.html

Full More Stories Podcast Listing

http://wordsmatteresw.com/wp/category/pod-cast/

The Words Matter Blog

http://wordsmatteresw.com/wp/blog/

Find What You Want To Hear

0:55 Introduction to interview guest, Jennie Jarvis

1:40 Overview of topics regarding attending a writer’s conference

2:20 Interview begins

2:50 Overview of Florida Writer’s Association and the annual conference

5:20 Who benefits from attending a conference like this?

11:56 What should someone NEW to conferences expect their experience to be like?

13:12 “Conferencing 101” is to help new attendees

15:10 “Networking 101” helps explain what networking really is

16:20 Don’t oversell yourself: you aren’t a used car salesman

20:42 What is different about THIS conference? Info about the Florida Writers Association

24:38 Jennie Jarvis’ contact information (see the notes below)

25:38 My tips for attending conferences, residencies, meet-ups, etc (general)

26:00 #1 Plan Ahead

27:50 #2 Attitude is Key

29:10 #3 Go with a veteran, meet-up with a friend, or make one quickly

29:40 #4 The Content Mind, and the Contacts Mind

30:42 #5 Reflect (during and after the conference)

31:40 Thanks to Jennie Jarvis, upcoming 

I was inspired by an article a fellow writer friend, Jenny Jarvis, posted to Facebook. The article talks about the benefits that writers get from writing, and it caused me to think about my own work, and some of the things that hinder me from enjoying those benefits.

Show Notes:

00:00 - 01:30 Introduction to the episode

01:30 - I explain the reasons I don't (typically) talk about a work in progress

07:00 - I then share about a work in progress, thus breaking the rule I've just explained. But, I do so for a reason. And that reason is YOU, dear listener.

08:50 - A reading from the book-in-progress, tentatively titled, The Letter My Father Left Me.

11:40 - There are parts of that reading that overlap my "real life" experience and my belief that writing matters, and that it has positive, transformative benefits to those of us who write.

16:40 - There is some indication that there is measurable, scientific evidence that writing provides benefits not just to the mind, but also to the body and spirit.

21:00 - Sometimes we get to the place where we don't write "the hard thing" out of fear that doing so will be damaging, but the opposite is true.

23:20 - A challenge: What in your creative life is causing you to be reluctant to move forward? 

The article I quote from is called, Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write, by Rachel Grate.

Thanks so much for listening. Happy writing!!

***

I want this podcast to be an extension of my creative writing classes, my website, and my blog. I believe that words matter, and I work with writers of all levels to take their work to the next level. 

Please stop by my website, Words Matter, and leave a comment, especially if you have some suggestions for future episodes.

There is a comment area for every episode, and you can also use the "Leave Voicemail" option, and your question, comment, or original hiaku may be used in a future episode.

You can SUBSCRIBE to this podcast in iTunes (or leave a reveiw!), and I plan to have a "More Stories" app for smartphones and tablet devices soon. Every "like," "share," or comment helps me take my message to a wider audience. 

Oh, and please, if you know someone who might be interested in this podcast, please share the show widely.

I want this podcast to be an extension of my creative writing classes, my website, and my blog.

In this episode, I take a comment/question from a listener and discuss music and writing, lack of enthusiasm, and the importance of community and support systems for writers and other creatives.

Show Notes:

Intro babbling 00:00 through 02:00

02:04  discussion of music and the impact it has on writing, including mentions of James Taylor, Wally Lamb, and Over the Rhine. My story, "You'll Never Restrain the Longing" was re-titled, "It's Never Quite What it Seems" and my novel-in-progress was renamed from "Of Strawberries and Salvation" to "I Should Love You Less," both of which are inspired by words in Over the Rhine songs. I also briefly talk about using music as a sort of soundtrack during my editing process.

09:01 you can leave a message for me on the website via the "Leave Message" button on the right, and when you do, I can use the message for topics on the podcast.

10:30 Leah from Sarasota left a message about deadlines and a lack of enthusiasm for writing, and she won a special prize. (Hint: It is all about resistance!)

12:30 I was a little taken aback by Leah's comments, because they indicated that she got something different from a blog post than what I had meant for it to convey. This can be a bad thing, in many instances: when a reader doesn't understand or comprehend what it was we were trying to say. In this case, it worked out that Leah heard something different than what I intended.

17:00 Writing is a solitary act, benefited by community and creative support. Sharing both our failures and our accomplishments can help encourage other writers and creatives.

20:00 Even the best writers sometimes wonder if the next word will ever come, but it is only a temporary state, if we don't allow ourselves to be too comfortable in our waning enthusiasm.

21:15 Share, comment, subscribe, etc. It really helps me, and the podcast and blog.

Video for Over the Rhine, It's Never Quite What it Seems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBzAxF8Dgkw

Over the Rhine, album and artist website: http://overtherhine.com/albums/good-dog-bad-dog-back-porch/

Thanks so much for listening to More Stories, the creative writing podcast focused on craft, process, and great literature. Please stop by my website, Words Matter, and leave a comment, especially if you have some suggestions for future episodes.

There is a comment area for every episode, and you can also use the "Leave Voicemail" option, and your question, comment, or original hiaku may be used in a future episode.

You can SUBSCRIBE to this podcast in iTunes (or leave a reveiw!), and I plan to have a "More Stories" app for smartphones and tablet devices soon.

Oh, and please, if you know someone who might be interested in this podcast, please share the show widely.

I want this podcast to be an extension of my creative writing classes, my website, and my blog.

In this episode, I talk about the resistance I have encountered in pursuing a creative life, and some of the things I have learned about this creative resistance. This information will be useful for writers and other creatives, or anyone else who finds themselves facing resistance in their own lives. If you ever feel yourself pulled toward ANYTHING OTHER than that really important thing you know you are meant to do, this podcast is for you.

Thanks so much for listening to More Stories, the creative writing podcast focused on craft, process, and great literature. Please stop by my website, Words Matter, and leave a comment, especially if you have some suggestions for future episodes.

There is a comment area for every episode, and you can also use the "Leave Voicemail" option, and your question, comment, or original hiaku may be used in a future episode.

You can SUBSCRIBE to this podcast in iTunes (or leave a reveiw!), and I plan to have a "More Stories" app for smartphones and tablet devices soon.

Oh, and please, if you know someone who might be interested in this podcast, please share the show widely.

I want this podcast to be an extension of my classes, my website, and my blog, but starting a new podcast is a learning experience for me.

In this episode, I talk about a few of the hurdles I encountered, and the ways I am planning to move forward as we explore creativity and writing.

Thanks for listening. Please stop by my website, Words Matter, and leave a comment, especially if you have some suggestions for future episodes.

There is a comment area for every episode, and you can also use the "Leave Voicemail" option, and your question, comment, or original hiaku may be used in a future episode.

You can SUBSCRIBE to this podcast in iTunes, and I plan to have a "More Stories" app for smartphones and tablet devices soon.

Oh, and please, if you know someone who might be interested in this podcast, please share the show widely.

This is a show for writers and other creatives who want to deepen their creative rhythm, explore the ways their creativity can be enhanced, and fight against the resistance all creatives face from time to time. 

If any of those things seem to resonate with you, then you're in the right place.