SPA Girls Podcast

By SPA Girls podcast - self publishing for authorsBusiness Entrepreneurship Education Arts Books How To

Favorites
28
Followers
Typical duration
63 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

SPA Girls Podcast episodes

March 04, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – EP229 – How To Write Great Description
How can we write great description without it sounding cliched, over-written or just plain boring? Listen up and we’ll share all our best description writing tips from ourselves and from some great writing teachers.

We’ve compiled extensive notes to give you ideas on how to use description effectively in your writing, without overwhelming or underwhelming your readers (or yourself!) …
41 min
March 04, 2020SPA Girls Podcast – EP229 – How To Write Great Description
How can we write more descriptively?
Characters? Setting? What gives “visual” to readers?
What is the point of description? – To enrich the readers understanding of a story, to move the story forward, and to help readers see a character. (Description by Monica Wood ;))
So how can we write great description without it sounding
cliched, over-written or just plain boring? Listen up and we’ll share all our
best description writing tips from ourselves and from some great writing
teachers.
We’ve compiled some great advice on how to use description effectively in your writing, without overwhelming or underwhelming your readers (or yourself!) …
Describing Characters
Often descriptions of characters tends to be like “she
had red hair, blue eyes and was of medium build.”
Consider instead, “She tucked a tendril of red hair
behind her ear, and gave me a cheeky smile. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as
she took off on the trail ahead of me, her pack bouncing on her back.”
Which one gives you more of a sense of who the character is?
Describing Setting
Put characters in uncomfortable situations
Setting can be an amazing way to put our characters into
uncomfortable positions. Consider the fish out of water kind of scenario, that
will amp up a boring scene. A billionaire walks into a dirty dive and, all
suited up in an expensive outfit, his Rolex on show, orders a tap beer. Or a
whiskey. Or a house wine.
Consider your infallible narrator
Describe the scene through your character’s eyes (which you
should be doing anyway, most of the time), but with an awareness of how they’d
see it. Someone who was a neat freak would see a messy caravan set up on a
ranch differently so someone who was used to dirt and disorder.
Only give a hint as to the setting
Readers like to spend time imagining the world for themselves. Beginner writers either describe nothing, and leave readers wondering where the action is taking place, or they describe everything, right down to the red pencil that’s balanced precariously on the edge of the desk. If the red pencil is really important to the story, sure, mention it, but if it’s not, don’t.
Give a comparison
Using comparisons is a great tip when writing descriptive
scenes. (Walking into that room was like walking into battle wearing a suit of
armor.) Well you get the idea!
Use all your five senses
Taste, touch, smell, sound, sight. Use them all. Often we
rely on sight, and describe things based on what we can see. Make sure you talk
about the smells from the rotting fish in the garbage bin in the alley (which
can actually be far more provocative to the reader), or the fruity taste of the
wine she’s drinking, or the feel of the sheepskin rug beneath her fingers, or
the sound of the thunder of approaching horses.
Consider touch – the feel of things, but also the personal
touch – how they touch other characters, but also other objects. A character
who gestures wildly, or is clumsy, and continually knocks things off shelves, a
character who is obsessive compulsive, and has to touch every mailbox she sees.
How characters touch each other is a great way to tell story, as well as get
your story right into the head of your readers.
Description is another opportunity to move the plot forward. It’s not accidental or any old stuff. It’s what you can use to draw your readers deeper into the story, to give them clues as to the characters and to help them understand who they’re spending their time with. It’s a huge opportunity to show not tell.
Wendy’s pet peeve as a reader is overwritten description. She
says “Don’t over write!” Descriptions are for setting a scene, we don’t
necessarily need to experience every inch of it or the smell of each blade of
grass. Using comparisons is a great tip when writing descriptive scenes.
(Walking into that room was like walking into battle wearing a suit of armor.)
Well, you get the idea!
Remember, description doesn’t need to be flowery – yes, even in romance! It needs to have a purpose and give a visual perspective to a reader. Imagining a setting with clues is subjective to us all but you don’t need to belabour it!
Writing Tips:
You don’t have to do all the description in the first draft. Don’t get caught up doing it all the first time round. Put notes to yourself that you need to flesh it out, and come back to it in the second draft. Sometimes it’s actually way easier to do it that way.
Description often has layers. You need to really know and understand your story to get all the layers right.
Use description to help with the characterisation of your heroine. If she’s a messy, disorganised arty type who loves cats… Well, you can probably guess how to show that through where she lives.
Avoid vagueness – Would your heroine buy a “vehicle” or a specific type of car, like a blue Mazda CX3? Does your hero have a “cat” or a cheeky Maine Coon? Does your character have a “sweater” on, or are they wearing a cute pink knitted jersey?
Use significant or mood objects – You can use objects to help define the mood of your characters, lonely old house that your protagonist lives in. Or significant objects – ie the murder weapon, but before anyone realises it’s the murder weapon. The leg of lamb in “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl.
Stay consistent – Don’t describe it as light and airy in one scene, and then dark and gloomy in a later scene. Keep it the same.
Avoid “Double Vision”. You want the reader to be inside the story. By saying that the character saw something, you’re calling attention to the act of sight, rather than what they’re seeing. Don’t say “Samantha saw the large flock of birds diving toward her.” It is already be in Samantha’s point of view. So you can just say, “the large black flock of birds dove down, cawing and screeching.”
And finally, a nice summation from Jericho Writers 8 Steps For Writing Great Descriptions
Set the scene early on
Build a sense of place with telling details
Be selective, not comprehensive
Write for all the senses
Get place and action working together
Use unfamiliar locations (and research!)
Foreshadow
Be creative: specific is good, unexpected is better!”
41 min
February 25, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – EP228 – Interview with Elana Johnson – PART TWO
In this second episode with bestselling author Elana Johnson, she gives us all the juicy details of how she has created her bestselling career...

From the new release strategies that she uses, to the kind of advertising she does, and even the right mindset for being successful - Elana talks about it all.

She talks openly about her career, tells us about the mistakes as well as the successes, and gives us all the details on how she managed to have her first 100K month in January 2020.

This is another amazing episode with a talented and hardworking indie author!
1 hr 7 min
February 25, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – EP228 – Interview with Elana Johnson – PART TWO
In this second episode with bestselling author Elana Johnson, she gives us all the juicy details of how she has created her bestselling career...
From the new release strategies that she uses, to the kind of advertising she does, and even the right mindset for being successful - Elana talks about it all.
She talks openly about her career, tells us about the mistakes as well as the successes, and gives us all the details on how she managed to have her first 100K month in January 2020.
This is another amazing episode with a talented and hardworking indie author!
1 hr 7 min
February 19, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – Ep 227 – Elana Johnson Part One – Productivity
Ever wondered how you could get more writing time in your day?

Today in the SPA, we talk to uber-productive USA Today bestselling author Elana Johnson, about what she does to get her writing goals completed. She writes adult contemporary beach romance and christian cowboy romance under two different pen names and is currently publishing at least one book a month. And just so you know that her work ethic is paying off... in January 2020 Elana hit a 6 figure month for the first time.

Join us for another excellent interview with a top indie author!
49 min
February 19, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – Ep 227 – Elana Johnson Part One – Productivity
Ever wondered how you could get more writing time in your day?
Today in the SPA, we talk to uber-productive USA Today bestselling author Elana Johnson, about what she does to get her writing goals completed. She writes adult contemporary beach romance and christian cowboy romance under two different pen names and is currently publishing at least one book a month. And just so you know that her work ethic is paying off... in January 2020 Elana hit a 6 figure month for the first time.
Join us for another excellent interview with a top indie author!
49 min
February 11, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – EP226 – Romance Your Brand with Zoe York
We are delighted to welcome back NYT and USA Today bestselling romance author, Zoe York. Zoe is not only a fabulous writer, but she's a marketing whizz who talks to us today about building a marketable genre fiction series.
1 hr 4 min
February 11, 2020SPA Girls Podcast – EP226 – Romance Your Brand with Zoe York
We are delighted to welcome back NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Zoe York, to the SPA! Zoe is a busy mom of two young boys and the creator of modern, sexy, small town contemporary romances, a sci-fi romance series and now non-fiction for authors. Since 2013, Zoe has published 56 books, lead numerous workshops both in person and online, and is a fellow podcaster – The SisterCast is where Zoe and her sister Amanda talk about media, marketing, and how awesome it is to be a perfectly average mom.
Today we talk to Zoe about building a marketable genre fiction series as detailed in her first non-fiction book for writers: Romance Your Brand. For first time ever in print, Zoe York breaks down how she plans a series–something she has done ten times over. Romance Your Brand is an adaptation of an intensive four-week course, now available to authors everywhere. This book covers:
high-concept pitches
taglines and blurbs
world building and casts of characters
writing the first book in a series
finding comparable series and covers
how to write towards future marketing
and why ALL OF THE ABOVE should be considered before you write a single word
This episode has fabulous marketing advice from Zoe, so get out your notebook and be ready!
“The truth is, success is found in trial and error. There’s no magic button, and maybe everything I’ve taught you so far might not be quite right for you. I still think it’s worth trying.” ~ Zoe York.
1 hr 4 min
February 04, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – EP225 – Amazon Decoded with David Gaughran
Is Amazon just one big mystery that you're struggling to unravel? Then this is the podcast for you! David Gaughran gives us some tips and advice from his soon to be released non-fiction book, AMAZON DECODED.
1 hr 10 min
February 04, 2020 SPA Girls Podcast – EP225 – Amazon Decoded with David Gaughran
Is Amazon just one big mystery that you’re struggling to unravel? Then this is the podcast for you! David Gaughran gives us some tips and advice from his soon to be released non-fiction book, AMAZON DECODED.
David says it’s important to understand Amazon’s approach to bookselling, and how that differs from the rest of the industry. It’s crucial to get to grips with the Kindle Store and how all the various parts work. And it can be extremely lucrative to apply that knowledge to your marketing strategies.
David Gaughran has helped thousands of authors to self-publish their work via his workshops, blog, and books such as Let’s Get Digital, Let’s Get Visible, Amazon Decoded, and Strangers to Superfans. He has been featured in the Telegraph, the Irish Times, the Guardian, the Irish Examiner, the Sunday Times, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Forbes, Mashable, New York Observer, Newsweek Polska, il Giornale, The Star Malaysia, and a smattering of Wanted posters.
https://davidgaughran.com/
1 hr 10 min