Story Embers Podcast

Join award-winning authors J.J. Fischer, Ann Marie Stewart and C.J. Milacci as they reveal how to build suspense in every chapter of your novel, how to turn sagging middles into tension-pounding scenes, how suspense works differently in romance vs action stories, and much more!

Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

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Great stories require deep thinking. But how can you create space for deep thoughts in a world filled with distractions and other commitments?

In today’s episode, Lori, Martin, and Daeus give some key insight into cultivating deep thoughts as a writer. They share the SCAMPER technique, discuss the difference between linear and web thinking, and describe how to “push beyond the wall” inside your mind. They also give suggestions for what to do when you’re too busy to write or think deeply.

 Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

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How do you create characters who are dynamic, unpredictable, and who leap off the page? 

In today’s episode, Martin, Lori, and Daeus discuss what makes a nuanced, well-rounded character – and how to avoid the pitfalls of a boring protagonist. 

Tune in to discover the ingredients to finding depth in your characters and learn how digging into your own experiences can help the lives of your story’s inhabitants connect to a reader. 

Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

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If the Bible reveals a creative God, how does His Word inspire and expand a writer’s creativity?

In today’s episode, Daeus, Lori, and Martin explore how to ground your creative life in Scripture and how to depict characters who both are and aren’t walking in truth.

They also share some examples of stories that engage with Scripture without coming across as preachy.

Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

Support the Show.

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Every human heart longs for heaven. And, as Christians, the anticipation of going home to heaven one day is a unique theme we can poignantly wrestle with in our fiction.

We can explore the tension we feel between the now of living for Christ in an imperfect world and the not yet of experiencing the new heavens and earth.

In today’s episode, Daeus, Mariposa, and Josiah discuss how to write about a home we yearn for but haven’t yet seen. They also give advice on staying faithful each day without wishing to “escape” to heaven.

Show notes:
- Purchase 'The Shards of Elan' tetralogy by Laura VanArendonk Baugh here!
- You can visit Laura VanArendonk Baugh's website by clicking here.
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

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Cliffhangers entice you to turn pages long into the night. But how do you write in a thrilling way that avoids disappointment and boredom? What actually keeps readers invested in a story when they encounter a dangling plot point?

 In today’s episode, Josiah, Mariposa, and Daeus show you how to engage readers with scenes that close at a nerve-wracking moment and later reach a satisfying conclusion.

 
Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

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We live in a world that’s become increasingly focused on fame, and “success” for a writer means having thousands of followers, signing with a large publisher, and hitting the bestseller list. The goal is to be in the spotlight and make a hefty income.

But, as Christians, we write for God’s glory, not our own.

Knowing this, we wrestle with moral questions about our dreams and ambitions. What if we want to be published by the Big Five? How do we grow an audience but not our pride? If we’re not seen, are we truly having an influence? 

In this episode, Josiah, Mariposa, and Daeus discuss serving God through writing—whether with a huge platform or a small one.

Show notes:
- Click here to purchase Lori Z. Scott's new book, Offsides!
- Click to discover more about Lori Z. Scott on her website.
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

Support the show

Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” As writers who intend for others to read our work, we desire to be leaders, and as Christians that means we must lay ourselves down and seek to serve our audiences. But what does the application of that look like?

Listen as Josiah, Gabby, and Daeus unpack the motivations and actions of a servant-hearted writer, why it’s such an important mindset to have, and how building relationships with readers can be like inviting them into a warm house on a rainy day.

Show notes:
- Discover more about Traitor by Laurie Lucking here!
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)


Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

Support the show

Like Tolkien’s depiction of The Shire, portraying moments of warmth and joy can be a powerful way to convey that Christ’s path is vastly different from the darkness in the world. How can showing characters’ potential to thrive give hope to readers? And how can writers do that while still being honest about sin and the hardships we all go through?

Listen as Josiah, Gabby, and Daeus explore the concept of wholeness, its importance within fiction, and whether hope comes from waiting for heaven’s completeness or if we can experience it here on earth as well.

Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

Support the show

What role does a writer play as a member of Christ’s Body? How do we respect others and their gifts, even when their purpose looks vastly different from ours? And how do we respond when we feel like our value is misunderstood?

 Listen as Josiah, Gabby, and Daeus tease out where our identity comes from, how our actions involve much more than simply the task of writing, and how we can be a blessing to others both within the Body of Christ and outside it.

Show notes:
- Comment on this episode on our blog!
- Become a supporter and get access to exclusive Story Embers updates, swag, and more! (https://www.patreon.com/storyembers)

Music credits:
Positive Motivation - Purple Planet Music (https://www.purple-planet.com/) 

Support the show