The Story Studio Podcast - Writing, Storytelling, and Marketing Advice for Writers & Business

Michelle Spiva does WTF amazing things. Aside from writing ‘the naughty,’ she has taught nearly 10k people how to write fiction. She brings a background of psychology and analytics, so Michelle is the person you talk to when you have a block. Today, they talk about reader psychographics: how readers of all ages are changing […]

For this episode, the guys are just returning from the Worldbuilder Summit and they’ve got some amazing insights to share. What is the Worldbuilder Summit? It’s too much to write in mere show notes, so listen to this episode if you want to be inspired – and surprised – by the magic of commercial world […]

Closing a long running series is tough. It’s like walking away from money and saying NO the people who want more. But all good things must come to an end, and today’s guest, Rick Gualtieri, discusses how to know when to close out your series. You need to… KNOW YOUR WHY! (Surprised? You shouldn’t be.) […]

Today is one of our favorite things to do: gather up a whole slew of audience questions and answer them! Our questions come from our email list, our Facebook page, YouTube, and also those who joined us live. If you’ve got a question you want answered, chances are someone else had a similar question! Is […]

The community has been asking us about what we outsource and delegate to others. We’ve grown a lot over the past years, and it’s become more important for us to focus on what we do best. Today, the guys discuss what they outsource, as well as the thought process behind those choices. Johnny starts with […]

Our last live brainstorming show was a hit and a source of inspiration for writers who think they don’t have good idea. Due to popular demand, we’re doing another one of these with a slightly different angle. We asked our Facebook fans to give us ideas for characters, settings, and situations! Join Johnny, Sean, and […]

**SPOILERS!** Since our last breakdown of movie moments writers can learn from, we’ve gotten interesting feedback, including people calling Sean ‘less of a writer.’ So today the guys are doubling down and bringing to light even MORE movie moments that all of us can learn from. What is an ‘earned moment?’ That and more on […]

Jim Heskett is a mystery noir author (why also enjoys snark), and he’s got a crazy life. And a toddler. Today, Dave and the guys talk to Jim about how he manages to hack his time and release book after book. That’s what it takes to make it as an indie author, so supercharge your […]

Today’s show was quite a surprise for Sean and Johnny. We don’t have one guest… we have three. The show revolves around an open and frank discussion of how four people collaborated on a train from Chicago to New Orleans, and in the city for a week, to create a single, cohesive story. There was […]

Everyone has a story. It’s not the chronological story that matters. Today, our guest, Lisa Bloom, digs into what it means to tap into your core story, the empathetic one that matters to others, just like your characters’ stories matter to your readers. The best part? Dave is the guinea pig and Lisa goes to […]