The Write Approach

Writing in first person has both its advantages and disadvantages. It opens up the interiority of your protagonist for unfiltered and unfettered exploration, but constrains you to only the things they know. In Episode 45, we talk with author and editor Amy L. Bernstein how when to first in first-person POV and how to make the most out of it.

I reached out to Amy after first reading her article, The Peril and Promise of Writing in First-Person POV.

Amy L. Bernstein's website: https://amywrites.live/
Barbara Hinske's author website: https://barbarahinske.com
J. W. Judge's author website: https://jwjudge.com

 D.R. Ransdell has been writing fiction for years. She has done writing workshops and worked on her novel-writing craft along the way. But it wasn't until she got serious about screenwriting that she obtained transferable skills with writing dialogue and quickly diving into a story that improved all of her fiction writing.

D.R. Ransdell's author website: https://www.dr-ransdell.com/
Barbara Hinske's author website: https://barbarahinske.com
J. W. Judge's author website: https://jwjudge.com

In Episode 43, we talk with Dr. Millicent Eidson about using her background in disease and epidemiology to inform the fiction that she writes. She also discusses using short stories and short form fiction to experiment writing styles and points of view and to expand her skill set as a fiction writer.

The portion of this conversation about point of view builds on last week's conversation that we had with Savannah Gilbo (Ep. 42).

Millicent Eidson's website: https://drmayamaguire.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

In Episode 42, we talk with developmental editor, book coach, and podcaster Savannah Gilbo about crafting a story that works. Specifically, we discuss choosing the writing point of view for your story, and the pros and cons of the most prevalent points of view, first person and third person limited. We also talk about what should go into choosing how many points of view characters your story needs.

If you enjoy this episode, you'll also want to listen to or watch Episode 29 with Valerie Francis.

Savannah Gilbo's website: https://www.savannahgilbo.com/
Barbara Hinske's author website: https://barbarahinske.com
J. W. Judge's author website: https://jwjudge.com

 Diane Kelly is the bestselling author of several series spanning from cozy mysteries to white-collar crime. In Episode 41, we discuss the benefits of writing a series, including knowing when its time to close out a series. Diane talks about the business decisions involved in her hybrid approach to traditional and indie publishing. And she talks about the value and importance of being involved in writing organizations.

Diane Kelly's author website: https://www.dianekelly.com/
Barbara Hinske's author website: https://barbarahinske.com
J. W. Judge's author website: https://jwjudge.com

In our conversation with USA Today bestselling author Kellie Coates Gilbert, we talk about setting reader expectations through your author branding (including your book covers) and meeting those expectations within the stories you tell. Kellie also talks about her love for the settings in which she sets her novels and how she brings them to life.

Kellie Coates Gilbert's author website: kelliecoatesgilbert.com
Barbara Hinske's author website: https://barbarahinske.com
J. W. Judge's author website: https://jwjudge.com

In Episode 39, Brock Swinson stops by to talk about the principles that guide his creative life. He focuses on being prolific and diversifies the projects he works on. We discuss being generous with our time and experiences. One of the last things we talk about is how to develop relationships with people further down the career path of commercial success and when it's okay to tap into those relationships.

In Episode 38, Barbara Hinske and J. W. Judge discuss various aspects of their writing businesses. J. W. is deep into the writing of his fifth novel, which has involved a significant amount of hurricane research so he can accurately terrorize his characters. Barb is focused on the business side of developing keywords that will prompt more search results, clicks, and purchases of her books.

In Episode 37 of The Write Approach, Barb talks about how a recent trip to Paris has affected her inspiration, including one particular interaction that she definitely plans to incorporate into a future novel. We also talk about generally about building travel experiences and settings into your creative works.

In Episode 36, we talk with developmental editor and author Tiffany Yates Martin about writing dialogue that drives your story and provides more color for your characters.  Effective dialogue is as much about what your characters are saying with their body language as with the words they're using.

Tiffany Yates Martin's website: https://foxprinteditorial.com/
Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/
J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/