The Writing Sparrow

This week, author T.L. Clarke is back to talk about how to meditate and how to use it to your advantage as a writer.

We cover a lot of ground in this one: how to sit when you meditate, common misconceptions,  can you still meditate when you have aphantasia (an inability to imagine things), etc.

As an added bonus at the end, T does a lovely guided meditation to help you relax. This is a great introduction if you've never meditated before! To help you come out of it gently, I've left a bit of space between the end of her meditation and the end-of-episode music, and I'm not including the usual talk-over this time - this way, you can come out of the meditation gently <3 This also doubles as this week's action step!

Please note: if you don't want to do the meditation, we're letting you know when the episode is effectively over for you, but: the first sign-off is a false start because I missed a question, so don't go anywhere just yet the first time I say you're done! We're about to discuss how to sit when you're meditating when you reach this point. I promise we've made it clear when to go (plus you'll know when the meditation starts!).

To find out more about T.L. Clark, you can find her on Instagram, her author page on Facebook, Twitter, and her website. The app she mentions is the Insight Timer App.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Ready your pens and notebooks, Sparrows, because there's a lot of info in this one! Especially in the first 20 minutes or so - you won't have time to drink your tea, you'll be scribbling so furiously!

Your action step for this week is to research schools in your area/schools you could easily get to and find out if they're open to arranging a visit.

You can find out more about C.M. Healy on his website, his Instagram, his Facebook, and his YouTube channel.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

(Note: please ignore the message at the beginning mentioning transcripts; unfortunately, these are no longer available)

Dana Fraedrich is back this week to talk us through how to create our own bookish merchandise, how to price it and where to sell it, and how to figure out what merch is right for your book. Oh, and we're holding this podcast's first ever giveaway ;)

The giveaway is now closed.

To find out more about Dana, check out her website , find her or Twitter , or follow her on Instagram.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Once a month, I talk to another writer about their writing routine. We answer questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more! At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing the right writing routine for you.

This month, I talked to Beverley Lee, a horror author from England.

Her book recommendations are On Writing by Stephen King and Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner. Don't forget to check out the all-new library on my website for all book recommendations from these routine chats!

To find out more about Beverley, check out her Instagram, her Twitter, and her website.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

As requested in my reader group on Facebook, I will be sharing quarterly writing updates and goals. If that's not why you're here, don't worry - it'll only happen four times a year. Hopefully, my process, goals, and achieved deadlines (as well as surprise challenges) will be interesting for you whether you're here as a writer or as one of my readers!
 
Listen to find out what I'm working on, what progress I've made on my WIPs, and what I'm planning next.
 
And if you'd like to share your goals with me, too, go right ahead! Let's hold one another accountable *high five*

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

For this week's episode I had a chat with author T.L. Clark about pen names! We discussed what authors need to know when considering using a pen name, the legal side,  how to choose the right name for you, and more.

To find out more about T.L. Clark, you can find her on Instagram, her author page on Facebook, Twitter, and her website.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

For this week's episode, I had a chat with G.R. Thomas about how authors can use TikTok to reach new readers and sell more books.

You can find out more about Grace on her website, find her on Instagram, or follow her on TikTok.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Once a month, I talk to another writer about their writing routine. We answer questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more! At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing the right writing routine for you.

This month, I talked to Briana Morgan, a horror author from Georgia.

Her book recommendations are On Writing by Stephen King and Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. Don't forget to check out the all-new library on my website for all book recommendations from these routine chats!

To find out more about Briana, check out her  website , find her or Twitter , follow her on Instagram, or support her on Patreon.

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

In today's episode, I talk about how authors can use BookFunnel to reach more readers faster without spending a fortune!

Your action step for today is to check out BookFunnel's website and do a little research. Do they offer what you're looking for?

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

In this week's episode, I talk about my experience of writing all three books of my Blood Wisp trilogy before I started editing the first book. I talk about what the benefits and downsides are for me to help you decide whether this might be a good approach for you.
 

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*** WE'RE MOVING *** Find us on https://ko-fi.com/writingsparrowpodcast going forward - the old links will stop working soon.

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.