What's in this episode?

Founder and CEO of The Novel Smithy, Lewis Jorstad takes time out to tell me about his journey into fiction, working with writers and starting his online business.

A fantasy writer at heart, Lewis has given himself the freedom to write in whatever genre and tell whatever story he wants. Writing non-fiction gives him that level of freedom.

Positive feedback from readers, and noticing a number of common questions about novel writing, he knew he had to put the posts together in a cohesive way.

We discuss the importance of getting that first draft down. Once it's written, you can revise and improve.

The Story Structure series on The Novel Smithy has been one of the most popular, even for those that want to go against the trend. Understanding the rules of structure, give you the freedom to break them.

If you're someone who finds it difficult to find the time to write, The 10 Day Draft is the book for you. It's not easy, says Jorstad, but it's doable. Getting that first draft down takes away the fear factor, proves to yourself that you can do it, and will release you to repeat the process.

Lewis kindly talks us through his outlining process, going from the vaguest of idea to the concept, to who's the protagonist and what do they want.

From there, you can build everything else. Lewis digs into this more in our conversation.

We then move onto how Lewis Jorstad organises his schedule so he can fit in 'all the things'. He describes himself as a 'binge writer'. He focuses on the project at hand until it's complete because he can't split his attention over the course of one day.

Listen to how Lewis organises his month to ensure everything gets done on time, and more about how he works with writers, helping them finish their manuscript so it's ready to publish or query agents.

We move onto Lewis' own fiction and the pros and cons of using a Pen name if you write across genres.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• How to Start Your Dream Novel | The Novel Smithy
• NaNoWriMo
• 10 Day Novelist Series, Lewis Jorstad

Associated blog post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/lewis-jorsad/

Don't forget, you can support the show for less than a Caffe Mocha at www.patreon.com/emmadhesi

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What's in this episode:

Jo Buer is the perfect example of why, even as a child, you mustn't let anyone stamp on your dreams. If you want to write stories, ignore the naysayers (even your primary school teachers) and follow your heart.

As a teenager, she went through the usual 'anxty' poetry and journals. As an adult she continued to write, but didn't pursue it with intention. She talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk until she noticed that a lot of her contemporaries weren't happy with their lot in life, instead were going through the motions.

She didn't want that for herself so started digging into publishing, submitting short stories and finally reworded one of her NaNoWriMo drafts and published it last year.

Jo took an undergraduate in English Literature, a big component of which was Creative Writing. From this experience she learnt how to give and receive feedback on her writing, which attributes to her confidence and future success.

I ask her what gave her the impetus to make 2020 her year for change, despite the pandemic and the anxiety that was going around the globe. She says,

"if we don't go after our dreams now, when will we?"

She wants freedom in life, and fiction is the way to attain that.

We talk about being an Authorpreneur, and why having a website, however simple, is an integral part of your business as a writer. Jo shares her experiences and how she decided what to include on her site.

We talk about the challenges around fitting in writing around the day job. As someone who already gets up at 4.30am, Jo Buer needed another way!

Accountability is a big part of Jo's success, not only by booking her editor in advance, but by telling her mailing list what she's doing and when it'll be done by. She doesn't want to disappoint anyone.

Jo Buer tells me about her debut novel, and what it is she loves about the gothic and ghost stories.

We talk, too, about the benefits of examining your mindset and the ways you can strengthen it to ensure resilience and success.

To round off, Jo Buer tells us about what she's working on now and her deadline of 1 March 2021.

You can more of our conversation around mindset and useful resources to boost your own resilience over at Patreon.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Self Publishing 101 Course from Self Publishing Formula
• Jo Buer's website
• Rest Easy Resort, Jo Buer
• Authorcats, Nick Stephenson
• The Right To Write, Julia Cameron
• Don't Keep Your Day Job, Kathy Heller

Associated Blog Post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/jo-buer

If you're ready to stop talking and start writing, embrace a new writing practice and get your words on the page, then Ready To Write coaching is exactly what you need.

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Do you love writing fantasy?
 
Then I've got great news for you!
 
My friends at ProWritingAid are excited to announce Fantasy Writer's Week, an entire week jam-packed with events specifically designed for fantasy authors.
 
 Best part?
 
 It's FREE!
 
Fantasy Writer's Week includes live sessions from bestselling fantasy writers like TJ Klune, Angela J. Ford, David Farland, and Stephanie BwaBwa, as well as workshops on topics like world-building and fantasy editing.

There are even software demos of products you can use to create your fantasy bestseller!
 
 Fantasy Writer's Week kicks off on February 22 and runs until February 26. If you can't make it live, don't worry! All the sessions will be available via replay, so you can sign up anyway and watch the sessions when it's convenient.

To get your free ticket, go to www.emmadhesi.com/FantasyWeek

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What's in this episode:

Thomas started his writing life as a journalist, editing, writing headlines, trimming and tightening other people's work, which was key in improving his own writing.

What journalism taught him was how not to waffle!

"Know the chase and cut to it."

Whilst working as a journalist, Thomas was also writing plays, short stories and novels and it was at that time he landed his first book deal.

I ask Thomas Emson how he balanced his day job and writing on the side. This was how he learnt to be productive and make the time to do it.

As the author of werewolf novel Maneater, we talk about what it is he loves about horror. He references his love of Clive Barker and Stephen King. There was a thrill that came from being scared in the safety of his own home!

It's also a kind of therapy, a way of expunging a person's darker moments.

When under contract to write two books a year, Emson needed to devise a method by which he could deliver by his deadline.

In our conversation Thomas takes me through his method, from first draft to end product. He says that goal setting is the engine that drives his productivity.

I ask him about plotting, revision and how he writes his chapters.

We talk to that it's important to be self-critical if you want to produce the best work you can, and it comes back to 'kill your darlings' which might be painful but is worth it in the long run.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Thomas Emson's website
• How To Write A Novel In 6 Months, Thomas Emson
•  Thomas Emson's fiction on Amazon
•  Follow Thomas Emson on Twitter
• Stephen King
• Clive Barker
• Jack Ketchum
• 30 Tip Tips To Find Time To Write Cheat Sheet

Associated blog post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/thomas-emson

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What's in the episode:

“I'm the technician helping them get it on the paper .”  - Ruby Peru 

The story already belongs to them, says ghostwriter Ruby Peru,  and as such she's happy to stay in the background. 

If she was a fiction ghost writer, however, that would be different. In fiction, she'd be making up a story from scratch, it would be her imagination and so she'd want to be acknowledged for that. 

I asked Ruby Peru about her process when it comes to ghostwriting a memoir, and she says it all starts with a series of intense interviews that allow her to get under the skin of her subject. 

From those she can create a very detailed synopsis of the book and so the client knows exactly what they are getting.  

However, she doesn't do this with her own memoir writing! 

She is currently writing a coming of age memoir, examining her teenage years, when she underwent her biggest personal transitions. Instead, she's writing her memoir as a series of short stories.

What are the memories you have from your teenage years, she asks. Why is you you remember them? Because they were the events that changed you in some way, that's why you remember them.

These are the moments that make a great short story. Why are short stories so hard to write? Because they force you to be a better writer. In many ways they're harder than writing a full length novel.

I ask Ruby about her time studying under David Foster Wallace and later with Kurt Vonnegut.

“he gave me permission to be as uptight as I wanted to be,” she says about David Foster Wallace. 

Kurt Vonnegut, she says, liked the stories best when they were ambiguous. When the internal conflict is at its highest, that's when the readers feels the most 'unsafe'. For him, that was when the story was most interesting. 

Ruby Peru also tells me how her first published novel emerged  - by making the rule that for one hour everyday she had to write something fun with strange characters and weird situations.  

She describes her book as an Upper Young Adult book, and explains that she wanted it to look like a classic children's book and so commissioned illustrator Philip Harris to do the beautiful pen and ink drawings. 

We discuss how book ideas can begin as a messy collection of plots, subplots, characters and themes, and how you don't need to stick to the classic convention of novel writing but can mix things up with short storeys, novellas coma series and serials. 

Instead of writing 100,000 plus words, she suggests trying shorter for him books as they are selling very well these days. 

We finish up our conversation with Ruby telling me about her own press, Pangloss Press, and the ways in which she helps writers, particularly with book promotion.  

She helpfully gives a rundown on all the different types of editors available and how they will help prepare your novel for publication.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• David Sedaris
• Kurt Vonnegut
• David Foster Wallace Books
• Philip Harris Illustration
• Bits Of String Too Small To Save, Ruby Peru
• Pangloss Press | Website
• www.rubyperu.com 

Associated Blog Post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/ruby-peru/

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What's the episode about?

Mark Grenside comes from a TV and film career and wanted to write a story with the movie industry in the background. He tells us about his debut novel, Fall Out, published in May 2020. Not only does it have a movie backdrop, but incorporates a famous money heist.

Grenside talks us through how he's made the pivot from Lloyd's of London to Jim Henson's The Muppets, and eventually the movie business.

Mark admits he's always marched to the beat of his own drum, and this has allowed him to take advantage of the fun opportunities that came his way, including starting his own a music representation business and, more recently, a move into CBD oil production. 

"blind as a bat and full of hope"

Not a man of routine, Mark accepts that, when it comes to writing a first draft, he's just got to get the job done. He freely admits he hates writing that first draft, but loves editing. As a discovery writer, he is as much in the dark as the reader and only has a vague idea of what's going to happen next.

"don't fight the subconscious"

He says it's amazing how you can write something down that doesn't make sense at the time, but when you get towards the end of the book, all the pieces come together. Essentially, trust the process.

If you are a movie buff, you will enjoy Mark's anecdotes and how he used to work a lot with screenplay writers, talking us through the difference between writing in the two different mediums and the skills he's brought with him from one industry to the next. 

"character is action."

For Mark, you truly learn about a character from the way they behave and respond to their fellow characters. He uses Jack Nicholson in Chinatown as a splendid example. He advises you keep exposition to a minimum, otherwise it slows the story down. 

We talk, too, about cycles in the thriller genre. For a long time, thrillers in the movies were very dark, but now we're moving into a lighter type of movie, and books, he believes, are following suit. Perhaps that accounts for the rise of the cosy mystery!

We also discussed his plans for the book's franchise, and even who he would like to play the characters in any future TV series. 

Mark is a wealth of knowledge and was great fun to chat with. You'll learn a lot about not only the movie business but how you can take the speed and action of a screenplay and transpose it into a fast-paced and enjoyable novel.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Mark's website - M. N. Grenside
• Fall Out, M N Grenside
• Dragonfly CBD oil
• Chinatown (1974) - IMDb
• Reservoir Dogs (1992) - IMDb
• The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - IMDb
• Murder Mystery (2019) - IMDb

Associated Blog Post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/mark-grenside

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What's in this episode:

Originally from New Orleans, Todd Sullivan moved to Asia 12 years ago, living in Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.  

Todd talks about his experiences doing an MFA, and the main learnings he took away. 

He also shares his love of vampires and the wider horror genre. It all started with Sesame Street's The Count, and Count Duckula. 

We discussed Twilight and what made it different to the other vampire stories, admiring how she gave a unique twist to an old story.

Many genre stories have their tropes, and we examine what they are for horror. 

Todd explains where he got the initial inspiration for his vampire series and then how he fits writing into his life. 

Sullivan is a fantastic example of how if you do "a little bit over time" you can see the words build and before you know it, you have a book. This approach stops him from burning out. 

Critique workshops have been a great help to Todd, both in person and online groups.  He sites Scribophile as a great place to find critique partners.

Todd is a martial arts fan, studying kendo and fencing, and this passion shows up in his fiction with lots of action scenes. 

Sharing details about his web series, For The God's Open Eyes, Todd explains that it's based on African mythology. He and his co-creators have built on the original tales by mixing African, Korean and American mythology/superhero stories together, creating something new.  

Listen to today's episode and discover how you can make room in your life for your writing by doing just a little bit every day.

Todds latest release is an anthology of short stories called The Vampire Connoisseur.

You can follow Todd Sullivan on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Windchime Chronicles Series, Todd Sullivan
• Vampire Chronicles Series, Todd Sullivan
• For The Gods Open Eyes
• Twilight, Stephanie Myers 
• Sesame Street 
• Count Duckula 
• Scribophile

 Associated blog post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/toddsullivan/ 

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What's in this episode:

Author Celeste Stacy shares her journey to publication, letting me in on her screenwriting past. In fact, her novels are adapted from her own film scripts - a switch to how it's usually done!

We discuss the main differences in writing for screen and writing prose, and she explains that dialogue was one of the things she had to change the most. The way people speak on film is different to how they talk in a book.

Celeste Stacy takes us through her SAI: Secret Agents of the IlluminaRti series, and a companion series called Tales of the IlluminaRti.

Her stories are a spook take on the Marvel stories, with a healthy dose of Charlies Angels, which I love!

In 2020 Celeste took the plunge and became a full-time writer. She explains what prompted her decision and how her life has changed.

As an indie author, she has to stay on top of her marketing efforts. Facebook and Instagram are two of her favoured sites, and from which she generates downloads.

Celeste Stacy has recorded an audio version of her book and explains how found the right narrator for her books, and the mechanics of doing the recording and uploading the audio file via ACX.

We also talk about Celeste's approach to finding book reviews and how well advertising is working for her.

We discuss, too, the growth in the popularity of novellas. Many enjoy a shorter story that they can digest in one sitting.

If you want to see Celeste Stacy's film appearances, you'll find them over on my Patreon page.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• https://secretnarti.com/
• ACX for audiobooks

You can contact Celeste Stacy here:

• [email protected]
• https://twitter.com/CelesteStacy67
• https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004312179984

 Associated blog post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/celeste-stacy/

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What's in this episode:

Henry ball recently published his debut novel, Sister of Sorrows. It’s set in Louisiana and tells the story of woman’s struggle to provide for her family.

In our conversation together, Henry shares that he always wanted to write a book about his challenging upbringing, influenced strongly by his indomitable mother, Delores. Henry explains the backdrop to Sister Of Sorrows, and as he says, "there was a story there I needed to know". 

Henry Ball didn't intend for it to be, but writing this novel was a very cathartic experience and helped him process some very difficult memories.

The road to publication began with writing coach Lisa Tener, who then recommended he take it to editor Stuart Horwitz of Book Architecture.

Stuart is credited with shaping the book into the great story it is today, and Henry Ball shares how he found the editing process to be a period of growth and learning, as it should be with all talented editors. 

For book design and formatting he went to 1106 Design, who took Henrys vision for the book and created a beautiful cover, which Henry talks about in our conversation. 

Henrys love and respect for his mother, Dolores, is evident in how he talks about her, and I hope my children talk about me this way when they are adults! Whilst Henry's father was on the scene, he was not a great example of fatherhood. 

As Henry says, his father exemplified the kind of father he didn’t want to be. 

We talk about balancing work, family and writing. Henry acknowledges how hard this is and that while things move slowly, but they do move. 

Not only is Henry writing sons of sorrows, the sequel to sister of sorrows, these also writing a non-fiction book with his business partner and co-owner of their publishing press, Storey press. 

As a result, he writes what he can when he can, rather than fulfilling our daily target. 

Whilst originally working as a discovery rights are, Henry ball has gravitated towards a more structured approach without lining, and he explains why he made this transition. 

At the time of our conversation, sister of sorrows hadn't been published. I'm pleased to say the book launched on 23rd December 2020 and you can find it on Amazon.


Links mentioned in this episode:

• Sister of Sorrows, Henry Ball
• Book website - Sisterofsorrows
• The Bleacher Report 
• Deborah Dahlmann, Editor - Facebook Group
• Stuart Horowitz, Editor - Book Architecture
• Lisa Tener, Editor, Ghostwriter, Co-writer - Facebook Group
• Billy Cannon - Billy Cannon - Wikipedia
• Book Design, 1106 Design
• Alessandra Torre - Goodreads Webinar Registration — Alessandra Torre Ink

Associated Blog Post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/henry-ball

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What's in this episode:

Alexia Harrigan is a Dallas/Fort Worth based physical therapist, health coach, and author. She believes that “health and wellness begins with mindset”. Using her 15 years of physical therapy experience in orthopaedic and women’s health/pelvic floor therapy, Alexia has set out to coach mums into optimal health and unconditional self love. 

Her mission is to help mums be their best for themselves so that they can be their best for their families bringing movement into your life.

"...we feel guilty for taking care of ourselves..."

In this week's episode Alexia and I briefly touch on the physical changes mother's go through after pregnancy and childbirth, and how they can be treated. We expand this to the common ailments writers' experience.

We talk about eyestrain, neck pain, wrist ache and back support, and Alexia has practical solutions to alleviate these aches and pains. Even a simple break every 45 minutes or so can make the difference.

Alexia Harrigan is an author herself and understands only too well what you're going through.

We talk about posture support, whether or not you've got back pain. She says to think about elongating your spine rather than having a straight back.

Alexia touches on desk ergonomics and even general health and wellbeing. We discuss how to make activity a part of your daily life, without going to the gym.

Alexia's techniques and practical solutions are a must listen for all writers. 

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Blue light glasses
• Wrist support for computer keyboard
• wrist brace for short-term support
• Lumbar support for back pain
• Alexia Harrigan's website
• Connect with Alexia Harrigan on Instagram

Associated blog post:

• https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/alexia-harrigan/

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