Grab a warm cup of tea, a cozy blanket, and prepare to take your characters to therapy! This week, Lyssa Mia Smith puts on her psychologist hat to guide us through character behavior patterns and how they can help us build story from the character up.

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This week, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith uncover the secrets of Pixar's powerful writing. It starts with internal conflict and ends with jaw-dropping, personal themes. Analyze craft and cheer on football players making touchdowns??

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Writing is hard, and the way we present and learn from feedback can make it easier! This week, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith cover some do's and don'ts of giving and receiving feedback.

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Writing is hard enough, soo feedback that makes us excited to dive back in is priceless! This week, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith cover the do's and don'ts of sending and receiving feedback from critique partners and beta readers!

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Want to know a trick for writing compelling side characters? What about a trick for mapping character change? And how about something that helps you generate scene ideas? No, it's not magic. It's four corner opposition. This week, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith discuss and apply John Truby's advice to scenes, chapters, and acts.

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What makes the perfect twist? Just when your reader thinks they have it all figured out, how do you turn them in a different direction? Reversals! From first chapter hooks to gasp-worthy midpoints, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith talk about reversals that keep your reading guessing!

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This week, we're tackling our favorite topic: romance! Authors Lyssa Mia Smith and Anna Mercier discusses the list every crackling romance needs to make your readers swoon!

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We're back for a third season of deep dives on craft, vampire jokes, and fun surprises! This week, we dive into what makes a scene perfect, and we're not just talk about conflict or characters. Join authors Lyssa Mia Smith and Anna Mercier they analyze scenes to see if they hold up to the perfect scene test.

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Congratulations, Campers! You made it to the final week of the surviving publishing boot camp. To celebrate, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith wanted to take a moment to acknowledge some of the truly heinous ways the publishing industry can kick you while you're already down. We share this in the spirit of catharsis and as a way to help prepare for the very rocky road ahead!

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While dreams are events we cannot control, that doesn't mean that we can't work toward them. This week, authors Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith apply their favorite tool-- deliberate practice-- to all things outside of the writing craft!

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