Writer Unleashed

Predictability may keep us feeling certain and safe in real life.

But it's fatal in story.
 
You never want the reader to see what's coming next. Once the reader can predict how the plot will unfold -  when there's nothing to wonder about, worry about, guess, or infer - there's no reason to read any further.

So you want to stay one step ahead of your reader, and in most cases, one step ahead of your characters. You know what's going to happen to your characters. You know what the outcome of the story will be. But your characters don't, and neither should your readers. 

So in this episode, you'll learn 4 ways to create and sustain uncertainty in your story and keep readers guessing.

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How do you write beyond the stock, archetypical villain? ? How do you make him or her believable and intriguing?

How do you surprise us?

In this episode, I'm sharing 3 ways to make your villain multi-dimensional and complex, even if he or she's downright evil. You'll learn how to write a villain who fascinates.

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If I were to ask you what is your story’s central idea, could you sum it up in a few sentences?

A big challenge many writers face is keeping their story focused on one single driving point, let alone articulate it.

When there’s no central focal point, readers get lost, confused, frustrated and bored. They stop reading.

In today’s episode, I’ll give you 5 quick questions to help you get clear and focused on the central idea driving your story. The focal point from which all your story's events revolve.

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First-person often feels like the natural choice when writing a story. But first-person comes with its own set of challenges and limitations.

Sometimes first-person characters merely report the action without interesting contrasts between that character's version of the story's events, and what might also be true.

In this episode, I'm sharing 3 tips for writing in first-person. You'll learn how to write a character whose perspective creates gaps the reader is eager to fill, and how that character's arc plays out in the story.

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When reading fiction or a memoir, a reader's brain actively simulates the experience of the characters. The reader becomes so absorbed in the story, they experience it as though it's true. They believe in it.

But before a reader can believe in your story, you have to believe in it first.

In this episode, I'm sharing 3 pathways to building belief in your story. So readers believe in it too.

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What is an anti-hero and why do they fascinate us? How do they keep us invested in their plight scene after scene, even as they do immoral, criminal, or deplorable things?

In this episode, we'll talk about different anti-heroes from film and fiction, and I'll share 4 ways to write an anti-hero with complexity, magnetism, and unforgettable appeal.

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Getting results in our writing is great. But a result-oriented mindset can hinder creativity and authenticity.

In this episode, you'll learn how to evaluate your work based on 2 important qualities: presence and truth.

This is all about your emotional connection and belief in your story. It's a more transformational approach that values the ongoing journey, and the evolving relationship with your work.

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How much backstory do you really need? How much is too much?

Most first-time authors tend to overuse backstory, which can detract from the main story. In this episode, I'll share 3 common mistakes writers make, and I'll give you 3 new ways to think about backstory, so that it doesn't dominate your story, but enhances and deepens it.  

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One of the biggest impediments to our writing is time, and we all have unfinished drafts to prove it.

It always takes much longer than we think, and this can be dispiriting, not to mention stressful. Writing a book is a huge undertaking, and when time is sparse, it can leave us believing we don’t have what it takes.

In this episode, I'll challenge you to think differently about time, so you can get more writing done, and with more focus.

I’ll give you 3 tips to make more use of the time do you have, even if that time is sparse.

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We all hit a block at some point in the writing process, even the best of us. Accomplished writers know how to navigate that impasse, to notice when and why they're getting blocked so they can quickly move through it. But so many writers get stuck there and can't move forward.

In this reprise episode from the 2022 vault, I'll give you a pep talk. We'll explore five reasons you may be blocked. I'll share my own struggles with writer's block, along with my strategies to break through it.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group is Holding You Back (and What to Look For in Your Next Writing Tribe

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Want to join a community of like-minded writers? Need inspiration and support? Join us in our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. It's totally free to join.