What undermines an otherwise compelling story?  Poorly written scenes.

So, how can you write more captivating, impactful and structured scenes?

In this episode, you'll learn 5 essential elements that make a scene, along with an example to illustrate. 

We'll cover:

• What a scene is (and what it's not)
• The difference between scenes and chapters, and why I recommend writing in scenes first
•  Different types of action that give a scene immediacy
• How setting each scene's intention will create tension and raise the stakes
• The withhold and reveal technique to keeping your reader anticipating each and every scene 

Episode Website

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How do you write dialogue that doesn’t feel artificial, cliche or dull?

How do you use dialogue to create character depth, subtlety and originality?  Conversation that’s not over the top dramatic or overly direct, and yet absolutely riveting.

In today’s episode, we’ll go over 3 questions to guide you in writing dialogue that has readers hanging on every word.

We'll cover:

• Why using dialogue to advance your plot is the wrong approach
• Why what's not being said is just as important as what is being said
• The secret to creating tension and suspense through dialogue
• How to find the story in each piece of dialogue

Episode Website

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.

Paralyzed by uncertainty during the writing process? In this episode, learn why uncertainty is every great writer's secret weapon. You'll learn why uncertainty is vital to the creative process, and how to court, even intensify uncertainty to write your most riveting work. 

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.

How do you give your characters a distinct, unmistakable voice? 

What people say and how they say it is a big part of character development. And each character has a unique way of speaking, thinking, and interacting.

In this episode, we'll go over 5 ways to bring your characters' voices to life. To make them distinct, magnetic, believable, and memorable.

These elements help bring authenticity and depth to your characters by reflecting their cultural backgrounds, age, experiences, and the places in which they live.

Episode Website

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In this episode, you're going to go beneath the surface of your characters. We'll go 4 levels deep, starting on the surface, and moving a level deeper until we get to your character's truest self. The self he's trying so hard to hide, suppress, and protect. 

This will bring multi-dimension, complexity, and believability to your characters. Even if your reader doesn't relate to your character's external situation, or their particular plot problems, they will connect in every way to their human dilemma.  

This is especially valuable for your protagonist. But it's equally valuable for your antagonist,  and other main characters. 

These are emotional layers your characters are constantly negotiating as they move through your plot. 

And you, as author, need to know your characters more than they know themselves. 

Episode Website

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What exactly is writer's voice?

How do you access yours, and how do you express it on the page?

In this episode, I'll give you 4 ways to give your voice more presence and purpose in your stories.

We'll talk about:

• What we mean by writer's voice
• The difference between character voice and writer's voice
• Common ways writers struggle with and silence their voice, and
•  4 tips, along with exercises to help your voice emerge and deepen

Episode Website

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.

You’ve just finished the first draft of your novel, memoir or short story, and now you're seeking beta readers.

A beta reader is a test reader or a group of test readers of your unpublished work. Ideally, your beta reader gives feedback from the point of view of an average reader. 

But how do you go about finding them? What should you look for? What should you avoid?  And what are some tips to get the most valuable feedback from your test audience?

In this episode, I'm answering all your questions about beta readers.

And I'll help you get specific feedback from your beta readers with a free, brand new checklist: Is It Done? A Must-Have Revision Checklist. 

Episode Website

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.

Now that summer's officially here, and with Writer Unleashed reaching it's 3rd year of being on the airwaves, I've done a retrospective of past episodes.

And I've curated 7 of the most popular episodes from the past year - everything from how to express character emotion,  to how to avoid common plot problems, to story structure, to how to approach your craft like a published author.

Think of this as your summer writing playlist.

Episode 100: 5 Common Plot Problems You Can Avoid

Episode 107: How To Write A Short Story In 3 Easy Steps

Episode 108: 3 Things Published Authors Do Differently

Episode 110: 3 Powerful Ways To Show Character Emotion

Episode 118: Before You Outline: 3 Core Foundations To Build First

Episode124:  How To Hook Readers In Your Opening Paragraph

Episode 128: 3 Mindset Shifts To Make Your Writing Dream A Reality

 
Episode Website

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Description can enrich your story with layers of atmosphere and authenticity that drops the reader inside the world of your story.

But sometimes writers assume that in order to create a world for the reader to inhabit, they must pile on loads of details. 

You may be writing fantasy, or historical fiction, where the setting is unfamiliar or foreign to the reader.  So, description is necessary. But how much description is the right amount? 

When does it become overwhelming to the reader?

Too much description, especially when it's wasteful, can bog readers down and make them confused about what what they should pay attention to, and what's mere ornamentation.

If you don't select what goes into your description, it will strike the reader as arbitrary or gratuitous.

So, the question is...

What goes into your descriptions? And what stays out?

What's the criteria?

In this episode, I'm going to give you four criteria to help you write dazzling descriptions that create vivid, lasting impressions on readers.

Episode Website

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Writers often think they're writing in scene when they're actually writing in summary. So, what is summary? What is scene? And when do you write in one vs. the other? 

In this episode, I'll break down the crucial difference between scene and summary.  

You'll learn what moments to reserve for scene and how to blend in summary to enhance your story. 

Episode Website

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.