Writer Unleashed

In story, you should always be building emotions. 

But it’s challenging to get big emotions like grief, love, fear, and anger on the page.  Many writers exaggerate character emotion, turn to cliches, or don't convey enough emotion. 

The trick is not to  tell us how your character feels, but to evoke emotion in your reader. 

We want readers to feel with our characters.

But how do you do that?

In this episode, learn 3 powerful ways  to show character emotion in a way that transmits directly to your reader.  Because that's the whole point. 

Episode Website 

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

You asked, I answered.

In this episode, I’m answering 5 questions I hear over and over about character development.

Questions like:

• What makes a strong, memorable character?
• How do I give my character more depth? 
• How can I make readers care for my characters?
• How do you decide whether or not to eliminate a character from a story?
• What is the proper way to write my character's thoughts?

These are smart questions. Because character is the heartbeat of your story. It’s what drives your plot, and gives meaning to everything that’s happening. When you know your character inside and out, it makes all your other story decisions so much easier. 

So, grab your pen and paper. And  download this episode so you can easily access it.

Episode Web Page

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

What separates published authors from aspiring authors? Do they have more talent? More time? 

Nope. 

They just approach writing with a different mental construct. 

In this episode, you'll learn 3 things published authors do differently. 

We'll cover: 

• Why talent isn't enough, and what you need to cultivate instead;
• 3 mistakes aspiring writers make that eventually stop them in their tracks;
• Why seeking qualified feedback  is essential, and two ways to ensure you get  the best feedback;
• How to choose which feedback is relevant. Remember, it's your story, so you're the best arbiter of you're own work; and
• How to set clear, achievable goals to bring your manuscript to the finish line.

Episode Web Page

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

What makes short stories different from novels? Aside from the obvious difference in length?

And what can novelists learn from short stories?

In this episode, I'm breaking down 3 structural elements of short stories, along with an example of how it's done.

 If you're writing short stories, you'll learn how to organize and shape your material.

And if you're writing a novel or memoir, you're  going to get tons of value from this, too. 

Because we'll be talking about how to  articulate and build conflict as an organizing structure.

This will help you shape chapters and scenes. Most important, this episode will help you learn the economy of language. So you can write any story with more elegance, shape, and potency.

Whether you aspire to write short stories or novels, you'll learn how to use repetition and variation to amplify your story’s conflict and theme.

Episode Web Page

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

Now that summer's officially over and we're on the cusp of Fall, what better time to rekindle or start a consistent writing practice?  

Call it a habit, routine, or ritual, but it's all about creating an ongoing and thriving relationship with your writing. The value of consistent practice is cumulative. You create space in your life to deepen your craft, expand your skills, and navigate challenges.

In this episode, you'll learn how to:

• Harness your peak times to create and schedule focused time to write; 
• Start seeing opportunities instead of obstacles; 
• Manage expectations and honor the progress you're making; and
• Find meaning and purpose in your writing practice so you can go the distance, even if you don't write every day.

Episode Webpage

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

There comes a time when the story we're writing just isn't coming together as we envisioned.  Writing's become too  overwhelming and complicated.  So, we're tempted to quit. Quit the story. Or quit writing altogether.

But just because you're coming up against obstacles and setbacks, even if they feel insurmountable, that's no reason to quit.

In fact, that's the worst time to quit.

In this episode, we'll talk about what to do when you hit what Seth Godin calls, the dip.

I'll give you 4 questions to ask yourself before you abandon ship.  And I'll help you decide what you should quit so you can go on to write an exceptional story.

Episode WebPage

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

As summer begins its exit, and Fall approaches, I curated 5 episodes to refresh your writing.

These are some of the most downloaded episodes. You'll get everything from plot and character development, show vs. tell, how to select story details, and how to stay motivated.

Think of this as your end of summer playlist.

Here you go:

Episode 37: Three Questions to Ask Before You Plot Your Story

Episode 22: Three Ways to Avoid Character Stereotype

Episode 81: Story Details: What to Leave In, What to Leave Out

Episode 90: Four Ways to Master Show, Don’t Tell

Episode 29: How to Reignite Your Motivation To Write

Episode Web Page

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

What's the difference between biography, autobiography,  memoir, the immersion story, and personal essay?

In this episode,  you'll learn about the possibilities available to you in the creative non-fiction genre.  You'll get clear on what makes these forms alike and different,  and what elements you need to be aware of when  writing one or the other. 

You'll learn: 

• The similarities between creative non-fiction and fiction;
• The difference between autobiography and memoir;
• What literary journalism is, and how  the author is  the protagonist in the story;
• The two voices essential to memoir; and
• The distinction between memoir and personal essay. 

Episode Web Page

“I love Writer Unleashed!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show. This helps me support more writers — just like you —to bring the story burning in their imagination onto the page.  Click  here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

How do you write the bad guy?

The villain. The antagonist. The one who makes life difficult for your protagonist?

How do you make this person believable and fascinating? Not just a stock cartoon character nobody believes in or cares about?

One of the biggest pitfalls when writing villains -- aka, antagonists -- is over simplifying them.

But your most troublesome character is just as important to develop as your protagonist. So you've got to get to know him or her as intimately as you know your main character. 

That means, you know your antagonist's deepest desires, fears, worldview, and motives.

You want to explore who this person is as a human being.

In this episode, we're exploring 5 secrets about your antagonist you should know.

So that you can bring more texture, complexity and humanity to him or her. And  make even the most evil villain fascinating to your reader.

Episode WebPage

Free Resource mentioned in this episode:

13 Questions to Deepen Your Character: Create Multi-Dimensional Characters Who Breathe On The Page and Defy Stereotype

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me

Want to bring your manuscript closer to published, but don't want to drop thousands to hire an editor?

 In this episode, you'll learn to edit your story yourself. 

You'll get answers to common questions like:

Do I edit as I go? Or do I edit after the manuscript is done?

How do I edit for coherence and continuity?

Where do I begin?

In this episode, I’m going to give you a  4-step strategy for self-editing your story.  

We’re going step by step.

From the big picture all the way down to the sentence level. 

This 4-step strategy works at every stage of the drafting process.

You can use it with a finished manuscript. Or a work in progress.

Because this process will keep your story focused and on track. 

You'll learn to evaluate: 

• Story events as major actions, each with its own resolution;
• Chapters as self-contained, complete narrative units;
• Individual scenes and how they all fit in your overall story structure; and
• How to look at paragraphs and sentences for power and progression.

Episode Web Page

Also Listen To:

Episode 99: How to Nail Down Your Story In 3 Simple Sentences
Episode 98: Should You Hire An Editor?
Episode 68: How to Use Subplots to Amplify Your Novel

📚 Get the character-led method to shape your story from start to finish, without the overwhelm, second-guessing, or endless rewriting. Enrollment closes Thursday, October 22, at 7 pm ET. → https://3actstory.me