How do you create characters readers care about? So that the reader can't help but keep reading? 

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, I'll explore  5 common character mistakes and how to avoid them to create characters readers care about.  

We'll explore how to:

1. Avoid the stock character
2. Choose one compelling protagonist
3. Complicate your character's desire
4. Raise the stakes
5. Create interesting change

Also listen to:

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

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free.

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.

What questions should you ask before you plot your story? Whether you outline every chapter, or write from the hip, on today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, I’ll break down 3 questions you should explore before you outline your plot.

We'll explore:

• What story is
• Horizontal plots and vertical plots and how they intersect
• Character Viewpoint - who your story is about
• Desire and Resistance and how this impacts your plot

Also listen to:

Episode 31: What Most Writers Get Wrong About Point of View

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free.

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.

Whether you're a football fan, or not, the Superbowl ads are often storytelling works of art.

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll unwrap 3 storytelling techniques you can swipe from your favorite Superbowl ads and apply to your story right away.

We'll explore:

• The reverse engineering approach to story structure. 
• How to dramatize conflict early on.
• How to use a shot summary to refine and shape your story. 

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free.

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.

 What does it take to become a successful writer? 

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, author and media consultant Simona David and  I unpack the journey and the process.  

We explore: 

• My exploratory approach to early drafts
• What it means to write what you know
• What revision can tell us about what our story’s trying to become
• How to work with and through uncertainty
• How to draw readers in emotionally
• The actor’s technique to character development
• How to write believable dialogue
• My take on what it means to be a successful writer

...and much, much more.

Simona David,  a journalist who freelances for various publications, including Chronogram and Upstater magazines, is the author of Self-Publishing and Book Marketing, A Research Guide. 

Visit Simona here: https://simonadavid.com/

Want the Free Character Questionnaire mentioned in this episode? Head on over to nancipanuccio.com  to grab yours now.

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free.

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 much backstory is too much?

Backstory is one of the trickiest things to get effectively onto the page. Too much of it and your reader loses track, forgets, or even stops caring about what’s happening in your story's present. 

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore the 3 most common missteps writers make about backstory, plus 3 tips to help you write backstory without putting your story on snooze.

We'll explore:

• What backstory is and why it's useful
•  3 common mistakes new writers make when writing backstory
• Why less backstory is always more
• How to strategically weave backstory into your story's key moments
• How to use backstory to reveal and foreshadow

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free. 

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.

There's a delicate balance between bringing a scene to the dramatic brim, and spilling over the top into melodrama. 

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, I'll share 3 techniques for avoiding melodrama,  plus a writing exercise to bring it all home.

We'll explore:

• The power of restraint 
• The near-death experience approach to tragedy in story
• How to  use objects to carry character emotion. 

If you want to connect with more like-minded writers, and with me, join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free. 

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 avoid writing the stock villain?  How do you move beyond the cliche to create a bad guy that surprises us? That goes against the status quo? 

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll explore 5 ways to create a villain that defies stereotype.

We'll discuss:

• What readers really want from your villain
• How to explore what's underneath your character's bad acts
• Better questions to get under your villain's skin
• How to tap into your own impulses to write more nuanced and believable villains

Grab your free Character Questionnaire on this free resource page. 

And if you want to connect with more like-minded writers, and with me, join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free. 

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.

Of all the things I see tripping writers  up, point of view is the most common and persistent.

It's one of the most misunderstood elements of writing.

It's also one of the most essential things to get right.

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll explore:

• 3 common missteps writers make about point of view
• What point of view is…and what it isn’t. 
• Why first, second, and third-person has virtually nothing to do with point of view. 
• When to use multiple points of view. And when not to. 
• And 4 simple techniques to crafting your story’s most riveting and compelling point of view. 

Want to connect with more like-minded writers? Join us on our private Writer Unleashed Community Facebook Group. Joining is free. 

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.

97% of writers never finish their book.  And out of that 3% who do finish their books, only 1 to 2 percent of them ever publish. 

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll break down some of the most common barriers to bringing your story to the finish line,  and how to use brain science to become part of that 3% who finishes the book. 2021, here we come.

We'll explore:

• Why talent isn't enough and the mindset you must cultivate instead
• The power of community to inspire and keep you accountable
• What you need more of than time
• The brain science behind why we procrastinate, how to stop stalling and start writing now.

Also listen to
Episode 11: How to Make Time to Write When You Have No Time

Join the private Writer Unleashed private Community on Facebook. It's FREE. You'll find support, inspiration, and the tools to move your writing forward in 2021. 

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.

Some days you're on fire. Other days, you feel like a dried up spec of dust. With no soul.

You’ve lost motivation and may even have stopped writing altogether. So how do you get your mojo back so you can bring your work in progress to the finish line?

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore 5 reasons our motivation fizzles out and how to turn it around.

We'll talk about: 

• the power of having a safe, judgement-free community 
• what social scientists have discovered about what really motivates us. (this may surprise you.)
• the real reason we hit road blocks, plus what we need to break through
• what flow is and how to get more of it, and...
• how to stay motivated day by day

Also Listen To
Episode 20:  Four Ways Your Writing Group Is Holding You Back (and what to look for in your next writing tribe)

Join the Writer Unleashed private Community on Facebook. It's FREE. You'll find support, inspiration, and the tools to move your writing forward in 2021. 

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.