How do we create atmosphere in story in a way that evokes mood, and simultaneously reveals the inner life of your character?  Well, you already know how to do this.  

On  today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll talk about what you instinctively know about creating mood and atmosphere, and how to use your instincts to create it on the page. 

And we’re going to do a writing exercise at the end of the episode, so have your pen and paper handy.

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 spent months, maybe years writing your story.  So you finally get the courage to send it out into the world - to an agent, a literary magazine, a publisher, or your writer’s group. And then you get a form rejection letter (the worst kind), or feedback from your peers that makes you want to give up the writing life altogether.  

How do you bounce back? 

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, I’ll share 3 tips on re-framing rejection so that you can get back in the saddle and write stronger and better than ever.

We'll explore:

• Why stories are rejected
• A few masterpieces that faced years of rejection (this may surprise you)
• The Ship and Learn approach
• When you should be spending more time revising than submitting
• My take on why failure gets a bad wrap

Also, Listen To:
Episode 20. Four Ways Your Writing Group Is Holding You Back (and What To Look For In Your Next Writing Tribe)

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 can change a character's hair color, geography, age, or gender, but often what inhibits our voice is a concern that we'll offend someone we know. A parent.  A sibling.  A school mate. 

So, what do we do?  We whitewash the truth. Or we avoid writing our story altogether. 

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

• 3 reasons you need to tell your story
• Why secrets need to be unloaded
• The power of compassion for yourself and yes, even for your oppressors
• How to own your side of the truth

Also, Listen To
Episode 25: Why Your Voice Matters

Worthy Reads
The Kiss: A Memoir by Kathryn Harrison
Fierce Attachments: A Memoir by Vivian Gornick

 Liberate your voice with my FREE 6-Day Audio Course

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.

Your voice is your most fundamental creative asset. But how do you access it? How do you let it flourish on the page? 

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll explore why your voice matters to you --and to your readers. I’ll also give you a writing prompt to invite your voice to come out and play... so have your pen and paper ready.

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

• Why craft is useless without voice
• How to avoid a dull, mid-level voice 
• Why your resistance is a good indication that you're on the right track
• A writing exercise to coax your voice onto the page

Also listen to:

Episode 1: Why Write What You Know Is Bad Advice
Episode 10: What is Writer's Voice? 

Want to kick writer's block to the curb? Sign up for my FREE 6-day audio class, Liberate Your Voice.

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 have captivating characters, a page-turning plot, gorgeous imagery. But as soon as your characters start speaking, does your story falls flat?

Here's the thing. You already know how to write crisp, compelling dialogue.

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore 5 things to pay attention to in the conversations around you. This is all instruction for your story dialogue.

We'll cover:

• Common mistakes writers make when writing dialogue
• Subtext
• Misdirection
• Cross purposes
• Non-verbal dialogue

We'll end with a 2-part eavesdropping exercise.

Want to create multi-dimensional characters who defy stereotype?  Grab your free character questionnaire here. 

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's the number  1 mindset that separates great writers from the novice? 

A willingness to embrace uncertainty.  And to not only embrace it but to create, cultivate and dance with it. 

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

• How avoiding uncertainty is straitjacketing your writing
• Why  beneath chaos lies order and harmony
• The difference between convergent and divergent thinking
• How to use contradiction to hook readers
• How to collaborate with your uncertainty to produce your most powerful, surprising work. 

Related Episodes
19. Should I Outline Before I Write?
21. How to Craft Your Ideal Story Ending

For more free writing resources, visit me at NanciPanuccio.com

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 we create characters readers believe in? How do we write  beyond stereotype?  

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll explore 3  ways to create multi-dimensional characters.

We'll explore: 

• Plot-driven versus character-driven stories.
• The difference between empathy and sympathy.
• What really drives a reader's connection to your character.
• How to tap into your own impulses to create characters who breathe on the page. 

Want to create multi-dimensional characters who defy stereotype? 

Grab your Free Character Questionnaire here.

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 we craft an ending that lands with the reader? How do we avoid what author David Jauss calls "the literary equivalent of a faked orgasm?"

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore 5 ways to avoid an ending that's too tidy, predictable, or lame. 

We'll talk about:

• Interesting character change over time
• Why  a change in your reader is more important than character change
• The relationship between your story's beginning and ending
• Why the strongest endings are not invented but discovered

Related episode

Episode 3 - Three Story Opening Techniques to Hook Your Reader

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.

Is your writing group holding you back? Inhibiting for you? Confusing you? Making you doubt yourself? Or is it supporting you to grow? 

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore 4 ways your writing group may be grid-locking you, and the 5 most important things to look for in a writing tribe. 

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.

Or should I just wing it, flying blind?

I get this question a LOT. And while there 's no one-size-fits all approach to the creative process, the outline first approach can stifle most writers and gridlock their stories.

So why the urge to outline? 

An outline is safe. Knowable. Certain.

Having that road map should produce our best stories, then, right?

Well, not exactly.

On today's episode of Writer Unleashed, learn why not knowing where your story's going can produce your strongest, most surprising work.

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

• Our urge to know where our story is going at the outset.
• How too much certainty shuts down our creative process.
• Why uncertainty opens up space for our most surprising and 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.