What's one of the quickest way to get your manuscript in the reject pile?

Too many adjectives and adverbs. 

Writers often think adjectives and adverbs describe vividly. But nothing could be farther from the truth.  Instead, they bloat your story with empty filler.  And bore your reader.

In today's episode, you'll learn how to eliminate or minimize adjectives and adverbs and replace them with more vivid language that activates the reader's imagination.

Have your manuscript handy to start editing.

You'll learn how to:

• Choose adjectives that surprise 
• Replace adjectives with images
• Rid your dialogue of  unnecessary adverbs, and use dialogue, gestures, and body language to carry the emotion instead
• Boost your nouns and verbs so you're not relying on adjectives and adverbs.  

Also Listen To:
3 Quick Editing Tips to Craft Riveting Sentences

Want FREE writing resources and workbooks?  Grab them now at NanciPanuccio.com

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

Don't  think or write chronologically? No worries. Stories bend to their own laws of time.

In today's episode, we'll look at 4 ways to manipulate time in your story. These will give you more range as the author,  and more tension and suspense for your reader.

We'll explore:

• Using  flashbacks to frame your story
• Using the figure 8 structure around an image or event
• Creating suspense through flash forwards
•  Reverse Chronological Order

Also Listen to:
3 Common Flashback Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

Flashbacks need to be handled with craft and intention. Just like any other interruption from the present story, a flashback can kick your reader out of the story.  And that's precisely what we want to avoid.

In today's episode, I'm sharing 3 common missteps writers make with flashback, and how to avoid them.

We'll explore how to:

• Reign in overused flashbacks
• Place flashbacks where they matter
• Use repetition and variation to give your story a memory
• Keep your reader grounded in time shifts

Also listen to:
Episode 12: Four Ways to Write Effective Flashback

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

Bonnie Lykes Bigler is a writer and spoken word performer and host of The Writers' Voice on WIOX 91.3 FM.  In this radio re-broadcast,  we talk all things writing - why we write, what stops us in our tracks  and how to keep writing in the face of rejection, loss of motivation, and writer's  fatigue. We talk about the importance of learning how to read like a writer, and the ship and learn approach I learned from one of my coaches, and more. 

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

Show, don’t tell has got to be the most canned advice bandied about.

Yes, you should show. But that doesn’t mean you never tell. Telling does have its place.

So the question becomes, when is it better to show rather than tell?

In today’s episode, I’ll share the three main ways writers tell when it’s better to show, and how to convert telling into showing.  There's also a quick writing exercise at the end, so  have your pen and paper handy.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Why showing helps your story become your reader's story, and why this is a major gain
• The difference between scene and summary and when to write scene vs summary
• How to use action, language, and metaphor to reveal character
• How to recreate setting so the reader drops right into the world of your story

Also Listen To:
Episode 13: How to Write For Emotional Impact

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

 POV is the thing that flummoxes writers the most. 

A big part of the confusion is a misguided focus on which person you write from.  But this has virtually nothing to do with POV and  confuses writers more than it helps.

So in this episode I’m going to simplify POV for you and distill it into the 3  main things you need to  focus on, so you can develop a strong point of view that gives your story unity, rhythm and resonance.

We'll cover:

• What POV is and how to construct it
• How character desire and significant history shape POV
• How language reflects POV

Also listen to: Episode 50: How Much Backstory Does Your Reader Really Need to Know

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

You  can engineer a stellar plot line, dream up characters with compelling conflicts — all the broad strokes – but it’s the accumulation of small word choices that keep readers spellbound. 

In today's episode, I'm giving you 3 quick editing tips you can apply right now to instantly transform your story. Just by tweaking your verbs. 

So grab your WIP and let's  do this together. 

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

The question isn't whether your story is character driven or plot driven. Or even how to write one or the other.

The question is..

How do you integrate character with plot?

Because both are inseparable.

If one or the other dominates, your story falls apart.

On today's episode, I'll share 3 ways to integrate character with plot.

We'll cover:

• The purpose of plot
• How to keep the plot threat alive for your character's own good
• Building emotions 
• How to avoid a one-note character

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

 Where are you getting most stuck in your work in progress? The beginning? The end?  Or are you getting stalled in the middle?

In this episode, I'm giving you a 3-Act framework to help guide you through the writing process. So that you’re not drowning in your own material, and can finish your story faster and better.

If you’re an exploratory writer who finds outlines a buzz kill, this framework will give you just enough structure to give you direction and focus.

And if you’re a plotter who thrives with a plan, this will help you decide which event sequences belong where, and how to orchestrate scenes and chapters.

We'll cover:

• Story basics
• What the 3 Act Framework is
• What you need to accomplish in your first Act.
• The inner journey of your character in Act 2
• and how to bring it all together in Act 3

Download your FREE 3-Act Worksheet here.

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity

Story dialogue is not the same as real-life dialogue. It's shaped with intention, word by word. 

Even so, we should pay attention to the nuances and the rhythm of real-life conversations.

We want to be looking for the ways people don’t listen to one another. The ways we dance around hard truths.

In today's episode of Writer Unleashed, we'll explore how to bring tension into your dialogue by focusing on the thing your characters don't want to say or hear.

We'll explore:

• Our natural urge to evade difficult conversations 
• An example of dialogue with no tension
• An example of dialogue with tension

and a writing exercise to drive it all home

Also listen to:
Episode 52: The Number One Mistake Writers Make With Dialogue

Most first drafts don't stall because writing is hard. They stall because there's a weak link in the foundation. The Story Clarity Worksheet helps you find it. Download yours free at nancipanuccio.com/clarity