Writing Roots

Stories could not exist without some form of character. Especially in the Hero’s Journey, it is the main character who drives the story forward. Readers connect better to the story when it is about the people inside the pages. That’s why one of the first things any author should build is their main character.

While some authors don’t plan their characters down to every last detail, others will list every aspect of their physical appearance. On top of that, there is the character’s history to consider. They didn’t just spawn into existence within the story’s world just as the story begins. You have to consider moments in their history that made them who they are now.

In this episode, we discuss our guidebook to building main characters. We break down as much as we can within 10 minutes to give you a starting point for creating the key element of your story. We include questions in the book about the character’s defining moments, what they do, who they know, their faults and strengths, and the lie they believe about themselves.

This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.

First aired October 14, 2021.

For additional episodes to assist in building main characters, check out the ones below:

Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.

The post S25E4 – A Guide to Designing the Main Character appeared first on Writing Roots.

Worldbuilding is one of those things that we at Writing Roots (especially Leigh) can talk about for a very, very long time. There is so much that goes into the process of creating the world of a book, even if that book is based in modern Earth. You need to consider things like the history of the place and culture, the languages, and the geography. If you create a magic system or have advanced technology, that only adds to what you have to track. It can be difficult to keep all of those straight, or even to remember to consider all of them, as you set about writing.

That’s why we’ve created the guide to worldbuilding. Leigh and Ley explain as many of the elements involved in the worldbuilding process as they could fit within a 10-minute(ish) episode. This episode will be a companion to the workbook we will be releasing soon. We divided the book into sections, such as the natural world, government, religion, and magic. Each of those sections includes prompts for what to consider along with plenty of space to add and develop your own ideas.

This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.

First aired October 11, 2021.

For additional information about worldbuilding, check out these episodes:

Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.

The post S25E3 – A Guide to Worldbuilding appeared first on Writing Roots.

One of the most common types of structures, especially in fantasy writing, is the Hero’s Journey. It’s why we’ve talked about it as much as we have over the course of this podcast. As we get further into Preptober, getting ready for National Novel Writing Month, one thing we suggest is to plan out the story you want to write. Yes, even you pantsers can benefit from having an idea of how your story fits into this structure.

In this episode, Leigh and Ley discuss our upcoming workbook designed to help you fill in all of the gaps in a Hero’s Journey as you prepare to write your next novel.

This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.

First aired October 7, 2021.

For more episodes about this topic, see below:

Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.

The post S25E2 – A Guide to Plotting a Hero’s Journey appeared first on Writing Roots.

We are one month away from National Novel Writing Month. October, sometimes known in writing circles as Preptober, is the time to start planning for trying to write 50,000 words in one month. Before you can do any writing, you need some kind of idea. Something needs to stir your imagination so you can create wonderful worlds and characters. Leigh, the pantser, is using the month to get into a habit of writing daily with a word count goal through the use of writing prompts.

Writing prompts can be helpful in sparking creativity, whether it’s related to your story or not. That’s why we’re releasing a workbook full of different kinds of prompts. They’re divided into three sections: 10-minute prompts, 30-minute prompts, and 2-hour prompts.

This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.

First aired October 4, 2021.

For more episodes about this topic, see below:

Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.

The post S25E1 – A Guide to Stirring the Imagination appeared first on Writing Roots.

Whether it’s a dystopian or utopian outlook, humans have been looking towards the future for almost all of history. The reason for painting on cave walls was to teach future generations. The reason we record current events is to make sure those to come know what happened in their past. The thing with the future, though, is that we don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s what makes it a perfect setting for fiction.

Science fiction stories often take place somewhere in the future, in a time with wondrous technologies we have yet to invent and worlds we have yet to discover. There are usually two ways to look on the future: a utopian outlook where the world is better and humans are thriving, or a dystopian outlook where there are fundamental cracks in society where corruption thrives. Both outlooks have spawned some of the most well-known stories of our generation.

Another way to look to the future is to look at the past and as the question “what if?” What if the Allies had lost World War II? What if Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated? What if ______?

In this episode, Ley and Leigh discuss the trends with futuristic and dystopian stories, their common tropes, and how all authors can learn something from looking to the future. Listen now below, or on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts.

First aired September 30, 2021.

The post S24E9 – Futuristic and Dystopian Stories appeared first on Writing Roots.

What is a superhero? Do they have to have superpowers of some kind? Did their origins have to be tragic? Are characters superheroes only because they started in comic books? No matter the answers, superheroes have become a massive piece of the storytelling world in recent years. We can largely thank the Marvel Cinematic Universe for that. Even before then, superhero stories have been an important element of the writing world.

Stories about characters with fantastic abilities and strengths have been around far longer than the superhero genre as we know it. Superhero comic books started in the late 1930s with characters such as Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel (no, not that Captain Marvel; the one that eventually became Shazam). One of the most notable parts of these stories is that the hero is usually a human who becomes something greater.

Even when that’s not the case, there are other story tropes that help mark a story as a superhero story. Ley and Leigh discuss those tropes and how you can use the history of superheroes to help your writing, no matter the genre. Listen now below, or on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts.

First aired September 27, 2021.

The post S24E8 – The History of Superheroes appeared first on Writing Roots.

Storytelling has evolved more rapidly in the last 100 years than in the centuries before all because of film. Movies and television have changed the way we consume stories, sped up the process for evolving genres, and given another way for people to share the stories they want to create.

Even before books, people were trying to tell story through pictures. In the earliest days of cave drawings, scientists theorize that people would use wavy lines to mimic motion. The flickering firelight would create an optical illusion to make the figures move. Later, grand scenes were embroidered into tapestries. Entire battles would be logged with needle and thread.

In the late 1800s, we figured out how to make moving pictures. Only a few years later, people were using them to tell fictional and fantastical tales. George Méliès is among the first to use editing tricks such as stop motion to help him share his stories.

From those early days of hand-cranked film reels to modern times, storytelling through movies has been evolving. It’s not entirely because of changing technology. Hosts Ley and Leigh talk through more than 100 years of film history, how it coincides with the writing industry at the time, and how both changed because of the other.

First aired September 25, 2021.

We’re still buying your books to celebrate our two-year anniversary and thank all of you listeners for your support! Hosts Leigh and Ley are buying self-published books from our listeners and followers. We’ll keep buying until our fund runs out. Find out more on our Facebook or Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter (found on our homepage) while you’re here.

The post S24 Bonus – How Film Impacted Storytelling appeared first on Writing Roots.

Monster fiction as we know it came into being in the early 1800s. A large volcano erupted in 1816, causing what has become known as the year without a summer. It was during this time that we got some of the best monster fiction creations. It was during that summer that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as part of a writing contest.

Most of the modern monster fiction we enjoy, whether in books or in film, can trace their roots back to the creations that summer in a writing contest held by Lord Byron. Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein, which was monumental in paving the way for later creations such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Todays monsters include zombies, vampires, werewolves, mummies, and more. It’s even opened the way for exploring the idea of a good monster.

No matter the genre within the monster fiction category, there are common themes that have become important elements of storytelling. At the core, these stories explore human psychology, the complexities of humanity, and the battle of good versus evil. Listen to this episode for more on what you can learn from studying the creation of monster fiction.

First aired September 23, 2021.

We’re still buying your books to celebrate our two-year anniversary and thank all of you listeners for your support! Hosts Leigh and Ley are buying self-published books from our listeners and followers. We’ll keep buying until our fund runs out. Find out more on our Facebook or Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter (found on our homepage) while you’re here.

The post S24E7 – The Creation of Monster Fiction appeared first on Writing Roots.

Fairy tales have been one of the go-to ways to teach children about the world for centuries. Though the stories have changed greatly since their origination, we can recognize titles such as Snow White, Thumbelina, and The Little Red Riding Hood.

When it comes to the history of storytelling, fairy tales and bedtime stories cannot go ignored. While they had a surge of popularity in the 1700s to 1800s, parents had already been reciting these tales for centuries. Most have some kind of moral or warning, teaching children to avoid very real dangers even if the objects in the story were fairies and witches.

Most importantly, though, are the impacts these types of stories had in developing fiction as we know it today. Many fantastical works have some kind of basis in the extraordinary fairy tales told centuries ago to children falling asleep for the night. The magic and mystical elements of these tales helped spawn the fantasy genre.

For more about how fairy tales helped shape fiction, listen to this episode below.

First aired September 20, 2021.

We’re still buying your books to celebrate our two-year anniversary and thank all of you listeners for your support! Hosts Leigh and Ley are buying self-published books from our listeners and followers. We’ll keep buying until our fund runs out. Find out more on our Facebook or Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter (found on our homepage) while you’re here.

The post S24E6 – Fairy Tales and Bedtime Stories appeared first on Writing Roots.

Both William Shakespeare and the invention of the printing press had a major impact on storytelling across the world. This is when stories for entertainment alone became popular – and accessible – for the masses. Books were no longer for the elite and plays were written for the common man as well as royalty. This was also brought in a time where common folk could be writers. Education was becoming more widespread and access to printing was much easier.

After the printing press and especially after the Protestant Reformation, he most popular stories to be told and shared no longer held a moral lesson – or at least, it was not the sole point of the story. At the same time, literature started to explore deeper themes that did not tie to religion, using more metaphors and satire.

Shakespeare helped bring in stories meant for the “everyman” – tales that would appeal to the rich as well as the poor. He was well-known for puns, wit, and even making up words to help tell his tales. His impact on history is incalculable, and his works are still studied in-depth today.

Learn more about this time in the history of storytelling in this episode.

First aired September 16, 2021.

We’re still buying your books to celebrate our two-year anniversary and thank all of you listeners for your support! Hosts Leigh and Ley are buying self-published books from our listeners and followers. We’ll keep buying until our fund runs out. Find out more on our Facebook or Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter (found on our homepage) while you’re here.

The post S23E5 – Shakespeare and the Printing Press appeared first on Writing Roots.