Writer Unleashed

How do you balance character development with the advancement of your plot? How can you develop characters to even execute your plot, unless you first start out with a plot? The answer is, both character and plot are developed in tandem. Every story,  whether it's a thriller, a fantasy,  realistic, literary,  mystery, or science fiction, is in some way about the private inner life of characters.  So there's going to be some central, evolving concern, or problem that your character must deal with.  And the  story is about is the actions, the suffering, the pain, the missteps, and the victories of the characters.In other words, character and plot are bound together. You can't really work on them separately. So in this episode, I'll give you 5 checkpoints to help you develop both character and plot.Episode Show NotesRate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.

When we write about what happened, we’re tempted to be bound by what actually occurred. But our memories are not recordings that can be verified. Memory is a construct of the imagination. It’s not reliable.Memory is altered by the life we’ve lived since.  By the life your character has lived since. What a character tells from memory is altered by the present. In this episode, you’ll get a guide to writing retrospective narrators. We’ll talk about the two voices to bring to your retrospective story, and 4 questions to help you shape your character’s depth of view. Episode Web PageRate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 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.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.10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.

The interpersonal dynamics between characters are an essential part of character and plot development. Drama involves people who interact with and influence others, and who ultimately change as a  result. In this episode, I’m going to give you 4 ways to think about your characters' relationships so they’re captivating and memorable.You'll also learn how to introduce multiple characters and make minor characters more relevant.Episode Web PageRate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 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.10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.

 Dialogue is one of the trickiest elements to master. It’s not a complete rendering of the way humans really speak.  It’s shaped, concise, sharp,  and concentrated. It’s an approximation of real life conversation.  We want it to sound real. But without all the boring, tedious, insignificant  parts. In this episode, learn 5 writing exercises to help you master dialogue. Download your free worksheet with all 5 dialogue exercises by clicking here.Episode Web PageRate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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 write first drafts? Do you outline first and then write the story following that outline? What if outlining just isn't your jam? In this episode, you'll learn a different approach to writing first drafts. And it doesn't require starting with an outline.We'll generate material first. Outline second.  This method isn't just for first drafts. It works at any stage of the drafting process.Episode Web Page10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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 are many ways these days to earn money writing.  And if you enjoy tinkering with words, these 5 will help you earn cash while giving you the time freedom to devote to your novel, memoir, or story collection.  All while sharpening your skills as a wordsmith. In this episode we'll cover:CopywritingFeature WritingEmail MarketingSocial Media Writing ContestsEpisode Webpage10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.

We want our readers to feel our character’s pain, their joy, and everything in between. But one of the quickest ways to sever the reader’s emotional connection is to be overly direct about how our character feels. In this encore episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll break down 4 ways to evoke an emotional response in readers.We'll exploreThe biology of emotion.How to blast through the reader’s intellect to his most primitive emotions.How to avoid emotional cliches.The power of juxtaposition.The Think Large, Write Small approach to writing for emotional impact.How to recreate your character’s experience to transfer emotion directly to your reader.Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.

In this encore episode, we talk about common plot problems that plague first-time novelists, and how to solve or avoid them completely.  You'll explore how to:Define the central problem driving your protagonist;Build and intensify the action;Move your plot logically from one event to the next;Up the ante on what's at stake, and;End your story in a way that's emotionally satisfying to your reader. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go.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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.

An image paints a picture for readers, giving them a sensory experience. Some images are just meant to be descriptive. They're not insignificant. Nothing in story is.  But they don't carry any particular figurative meaning. Not every image needs to be symbolic.  But some images carry more emotional weight. They represent the meaning of your story.  They're woven into the fabric of your story, and remind your reader what your story's about. In this episode, we'll talk about how to locate  a central image and create a pattern with it throughout your story, allowing it to gather meaning and emotional weight with each repetition.This can amplify your story's theme and meaning. And even  help you organize and shape your material.  Episode Website 10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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 just received your 10th agent rejection. Or the story that's so vivid in you mind just isn't translating onto the page.  Maybe you're stuck in the murky middle and can't see your way out of it.  How do you push through? In this episode, you'll reframe your relationship to failure,  glean the lessons from setbacks, and ultimately, write a better story.  Episode WebsiteRate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts.  Love what you're learning from the Writer Unleashed podcast? Pease consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more writers -- just like you -- to write the story that won't let them go. 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!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. 10 Questions First Time Novelists Ask, and Encouraging, Practical Answers to Help You Finish Your BookWant 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.