Writer Unleashed

How do you write the bad guy?The villain. The antagonist. The one who makes life difficult for your protagonist?How do you make this person believable and fascinating? Not just a stock cartoon character nobody believes in or cares about?One of the biggest pitfalls when writing villains -- aka, antagonists -- is over simplifying them.But your most troublesome character is just as important to develop as your protagonist. So you've got to get to know him or her as intimately as you know your main character. That means, you know your antagonist's deepest desires, fears, worldview, and motives.You want to explore who this person is as a human being.In this episode, we're exploring 5 secrets about your antagonist you should know. So that you can bring more texture, complexity and humanity to him or her. And  make even the most evil villain fascinating to your reader.Episode WebPageFree Resource mentioned in this episode:13 Questions to Deepen Your Character: Create Multi-Dimensional Characters Who Breathe On The Page and Defy Stereotype10 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.

Want to bring your manuscript closer to published, but don't want to drop thousands to hire an editor? In this episode, you'll learn to edit your story yourself. You'll get answers to common questions like:Do I edit as I go? Or do I edit after the manuscript is done?How do I edit for coherence and continuity?Where do I begin?In this episode, I’m going to give you a  4-step strategy for self-editing your story.  We’re going step by step.From the big picture all the way down to the sentence level. This 4-step strategy works at every stage of the drafting process.You can use it with a finished manuscript. Or a work in progress.Because this process will keep your story focused and on track. You'll learn to evaluate: Story events as major actions, each with its own resolution;Chapters as self-contained, complete narrative units;Individual scenes and how they all fit in your overall story structure; andHow to look at paragraphs and sentences for power and progression.Episode Web PageAlso Listen To:Episode 99: How to Nail Down Your Story In 3 Simple SentencesEpisode 98: Should You Hire An Editor?Episode 68: How to Use Subplots to Amplify Your Novel10 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.

Ever feel like no matter how much time you spend on your plot, your story’s just not coming together? Maybe you're generally happy with your structure, but when you go to break down those story beats, all you find are a lot of plot holes. And now you’re overthinking everything, wondering how your characters and scenes work within your plot.In this episode I’m sharing  5 common plot problems and what you can do to fix them, or avoid them completely.  This will help you know what’s relevant in your story,  what you can cut, and what you can develop more deeply. We’ll explore:How to define your central story problem from which every other event will spin;How to build and intensify your plot;The internal change your character is forced to make, and why she/him resists it;The missing causal factor that moves your plot forward, and;How to up the ante so that your ending feels simultaneously surprising and inevitable. Episode WebsiteAlso Listen To: Episode 69: How to Create Plot Continuity With Character Thought10 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.

If I asked you what your story was about, could you sum it up in a few sentences and tell me all I need to know to want more? Maybe you have too many ideas swimming around your head, and your story is running away from you. Either way, you have a hazy, rambling idea about what your story is all about. That's every story in its early stages. So, in this episode, I want to invite you to do a little exercise in nailing down your story idea in 3 sentences. You'll zero in on:Who your story's about, and what happens to set this person down a path she/he never saw coming;The trouble and complications that follow; andThe payoff or promise the reader can expect by the endBottom line? If you can drill your story down to a few clear, focused sentences, you can write a clear, focused story. This 3-sentence framework  will help you avoid bogging your story down with unnecessary digressions and clutter. You'll know what to keep in. And what to keep out. This will make your first drafts easier to write. Your works in progress easier to revise.  So you can build a story that's a great read.Episode WebsiteLink mentioned in this episode:Free 3-Act Worksheet10 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.

What does an editor do precisely? How do you choose an editor you can trust with your manuscript?   How much do editors charge?  And is hiring one worth the investment? In this episode, I'm answering the most frequently asked questions I get about editors. I'll demystify the editing process. So you can make an informed, prudent decision on whether to invest in an editor or not.And you'll get an inside view on how to edit your own work.We'll cover:  The 3 phases of editing every book goes through.How much editors charge at each stage of the process.How to choose the best editor for you.How to offset editorial costs. When to hire an editor, and when to hold off.Episode WebpageLinks mentioned in this episode:Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group Is Holding You Back (and What To Look For In Your Next Writing Tribe)FiverrUpwork10 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 tell the difference between genuinely bad writing and writing that's actually good... but you think it's bad because you're being over critical?How do you manage not liking what you write because you know you can do better? And so you end up not writing anything.What about when you want abandon your dreams of becoming an author because you re-read your work and you hate it all. And now you believe you're not good enough.Well, that's the story you're telling yourself. And it ends today.In this episode, I'm sharing how to evaluate your work with more objectivity and appreciation.So you can get on with it.You'll learn:Why we’re the worst judges of our own workWhy perfection is the lowest standard there isThe necessary gap between your vision and where your story is now The ship and learn approach to elevating your story Episode WebsiteLink mentioned in this episode:Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group is Holding You Back (and What to Look For in Your Next Writing Tribe)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.

Why do readers read?  Is it just for entertainment? To escape everyday life? Or is there a deeper need? What is it about story that keeps us captivated from beginning to end?It helps to understand why stories are so impactful and precisely what readers are hungry for when they turn to a book. In this episode we’re going to explore what your reader is actually responding to when he forgets about the real world and gets entranced by the world on the page. So you can use this intel to craft your story.  Episode WebsiteLink mentioned in this episode:Episode 35: Three Storytelling Techniques to Steal From Superbowl Ads10 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're often instructed to hook readers in our opening paragraphs by enticing them with story questions. All good. But you can't really plant questions in the beginning without knowing how your story will ultimately end. There's a link between your story's beginning and its end. So the best way to hook your reader is to start with the end in mind. This creates two things readers crave:  Curiosity and Suspense.But there's an art to it. A great opening both reveals and withholds. So, in today's episode, I'm breaking down 3 story openings crafted with the end in mind. You'll see how the opening and ending are linked. Plus 3 techniques you can use to open your story. Not sure sure how your story ends? No worries. I've got you covered there, too. Episode Website10 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.

Lots of writers believe you can't deeply develop character until you know what happens on the plot level. But this is backwards. Ultimately, what moves your story forward is your protagonist's reactions, choices, and actions. Not the external events that activate those reactions. Your plot doesn't just need structural coherence. It needs emotional and psychological coherence.Simply put, before you develop your plot, before you write your opening scene, you need to know who it affects and why. In today's episode, we're breaking down 3 simple steps to deeper character development. You'll learn:Two things driving your plot. Hint: It's not what happens. How to drill down your protagonist's desire to the specific and concrete. And how to unlock the unconscious drives that both fuel and thwart your protagonist. Once you do these 3 steps, everything you include on the plot level will have meaning. And your readers will know why it  all matters. Episode Website10 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.

Call it your hero.  Or your MC. But all stories need one main protagonist.  When we don’t know who your main character is, we have no one to root for. Why is picking one character to focus on a good idea?We need to know who we’re experiencing your story through. Your protagonist is the portal.  It's how we hook into your story from the first page to the last. In this episode, you'll learn why focusing on one character creates a richer experience for the reader, and an easier writing experience for you.You'll learn what to do when you have multiple character viewpoints, co-protagonists, and other characters who have a stake in the action.  And I'll give you 3 questions to help you nail the main star of your story. So grab a pencil and let's do this together. Episode WebsiteLink mentioned in this episode:Episode 89: What Plotters and Pantsers Both Get Wrong About Story10 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.