Write Now! Workshop Podcast: Write A Book, Change The World

Author Sarah Sundin just published her tenth historical romance novel set in World War II. Why such a niche period? She's heard so many stories from family members that the period just seemed right for her.With so many books in the same era, Sarah is known as a WWII author now. It's become her brand. She publishes a blog with "Today in WWII History" facts for every day of the war. She says she keeps getting more story ideas for WWII, and so long as she does she'll keep writing in that historical period.When giving advice to other authors, Sarah suggests that - unless you have a consuming love for one period - try writing in a variety of time periods and be known as a "historical" author. Time periods come and go in popularity, so having a broader scope can help you be more adaptable to the market.Sarah teaches classes about writing historical fiction at various writers conferences including Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can follow her at her website and

Many people believe that you need to commit to your publishing path before you even fully understand your options. They want you to choose traditional publishing or self-publishing and then learn what is required. I want to help you understand self-publishing so you can think about it and make an informed decision when you're ready.I've presented this workshop several times, and today I've broken the "10 Things" into two episodes, the second of which will air next Tuesday. The bullet points for today are:You don't have to commit right now.You need to organize the information you learn so you can find it all again.Choose your software, and understand what is best for which stage of self-publishing.You need to create a House Style Guide.Create a formatting checklist so you can remember what has to be done in what order for each book.Listen to the episode for more details, and check back next week for Part 2!

For several mornings in a row, I woke up with the song "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down playing in my head. It's a good song, I like it, and it's on my superhero writing playlist. But I have no idea why it was in my head for days.It got me thinking, though. What is my kryptonite? What takes away my energy and saps my strength? What makes me feel like I absolutely can't go on?How about you? Have you given this much thought? In today's episode, I talk about different kinds of kryptonite - in relationships, in writing, in just about anything, there is something that can make you feel like someone just pulled the rug out from under your feet.If we think about it so we recognize our kryptonite, we may not be as blind-sided by it when it hits us. We can find work-arounds before it saps our strength. Give it some thought and see what you can do to build up your defenses, or even find some areas where you need to make improvements.

In addition to teaching writing in the UCLA Extension writing program, Lisa Cron is the author of both Wired for Story and Story Genius. She is an energetic and enthusiastic speaker who will reignite your fire and passion for writing!Lisa says that her first book, Wired for Story, is more of an explanation of how it all works in the audience member's brain when they are reading or watching a story. Story Genius takes it a step further and explains how to make your stories amazing.If you're a neuroscience geek like me, there's really interesting stuff to get your mind racing along those lines. But if you just want to know, Why do people love the stories they love?, Lisa and her books will help you better understand it.This interview is so interesting on so many levels! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!Learn more about Lisa's take on story at her CreativeLive workshop!

I love using sticky notes to get and stay organized in my writing. They work great for both fiction and nonfiction!You can use a variety pack and color code your brainstorming or your plotting, or you can use the plain yellow ones. (The plain yellow can be cheaper.)They work great for flat, non-textured surfaces like counters, mirrored doors, flat walls, white boards, etc. You can also move them to printer paper or index cards.In nonfiction, you can start throwing all your thoughts at the wall and literally see what sticks. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) You can just keep adding to various topics or chapters, or you can move all your ideas around until you find an orderly pattern of thought that builds to a conclusion.In fiction, you can use sticky notes to brainstorm your story before you write or near the beginning, or you can figure out and solve problems when you get stuck later. They are great for helping you find the holes in your story logic or nonfiction logic.Creating a sticky note for each scene (ficti

We have a lot of freedom in life, no matter who we are. Arguably, our greatest freedom is choosing who will we be. No matter what circumstances or people put obstacles in our way, we get to choose how we react and what principles will guide us.Choosing to be committed to those principles is a large part of what can bring peace into every day of our lives. I talk about an interesting challenge I heard - what if I committed to obey God and my guiding principles first, even before I knew what that would cost me?We've all done it. We choose to commit to our wedding vows without having any idea what that future holds. We agree to obey our bosses, hoping they won't push the boundaries of our principles. So choosing to obey God and/or our principles before knowing what will be asked of us isn't such a huge leap.But it can make a huge difference.

YA Author Elena Dillon is the queen of helping confused and terrified writers learn to do things they didn't think they could! Her website, Confused and Terrified Writer, is filled with helpful information about how to create excellent visual content for writers, as well as other helpful things, like a free how-to-use-Scrivener class.In this incredibly helpful interview, Elena gives us a lot of information and tells us about websites we need to check out. Here are the links:Her video on How to Use CanvaHer online class (which I'm in!) Visual Content Marketing for Authors - and you can get 30% off when you use the coupon code Author30Her free online class Scrivener BasicsThe Pinterest account for The Pink Duchess that Elena consulted on. "She rebranded it and it looks beautiful and well branded. I'm so proud! It is a lingerie site so lots of women in skimpy underwear, FYI!"Elena's Pinterest accountElena suggests looking at well-branded author Pinterest accounts for inspiration. Debra Kristi is a YA F

I've moved a lot over the last 25 years, and taken even more trips. Whether it's an overseas move or a weekend getaway, I've had to decide over and over what I can take with me to be able to keep working on my current project(s). The usual limits are space and weight, so taking your collection of history books or all of the color-coded binders you've created about your story world is often not possible.Neuroscientists have found that there is a limit to how many decisions the brain can make in a day. So the more we can create systems, lists, and habits that keep us from having to make the same decision over and over, the easier it will be to decide what to pack for our trips.I share some tips from my experiences, from having a separate toiletry bag already packed with all your usual products to using a similar thought process in packing up writing stuff.

Since this episode is coming out on Easter, I thought it would be fun to look at what the Easter Story - and the story of the entire Bible - can teach us about writing a great story!I start with the end - writing a story where the reader is asking, "How can the hero possibly get out of this situation?" Writing an ending that makes sense is important for readers, but other elements of the story must also be excellent.How can we use foreshadowing in a way that the reader can look back and say, oh, that makes sense, I get it now. You never want your reader to feel you cheated and created an ending that pops out of nowhere.We know it's important to understand the goals, motivations, and conflicts of the hero, but also of the other characters, including the villain of the story. Not only that, but making the reader feel like they understand why the villain is doing what they're doing, making the reader feel almost-conflicted and a little sympathetic to the villain, that will increase the reader's connection to the

Bestselling author Louella Nelson is a novelist, editor, and writing teacher. After the death of her mother, Louella found it difficult to write for nearly two decades. One day, she found inspiration for a new story, and things started coming together again for her.Louella was already editing Debra Holland's books, so she was very familiar with the Montana Sky series. Again, one morning she woke up with a complete scene of a new story in her head, and she came downstairs and typed it up. She sent it to Debra, who was considering opening up the Montana Sky series as a Kindle World, and soon Rye's Reprieve became one of the first books in the new World.In our fun interview, Louella tells us about her experience and how it helped her return to regular writing and publishing again. She recommends her mentor, Raymond Obstfeld, as an excellent writing teacher. (He's written Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, Fiction First Aid, and Careers for Your Characters, as well as fiction.) She also gives enc

Lots of writers use a music playlist to either get them in the mood for the piece they're working on, or to actually have playing in the background as they pound out the words. I can't listen to music with lyrics when I'm writing. I either stop writing and sing along, or I get distracted by the other "story" I'm hearing in the lyrics.Today I share how I created my first writing playlist, what songs are on it and why, and give you some ideas for how you can start one for your own writing. Remember that music and writing are both about telling a story in a certain mood, so if you write in different genres you'll need more than one playlist.

Recently, a friend said to me that she understands how much work it is to move often because she had a period in her life when she moved a lot. Her empathy - understanding because you've been there - almost undid me.Sympathy - compassion for others despite not having been in their situation - is a great gift to give and receive. But when someone really knows what you're going through, it feels like you're not alone. That's why we humans create support groups!So it's important to remember that we can give sympathy and empathy to the other writers around us and help them get through tough times. From a welcoming hello to a first-timer at a conference to supporting a friend through a rejection or bad review to helping someone who feels they can't write anymore, there are a myriad of ways to extend care for others.I hope you're finding people with whom you can share both sympathy and empathy. Be willing to open up about the difficult things you're facing when you're in a safe environment. It may take time to find

Kristy Phillips first started writing in Amazon's Kindle Worlds only a few months ago after a conversation with Debra Holland, author and creator of the Montana Sky series. When Debra heard Kristy writes gold rush stories, she asked her to consider writing in her Kindle World. Now Kristy has the first book out in her Copper Creek mini-series.Kristy talks about the differences in publishing her own books through Kindle Direct Publishing versus having Amazon give her a contract and publish her books in a more traditional manner.There are pros and cons to not having 100% control of your product, but a big pro is that there are dozens of other writers in the Kindle World that you can cross-promote with! The idea that a rising tide lifts all boats visibly works in marketing the Montana Sky series, so it is probably doing the same in other Kindle Worlds.One of the other fun parts for Kristy in writing in the Montana Sky series is being able to bring in real people for cameo appearances - like Mark Twain!She suggest

If you're writing a series, it won't take long to find you've forgotten some of the details from your earlier books. What car did she drive again? Did he rent an apartment or buy a condo? Did she have a political science degree or an economics degree?Starting a story bible from the beginning - or at least starting it now - will help you remember what happened when, to whom, and whose cousin got in trouble for it.I go over some of the basic things you should keep in your story bible as well as more detailed information. If you want more ideas on how to get started, one of my favorite articles on building a story bible is this old one from the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal chapter of Romance Writers of America. I no longer use paper and binder (as this article suggested), but I do pretty much the same thing using subdocuments in a Scrivener file.Here is another take on it from the same group. In fact, if you search for "series bible" or "book bible" or "story bible," you will find a lot of great advice f

I love Stephen King's book, On Writing, and today I share a quote from it. I completely believe that our gifts and talents as writers are meant to be used to make the world a better place.We are entertainers, teachers, encouragers, pioneers, and so much more! Your words need to be heard. People need you to encourage them - to hang in there, to keep going, to share a helping hand, to stand up, to relax, to think about more than what's for dinner and the weekend's plans.Your voice is important. And when you use it to help and encourage other people, you are bound to enrich and improve your own life as well. Just like Stephen King says.

Linda Carroll-Bradd writes heartwarming contemporary and historical romances with a touch of humor. She is the author of the Entertainers of the West mini-series within Debra Holland's Montana Sky Kindle World.Linda talks with us about what it's like to write in someone else's world, and how she created her mini-series within the Montana Sky series as well as how she got involved in other kinds of book series with other authors.She shares some of the research she has to do in order to make the books come alive and feel real to the reader. She suggests understanding the story world's canon or bible in order to write books that will be successful in that series. Also, look for ways to include real historical events and people in your story.Look for Linda's books on Amazon, and follow her on her blog, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and BookBub. If you're interested in Linda's book editing services, check out her website at Lustre Editing.

After a bad day, I took a long walk and had a great idea! Today I share with you how to take the crappy things that happen in life and make our books and characters so much better.If you can get through the rough and terrible things that happen in life, why should your characters get off any easier? After all, whether we want to learn and grow through the difficulties we face, the fact is we almost always come out the other side a better person. Or at least we have a shot at it.So many of us writers don't want to be too mean to our characters. We like them, we might even love them, and we want happy, wonderful things to happen to them. But reading or watching stories like that is usually boring. Even the sweetest, lightest Hallmark movie has a person with a problem to solve.So give them yours! You know how it feels, and emotion is one of the biggest things that get our readers to love our books. Create a file or a journal and write down the things that happen to you, how you felt about it, how long it took yo

One of the easiest ways to encourage you is to share what's going on in my life, including the hard things, and tell you how I've learned to deal with them or ideas I'm trying to make life easier.On the day I recorded this episode, I was so overwhelmed with the amount of work that had to be done to get us ready to move to another country, and the roadblocks I kept running into, I was literally lying on the floor, paralyzed with overwhelm.But lying there, taking a deep breath for the first time in hours, I thought, "I just need some coping techniques to get through this." Then I remembered - I have some! So I decided to share my experience with you and remind you of things you can do to keep from getting overwhelmed by the things going on in your life, or just in your writing life.

Debra Holland is the creator and original author of the Montana Sky series of books, which became a Kindle World on Amazon. That means other authors can choose to write in the fictional world she created. Debra explains how Kindle Worlds work, and how they are different from each other in terms of how the creators work with the other authors.She also discusses how the contracts and royalties work, how authors in her private group work together to cross-promote all the books together, things you need to understand about writing in a world that readers already have expectations about, and things she's learned along the way.One more suggestion from Debra, even if you're not writing in a Kindle World - if you're going to write a series, start a book bible from the very beginning! It's difficult to begin one 18 books into the series. ;)If you're interested in writing in a Kindle World, check out the list of them here.

Networking. A word that has the power to strike fear into the hearts of introverts everywhere!But it doesn't have to be that way. Perhaps the easiest way to get started in overcoming your fears is to begin by finding someone else in the room who looks as uncomfortable as you, ask them some questions about themselves, and listen. It takes all the pressure off you, and other people like it. :-)I talk about a few places to get started, a few not-so-scary places to make a few contacts or even new friends.Libraries - writer groups, reader eventsCommunity calendars with a list of eventsCommunity centers, senior centers, etc.Conferences - readers events or writers conferencesNational and international organizations - like Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and many moreOnline-only writing groups, or online-only chapters of larger organizationsIn-person or online critique groups or a single critique partnerVolunteer at one of these events and meet peopleIf this sti