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

EPISODE 193 Today's episode is a round-up of lots of interesting and fun information I've found that might help your writing career, your motivation, your creativity, and your overall sense of well-being as we keep working in our homes (whether we want to or not). I also talked about the new book I'm working on, Encouragement for Writers, and I'll be adding a link shortly to a survey I'd love you to take to find out what you need encouragement on. Here are all the promised links: :-) https://www.writersdigest.com/ (Writers Digest) - emails that include Monday Motivation, writing prompts, classes offered, and more. Website has lots of information for writers of every kind. https://www.writersdigest.com/ (https://www.writersdigest.com/) https://www.ingramspark.com/ (IngramSpark) - Offering free title setup, free revisions, and print discounts in some countries through May 31, 2020. Lots of free resources on their website about how to self-publish and market your books, including a blog, a podcast, and free onl

EPISODE 192 We've had a lot of "new normal" forced on us lately, but what if we take charge and create our own new normal? We're creative people, we can think of ways to make our new circumstances work for us! In this episode, I talk about how to redefine the structure of your day so you still attain your overall goals. I mention my own health goals, business goals, and keeping some fun time in the schedule - because it is way too easy to work all the time, or not much at all when you work at home. You have more power over your life than you realize! Make choices that work for you, and you can add more joy and laughter into your life. Now is the time to harness your creative energy to make changes that just might continue working better for you after our current restrictions are lifted.

EPISODE 191I Today’s guest is https://extreme-decisions.com/ (Brad Borkan), author of https://amzn.to/3e7VMSb (When Your Life Depends On It) (co-written with David Hirzel, audiobook narrated by Dennis Kleinman). Brad's specialty area is decision sciences, how businesses and people make decisions. We have a fascinating discussion about Antarctic explorers, the main characters in his nonfiction book, and how we can learn from their choices, both for our own modern life and for our fictional characters. These people made life and death decisions every day and rarely ever died. How did they manage that? Brad tells us how he found his co-writer (even that was a risk), and explains how they spent a lot of time working on the outline before they started writing. After reading just a few paragraphs of the finished book, Brad decided they needed a professional audiobook narrator. Now all three men are not just a team, but lifelong friends. You’ll love the exciting stories Brad shares in this episode! It’s interesting

EPISODE 190E This month for our Encouraging Words episode, I asked my friend Markus Watson to join us. We discuss how people weren't made to be in isolation, and some things we can do to overcome the emotional effects. Markus explains the "Robinson stories" and we talk about the ideas of families and people being lost and in isolation. We also talk about a lot of ways we can use technology to overcome the feeling of being alone.

EPISODE 189I Today's guest is James Blatch from https://selfpublishingformula.com/ (Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Formula) talking to us about one of their online classes that's open just a couple more days from when this episode goes live on April 2, 2020. I'm a student in both of Mark's courses, https://learn.selfpublishingformula.com/p/101 (Self Publishing 101) and Advertising for Authors. I took the 101 course after hearing Mark talk about a couple things I didn't know how to do on his podcast, https://selfpublishingformula.com/spf-podcast/ (The Self Publishing Show). I figured if I could improve my book's chances of selling even to a small degree, it would be worth the cost of the class. I don't have any affiliate links, but I'm such a fan of everything Mark and James and John do, I wanted to be sure you knew about it as well. James also mentions in the interview that for a limited time, they are making their SPF University (not a real university) FREE to everyone! So click the link and sign up! And ch

EPISODE 188I Today’s guest is romantic suspense author https://www.nataliewalterswriter.com/ (Natalie Walters), author of the brand new https://amzn.to/2UE3Tgw (Silent Shadows) coming out on March 31, 2020. Listen to the end to find out more about pre-order goodies you can receive directly from Natalie if you order the book before March 31. :) [Sorry about the audio and video hiccups in this episode! With sooo many people using the Internet and streaming at the same time, this was the best quality we could get at the time.] Chatting just a couple weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic, Natalie and I decided to talk about what's happening, how it's affecting our lives and the lives of those around us, and how it affects us as writers. So many people are having to give up things they’ve been working toward for years - graduation ceremonies and parties, celebrations like my 30th anniversary party and trip, and innumerable other events, large and small. But Natalie has been telling their son that they will celeb

EPISODE 187T Since our world has been tipped on its side from the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many of us find ourselves trying to make sense of a new normal. Maybe you're working from home for the first time, and it may not have transitioned in a smooth and easy way. Maybe other people are at home now that you're not used to having in your work space, and you all have to figure out how to get things done without getting irritated at each other. I wanted to give you a whole bunch of reminders/ideas about things you can do to make this period a little easier. From taking an afternoon walk to spring cleaning to finishing watching that online class you never finished, we can find ways to make this temporary period not so bad. I hope you enjoy my enthusiasm and encouragement, especially if you really needed a boost today! :-D

EPISODE 186T This week I attended the first ever live event hosted by the https://selfpublishingformula.com/ (Self Publishing Show podcast with Mark Dawson and James Blatch). It was awesome!! First of all, there is nothing like being with your people, the folks who "get" you, who don't have a blank look on their face when you talk about your writing, or editing, or read-through rates, or ad ROI. Second of all, the amount of positive energy running through the room, through the restaurants when we got together to eat, even as we walked together to the tube station in London to go home - I felt like I was high. :-D The speakers were incredible and I wanted to share a little of what they talked about with you. I couldn't share a lot of details because it was a paid event and some of the speakers wanted the information to stay with those who attended or paid for the videos after, totally understandable. But I give you the highlights here and name a lot of people and companies you can Google to find out more ab

EPISODE 185I Today's guest is historical fiction author https://www.jilleileensmith.com/ (Jill Eileen Smith). Jill's focus has been on Old Testament women of the Bible and, wow, does she have her research work cut out for her! We talk about how to research from multiple sources, and how to fill in the blanks when written history doesn't give you many details. Jill is particularly encouraging when it comes to writing a story "everyone" has already done, like the story of Esther in the Bible. Her latest book is https://amzn.to/38p7Gmu (Star of Persia), her take on the story of Esther, including some known historical figures of the day. If you've been wondering how to write a piece of historical fiction without much written history to go on, Jill may be able to give you some ideas. You can find Jill and her books on her https://www.jilleileensmith.com/ (website), or look for Jill Eileen Smith on most social media.

EPISODE 184E I had a really crappy week this past week. Lots of good moments, but days that kept ending in stress and disappointment and frustration. By the end of the week, I was a bit of a wreck...which was no good since I was finally going to be enjoying some time with friends Friday night. I kept thinking that I just needed to think of something that makes me happy, or think of some things I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for A LOT but I couldn't think of anything as I took the wrong bus to our friends' house. Until I remembered the forecast said it might snow overnight. That made me smile. It hasn't snowed here in over a year and I've been waiting and watching. Then it made me giggle a little that the hope of snow was the thing that made me smile after a long week. I hope you are looking for and finding something that will make you smile when you're stuck in a pit of frustration. It helps! :)

EPISODE 183 Sometimes you hear or read similar things over and over in a short period of time. When that happens, our brains often nudge us to ask - is this something important that I should be paying attention to right now? This past week, I have heard or read similar ideas from Joanna Penn of https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/ (The Creative Penn podcast), Susan May Warren with https://www.mybrilliantwritingplanner.com/ (My Brilliant Writing Planner) (on sale for 30% off as of the day this episode airs), and https://paulscanlon.com/ (Paul Scanlon). After thinking about all of them for a bit, I realized I had more to say on some of these subjects, so I decided to do just that with this episode. I hope you find it interesting and helpful.

EPISODE 182I Today's guest is fantasy author Kym Thurlow, writing as https://www.elizaraine.com/ (Eliza Raine). Kym tells us how she got started writing and why she decided to self-publish, sharing a lot of great information along the way. Kym has learned a lot about writing and the business of publishing through online forums like https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/ (20Booksto50K), courses like https://selfpublishingformula.com/courses/ (Mark Dawson's Self Publishing 101 and Ads for Authors), and podcasts like https://selfpublishingformula.com/spf-podcast/ (Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Show), https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/ (The Creative Penn), https://6figureauthors.com/ (Six Figure Authors), and KM Weiland's https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/ (Helping Writers Become Authors). She also loves the reports at https://k-lytics.com/ (K-lytics) and recommends them. In this episode, we talk about planning to leave your day job, changing and testing book covers, advertising, audiobook

EPISODE 181 For my first EXTRA episode, I decided to have fun and read the first chapter of my short book, https://amzn.to/2HnNqXp (My Bullheaded Superhero Valentine), for your Valentine's Day listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy it! :-D

EPISODE 180I Today's guest is bestselling and award-winning author http://jamesscottbell.com/ (James Scott Bell). We talk about two of his many nonfiction books for writers, https://amzn.to/31NJg4E (The Last Fifty Pages) and https://amzn.to/2vsPSJx (Plotman to the Rescue). From the first book, Jim talks about the Ahhh and the Uh-Oh types of endings. There can be a satisfying ending where it all works out for the protagonists, or at the end, when things seem to have worked out, the reader glimpses some little thing that says something bad might still happen, like at the end of Stephen King’s https://amzn.to/38omBhT (Pet Semetery). There are genre conventions for some books like the happily ever after in romance, but there are all kinds of shapes to endings. As an author, you need to find the right trajectory for your ending. Not having any idea what it is can lead to a lot of rewriting or a less than satisfactory ending for readers. https://amzn.to/2vsPSJx (Plotman to the Rescue) is a reference book to find

EPISODE 179I Today's guest is https://tomthreadgill.com/Tom/ (Tom Threadgill), author of police procedurals and suspense novels. His newest book, https://amzn.to/2SmKT50 (Collision of Lies), just released this week and is the beginning of a new series. For those of you who don't consider yourselves plotters, you'll love hearing Tom talk about how he writes - a true seat of the pants writer! He shares how he came up with the idea for https://amzn.to/2SmKT50 (Collision of Lies) and how he wrote the first draft. A fun and funny interview with plenty of take-aways for listeners. You can learn more about Tom on https://tomthreadgill.com/Tom/ (his website), and find his books everywhere books are sold.

EPISODE 178E Today I talk about having a word or verse for the year, something to help us focus or to encourage us toward this year's goals. But sometimes that point of focus changes - and you get even more focused! That's what happened to me this month. I hope my experience encourages you that this is the start of something great!

EPISODE 177T I just finished helping a friend get his very first book up on Amazon - woohooo!! We're both very excited as this is something he's wanted to do for a few years! It occurred to me that I could share what I know about repurposing your writing and maybe help you get a book together too! I hope you find this to be a helpful episode! Good luck and happy writing! :-D

EPISODE 176I http://www.reginascott.com/index.htm (Regina Scott) has published over 45 historical novels, winning awards and fans along the way. She loves history, so she finds research fun, not boring at all. Today she tells us about some of the amazing fun - that is, research - she's done in the name of fiction, and helps us see what we can do as well. Since she writes Regency romances (and explains what that is) as well as Christian historical romances, we talk about her two newest books today. https://amzn.to/3aDY4GP (A Distance Too Grand) came out in October from Revell, and is an adventure about a photographer traveling with an Army unit so she can photograph the Grand Canyon. The book came out during the 100th anniversary year of this wonder of the world being preserved as a national park. Because I absolutely love Regency romances, we also talk about her newest, https://amzn.to/2RjAoQp (The Matchmaker's Rogue), book one in a new series released just this month. You can find all of Regina's books where

EPISODE 175I Today's guest is https://lynetteeason.com/ (Lynette Eason), author of the new book, https://amzn.to/2NqVFWk (Collateral Damage). With over 60 books published, Lynette has a lot of experience in creating new characters, new series, and all kinds of interesting plots. Lynette shares how she starts a book, how she gets started writing for the day, how she found law enforcement and military experts to ask questions, how she works with her critique partner, and so much more. She suggests you find the people you need to help you early on. Then you can ask these experts a few questions here and there over the course of writing the book rather than asking them all your questions and "please, read my whole book" at the end. :-D She mentions several great references including the https://killernashville.com/ (Killer Nashville conference), https://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/ (Writers Police Academy/MurderCon), https://groups.io/g/Crimescenewriter2 (Crime Scene Writers), and more. You can find Lynette on h

It's time to plan out our new year, to think about what worked last year and what didn't. But don't just write down a bunch of hoped-for goals, consider how much time you'll need to do them all compared to how much time you actually have. I go through several good first steps to getting the big picture under control as well as talk about what I've been learning from James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, and Charles Duhigg's book, The Power of Habit. This is going to be our best year yet! Welcome, 2020! :-D