There's no shortage of advice on how to write. Stephen King's 14 tips are a great place for new writers to start, and experienced writers to review their process.
Summary video of Stephen King’s book “On Writing”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXk2EC98qe8
Agents are an important part of the publishing process for most Traditional Published Authors. They advocate for authors and help us be the best we can be. Join us and meet the amazing Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong from Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
https://marsallyonliteraryagency.com/who-we-are/cathie-hedrick-armstrong/
https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/cathie-hedrick-armstrong/
Bianca Marais is an accomplished author in historical fiction, book club fiction, fantasy, dystopian fiction, and mystery. This episode explores her journey in creating community programs to encourage Own Voices authors and about her newest mystery novel A Most Puzzling Murder.
Find more about Bianca and her work at these links:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-most-puzzling-murder-a-quirky-humorous-locked-room-murder-mystery-with-riddles-and-puzzles-for-the-reader-to-solve-bianca-marais/e0d356d45dd67ee6?ean=9780778368601&next=thttps://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/
https://www.facebook.com/biancamaraisauthor/
https://www.threads.com/@biancamarais_author
https://theshitaboutwriting.substack.com/
Starting a Beta Reading group can be tricky. Who do I invite? How will we organize the group and coordinate calls? Join our one-time beta reading session where we discuss how we put together the group, how we coordinated with each other, and then sit in on our feedback session! This three-part episode is broken into small chunks for easier listening. Enjoy the informational part 1, and we hope you enjoy the feedback portions in parts 2 and 3.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to meet beta readers, refer to our Beta Readers episode: Season 1 Episode 19 for ideas, and check out this resource:https://www.biancamarais.com/beta-reader-match-up.html
Listen in to the feedback on Sara and Conner's first 5 pages in this second installment of our recorded Beta Reading Session.
Listen in to the feedback on Rose and Madlené's first 5 pages in this last installment of our recorded Beta Reading Session.
As writers, we want our novels to invoke emotions in our readers. Then we have a new problem. Explaining why ink on a page makes us cry.
When it comes to horror, everyone has a different tolerance. Understanding what things can create more or less fear in readers helps writers to understand their target audience and market to them! Join Horror Author Mattea Orr on this episode for a breakdown of what makes horror, well, horror!
Website: www.matteaorr.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/MatteaOrrhttps://www.alieward.com/ologies/serpopsychology
https://witchhousemag.blogspot.com/2023/10/witch-house-3-is-now-available.html
https://www.alieward.com/ologies/serpopsychology
https://www.kuow.org/stories/the-five-levels-of-horror-according-to-kuow-katie-campbell-isabel-canas
https://www.regmovies.com/movie-news/stephen-king-3-levels-of-horror
https://articlesofhorror.com/2016/08/31/stephen-kings-3-categories-of-terror/
*Awareness advised, adult topics are discussed in this episode more than normal. We worked hard to keep it PG-13, but please use your own discretion.*
It's key that a writer can express to their audience what to expect in their novels. In this episode, we explore the subjective topic of romance spice levels with author Charlotte Stein.charlottestein.net @charlotte.stein on insta, @charlottestein.bluesky.social, and @ChazStein on Tik Tok.
https://racheljrowlands.com/2024/03/07/writing-romance-what-are-heat-levels/
https://www.writeforharlequin.com/heat-levels-how-spicy-is-your-romance/
https://www.bookspry.com/what-is-steamy-romance-heat-levels-explained/#:~:text=Steaminess%20can%20range%20from%20sweet,for%20romance%20book%20steam%20levelshttps://www.romance.io/steamrating
Every novel needs names, so how do you do it? Join us and Author Kasia Alba as we talk about everything from when we name our characters, to how we pick just the right one - or have to change a name we love.
https://writersofthefuture.com/forum/writing-craft-talent-technique/naming-characters/
https://kdpbook.link/for/B0FKYCMX4G
Find more from Kasia at:
Newsletter
https://subscribepage.io/kayrednewsletter
Her Podcast at
https://www.instagram.com/kkalbabooks?igsh=c21haW03Z3ZwYXA5&utm_source=qrhttps://www.tiktok.com/@kkalbabooks?_t=ZG-8zg34QMmXpY&_r=1
Her Author pages at https://www.instagram.com/kayredauthor?igsh=MXhjMHU1ZzNhZWRtdw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
https://www.tiktok.com/@kayredauthor?_t=ZG-8zg32XaFcWX&_r=1
Raising Baby Authors
Spotify and others
https://open.spotify.com/show/3sqsVTSkkACH3sXSq9cUtD
YouTube
The language we use and how we use it brings so much variety to our novels. From illustrating cultural heritage to separating characters from different generations, this literary tool is a subtle but powerful one.
Taking a great idea and making it into a great novel takes time, perseverance, and many drafts. Dive into how to get that idea formed into a story, with lots of things to remember along the way to fight off discouragement.
Meet Mystery/Suspense/Thriller author Darden North as we talk about his novels and writing journey. Find more about his newest novel, Rooftop, and about Darden at the following links.
Tiny URL link to Amazon for Rooftop:
https://tinyurl.com/ROOFTOP-by-Darden-North
www.facebook.com/DardenNorthAuthor
www.x.com/dardennorth
www.tiktok.com/@dardennorth
Do you know the tropes in your writing? This is one way to find the themes of your book, your target audience, and similar books! All are useful when trying to market or query.
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/popular-fantasy-tropes-for-writers
https://kindlepreneur.com/book-tropes/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/marycolussi/book-tropes-readers-love-and-hate
Writing a book can be quite the adventure and having the right tools will make it easier.
*WordHippo: https://www.wordhippo.com/?fbclid=IwAR2C2RkCBBpBoYV-GR3x-P70cp6uJvPxphKuZDqyC_CAlZZDgqFjJzZL4Xo
*The Emotion Thesaurus: https://www.amazon.com/Emotion-Thesaurus-Writers-Character-Expression/dp/1475004958
*Save the Cat: https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/plotting-save-the-cat?fbclid=IwAR1FpBgewNEaEu_JMYl77-7pXn0ClFhG0bppf72uDCW2gbzzquPlr3EO0jo
*Writers helping Writers: https://writershelpingwriters.net/2013/01/physical-attributes-entry-lips/#:~:text=Descriptors%3A%20plump%2C%20full%2C%20pouty,%2C%20swollen%2C%20collagen%2Dinflated%E2%80%A6
*Reedsy: https://reedsy.com/studio/write-a-book
Every writer knows characters have a mind of their own. We learn how to react, or interact, with these surprises. What do you do when your characters go off script?
Having many ideas makes a writing career, but how do you juggle jumping between projects? Find our tips, tricks, and advice with some great resources to decide how working on multiple projects can work for you.https://www.writingmastery.com/blog/writing-multiple-books-at-the-same-time-tips-for-managing-multiple-projects
https://careerauthors.com/how-to-juggle-more-than-one-manuscript/
https://writingnore.com/2017/06/06/writing-multiple-books-at-the-same-time/
There can be a lot of controversy about Speculative Fiction. Dive into the Speculative Fiction Genres and how to tell where your story falls under this diverse umbrella.
https://fictionary.co/journal/speculative-fiction/
https://jillwilliamson.com/speculative-fiction-subgenres/
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/what-is-speculative-fiction
Episode 2 of our series on genres! In this one, we dig into Romance Subgenres and what they are.Resources:
https://forevershereads.com/romance-genre-guide/
Finding your genre can be a chore. Join us for part 1 of 3 where we try to tackle the reasons genre is confusing and how to chose the best ones for you.
https://blog.reedsy.com/book-genres/
https://www.servicescape.com/blog/book-genre-encyclopedia-144-genres-and-subgenres-explained