Episode 8: Jeff Lyons, Writing Teacher
Writing teachers Jeff Lyons and Mary Kole in conversation about craft, from the big picture to the nitty gritty.
Episode 1: Chris Baty, Founder of NaNoWriMo
An interview with NaNoWriMo founder and writing teacher Chris Baty, where we discuss plot, pantsing, not nipping good ideas in the bud, celebrating a hot pile of garbage, and the cult of busyness.
Writing An Authentic Memoir with Kelly Madrone
Award-winning writer and ghostwriter Kelly Madrone joins us to talk about writing as someone else, modulating a professional potty mouth, and how to create a nuanced story arc in memoir.
Books That Teach Life Lessons
Books that teach life lessons are fine...as long as you don't clobber readers over the head with your theme. So how do you weave a message into your story without being too obvious?
Breaking Writing Rules
Breaking writing rules might seem like a bold artistic statement, but it could also backfire. Here are some considerations for writers who are inclined to take their projects in a more experimental direction.
How Long is a Chapter?
How long is a chapter? This is a question I get all the time from writers. In this video, I'll ask you some leading questions that will allow you to figure out that ideal chapter count or chapter-length for yourself in your particular project.
Episode 6: Gail Carson Levine, Historical and Fantasy Author
Historical and fantasy author Gail Carson Levine interviews with Mary Kole. She shares thoughts on the writing process, world-building, and her latest book, A Ceiling Made of Eggshells.
Episode 4: Laura Elliott, Ghostwriter
A podcast interview with ghostwriter Laura Elliott, all about deep research, finding inspiration from various sources, and telling stories … even other people’s.
Episode 26: Tami Charles, Children’s Book Author
New York Times Bestselling children's book author Tami Charles joins the Good Story Podcast to talk about experimenting with verse, amplifying the stories of girls of color, and writing what you feel.
In Favor of Present Tense Writing
One of the first decisions we have to make before writing is what tense to use. Present tense writing is often overlooked in favor of past tense—but when is present tense the better choice?
Ways to Hook a Reader
You do need to clear a pretty high bar to impress an agent, a publisher, or a reader once you get published. The opening pages are a really, really important part of this. Adding some character relatability and a little bit of conflict goes a long way in hooking a reader.
How to Overcome Writer’s Block: Memoir Edition
Many writers run into some form of writer’s block, but nonfiction and memoir writers have certain challenges to overcome writer’s block that fiction writers don’t face. Someone writing a novel can simply … make up what happens next. But memoir writers can feel constrained by wanting to be true to reality.
Unconventional Writing
Publishing loves its buckets. In children's books, there are several buckets that you need to fit into, with word count guidelines and all of that. There are buckets and tropes in adult publishing as well. Books that don't lend themselves easily to categorization can be a really difficult sell.
Pacing in Writing
Pacing is the engine that keeps that story going and keeps your reader's interest level high. One of the most important things that I teach when it comes to pacing with writing is the balance of action and the information. Information is dense. It moves slowly. Action is fast. It moves quickly. It has nothing to do with page count, but everything to do with the balance of what's in those pages.
Creative Nonfiction
Nonfiction gets a bad rap for being dry and dull, but it doesn’t have to be. Many of the same liberties can be taken in creative nonfiction as in fiction. If you have something important to share with the world from your own life, this may be your category. Some literary flair can amp up your story and make it more approachable to your readers.
Avoid Overwriting
Overwriting happens often in early drafts, as writers try to get the story down and figure they’ll fix things later. Sometimes details draw us in, but often they can distract readers, pushing them to think about unrelated things ... and then to stop reading.
Nonfiction Children’s Books
Find your niche in the nonfiction children’s book market using these timely takeaways.
Interrupted Dialogue
If you've been wondering how to format interrupted dialogue in your manuscript, here's a quick answer.
Help! I’m Distracted from Writing.
Getting distracted from writing has always been a challenge for writers. But it’s more acute these days, as lockdowns and quarantines interfere with the habits we once built. Here are the top four ways we tend to get distracted from writing, with troubleshooting solutions for each.