How to Write Diverse Characters (And, Also, Are You Qualified?)
Craft, Nonfiction Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Novel Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Nonfiction Idea, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea Joiya Morrison-Efemini Craft, Nonfiction Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Novel Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft, Novel Idea, Picture Book Idea, Nonfiction Idea, ER/CB Idea, Freelance Idea Joiya Morrison-Efemini

How to Write Diverse Characters (And, Also, Are You Qualified?)

Wondering how to write diverse characters? Many writers aspire to create worlds that look like a true fusion of personalities and cultures, religious beliefs, and ethnicities. How do we create art that imitates the life we are striving for?

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Writing the Protagonist and Antagonist
Novel Draft, Novel Outline, Novel Editing, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Outline, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Editing, Freelance Draft, Freelance Editing, Freelance Outline Amy Wilson Novel Draft, Novel Outline, Novel Editing, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Outline, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Editing, Freelance Draft, Freelance Editing, Freelance Outline Amy Wilson

Writing the Protagonist and Antagonist

One question many writers have when they begin work on a novel is how to write a compelling protagonist and antagonist. These are vital roles to function well in a manuscript. How do we make sure they leap off the page?

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The Core of a Story with Roz Morris
Writing, Character, Audience, Craft, Novel Idea, Novel Draft, Novel Publishing, Novel Outline, Novel Editing, Memoir Draft, Memoir Editing, Memoir Publishing, Memoir Idea, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, Freelance Publishing, Nonfiction Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea, Memoir Outline Mary Kole Writing, Character, Audience, Craft, Novel Idea, Novel Draft, Novel Publishing, Novel Outline, Novel Editing, Memoir Draft, Memoir Editing, Memoir Publishing, Memoir Idea, Freelance Draft, Freelance Idea, Freelance Publishing, Nonfiction Idea, Picture Book Idea, Short Story Idea, Memoir Outline Mary Kole

The Core of a Story with Roz Morris

Writer, writing teacher, ghost writer, and general literary icon Roz Morris joins Mary Kole for an interview on the Good Story Speaker Series. They dive into the mechanics of storytelling and discuss how to connect with your audience—whether you're writing someone else's story or your telling your own.

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Episode 8: Jeff Lyons, Writing Teacher
Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Freelance Draft, Memoir Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft, Freelance Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Memoir Publishing, Short Story Publishing Mary Kole Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Freelance Draft, Memoir Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft, Freelance Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Memoir Publishing, Short Story Publishing Mary Kole

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.

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Writing Young Adult Books With Mindy McGinnis
Novel Publishing, Novel Draft, Novel Editing, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Novel Revision, Novel Submission Mary Kole Novel Publishing, Novel Draft, Novel Editing, Novel Idea, Novel Outline, Novel Revision, Novel Submission Mary Kole

Writing Young Adult Books With Mindy McGinnis

Mindy McGinnis—mystery, suspense, thriller author and dog haver—joins the Good Story Podcast to talk about her upcoming work with James Patterson, book snobbery, and showing characters' humanity.

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Episode 1: Chris Baty, Founder of NaNoWriMo
Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Memoir Publishing, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Freelance Publishing, Freelance Idea, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Memoir Draft, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Short Story Draft, Picture Book Draft, ER/CB Outline, Freelance Outline, Nonfiction Outline, Memoir Outline, Picture Book Outline, Novel Outline Mary Kole Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Memoir Publishing, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Freelance Publishing, Freelance Idea, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Memoir Draft, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Short Story Draft, Picture Book Draft, ER/CB Outline, Freelance Outline, Nonfiction Outline, Memoir Outline, Picture Book Outline, Novel Outline Mary Kole

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.

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Building Fantasy Worlds with Jonathan Auxier
Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Submission, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Revision, Novel Submission Mary Kole Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Submission, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Revision, Novel Submission Mary Kole

Building Fantasy Worlds with Jonathan Auxier

NYT Bestselling young adult and middle-grade author Jonathan Auxier joins Mary Kole to discuss visual writing, worldbuilding, and how different media use dialogue to create action.

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Books That Teach Life Lessons
Writing, Craft, Audience, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Idea Mary Kole Writing, Craft, Audience, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Draft, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Idea Mary Kole

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?

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Breaking Writing Rules
Writing, Craft, Market, Audience, Nonfiction Draft, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Memoir Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft Mary Kole Writing, Craft, Market, Audience, Nonfiction Draft, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Memoir Draft, Picture Book Draft, Short Story Draft Mary Kole

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.

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Episode 15: Cidney Swanson, Good Story Grant Recipient
Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Draft, Novel Publishing, Novel Submission, Nonfiction Publishing, ER/CB Publishing, Freelance Publishing, Memoir Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Short Story Publishing Mary Kole Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Draft, Novel Publishing, Novel Submission, Nonfiction Publishing, ER/CB Publishing, Freelance Publishing, Memoir Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Short Story Publishing Mary Kole

Episode 15: Cidney Swanson, Good Story Grant Recipient

A conversation with Cidney Swanson, sci-fi author and recipient of the 2020 Good Story Grant.

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How Long is a Chapter?
Craft, Writing, ER/CB Draft, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Memoir Draft, ER/CB Outline, Freelance Outline, Memoir Outline, Novel Outline, Nonfiction Outline Mary Kole Craft, Writing, ER/CB Draft, Novel Draft, Nonfiction Draft, Memoir Draft, ER/CB Outline, Freelance Outline, Memoir Outline, Novel Outline, Nonfiction Outline Mary Kole

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.

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How to Start Your Novel
Craft, Writing, Revision + Editing, Novel Draft, Novel Editing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing Kristen Overman Craft, Writing, Revision + Editing, Novel Draft, Novel Editing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing Kristen Overman

How to Start Your Novel

If you’re wondering how to start your novel, your job is to hook the reader from page one. But how? In this post, editor Kristen Overman shares some tips on how to write an engaging novel opening, including how to start your novel with scene.

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Episode 28: Ronald L. Smith, Children’s Book Author
Novel Publishing, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Memoir Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Freelance Publishing, Short Story Publishing, Freelance Draft Mary Kole Novel Publishing, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, Nonfiction Publishing, Memoir Publishing, Picture Book Publishing, Freelance Publishing, Short Story Publishing, Freelance Draft Mary Kole

Episode 28: Ronald L. Smith, Children’s Book Author

Award-winning children’s book writer Ronald L. Smith joins the Good Story Podcast. We talk about writing dark and unconventional stories for middle grade, his writing routine, and marketing yourself as an author. And, of course, he tells all about what it’s like to write in collaboration with Marvel.

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Episode 6: Gail Carson Levine, Historical and Fantasy Author
Craft, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Editing, Nonfiction Outline, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Submission, Nonfiction Idea, Memoir Draft, Memoir Idea, Memoir Editing, Memoir Outline, Memoir Publishing, Memoir Submission Mary Kole Craft, Novel Draft, Novel Idea, Novel Editing, Novel Outline, Novel Publishing, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Nonfiction Draft, Nonfiction Editing, Nonfiction Outline, Nonfiction Publishing, Nonfiction Submission, Nonfiction Idea, Memoir Draft, Memoir Idea, Memoir Editing, Memoir Outline, Memoir Publishing, Memoir Submission Mary Kole

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.

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Episode 17: Anna Staniszewski, Children's Author
Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Draft, Novel Submission, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Publishing, Picture Book Submission, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Editing, Picture Book Outline, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline Mary Kole Marketing, Market, Audience, Novel Draft, Novel Submission, ER/CB Draft, ER/CB Publishing, ER/CB Submission, Picture Book Draft, Picture Book Publishing, Picture Book Submission, Picture Book Idea, Picture Book Editing, Picture Book Outline, ER/CB Editing, ER/CB Idea, ER/CB Outline Mary Kole

Episode 17: Anna Staniszewski, Children's Author

On this month's episode, children's author Anna Staniszewski chats about her path to publication, writing for different age groups, and what it takes to make it as a full-time author.

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How to Write a Good Ending
Writing, Craft, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Picture Book Draft Mary Kole Writing, Craft, Novel Draft, ER/CB Draft, Freelance Draft, Picture Book Draft Mary Kole

How to Write a Good Ending

This video is all about how to write a good ending to a story. Whether you are looking to be traditionally published or are writing picture books, the main key to writing a good ending is to be familiar with what your audience wants. We’ve also got you covered on writing endings for various genres—from romance to fantasy.

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