I recently sat down for a conversation with a writer named Pauline Yates to talk about her writing, editing, and publishing journey. Pauline has just released her debut novel, Memories Don’t Lie, and in our conversation, we talk about how she went from dreaming up her idea (literally) to la...

Do you ever feel like if you just think and plan a little more, you’ll have your whole story figured out? Or if you just research a little bit longer, maybe you’ll unlock that one last worldbuilding element that’s been giving you trouble? Me too. I’m a recovering perfecti...

In today’s episode, I’m going something a little different than normal. I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes with me throughout my entire week, and I’m going to share with you what I’m working on, what big projects I’m focused on right now, and basically, an...

I recently sat down for a conversation with Jennifer Lauer—one of the writers I have had the privilege of working with over the last few years—to talk about her writing, editing, and publishing journey.  And I’m so excited to share this episode with you today because it&rs...

Do you want to write a story about a character who wants to improve their social or economic position?  In this post, I’m going to cover the six key scenes your status story needs to satisfy readers. I’m also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie The Devil...

Do you ever wish you could see a behind-the-scenes look at how other people write? Or that you could hear from other writers who have gone before you? Well, I have something super special for you today. I reached out to some of my Notes to Novel students and asked them to share the number one th...

In today’s episode, we’re going to do something fun and a little different. Since we’re nearing the end of 2022, I thought it would be fun to continue with last week’s theme of lessons learned over the last twelve months. I hope some of the lessons you’ve learned thi...

Do you ever wonder what the writing process is like for other writers? Or if they run into some of the same challenges or traps as you do? In this post, I'm giving you a glimpse behind the scenes and sharing some of the key takeaways I learned from coaching writers this year. And although there'...

I recently sat down for a conversation with James Beswick—one of the writers who took my Notes to Novel course earlier this year—to talk about his outlining, writing, and editing journey over the last 12 months. To give you a quick overview of James’s amazing accomplishments, h...

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about the conventions of the crime genre. So, these are the character roles, settings, and events that need to be present in a crime story in order for it to work and to satisfy fans of the genre.  I’m also going to show you how thes...

I recently sat down for a conversation with Stefanie Medrek—one of the writers I have the immense pleasure of working with—to talk about her writing, editing, and publishing journey over the last few years. To give you a quick overview of Stefanie’s amazing accomplishments, she...

Do you want to write a story about a character who wants to improve their social or economic position?  In this post, I’m going to cover the ten genre conventions that must be present in your status story to satisfy readers and to write a story that works. I’m also going to show...