Whether you're staring at a blank page or halfway through a draft, overthinking can bring your novel to a standstill. Different symptoms, same root cause: both writers are trying to solve problems they're not ready to solve yet, overthinking to the point of paralysis. In this episode, I share a four-part framework to help you stop chasing certainty and start getting more clarity and direction for your story.

Links Mentioned In This Episode:

One Day by David Nicholls

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

For years I measured my work ethic by how many hours I put in at my desk. I'd arrive, coffee in hand at 7am, break around Noon for lunch, back at my desk till 6 or 7pm, sometimes later. I thought putting in the time was the thing that would move the needle. It was actually the thing keeping me from doing my best work.

In this episode, I share two small, counterintuitive shifts I made to change not only the volume of creative work I get done, but the quality — and in half the time it used to take me.

How much exposition is too much? Should you begin your story with exposition? And how do you write exposition in a way that isn’t excessive, awkward, or dull?

In this encore episode, we'll talk about how to write exposition in a way that doesn’t sound like exposition.

We'll cover:

• What exposition is, and why it's essential;
• When to begin your story with exposition and when not to
• Two different types of exposition; and
• How to slip exposition into the action so the reader isn't aware it's even there.

Episode Website

Most writers know when their dialogue isn't working. What they don't know is why. In this episode, I'm breaking down the three mistakes that make dialogue read false, and what to do to turn it around. So your reader feels like they're eavesdropping on a private conversation.

[00:00:00] Why dialogue feels so hard to write when conversation comes so naturally to us in real life.

[00:01:04] The eavesdropping illusion -- why the moment your characters start performing for the reader, the dialogue falls flat.

[00:02:21] Mistake #1: Your characters are explaining things they both already know -- and why this rings false even when the reader can't name why.

[00:04:57] Mistake #2: Your characters are saying exactly what they mean -- and why directness kills tension and deflates the scene.

[00:07:11] Mistake #3: The dialogue isn't doing anything -- why every line needs a job and how to know when a line isn't earning its place.

[00:11:04] All three mistakes come from the same place -- and what to do instead.

[00:12:24] Your final dialogue checklist -- three questions to ask every time a scene feels off.

Dialogue Workshop: Say Less, Mean More

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If you've been writing your novel or memoir for months, maybe even years, and you still can't seem to cross the finish line, this episode is for you. Because the writers who finish their books don't have more talent, time, or a better story concept. They're separated by how they think about the work while they're inside it.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the five mindset shifts that make the difference. And the good news is that how you think is something you can always change.

What You'll Learn:

[00:01:00] Why the writers who finish aren't more talented than the writers who don't, and what actually separates them.

[00:01:45] Mindset #1: Why trying to write perfectly and finish at the same time is guaranteed to stall you, and what writers who finish do instead.

[00:04:00] Mindset #2: How to stop treating difficulty as a sign that something's wrong with you or your story, and what it actually means when the writing gets hard.

[00:06:00] Mindset #3: The identity shift that lets writers cut what isn't working, even scenes they spent weeks writing.

[00:09:00] Mindset #4: Why gripping your original concept too tightly keeps you from writing the book your story is actually trying to become.

[00:11:00] Mindset #5: The one practical strategy that keeps the weight of the whole book from flattening you every time you sit down to write.

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If this episode resonated with you, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to write, revise, and finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to Writer Unleashed! See you next week!

Every character in your story is living a full, invisible life - not just your protagonist. In this episode, I'm breaking down the three levels of character, why secondary characters so often fade into the background, and what you need to know about every person in your protagonist's orbit before you write them into a scene.

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You think in chapters. You write in chapters. And that might be exactly why revision feels impossible. In this episode, I tackle one of the most universal misconceptions I see in first-time novelists — confusing chapters with scenes. I'll explain why scenes are the real building blocks of your story, what a scene actually does, and how understanding this distinction will help you write a tighter, more unified story.

Episode Web Page

Most writers know their opening matters. But knowing it and nailing it are two different things. In this episode, I'm breaking down four real book openings to show you exactly what's working beneath the surface, why it hooks readers, and what you can take from each one into your own story.

Episode Web Page