There's no shortage of writing advice out there. Outline everything before you start. Don't outline, you'll kill the magic. Follow a beat sheet. Trust your instincts instead. Structure will flatten your story. Structure will save it.

No wonder so many writers second-guess every choice they make.

Some writing advice gets handed down as gospel when really it may only apply to certain writers, certain stories, or certain stages in the process. And when you take it on as an absolute, it can lead to hesitation, self-doubt, and the nagging sense that there’s a “right” way to write a book that everyone else understands and you somehow missed.

In this episode, I'm taking on four common writing myths about structure, plot, planning, and the "right" way to write, and giving you something more useful to believe instead.

Because the goal isn't to follow someone else's process. It's to understand your story well enough to trust yourself inside it.

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

Is the middle of your story really the problem, or is something else going on?

If you've ever stared at word forty thousand wondering how you lost your way, you're in the right place. In this episode, I'm sharing why the muddy, messy middle usually isn't where the real trouble starts. It's just where it becomes impossible to ignore.

You'll learn the difference between chronicling events and building a story, plus a simple three-chapter exercise you can use right now to see where your story's breakdown is really happening.

If your middle feels stuck in the murk, this episode will show you exactly where to look.

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

If you have a story worth telling and still feel completely lost, you're not behind, and you're not alone. After years of working with first-time novelists and memoir writers across every genre, I've noticed the writers who struggle the most aren't the ones without talent. They're the ones who lean on off-the-shelf beat sheets and outlines instead of trusting their own instincts. This episode is about what's actually going on when writing feels so much harder than you thought it would, and why that has nothing to do with whether you have what it takes.

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

You’ve heard “show, don’t tell” a thousand times. But what does it actually mean to show effectively? And when is telling exactly what your story needs?

In this episode, we’ll look at common ways writers get showing wrong, what strong showing does, and when telling can deepen a scene or keep your story moving.

You’ll learn a more useful way to think about showing and telling - one that gives readers room to participate while bringing them deeper into your character’s experience.

Book mentioned in this episode:

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

Your story has several characters, multiple storylines, and probably some childhood flashbacks that keep sneaking in. And you can't quite answer the question every writer eventually has to face: what is your story about?

If you've ever struggled to answer that in one sentence, this episode is for you. I'm walking through why ambitious first drafts get overcrowded, how to find the single core desire your story should orbit around, and what to do with everything else. You'll walk away with a clear way to tell a rich story instead of a crowded one, and the confidence to cut what's creating noise instead of clarity.

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

Ever thought about quitting your draft and starting something new? You're not alone - lots of writers do. But before you abandon your story, listen to this episode first.

Most of the time, the urge to start over isn't really about the story at all. It's one of three specific things, and each one has a way forward that doesn't involve throwing out everything you've built. In this episode, I walk through all three, along with examples, so you can figure out exactly what's going on with your draft, and what to do next.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

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

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.

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.

Structure your story with this FREE 3-Act Worksheet. Go beyond outlining and write a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. Grab your FREE Worksheet here.