How much backstory do you really need? How much is too much?

Most first-time authors tend to overuse backstory, which can detract from the main story. In this episode, I'll share 3 common mistakes writers make, and I'll give you 3 new ways to think about backstory, so that it doesn't dominate your story, but enhances and deepens it.

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One of the biggest impediments to our writing is time, and we all have unfinished drafts to prove it.

It always takes much longer than we think, and this can be dispiriting, not to mention stressful. Writing a book is a huge undertaking, and when time is sparse, it can leave us believing we don’t have what it takes.

In this episode, I'll challenge you to think differently about time, so you can get more writing done, and with more focus.

I’ll give you 3 tips to make more use of the time do you have, even if that time is sparse.

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We all hit a block at some point in the writing process, even the best of us. Accomplished writers know how to navigate that impasse, to notice when and why they're getting blocked so they can quickly move through it. But so many writers get stuck there and can't move forward.

In this reprise episode from the 2022 vault, I'll give you a pep talk. We'll explore five reasons you may be blocked. I'll share my own struggles with writer's block, along with my strategies to break through it.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 20: Four Ways Your Writing Group is Holding You Back (and What to Look For in Your Next Writing Tribe

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How do you show, don't tell? What's the difference? Are you telling when you think you're showing? Or showing the wrong things? Is there ever a good time to tell?

Show, don't tell is one of the trickiest things to understand, let alone master.

You need both showing and telling. It's just a matter of when and how.

So in this episode, I'll show you the difference between showing and telling, and how to blend both. You'll learn to tell so skillfully, it will feel like showing.

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Writers often feel overwhelmed when it comes to editing. But there's a lot of editing you can do quickly, regardless of where in the process you are.

In this episode, you'll get 5 quick and easy edits you can do on your own to make your story tighter, stronger, and more engaging to readers. As and added boon, it will make the story less overwhelming when it's time for you to revise.

This is all about cutting the excess, then fine-tuning your story right on the sentence level.

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What do you do when writing starts feeling heavy and overwhelming? When it stops being fun?

In this episode, we'll unwrap what causes these feelings, and 3 ways to make it joyful again.

We'll cover:

• The number one thought process that's holding you back, and how it shows up in your writing
• How to reconnect with your personal purpose for writing your story
• Staying present in your writing
• The importance of practice and play, and why your writing can only improve with this approach

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How do you flesh out your characters? How do you go deeper?

Just as we can't know a person in one glance, we can't know the people in our stories fully in our early drafts. We come to know our characters more and more deeply as we continue to write and revise.

In this episode, we'll explore 4 overlooked ways to deepen your characters - common elements most writers miss.

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Writing a book is not a solo endeavor. Writers rely on beta readers to help them fine-tune their manuscript and ensure its success with agents, editors, and ultimately, their ideal audience.

But where do you find beta readers? At what stage of the process do you bring them in? What do you look for? And how do you work with them?

In this episode, we'll cover:

• What beta readers are, and why aspiring writers don't make the best test audience
• At what stage of the writing process to enlist beta readers
• How to research and define your ideal reader
• Where to find beta readers and entice them to work with you
• How to get the right feedback to ensure the best outcome for your manuscript

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