Writing Roots

In writing and in tabletop gaming, character choices are essential to plot progression. In either case, whether as a game master or author, it's easy to fall into the pattern of what's known in gaming spaces as "railroading." You know what needs to happen to get to the next point. You know where they should go, so you don't give the characters any other choice. In games, that removes the fun of autonomy from the other players. In writing, it makes for boring stories and flat characters. There's a lot to learn about choices, from the kinds of choices presented to the variety of answers available. Tabletop gaming is a great place to experience that, because any experienced player or GM will have stories of the unexpected answers that people can imagine if they're given a choice.

One of our favorite tools for learning storytelling is through playing tabletop roleplaying games, also known as TTRPGs. Games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder, or Call of Cthulhu are all about working together to tell a single story. Each player has their own character with a unique abilities to contribute to the party. The dungeon/game master (DM or GM) sets up the framework and uses the player's choices to help guide them through the plot. And of course, there's the bit of randomness thrown in through the use of dice. You can learn a lot about how to work together to tell a story through playing TTRPGs. We discuss how in this episode.

Thriller, mystery, and horror are all genres with their own strengths, but they do share a lot in common when it comes to marketing. They're all about exploring the dark, the mysterious, and the terrifying in the world. In this episode, we talk about how to use that knowledge to find the right audience.

While cozy mysteries have been around for a while (just look at shows like Murder, She Wrote), cozy fantasy is a relatively new classification of story that places you in a high fantasy world but with a slower pace. They're the kinds of books you can read while curled up with a blanket and mug of tea while it rains outside. They're the books that feel like warm hugs. But since this genre is new, marketing it and finding the right people to read it can be difficult.

Among new indie authors, the difference between beta readers, ARC readers, and street teams can be confusing. It may seem like these serve largely similar functions. This has never been more apparent than with recent discourse around ARC readers and indie authors treating them like a street team. But each one of these categories has their place in the writing and marketing process. We discuss the differences in this episode.

Stories are one of the most valuable things we can offer to children. In many cases, children learn stories before they learn to speak, walk, run. Children's books are an invaluable resource to help in the process of teaching kids. But getting your book in front of them is difficult. It's all about marketing to the parents. Learn more in this episode about the five Ws of marketing children's books.

Western stories are having a slight resurgence, along with overall historical fiction. In this episode, we discuss the marketing aspects that will help you find those interested in this broad category.

Though often disregarded in the literary world as frivolous, romance books are among the most popular kinds of books read today. If you're writing romance, you have a wide range of audience, all with different interests and niches. But there is also a challenge when it comes to marketing largely due to that stigma from the broader society. In this episode, we discuss who your audience is and how best to capture their attention through your marketing efforts.

Of all the nonfiction books, memoirs are among the most difficult to market and sell. Unless you're a household name already, you have to give people a reason to read your story. That means everything from making sure you're focusing the story around a particular theme to finding the right places to market.

If you're writing an educational or informational nonfiction book, finding your audience can be difficult. It depends on the topic, the writing style, and so much more. But there are a few steps you can take to help narrow it down as part of your marketing efforts. We talk about the who, what, where, when, and why of marketing educational nonfiction in this episode.

When it comes to marketing any book, it's about reaching your audience where they are. For authors of speculative fiction, particularly fantasy, that means finding them often online and enticing them with gorgeous covers and thrilling adventures. Listen for more tips on the five W's of marketing your spec fic books.

We're tackling the topic of marketing once again this month, focusing on how to tailor your efforts depending on the genre of your story. We start this month by talking about the marketing recipe: who, what, where, when, and why. By understanding these five W's, you can adjust your efforts to meet your audience where they are in a way they are most likely to respond.

One piece of advice that you will encounter a lot in your writing journey, especially if you take any formal classes, is to avoid passive voice. It helps the characters take control of what is happening in their story. Active voice is more direct and often more clear. However, we believe passive voice is still a good tool to know, understand, and use under the right circumstances.

There are a lot of people out there giving advice about writing, sharing their opinions and experiences to help you in your journey. Unfortunately, some of that advice is not good. Not that the advice won't help someone, but no piece of advice is right for everyone. But it can be a confusing landscape for newer writers trying to get their start. If you try to listen to every piece of advice, you'll end up confused and bookless. In this episode, our hosts talk about the process of looking at writing advice and identifying signatures that indicate it might just be plain bad advice.

Perhaps it's an overcorrection from the extremely verbose fiction of the 1800s to early 1900s, but there has been a shift in writing advice to avoid detailed descriptions. Authors are constantly told to keep the story moving, only include relevant details, and don't chase away a reader with boring details. You might find yourself asking, "what about scene setting? What about immersing the reader in the world?" That's why we recommend breaking this rule, but in moderation. No one wants the unnecessary details of the Victorian Era, but we also need something to get us into the world you've crafted. Listen to this episode to learn why this rules exists and how to best break it.

One piece of good advice that is often applied too often is to "kill your darlings." It is good to approach the editing process with a sort of ruthlessness that can rival your story's villain, but removing your "darlings" simply because you like it is going to far. Applying this rule to anything you are attached to will remove the joy from the process. So instead of killing it, we recommend you analyze those pieces you enjoy and find a way to make it relevant.

This is another one of those contradictory rules you've probably heard: Only ever use "said" in your dialogue tags. Yet you've also probably heard "said is dead." So which is it? The real answer is found in breaking both of these and finding a balance. While using said is great for its invisible nature, other words can better describe the mood or volume you're trying to convey in fewer words than it would take to describe. As with most writing, it's about finding the right word rather than the one people say you should use, or not use.

When it comes to advice for starting your story, you've probably found lists of what not to do. Sometimes, those lists contradict themselves in ways that make it a confusing process to figure out exactly how a story is supposed to start. That's why we recommend breaking this rule. Before you can do that, you need to know why the rules for starting off a story exist in the first place so you can avoid the problems and make those beginnings intentional and compelling. First aired April 15, 2024.

Word counts are a rule for very good reasons. From audience expectation to publisher requirements, word counts are an established part of writing. For each time you've heard the standard for whatever genre, you've probably thought immediately of several exemptions. So why is there a rule in the first place if exceptions are so common? Listen for more about the rules of word count and how to break them.

If you've heard any writing advice or rules, you've heard "show, don't tell." While this is great advice that can help enrich a story and immerse the reader, creating a book of only "show" becomes tedious for the reader. Sometimes, telling is the right way to go. Like most writing rules, it's about finding the right ways to break it for the best story in the end.

When it comes to rules of writing, the rules regarding prologues is important for getting readers engaged and interested right away. Prologues have the power to either pull a reader into a world or to drive them away from the story entirely. The audience has expectations that you need to understand if you choose to write a prologue. We discuss the rules and how to break them in the best ways for an effective prologue in this episode.

For a podcast all about helping you learn how to write and craft your stories, we're not big fans of rules. Or, perhaps, we just like knowing that most so-called "writing rules" are there to be broken. Throughout April, we will be discussing some of the most common rules and how to best break them in order to tell a better story. In this episode, we talk about why these rules exist, and why they should be followed in most cases, especially if you're starting your journey.

One way to create unique and relatable characters is to make some that are neurodivergent in some way. The more common diagnoses associated with neurodivergent include ADHD and autism, both of which often suffer from extreme stereotyping when portrayed through story. There are plenty of examples of poorly written characters with traits of autism that have done nothing to help stigmas real people have to deal with daily. In this episode, our hosts discuss how to wriite ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia. Most importantly, remember that there is no one single way these present themselves. The best way to write accurate neurodivergent representation is to find a sensitivity reader who can share their experience and give advice from their perspective.

Along with that moment of hope mentioned earlier this month, characters will often have a moment of getting a second wind. First, you have to show them exhausted. Not just tired or sleepy, but exhausted to the point where they want to give up. This can be more than just a physical exhaustion as well. Listen for tips on how to write exhaustion and the burst of energy that can help drive a character beyond what they thought was possible.

Everyone is unique, but portraying it on the page is difficult. Among new writers, we often see the concern that their story - whether plot, characters or world - isn't unique enough. In this episode, we address each of these, including how a character's loneliness can help support being unique within the world.

There will come a time in your story where your characters don't feel up to the task ahead. Though there are a myriad of reason why this could be, the most common is inferiority. They do not feel good enough, strong enough or powerful enough to take on that final task. Inferiority can also be laced into a character from the beginning. Perhaps they've been bullied for a long time, or perhaps they've turned to bullying as an outlet for their own feelings of inferiority. Whatever it is, you can use it in your story to create depth in your characters.

In the darkest times, your characters need something to give them a spark of hope. Something to get them back on their feet and willing to continue the fight. That is why as an author, you need to know how to write the emotions of hope and inspiration. From rallying speeches to the physical appearance of a character gaining hope again, we discuss how to represent these key emotions in your story.

Though not exactly an emotion, hunger does have a huge impact on people as they move through their daily lives. Different levels of hunger come with their own emotions. Food can also play a strong role in building companionship and community. If you're struggling with how to get two characters to work together, food may be your answer. In this episode, our hosts talk about the different emotions that can come with hunger, how food plays a role in society, and how you can use this to your advantage in storytelling.

All characters have secrets. Sometimes it's their true feelings for another character, and sometimes it's about a dark time in their life. You can use the reveal of these secrets through confessions to help drive your story, create twists, and to create tension as you approach the finale. To learn more about how to use confessions and the emotions that go with them, listen to this episode.

Boredom can be a key element for writing your stories, but it is difficult to strike that balance between showing a bored character and making your readers bored. After all, we've said before you should cut scenes where nothing actually happens. So how do you find that balance? How do you use boredom to help move a story forward? Listen to this episode to learn more about the tips and tricks to writing this emotion.

Of all the emotions you could include in your story, grief is one of the most common yet most complex options. Many stories address the idea of grief, whether it is the loss of someone they loved, the loss of a limb, a new medical diagnosis, or a loss of something smaller. No matter what is causing the grief, you should be familiar with what grief is, what it means, and how it can impact daily life. Listen for a deep dive on this emotion and how to include it in your story. First aired March 4, 2024.

This whole month has been about helping you understand that when you become an author, you become a public figure of sorts. That means "being cancelled" is a real possibility if you make the wrong move or say the wrong thing. Aside from that, there is also a long-standing debate in the book world about censorship - particularly book banning. In many ways, these are two sides to the same coin. But what does it mean for you? Leigh and Ley discuss it in this episode. First aired February 29, 2024.

If there is one thing that we collectively stop doing as a bookish community, it should be FOMO marketing and exclusive special editions. Don't get us wrong. We love special editions as much as the next reader. They can be great for authors as a way to draw in readers and really grab attention. Even bonus content can be a great way to keep people engaged. Some publishers, however, have taken it a step further by including exclusive bonus content in only some special editions. Others have preyed on the fear of missing out to push readers into buying more and more editions of the same book. It's all very problematic. So where is that line between a good special edition and compelling bonus content, and predatory marketing tactics?

All advertising is good advertising, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re mean or nice, so long as people know your name, right? Wrong. People may know your name, but you could easily do more damage than good. In this episode, Ley and Leigh discuss how to identify rage bait, what to do when you find it, and why it's generally a bad idea to implement on social media if you're looking to become a career author.

The idea of writing a memoir pushed me way out of my comfort zone. So instead of trying to eat the whole elephant in one sitting, I took small bites. - Rachel Trotter Whether or not you’re writing a memoir or a piece of fiction, it is well known that writers “write what they know.” In many cases, that translates to using real experiences from the author’s own life to help shape or directly inspire certain scenes in their book. For memoir writers, it’s almost all true. But how true should a memoir be? How much can you really pull from real life if you’re writing a piece of fiction? First aired February 22, 2024

Authors often feel pressure to be active on social media, particularly TikTok, in order to get and keep a substantial following. This is largely new territory, and some long-time authors are finding themselves in hot water because they don't understand the spaces they're stepping into. Particularly, they don't understand the support out there for self-published books. When you decide to be an author, you decide to be a public figure of sorts. You will need to interact with other authors for a variety of reasons. As a result, you need to learn how to interact with other authors without making enemies or offending large groups who may choose a different writing path than you. First aired February 19, 2024.

Your readers are the most important piece of your marketing. If they like your book, they will share it with other readers with similar tastes. Like a pyramid scheme, but better. However, they also hold the potential for your failure in their hands. In recent months, several authors have betrayed reader trust and thus ultimately ended their careers. When you approach the reading communities - especially influencers and ARC readers - you need to treat them with respect. You need to understand what they do, why they do it, and that it ultimately serves you to have a good relationship with them. First aired February 15, 2024.

There have been a few authors recently - usually newer authors - who have made a bad name for themselves because of how they interacted with readers. In some cases, it was calling them names for leaving bad reviews. In others, its an unreasonable restriction on the copyright page that completely ignores the legally-established First Sale Doctrine. When you set out to be an author, one thing you need to prepare for is interacting in reading communities. It is the reader's space and you are there as a guest, even among your own fanbase. First aired February 12, 2024.

As authors, it is good to engage in reader spaces, but it doesn't come without dangers. When you are looking to leave reviews, you need to look at your purpose and goal. It's not always appropriate for an author to review another author's work - especially if it's negative. You've likely heard of the author who bombed her career when she review-bombed other authors on Goodreads. This is a prime example of why you need to navigate reviews carefully. First aired February 8, 2024.

Bad behavior from authors has been causing all sorts of drama across the online book community recently, and much of it stems from authors interacting within reader spaces. Reader spaces are places like BookTok or Storygraph, where readers go to review, build community, and share their favorite (and sometimes least favorite) books. For authors, those spaces can serve as a great way to find and build an audience - if you don't ostracize anyone in the process. In this episode, our hosts talk about the benefits and potential pitfalls of being an author in a reader space, and how to best navigate it without ending up infamous in book circles. First aired February 5, 2024.

Rejection is part of writing. It's a simple fact which, unfortunately, not all writers are prepared to face. Throughout February, we will be discussing author conduct using recent examples of authors behaving badly. If you've been following author circles in the last six months, you've likely heard of more than one author criticizing reviewers for leaving bad reviews. In some of the worst cases, those authors ultimately tanked their careers because of how they handled rejection. In this episode, we discuss how to properly handle rejection from readers, contests, agents, and publishers. First aired February 1, 2024.

Part of figuring out yourself as a writer is testing different options along the way. Are you a pantser or plotter or something in between? Do you like doing writing sprints? How much time do you spend on each project in order to get it done? Do you write at scheduled times or as you’re inspired? Walk through with us as we talk about the different options of your journey to figure out what kind of writer you are or want to be. First aired January 29, 2024.

Funding is one of the most precarious parts of publishing your own books. From the editing to cover design to formatting, it can be an expensive process to undertake on your own. One route many authors have found is through crowdfunding campaigns such as Kickstarter. We talked with Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, to talk about how crowdfunding can be a useful tool in getting your books out into the world. First aired January 27, 2024. Resources: Kickstarter Publishing How to Create a Kickstarter Budget How to Create a Publishing Project Page How to Promote Your Kickstarter Project Examples of Kickstarter Publishing Projects Small Genre Skyblue Fraud and Feta Haunted Haven Kit and Basie Anthologies Death in the Mouth Crown Collection Audiobook Wounds of Ash The Lost Cause Stone & Sky Deluxe Editions Dragons Rising The Gilded Blood The Sea at the End of Everything Big Genre Projects Esrahaddon Seasons of Shadowhunters Wraithmarked Other Resources Kickstarter for Authors Facebook Group Writer MBA – Russel Nohelty

Each writing journey is a totally unique experience, and it’s not just because each book is unique. When you start along the path of writing and maybe even publishing a book, you have to understand that no other author’s journey is going to be a perfect fit for you as well. Things would be a lot easier if there was some perfect formula to follow, but there simply isn’t. Instead, writing is about discovering your own path. It may be similar to someone else, even being a parallel at times. But eventually, you will come across a fork that will take you in a branching direction. In this episode, we take a look at why your journey is unique and how understanding what makes it yours will help make the process easier. First aired January 25, 2024.

When you are writing, we always want you to focus on creating the story for yourself. Inevitably, however, there comes a time when you will likely consider sending that story into the world for readers to consume. Making that choice to monetize – whether through direct sales or as a marketing hook for other stories – isn’t always easy. In this episode, we discuss things you should consider when approaching the topic of when and how to monetize your writing. First aired January 22, 2024.

Much of writing is having the right tools in your toolbox. Finding those can be complicated, especially if you’re just getting started. It boils down to being open to learn, to grow and to change your perception of your own writing journey. First aired January 18, 2024.

Writing is not a solitary experience. Though you may be alone while you are actually writing, having a community around you of other writers is essential for the process. A community of writers means you have a support system, encouragement when you need it, and even advice when you run up against a wall with your writing. Discover ways to find a writing community for you, whether in-person or online, by listening to this episode. First aired January 15, 2024.

You might think it strange to hear this advice from a podcast based solely on the idea of giving advice to authors, but this idea to take all advice with a grain of salt is embedded into how we operate. After all, isn’t that what writing selfishly means? When getting advice about writing, you should never apply an “all or none” sort of attitude. Your story is not for everyone, so everyone’s opinion does not actually matter. It’s important to develop the skill of listening and applying appropriately as your story needs. We talk about how to achieve that balance. First aired January 11, 2024.

One of the most common reasons we see for why people don’t finish their books is because they try to edit as they go. While everyone has their own process, trying to edit before the book is done often leads to a never-ending cycle of trying to achieve perfection. In this episode, we discuss the process of writing and publishing, and why it’s important to write now and edit later. First aired January 8, 2024.

The world needs your story. More than anything, we want you to keep pursuing your writing goals, whatever that might be. There are several things along the way that contribute to writers giving up their goals, whether it’s frustration, discouragement, or simply time. In this episode, we talk about how you can overcome some of the most common things that get in the way of writing. First aired January 4, 2024.