Everything About Writing: Recent Episodes
Kelly Blanchard
This is a podcast that offers tips, guidance, and encouragement to people to wish to begin writing a fiction novel but aren't sure where to start, people who have begun writing but aren't sure what they're doing, or those writers who have been writing for a long time but seem to have lost their way and want to get back into writing.
In a story, there are bound to be characters that the protagonist and antagonist encounter. These are usually side characters who don't get the chance to shine at all, but what if we did put the spotlight on them a bit? What would happen? That's something I explore in this episode!
The antagonist, or the villain, of a story is extremely important because they challenge the protagonist. They stand in the way of everything the protagonist wants. Antagonists can be the best characters in the story and the most fun to write, if only they are given due attention and the chance to flourish. They may surprise you and challenge the readers as well.
Characters are an essential part of the story. They allow us to experience the story through another person. However, there are some characters, like Mary Sues, that you may want to avoid to writing as it may turn readers away.
When writing a book, there are usually male and female characters. Male authors may struggle to write female characters while female authors may not be sure how to write male characters. In this episode, I discuss some tips of how to write characters of the opposite gender of yourself.
Dialogue is very important for stories because it allows the characters to speak. For some people, writing dialogue comes naturally. Other people struggle with it. In this episode, I offer tips about writing dialogue.
Stories have characters and natural to describe them, but how exactly do we do that? That's what I discuss in this episode!
In stories, characters do stuff. Maybe they're running for their lives. Or maybe they're just crossing their arms and glaring. This is 'action description' as it describes the action of a character.. It's an important part of storytelling. In this episode, I discuss the different ways to approach writing action.
Description is important in a book as it shows the readers different things about the story. In today's episode, we're focusing on description that sets the scene and different ways to approach this.
When writing a fictional story, we often need to create a fictional world where that story takes place. It could be set in our own world or someplace entirely different. Regardless, the basic structure of that world needs to be determined and understood in order to write the story. In this episode, I discuss different ways worldbuilding can be approached.
Writing isn't just typing on a keyboard or writing words on a piece of paper. There are many elements of writing that are important to master when crafting an amazing story. I review each of these elements in this episode. In the following episodes, I will be going into detail with each element.
Creating a brand new universe can be a very daunting task, especially for a beginning writer.. If you don't feel confident in your ability to write description, create strong characters, and forge a unique world for your story to live, fan fiction is always an option! Of course, there are some conditions.
As writers, we produce books for people to read. It is also important to take time to read.. This is especially important if you're a beginning writer because it is through reading that you learn what you like or don't like in stories. This episode breaks down how exactly to read in order to become a better writer.
Writing requires sitting down and actually writing, but the mere act of sitting down to write can be a challenge, especially if you're not in the habit of doing so. In this episode, I discuss the benefits of sitting down to write something every day even before you tackle an actual book.
Sometimes life happens, and we have no control over what happens. This can really impact our writing or prevent us from writing altogether. What do we do if that's the case?