Dear Writer: Recent Episodes
Linderson Creations
Dear Writer is a weekly podcast about the experiences of two aspiring authors, from setbacks to successes, and all that goes on in-between.
In her other life, show host Ashley Lindsay is a chemist, working in the fields of sustainability and innovation in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. And her co-host Sarah Anderson is an operating room nurse, residing in Calgary, Canada. But on evenings and weekends, we're bloggers at Linderson Creations. Podcasters on Dear Writer. And first and foremost, aspiring authors.
This week is the final episode of Dear Writer. We talk about the journey we've had as podcasters and writers, and give you our plans for the future. Thanks for being an amazing podcast audience and happy writing!
This week, in our penultimate episode, we look back at some of the best tips, interviews, and exercises we've had on Dear Writer. We share some of our biggest takeaway and offer advice to those just starting on their writing journey and those who are interested in co-writing.
This week, we chat about different promotional strategies authors can use and our experiences using them - what worked for us and what didn't. We discuss the use of author websites, blog posts, newsletters, mailing lists, and a variety of different paid promotions.
Cathryn DeVries is an author based in the Gold Coast, Australia. Collaboratively with her daughter, Cathryn writes epic romantic fantasy. While she and her daughter have yet to embark on their publishing journey, Cathryn is looking forward to this challenge in the near future, and has recently had success with winning the Stuart and Shadow Short Story Prize. Outside of her writing life, Cathryn studied aeronautical engineering and worked in the air force for several years. Now, she is a homeschooling mum to her four children and works a side business of alpha reading, to provide other writers with concrete and actionable feedback on their manuscripts. Her many hobbies also include sewing, cooking, and playing the cello and piano. If you would like to get in touch with Cathryn about her books or alpha reading service, she is available on her website, https://eclectaperennial.com, or @_eclecta_perennial on Instagram, and Eclecta Perennial on Facebook.
This week, we discuss our experiences using social media to market our books. We talk about the platforms we use, why we chose those specific platforms, and give you our overall takeaways from the strategies we have used so far.
Shan Iyer is an author based in Auckland, New Zealand. He writes in several different genres. In non fiction, Shan explores the subject of sociology, while his fiction works include Arabian Science Fantasy and Dystopian Science Fiction. Shan is interested in the ‘what-if’s’— whether that be opening people’s minds to their current world, or examining future possibilities. Outside of his writing life, Shan channels his creativity through music, playing for a Synth Metal band as a guitarist, lyricist, and a keyboardist-in-training.To find more about Shan or purchase his books, go to https://shaniyer.com
This week we continue our discussion about writing romance. We chat about how to make romantic scenes believable and how to tackle romance in YA novels. We also share some of our experiences writing romance clichés and some of the challenges we have when writing romance/romantic scenes.
Sue Carpenter is a writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. Sue writes within a number of different genres, including YA, junior fiction, children’s fiction and she also dabbles in poetry. Sue has received a number of awards. These include: first place in the IWW Short Story competition in Sci-fi/fantasy with her story ‘Blood Protectors’; highly commended in kidslit with her story 'Lavendar Hill'; and 2nd in long fiction under her thriller penname Lee Simpson's 'Switches'. In 2023 she was a runner up in XYZ children's poetry, and in 2022 she was runner up in the National Poetry Day, Poetry at the beach and New Leaf Christmas competition. Outside of her writing life, Sue enjoys spending time at the beach, with her toes in the sand and her thoughts in the clouds.
This week we talk all things romance. We chat about how to decide whether to include romance in your novels, how romance can enhance your characters and plot, and what we think makes a good romance.
On our author spotlight section this month we welcomed Jade du Preez. Jade is a lawyer and author based in Auckland, New Zealand. She won the New Zealand Writers College Short Story Competition in 2013 and the Same Same But Different Short Fiction Contest in 2016. She recently launched her debut novel, 'Outsider' - a story of art, identity, secret diaries and legal anomalies set in Japan and New Zealand.
This week we continue our discussion about editing. We talk about whether or not to pay for proofreading, how we do our developmental edits, and share our tips for editing better (and smarter).
This week in our author spotlight we were pleased to welcome AK Nevermore. AK is an author based in New York. She writes in a number of different genres, including Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Paranormal Erotica. Outside of her writing life, AK is a Jane-of-all-trades. As a home-schooling stay-at-home mom, her primary job is looking after her kids. However, AK is also a certified chef, restores antiques and dabbles in beekeeping. Her resume includes belonging to the Authors Guild, being an RWA Chapter board member, and volunteering for numerous committees. AK’s goals are to write amazing books, and to inspire her kids and others that, just because you hear “no”, you don’t have to listen.
This week we discuss editing (I know it sounds boring but I promise it's not). We go through the three major types of editing, and give you a window into our process to help make it as painless as possible. Also, apologies in advance for the mic issues!
This fortnight we welcomed Jennifer Safrey to the show. Jennifer is a romance author based in Massachusetts. Before her life as an author, Jennifer was a copy editor at the Boston Herald. While she reflects positively on the experience, she needed a way to decompress from hearing about many real-life, tragic stories, and turned to reading. After her work day had ended, she would often be found reading romance fiction until the early hours of the morning. Eventually, Jennifer began writing romance, hoping to provide readers with a blissful escape and a happy ending. Jennifer’s books feature smart, savvy, accomplished heroines, and heroes you love to love.
This week we celebrate the release of our NEW NOVEL The Price of Pandemonium! We give you some exclusive excerpts and introduce you to our cast of characters. We also treat you to a (hilarious) reading from our first draft of The Price of Pandemonium that was written when we were teenagers!
This week, we continue our discussion about starting your writing journey. We chat about social media, when to publish your first book, and we share some of the mistakes we've made and the lessons we've learned so far.
This week, we give you part one of our guide for new authors! We talk about how we got started writing, the reasons why you might decide to start writing, and how to figure out what to write. We also discuss how start writing your first book and how get over your first bout of writers block.
This week we welcomed D.T. Powell onto the show. D.T. is a Christian writer of fantasy and science fiction, who is based in South Carolina. Since an early age she has been a keen reader, and when she was 9 years old God sent a fictional character into her life which led her on a journey of self-discovery, and to ultimately pick up her pen and begin writing. Her hobbies include hanging out with her husband and their three kitties, reading, playing pickleball, listening to music, and imagining scenes to use in future books.
This week, we talk about how to find and hone your author voice. We then delve into the intricacies of character voice and why it is important to find distinct voices to tell your story.
This week we welcomed Perrie Patterson to the author spotlight. While Perrie's five published novels feature romance as the primary genre, she also crosses into other categories within her writing, including historical fiction, young adult, and new adult genres. In her day-to-day life, Perrie and her husband, Jeff, have raised two grown children. Although they have flown the nest, Perrie keeps herself busy. She is a keen volunteer of a number of different societies and groups in her community, and is the host of The Talking Atlanta Podcast. Perrie’s goals are to write intriguing stories—the type of story you can’t put down, ones which seem to take on a life of their own, with stories that crawl off the pages and into your heart.
This episode of Dear Writer, Sarah tackles the topic of the author's writing style and voice, with part one focussing primarily on the author style. With Ashley absent due to illness, Sarah flies solo and attempts to discuss what writing style is and why it is important, the development of our own personal styles, and tips to discover or hone your unique writing style.
This fortnight we welcomed Paulette Stout to our author spotlight segment. Paulette is a contemporary women’s fiction author based in Massachusetts. Paulette was raised by a single dad in Manhattan, in a biracial/interfaith family, and she weaves this experience into her books. Her writing features diverse characters with the backdrop of New York City. Through her novels, Paulette includes a range of social issues that she feels are too often ignored by society. Paulette believes that fiction is a fantastic way to explore the lives and experiences of those different than ourselves.
This week, we continue our discussion about writing action scenes. We chat about the importance of pacing your action scenes, why action scenes are critical to character development, how to balance dialogue with action, and we give you our tips for writing compelling action sequences.
This fortnight on Dear Writer we were delighted to welcome Sue Tidwell. Sue is an award winning memoir author based in Idaho. Her book, Cries of the Savannah, is a passionate travel memoir about her adventure in Africa. The tagline of her book reads, An adventure. An awakening. A journey to understanding African Wildlife Preservation. When not at the keyboard, Sue can be found atop a paddleboard, enjoying the antics of her grandchildren, or engaged in the latest outdoor excursion with her husband.
This week, we talk about action scenes before taking a deep dive into writing fight scenes! We discuss the types of fight scenes, our challenges writing them, and what we think a compelling fight scene should contain.
This week, we continue our chat about writing deep scenes. We discuss the importance of character backstory and internal thoughts in making deep scenes that pack a punch. We talk about how to avoid making your scenes sound cringey and give you some of our tips for writing emotional scenes.
This week we had another of our author spotlight episodes, and we welcomed Dan Rice onto the show. Dan is a young adult urban fantasy author based in the West Coast of the US. Dan’s award winning debut novel, Dragons Walk Among Us, was published in 2021, with the sequel, The Blood of Faeries, released in February earlier this year. Dan hopes to eventually achieve his dream of making a living writing speculative fiction.
This week, we talk about writing the keystone emotional scenes in your novel. We discuss why these scenes are important, how to build up to one of these scenes, and how we draw on our personal experiences to make these scenes feel authentic.
This week on Dear Writer we tried out an exercise that involved choosing a random object and writing from it's point of view. To hear how it all turned out and whether we thought this exercise was helpful for creativity, listen to the full episode.
This week, we continue our discussion on plotting and give you our guide to outlining your novel, from the idea scatter gun to chapter plans. We also talk about the importance of character and subplots when plotting, and give you some handy tips if you are plotting for the first time.
This week we give you Part 1 of our Plotting 101 guide. We talk about how we came to be plotters, how we generate ideas, and how we turn those ideas into a coherent plot. Finally, we discuss the importance of story structure and how to choose the best one for your novel.
This episode of Dear Writer featured another of our author spotlight interviews, and we were happy to welcome AJ Skelly. AJ Skelly is a YA author based in Ohio, with a passion for all things for all things fantasy, medieval, fairy-tale romance, and (most especially) werewolves. As an avid reader and former English teacher, AJ has always been interested in the written word. She lives with her husband and children, who share her love for books. AJ’s goals are to provide positivity in the YA genre, and inspire young readers through unforgettable characters, leaving them with hope and the feeling of satisfaction in a book well-read. We very much enjoyed our chat with AJ, and as always took something new and fresh away from speaking with another writer.
This week on Dear Writer we tried out an exercise from imagine forest.com, which asked us to write a short paragraph about our scariest memory. The exercise sounded simple, but was fraught with challenges. Listen to the episode to hear our (lengthy) paragraphs and to see how it panned out.
This week, we continue our discussion about Historical Fiction. We talk about diversity and inclusivity in Historical fiction, how to create historical characters, and the importance of tone/language when crafting your novel.
This week, we explore the historical fiction genre. We talk about what attracts us to the genre, and discuss the importance of historical accuracy and research in creating a compelling historical fiction novel.
This week on Dear Writer we welcomed Susan L Markloff on the show to talk about her books and writing journey. We greatly enjoyed talking to Susan about the highs and lows of the road so far, including everything from the success of seeing her book in print, and the challenges of marketing and finding a readership.
This week on Dear Writer we attempted Haiku poetry, looking at both the contemporary and traditional forms. We shared our results and our experiences, discussing whether we thought writing Haikus were a good way to develop creativity. The exercise this week was taken from the following website: https://www.writingforward.com/writing_exercises/poetry-writing-exercises/creative-writing-exercises-haiku
This week, we continue our discussion about the YA genre. We explore the importance of character voice, the issue of preachiness in YA novels, and give some tips on writing good YA stories.
This week, we take a closer look at the YA genre of fiction. We discuss the characteristics of YA fiction, and look at the popular sub-genres that are common in YA. We also talk about the different ways tense and point of view can be used to good effect when writing in this genre.
This week we hosted Elizabeth Moore Kraus on our podcast. Elizabeth had recently retired from her job as an English professor and, during covid, compiled her experiences of traveling with her sisters into a memoir, titled "Three Sisters, Three Weeks, Three Countries (Still Talking). It was a pleasure to talk to Elizabeth about her writing and her life.
This week on Dear Writer we tried out another creative exercise. This involved creating a scene between two characters, using only gestures to have a conversation. Listen in to find out how we found the exercise and how we think it could be useful for creativity and writing.
This week, we continue our discussion about creating side characters. We talk about the difference between flat and round characters, and how to use them effectively in your novel. We also share our tips for creating compelling supporting characters.
This week, we discuss the importance of side characters in your novel. We talk about the different archetypes of supporting characters, how you can blend archetypes to make your characters more compelling, and try to iron out how many side characters you should have in your novel.
This week on Dear writer we had another of our author spotlight interviews, and we were excited to host Ashley Kaplan. Ashley is a YA fiction author based in Ontario, Canada. Outside of writing, Ashley is a stay-at-home mom of two toddlers and is enjoying discovering a new chapter of her life as a mom and author. We had an interesting discussion about her writing journey and her hopes for expanding her writing career.
This week on Dear Writer we tried another creative exercise from the Reedsy blog, called 'Room'. The instructions were: using a character from your current WIP, describe the room you are currently located in. We tried out the exercise and discussed how we found the experience. If you are are interested in this exercise and would like further information, visit the reedsy blog here: https://blog.reedsy.com/writing-exercises/setting/room/
This week, we continue our discussion about creating compelling protagonists. We chat about character motivations, how supporting characters can aid your protagonist, and give some handy tips for getting to know your hero better.
This week we discussed how to write compelling protagonists. We talked how character flaws and backstory can make your hero's interesting and realistic.
This week on our author spotlight section we had Rhonda Renee. Rhonda is an elementary school teacher with two grown daughters and she enjoys imparting her passion for books in those around her. Rhonda has written two novels; Antique Dreams and Moments in the Soul of a Man. We enjoyed having Rhonda on the podcast and hearing about her writing journey.
This week on Dear Writer, we tried out doing some personality quizzes as our characters. Our chosen quizzes were a Myers Briggs personality test from 16personalities.com, and Love Languages from 5lovelanguages.com. The results we got were unexpected and interesting. We discussed the way we thought this could be used to help write our novels and increase creativity.
This week, we continue our discussion about writing sequels and series. We give some tips about writing a series, chat about some of the technical aspects of series writing, and talk about how different cover designs can help show your book is part of a series.
On this week's craft episode, we discuss writing series and sequels. We chat about the pros and cons of writing a series versus a standalone novel, and some of the writing elements that need to be considered before embarking on a series.
This week on our Author Spotlight we had Sue Glamuzina and Kynan Wright, the organizers of the Auckland Writers' Anthology, 'Tales of the Domain'. We both partook in this Anthology, and it was interesting to have a behind-the-scenes chat to glean how the anthology was created. Click here --> https://mybook.to/talesofthedomain <-- if you are interested in purchasing the book 'Tales of the Domain' through Amazon, or purchase a copy through Sue and Kynan directly by contacting them through the Auckland Writers Anthology Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/618294412686644
This week on Dear Writer we tried another creative exercise, called "eight" which Ashley found on the Reedsy blog. It involved using the 8th sentence from the 8th chapter of a random fiction book, and using it to create a poem eight lines long which relates to your current work in progress.
This week we continued with our discussion of short fiction, in particular discussing short stories. We talked of our (limited) experience in writing short stories and how we had found the experience coming from a background of primarily novel writing.
This time on Dear Writer we talked about writing short fiction. In part one, we discussed what short fiction is and some of the elements of short fiction that are important in creating an engaging story.
Today on Dear Writer, Sarah talked with Jennifer Chastain, a romance author from a small town in the state of New York, who now lives in North Carolina with her husband. We had a very engaging and inspiring conversation about Jennifer's journey so far, and her upcoming romantic suspense series.
This episode of Dear Writer, we were lucky enough to speak with Lee Murray about writing speculative fiction. Lee is a USA Today bestselling author and a four-time winner of the International Bram Stoker Awards. She writes speculative fiction in a number of different sub-genres, and resides in the beautiful Bay of Plenty district in New Zealand.
On this week's episode of Dear Writer, we continue our discussion about creating tension in fiction. We talk about some the common techniques for making tension and chat about some of our writing tips for enhancing tension in your novel.
On this week's episode, we talk about the importance of creating tension in your novel, what the different types of dramatic tension are, and the distinction between tension and conflict.
This week on our Author Spotlight we had Astrid V.J., a South African fantasy author and USA Today bestseller. In her day life Astrid is a social anthropologist and transformational life coach who lives with her family in Sweden. We had a great chat about how she uses her skills and interests to create inspiring characters who work through personal trials to tell her stories.
This week we tried another creative exercise, and used AI text to image software to generate pictures from our novels. We discussed the experience of doing this and how we think it might be useful to creativity and as writers.
In this week's craft episode we dive into part II of our micro vs macro discussion where we talk about the techniques that can be used to enhance the macro and micro details in your writing.
In this week's craft episode, we discuss the basics of writing micro (details) and writing macro (significant traits) through the lens of character and description.
This week we interviewed Steven J Kolbe about his books and his writing process. We had a great discussion on the importance of portraying mental illness accurately in media and greatly enjoyed talking to Steven about his experiences. If you want to find out more about Steven and his books, visit his website at https://stevenjkolbe.com.
This week for our creative exercise we explored found poetry. We each took an instruction manual and used the text to create our found poems. We discovered this was a very enjoyable exercise. To read our found poems, visit our instagram @lindersoncreations.
On the week's episode of Dear Writer, we continue our discussion about world building. We talk about the important elements of building a realistic world, how much detail you should give to your readers, and some of our hot tips for effective world building.
On this week's episode of Dear Writer, we talk about some of the exciting new changes happening on the podcast before jumping in to a discussion about world building. We cover topics ranging from how world building and setting differ, to why it is important to consider world building in your novel.
This week on the podcast we had a very interesting interview with Joanna Penn about how the ever-evolving world of technology affects our careers as authors. We discussed the advances in artificial intelligence and how it can be used as a writing aid, before moving onto the topic of digital narration and what benefits might be derived from this technology.
This week on our culturing creativity episode, we explored Sestina Poems and discussed how they can contribute to inspiring creativity. For this exercise, we used the instructions on the masterclass website linked below to come up with the Sestina Poem. Adhering to the strict structure was a challenge, but an enjoyable one! Click on the link if you are interested in creating a sestina poem yourself. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/sestina-poem-form
Below, you can find our poems.
Sarah's Poem: A Sestina for Julia
Nothing more fun than play with your favourite person. A toothless grin, your face an open book. Between your gums, pools milk, overflowing down your chin. As we sing your eyes flutter closed.
The parks are closed. Mummy, where can we play? At home, my sweet. Coo and sing to me, with those unpracticed lips. Grin when you make a sound. Bottled milk makes wet rings, resting on your book.
Too tired for a book. Slumbering with the door closed, you won’t stir for milk. Tickling your toes, your nose. I play with your hands. A sleepy grin. But then you wake, and furiously sing.
Beep, beep, beep. The bottle warmer will sing for us. Have patience. Maybe a story? A book? Your frustrated pout is an upside-down grin. Little fists clenched tightly closed, I cannot persuade you to play. You wail, demanding milk.
Now satiated, I watch you snooze. Creamy milk- colored skin. How your beauty does sing! Eyelashes longer than mine, they play across rosy cheeks. So many things my book never told me. I press it closed, my chest swelling. If only hearts could grin.
Sometimes it grows, your grin. Mouth full with a bottle of milk. Dimples denting, and lips barely closed around the nipple. Just wait until you can sing— why waste a moment with a book, when the world is ready to play?
You make my world sing, and I could fill a book about how prettily you play.
Ashley's Poem: Reconnection
These days, old friends are a memory. Of a time we once connected. Cried together, and laughed. A relic of the past, Where days last only a moment. Gone in no time.
Other days, old friends are frozen in time. A picture of a memory. A moment. Two souls connected By a shared history, past. One where we laughed.
Like that day we laughed In the bar, that one time. Sharing stories past, And present. A memory, Where we connected, For only a moment.
Yesterday, I remembered you for a moment. And I laughed, Like we used to when we connected. I thought back in time To a memory Of our past.
Perhaps I should reach into the past And take a moment. To pull out a memory, Of us when we laughed. Together. Bring back a time When we could be connected.
Today, again, we connected. And it was like the past Never faded with time. We talked for a moment, Reminisced, and laughed. To make a new memory.
Tomorrow I will remember that moment. That time we laughed. The memory.
This week we discuss the importance of having a diverse cast of characters in your novel. We chat about how we feel diversity in fiction has changed over the past ten years, how we feel we have changed as writers during this time, and some tips for creating authentic characters.
In this month's Talking Shop episode, Sarah reviewed Episode 7 and 8 from the lecture series Writing Great Fiction - The Mechanics of Dialogue and Integrating Dialogue into Narrative. Ashley reviewed chapter four of The Writing Experiment – Strategies for Innovative Creative Writing By Hazel Smith which was about using already existing texts to inspire new literature.
This week we talked to Melissa Guyan about her writing journey. Melissa is a New Zealand based indie author. Her work spans a number of subgenres in romantic fiction, with a different penname for each. In YA romance, she goes by Jordan Ford, in romantic suspense she is Melissa Pearl, and in romantic comedy she is Melody Sweet. She also cowrites Christian small town romance under the penname Sophia Quinn. Melissa has published over 80 novels and owns a small press company, Forever Love Publishing.
At the end of the show, Melissa discussed her reading challenge. If you would like to take part in this, follow the link here: www.foreverlovepublishing.com/reading-challenge
On this culturing creativity episode, we discussed the power of saying 'no'. Saying no can be a difficult feat to master, yet without appropriate boundaries it can be easy to fall victim to burnout. We talked about whether we find it hard to say no, and some tips and thoughts on how to ease the guilt and free up writing time.
This week, we discuss how to edit the first draft of your novel. Should you let your manuscript rest or start editing immediately? Then, we share our editing checklists and some tips about dealing with Beta Reader feedback.
In this month's Talking Shop episode, Sarah reviewed the second chapter of The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maas which explained the nuances of showing vs telling. Ashley reviewed chapter two of a book called The Writing Experiment – Strategies for Innovative Creative Writing By Hazel Smith which demonstrated a writing technique based on experimenting with different genres.
On our Author Spotlight segment this month, we chatted with Beth D. Carter. Beth is a US based author who writes romance novels about ordinary girls in extraordinary situations. She has been published for thirteen years and released 100+ books in that time. We had a really interesting conversation about the twists and turns in her publishing journey, and she shared some invaluable writing advice and editing tips.
On this Culturing Creativity episode, we try our hand at making mood boards for some of the books in our Black Skies Series and discuss how these mood board can help inspire creative thinking. If you would like to create your own mood board, we suggest using milanote at https://milanote.com for an easy online platform.
On this craft episode of Dear Writer, we discussed the importance of story structure when writing your novel, and explored some of the common elements found in different types of narrative structure.
In this episode, Sarah reviewed the first chapter of Crafting Novels & Short Stories: The Complete Guide to Writing Great Fiction by Writer's Digest Books (Editor) which gave handy tips about how to organize your writing life. Ashley explored an article called Fantasy World Building: The Power of Detail by C.S. Pacat from the the journal Writing Queensland which looked at how the addition of small details to your setting can make your novels feel more real.
On our Author Spotlight segment this month we chatted with M.K. Stabley. She is a US based author who writes cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist. She has two series, The Eva St. Claire Mysteries and The Alexa Vandagau Mysteries. The next novel in her Eva St. Claire Series will be released in August. When she's not writing, she's talking about writing on her podcast, The Talking Book Podcast. We had an engaging conversation about her writing process, her inspiration, and her writing journey so far.
On this culturing creativity episode, we talked all about developing a healthy writing mindset. We explored what a 'writing mindset' is, why it's so important for your writing, and how to work out an approach to writing that is suited to your individual circumstances.
This craft episode was devoted to the art of creating emotion in your characters and in drawing out emotion from your readers. We discussed tips and tricks we use to engage readers by creating realistic emotion-driven scenes, and why the reader's emotional connection to the characters is important.
On our author spotlight segment this month we had a wonderful chat with Julie Higgins. Julie is a mystery/thriller writer based in the UK. Her debut novel, Finding Ruby, was released in 2019. The sequel, A Long Time Burning, is a Christmas mystery that will be released near the end of this year. We had an engaging conversation with Julie about the process of writing mystery novels, her inspiration, and her writing journey so far.
On this craft episode of Dear Writer, we discussed how to weave backstory into your novel, and why it is important, especially when it comes to the craft of character and relating to your readers.
We introduced two more writing resources on this talking shop episode. Though both articles we chose were more directed at instructors of creative writing classes, they were enlightening and thought-provoking reads. Sarah explored an article called "Writing Here, Writing Now; Making Sense of It All: Examining Cultural and Historical Context in the Introductory Creative Writing Class", by Oindrila Mukherjee. Ashley examined an article called "Before the First Draft: Cultivating Inspiration and Creative Insight in the Classroom", by Brandi Reissenweber.
You can find both articles here:
https://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1261&context=jcws
https://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=jcws
On our author spotlight this month we were delighted to talk to Melissa McTernan. Melissa is a paranormal/fantasy romance author based in New York. She has three novellas published by small presses: Missing Maren, Through the Fairy Ring, and Secret Family Recipes for Love and Butter Cookies. Her new self-published book, Bewitched By My Best Friend came out last month. We had an inspiring conversation with Melissa about her books, her writing process, and her road thus far.
On another culturing creativity episode, we immersed ourselves once again in genre. But this time, we focussed on how to find the genre that suits you best. To some, it seems like an obvious answer. But we discussed how this affects your writing and your confidence, particularly as a new writer if you're not sure where to start.
On this craft episode of Dear Writer, we talk about how to craft the perfect villain, and the many reasons why the villain is so central to the plot of your novel.
On this talking shop episode, we focussed on two academic articles. Sarah discussed an article titled, "'I've Learned I Need to Treat My Characters Like People': Varieties of Agency and Interaction in Writers' Experiences of Their Characters' Voices", by John Foxwell, Ben Alderson-Day, Charles Fernyhough, and Angela Woods. Ashley reviewed an article called "Hideous Progeny - Examining how the failings of science and technology have informed a range of dystopian texts", by Paul Taylor-McCartney.
You can find both articles here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810019304155
https://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/current-wip-edition-2/articles/x16-hideous-progeny-by-paul-taylor-mccartney.html
We ventured into the realms of Academia once more to bring you two new and interesting resources about writing. Sarah explored ideation, and the processes of the brain when an idea is sparked, in the article "You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" by Arne Dietrich. Ashley reviewed "Malcolm Cowley on the Four Stages of Writing: Lessons from the First Five Years of The Paris Review" by Maria Papova.
You can find both articles here:
http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue13/Dietrich.pdf https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/04/05/malcolm-cowley-four-stages-of-writing-paris-review/
On this culturing creativity episode of Dear Writer we tried out and discussed a writing exercise called, "Exploding A Moment". This wonderful exercise helps with developing detailed description in your creative writing. You can find instructions on how to do this exercise here:
https://wr.english.fsu.edu/College-Composition/The-Inkwell/Details-and-Descriptions#Exploding%20a%20Moment:%20Developing%20Details
On this special author spotlight episode, we had four of our previous guests back to talk about the progress they've made since we first interviewed them. This author spotlight featured Dan Saunders, M.H. Woodscourt, Kaitlyn Legaspi and Emé Savage in four fifteen-minute mini interviews. Keep an ear out for more Returnees later this year.
On this Culturing Creativity episode we experimented with Blackout Poetry. We discussed what it is, how to create it and how we found the experience.
On this craft episode of Dear Writer, we talked about how to create realistic relationships between characters, and why this aspect of character creation is important.
On this talking shop episode, Sarah reviewed an inspiring poetry book, 'Newspaper Blackout' by Austin Kleon, which described and demonstrated the unique form of blackout poetry. Ashley discussed an article by the name of 'Summoning Ghosts and Releasing Angels: Challenging the Tyranny of the Blank Page' by Amina Alyal and Oz Hardwick. You can find the article here: https://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/current-wip-edition-2/articles/summoning-ghosts-and-releasing-angels-challenging-the-tyranny-of-the-blank-page.html
We welcomed Kendall Coppola to the author spotlight this month. Kendall Coppola is a New Zealand author, based in Auckland. He loves creative projects; writing novels and screenplays, videography, and photography. His debut book, 'Two Years till Thursday: true stories from a truly hopeless romantic', came out in December 2021. When he isn’t writing or working on creative projects, Kendall loves to play piano, skateboard and watch films.
This week we threw ourselves headfirst into the topic of self-doubt and Imposter Syndrome. In this episode, we expose our own insecurities and talk about how to manage these feelings as a writer and an author. We also discussed our separate working lives and the lessons we've learned through our day jobs.
On Dear Writer this week we took on the task of defining genre—what it is and how it's useful to writers. We looked at the importance of genre from both the reader and the writer experience. Knowing the function of genre can help you to craft and sell a mesmerizing story.
On our talking shop episode this week, we have two new resources to review. Sarah talked about another grammar book: 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves' by Lynne Truss. Ashley's choice for this month was a book called 'Writing for Emotional Impact' by Karl Iglesias.
On this author spotlight episode, it was a pleasure to welcome Kat Winters onto the show, to talk about her writing experiences. Kat is an American writer born and raised in California, and writes to give people hope, featuring diversity and inclusivity in her novels. We immensely enjoyed talking to Kat and learning about her book, 'Free Me.'
Our topic for this week in our 'Culturing Creativity' space was accepting feedback. As a writer, you want to improve and be the best you can be. But sometimes feedback came come across in a negative frame that causes us to put up our defenses. So how do you cope with feedback? Listen to hear our perspective.
On another of hour craft episodes, we had a dialogue about dialogue, and included many tips on both style and grammar which we find improve dialogue and take it to the next level. Surprisingly, 'dialogue' doesn't refer only to a character's speech, but also includes action sentences, dialogue tags (otherwise known as attributions), and the emotional state and thoughts of the character before, during and after a portion of speech.
On this talking shop episode, Sarah discussed a filmed lecture series she discovered through her public library, called 'Writing Great Fiction: Story-telling Tips and Techniques'. This is a part of a wider series called 'The Great Courses.' Sarah focussed primarily on reviewing episode 1, which was about starting the writing process. Ashley turned back to books and reviewed 'Pep Talks for Writers' by Grant Faulkner, which had a wide range of mini-chapters that each touch on a different aspect of the creative process.
For this week's episode we chatted with K S Gray about their book, Color Blinded, a fictional retelling of the events and political climate that surrounded the outbreak of COVID-19. We greatly enjoyed having K S Gray on the show and discussing his process and the challenges he faced in writing and publishing this novel.
This week on our Culturing Creativity series, we explored the uses of modern technology and creativity to determine whether it is a help or hindrance on the way to becoming a published author. We discussed how we employ technology and how (for the most part) we'd be lost without it!
For this episode we talked about subplots, and how they both enhance and support your over-arching plot line. We discuss the functions of subplots, different types of subplots, and what to avoid when weaving them into your novel.
This week on Dear Writer, we shared some more resources that we've found useful. Sarah discussed 'Save the Cat Writes a Novel' by Jessica Brody, a version of Blake Snyder's original 'Save the Cat' series for screenwriters which Jessica Brody adapted for novelists. Ashley reviewed an article called 'The Rise of Strong Female Characters in YA Fantasy' by Lidia Elsdon in theJournal YA Hotline, 2020, Issue #112, Feminism and Fantasy. You can find the full article here: https://ojs.library.dal.ca/YAHS/article/view/10294
This week we interviewed Lynne Podrat. Lynne is an educator, dog trainer and author. She writes poetry, children’s books, and has a memoir out called, Listen to Me: How my Down Syndrome Brother Saved my Life. In her spare time, she does Dragon boating. We greatly enjoyed our talk with Lynne, and were in awe of her openness in sharing her unique and touching journey to becoming a writer.
This week we tried a writing exercise, titled the 'Stain Glass Poem'. This involved answering a number of questions and then reorganizing the answers into a poem of sorts. We did the exercise and talked about how it worked for us and how we think it helps to culture creativity. The exercise came from the article: Enhancing the group experience: Creative writing exercise by Kathie Wenz and J. Jeffries McWhirter (1990) in the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 15:1, p37-42.
Last time in our long monthly episode we discussed writing beginnings. We followed that up in this month's main episode by talking about endings. We were surprised to find we did not agree on everything and had different viewpoints, but each of our opinions on endings contributed to making an interesting episode (and hopefully, interesting books!).
We had some interesting discussions about writing creating empathy in this talking shop episode. Sarah focussed on a scientific article which revealed some of the benefits of reading fiction, while Ashley presented an article about the differences between first and third person when it comes to evoking empathy in your readers.
On this author spotlight episode, we had Douglas W.T. Smith with us to talk about his recently published novella, Shadow of the Wicked, and his soon to be published novel, To Wield The Stars. Douglas has also had a variety of short stories published in magazines and was shortlisted in 2015 for a historical fiction award and in the same year for a science fiction award. We thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Douglas about his writing journey and the road so far.
Inspired by our last culturing creativity episode on games, we decided to focus on one game in particular and try it out to see how it works. The story cubes are a great writing prompt to encourage creative writing and to make connections between different concepts. Listen in to hear more of our experience.
This week for our main episode on Dear Writer, we explored beginnings. We focused on the first sentence, the first paragraph, the first chapter, the introduction of your protagonist, and even went as far to talk about how you might plan to write the first book of a series.
This week on our talking shop episode, Sarah discussed a book she read by John Cleese, titled "Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide". Ashley was interested in a paper about historical fiction after immersing herself in research for our book. She discusses the paper "A True Story: Defining Accuracy and Authenticity in Historical Fiction" written by Laura Saxton.
Today on our author spotlight we had Jonathan Reddoch and Elizabeth Suggs from Collective Tales Publishing. Jonathan and Elizabeth both have a passion for writing and are focused on writing and publishing speculative, horror and science fiction stories. Their first anthology, Collective Darkness, was the #1 Amazon bestseller for new horror anthologies. We talked to Elizabeth and Jonathan about their journey and what led them to enter the world of publishing.
On this Culturing Creativity episode, we geeked out over games and discussed how different games may enhance your creativity, and can sharpen skills that are useful in your writing. Who knew that playing games could have such great perks?
This week we had our promo episode for When the Rain Falls, our first novel which is due to release in October. Listen in to hear all about our characters and be the first to hear the book's blurb. We also recapped old times, which included reading terrible excerpts from the original version of the book we wrote fifteen years ago.
On this talking shop episode, Sarah reviewed a book she believes every writer should have in their toolkit: 'The Emotion Thesaurus' by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. Ashley reviewed a chapter on dystopian fiction in the academic book, 'Beyond the Blockbusters: Themes and Trends in Young Adult Fiction' by Rebekah Fitzsimmons and Casey Alane Wilson.
In our author spotlight this week is Kira Leigh. We had a scintillating conversation with Kira about their book series, Constelis Voss, and their process as an author. Our discussion ended up diving deep beneath the surface. We explored the topic of writing diverse characters, and discussed how important it is to ask hard questions about life and society while creating your work.
On this culturing creativity episode, we discussed how where and when we write can effect the productivity, and—in some cases—the quality of our writing. This discussion included a very amusing breakdown of barriers we have found with writing both in cafes and outdoors. We talked about our day to day writing life, and incorporating writing into our vacations.
On our 40th episode of Dear Writer, we take a look at the process of self-publishing, and explain what that's looked like for us so far. We discuss the pros and cons of self publishing, and our experience as newcomers to the trade.
Our talking shop episode this week gifted us with another of Ashley's mini-lectures, where she explained a useful article she read on the young adult dystopian genre: A Creative Exploration and Analysis of Contemporary Dystopian Fiction. Munira Ezzi. Writing in Practice. Volume 4, 2018. Sarah, meanwhile, was struggling to find time. So, in an effort to find a useful resource to discuss, she headed over to YouTube and found a useful channel, 'Outstanding Screenplays' that had snippets of interviews from famous authors and screenwriters which she found inspiring. In our leisure reading, Ashley discussed a book, 'The Chocolate War' by Robert Cormier, and Sarah reviewed 'When We Were Lost' by Kevin Wignall.
This author spotlight episode, we welcomed on the show C.M. Healy. C.M. is an author of children's books ranging from early readers to poetry collections, and he also has published two YA Fantasy novels in his 'Beyond the After' series. We greatly enjoyed talking to C.M. about his books and his process.
On this culturing creativity episode, we explored the benefits of cowriting, and discussed our experience as coauthors. We talked about the challenges involved, and how we overcome them.
This episode of Dear Writer, we begin a three part series on the journey so far, beginning with our attempts to be traditionally published. We discussed the reasons why traditional publishing can be attractive, and our personal reasons for pursuing this pathway.
We reviewed two great resources on this talking shop episode. Sarah chose The Magic Words: Writing great books for children and young adults by Cheryl B. Klein, and Ashley took a new approach and discussed an article she'd read: World Line and Narrative Realism. Julia J.C. Blau and Amy Rose Capetta. Journal of Creative Writing Studies. Vol. 5. 2020. Article 9.
This week on Dear Writer we had Kaitlyn Legaspi in the author spotlight. Kaitlyn writes young adult fantasy and has published four books, three as part of her 'Dark Irregular' Trilogy, and the first of her 'Cardholder' series. It was great to chat with Kaitlyn about her experience and her process, and we enjoyed learning all about her books.
This week for our culturing creativity episode, we discussed the effect clutter has on creativity: good, bad or neither? We talked about our personal habits, and whether we think these habits make us more or less productive.
On this month's hour long episode, we deep-dived into theme and began threshing out what it really is and why it's important. We talked about how we use theme and ways to deepen the theme without coming off as 'preachy'.
In this talking shop episode, we discuss two of the writing tools that have been helpful to us in our writing. This month, Ashley’s choice was Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon, and Sarah attempted to unravel some of the many benefits of reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.
For their leisure reading this month, Sarah has been catching up with Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike novels, finishing the fourth in the series, Lethal White, and beginning the fifth, Troubled Blood. Ashley got a great recommendation from a friend and has started a book called Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh.
In the author spotlight this week, we had an enlightening chat with Patrick D. Kaiser about his verse novels. Patrick has written several poetry collections, as well as some action-packed verse thrillers. The second book of the Death-Bringer Chronicles, Sight, is now available on amazon for purchase. Patrick is kindly donating 50% of the proceeds from this book to help out a friend who is undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. To aid in this worthy cause, visit his author page on Amazon.
In this culturing creativity episode of Dear Writer, we discussed the benefits of music in creating inspiration. This included both inspiration for plot events and character development within your book, but also in encouraging the muse to roll up his or her sleeves and get down to business!
In another of our hour-long episodes of the podcast, we discussed the importance of setting to a novel, including how setting can add to different aspects of the novel and how it can be used to deepen the readers understanding of both the external plot and the character’s inner struggles.
In this talking shop episode, we reviewed two different writing tools. Ashley’s choice this month was The Elements of Style (4th Edition) by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White, and Sarah reviewed the Story Grid, with the book being written by Shawn Coyne, and the accompanying podcast produced by Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl. In our leisure reading time, Sarah talked about Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, and Ashley discussed The King Must Die by Mary Renault.
On our fifth author spotlight episode, we have Keith R. Fentonmiller. Keith works for the Federal Trade Comission as an attorney by day. In his spare time, he writes historical fantasy novels. The first novel of his series, Fate Accompli, is due to be published on May 18th by Ellysian Press. He is also the author of Kasper Mützenmacher’s Cursed Hat, which was previously published by Curiosity Quills. This novel is currently under revision and will become the sequel to Fate Accompli so definitely keep an eye out for its rerelease later! You can contact Keith at his website, on Instagram or Facebook, or learn more about him and his books at Ellysian Press.
Find links for the resources and show notes at our website, www.lindersoncreations.com
In this culturing creativity episode, we explore procrastination. Why writers procrastinate, our own personal foibles and flaws, and what you can do to stop procrastinating and start writing.
On our hour-long episode this month we talked about researching; why it's important for writers to research, how we do it, and some tips and tricks we use to make it more bearable, and sometimes (dare we say it?) fun.
In one of Ashley's researching tips, she mentioned the use of a reference manager. For those of you who are interested in using this method, she recommended Mendeley, which you can download free from https://www.mendeley.com/
On our talking shop episode this week, Ashley talks about an amusing grammar book titled 'Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English' by Patricia T O'Connor. And Sarah reviewed a book on horror writing called 'Writing in the Dark' by Tim Waggoner.
Also, as always listen in for the novels we're reading this month!
On our author spotlight this week, we had a great talk with Emé Savage about her books. Emé writes soulful fantasy with mysticism, magic and mayhem. She has published two books, with a third soon on the way.
Note: We did have some minor technical difficulties with this podcast. Please note at 14.30 minutes, it should say "And so the Gidat, the lady, is sent by the Creator [to take T’Gan, a boy] out of the hands of the King" - unfortunately the audio cut out a short piece. A transcript for every episode is always available on www.lindersoncreations.com to supplement the audio.
We experimented with freefall (aka free writing) on Dear Writer this week, which proved an interesting and useful tool for developing creativity. Listen in to see how it went.
To celebrate the 20th episode of Dear Writer, this week we have a... um... treat? We're sharing with you all some absolutely terrible poetry which hopefully you will enjoy at our expense. If you have never heard someone die laughing in the middle of a poetry slam, this episode is for you.
This week on Dear Writer we explored several writing resources, and we both chose other podcasts to review and discuss. Sarah talked about The Creative Penn Podcast, hosted by Joanna Penn, while Ashley's choice for the month was also a podcast, The Career Author Podcast, hosted by Zach Bohannon and J. Thorn.
On our author spotlight interview this month, we have M.H. Woodscourt, who has written a number of novels in the realms of science fiction and high fantasy. We had a great talk that encompassed Melissa's sources of inspiration, sticking points, and her experience of the indie-publishing world.
This week we talk about stumbling blocks: places where no matter how hard you try, it seems impossible to break through, especially in those early chapters. Listen in to find out about our personal struggles, why we think they exist, and what we do about them.
In our second Talking Shop episode, we talk about two of the writing resources we've found helpful on our journey.
Sarah discusses The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Sell Your Work, by the editors of Writer's Digest. The book is exactly what it says, and extremely comprehensive, with bonus interviews by some big name authors.
Ashley turns to podcasts and discusses one podcast she found extremely helpful to developing the opening lines and paragraphs of our books. The podcast, Helping Writers Become Authors, is hosted by K.M. Weiland and has many useful hints.
Also keep listening to hear what novels we're currently reading.
We're back this week with another author spotlight episode, this time featuring Jamez Holmes.
We had a fascinating discussion with Jamez about his process for writing, and how other media such as video games and film influence his work. Jamez is lucky enough to focus on his writing full time, and is working on his first novel.
Welcome to the second episode of our miniseries, Culturing Creativity. Ever wondered what a typical day looks like for us? Listen in to find out. We have a chat about how we structure our days, and following that discuss how we manage to fit everything into our busy schedules. We don't always succeed. And, with that comes the acceptance that sometimes, you really can't do everything. But we do our best, every day, to culture the creativity in our lives.
After an exciting first few weeks of introducing each of our miniseries, we have now rolled back around to our monthly hour-long episode.
This time, we are talking about perspective, and we dive into the pros and cons of first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient. Tune in to hear our thoughts and our experience of using each perspective in our writing.
As always, our mistakes of the month are on (or off?) point. Stay tuned to the end to hear the ridiculous mistakes we pick up when reading over our work.
In the first of our 'talking shop' miniseries, we have a chat about two books we've found useful to develop our writing. Sarah's pick this month was Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer. And Ashley's choice was a compilation of interviews, titled Writers on Writing, and edited by James Roberts, Barry Mitchell, and Roger Zubrinich. Listen in to hear all about these useful resources, and after we discuss what books we're reading 'for fun' this month (although, it's all fun, isn't it?).
For our inaugural author spotlight, we have Dan Saunders as our guest, who is a new author of his novel Spice Traders, which is coming out in March 2021. We had a great talk with him about his personal challenges, and his thoughts on becoming an author. He also talks about resources he uses, such as the famed 'On Writing' by Stephen King. Listen in to find out more.
Welcome to the first episode of our miniseries, Culturing Creativity.
In this episode, we have a good chat about the way nature influences our writing, and techniques we use to nurture our creativity. Even when it's literally a blizzard outside, nature can still be a presence in our creative lives and inspire our writing.
Listen in for tips on how you might include nature in your own life to grow your creativity.
This month we relax into a more casual discussion of our favorite excerpts and try to pinpoint what was done well in each. We include several excerpts from our our first novel, When the Rain Falls, and discuss techniques we used to bring atmosphere and tension into our novel.
We also talk about our goals for 2021, and the years beyond, discussing where we see our writing life headed and sharing some exciting news about the podcast!
The seventh episode of Dear Writer explores some misconceptions about both medicine and science, and how not to annoy your readers! We talk about the types and timings of injuries, and how to avoid common pitfalls. If you're of the squeamish variety, we do (lightly) gloss the surface of anatomy and physiology, and we recognize that to some people, this topic might be stomach turning! But, don't worry, we let you know when to click the fast forward, and here's the timestamp for the 'it's all safe now' point: 34:12
Wow, what a great discussion we had this month. We talked about the ins and outs of creating believable characters. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!
Our 'mistakes of the month' were as entertaining as ever, and a special thanks to one of our listeners who contacted us with a side-splitting word mix-up.
On this episode, we delve into plot problems and how to solve them, whether it be how to get from point to point in your outline, or how to rework something that's already been written. And don't forget to stay tuned for our mistakes of the month!
This month, we welcome Dr. Melodie Lindsay to the show, who is a professional proof-reader and the founder of her company, Doclins. We delve into the dangers of over-editing, what it is, and how to stop it. For proof-reading for your thesis or manuscript, head over to www.doclins.com
This month, Ashley and Sarah take a look at whether there is such a thing as too much research before starting a novel. How do you know when to stop? How do you research? What do you need to know? These are all questions the aspiring writer must face, at some point or another.
On the second episode of Dear Writer, we explore the question, 'Do you truly need life experience to write well?'
The approach we took to this was primarily geared towards young writers vs older writers. We delve into our memories of writing as teens, making comparisons and applying knowledge we've learned on the way to answer the question.
And stay tuned to listen to our 'mistakes of the month,' where we divulge some of our weird and wonderful mistakes to listeners.
Have you ever thought about collaborative writing? In this interview, Dan Tinaburri talks with aspiring authors, Sarah Anderson and Ashley Lindsay about the pros and cons of collaborative writing, and how they manage it.