The Every Day Novelist

Joe asks:How has living on a homestead affected your writing life? If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently? The post Question 1122 How does the Homestead Affect Writing? appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Brad asks: Do you ever collaborate or bounce ideas with other authors? And any advice on writing a screenplay first, then adapting the story into a novel? Down From TenAnd Then She Was Gone The post Question 1121: Sacred ideas and Adapting from Screenplays appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Caine asks: What is a play? Not the mechanics of how documents are formatted or anything like that, but what Plays are, what they aren’t, and why people would write one. www.storybundle.com/steampunk The post Question 1120: What is a play? appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Roland asks:I want to write short stories to give my readers an extra taste of my characters and side characters, but my mind goes blank trying to come up with a story. I imagine scenes and situations all the time, but they don’t feel very standalone. I also have lots … The post Questions 1119: Filling Up the Corners appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Herb asks: A while back on Twitter you said you give every protagonist a feature you hate and even antagonist one you admire to prevent creating characters who are just your avatar in the story. What is your process for inserting them transparently and selecting the traits? What are some … The post Question 1118: Preventing Author Avatars appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Roland asksI love Star Wars, but in the most narrow way. Episodes IV-VI and a few other things are pretty cool. But, I want new stories, not dozens of prequel movies and series. Why are they afraid to go forward vs living in the Star Wars past? It’s not just … The post Question 1117: Why Have Sequels Gone Out of Fashion? appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Roland asks: A lot of authors say they’re writing a prequel (as a lead magnet) when they haven’t published, or even finished, Book 1 yet. I know what they mean, but if they release ‘the prequel’ first, then isn’t that just Book 1 and not actually a prequel? The HobbitThe … The post Question 1116: Is it a Prequel, or Just Book One? appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Roland asks: Indie authors are obsessed with prequels to their Book Ones but I don’t get it. I almost never want to know MORE about what happened before Book 1. Why have prequels become such a thing these days? Star Wars Prequel TrilogyStar Trek VJob (the Bible)Clash of the Titans … The post Question 1115: Why Are People Writing Prequels? appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Listener Ian has a progress report on doing the Bradbury Challenge for NanoWriMo The post Feedback: The Bradbury Challenge appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Jim asks:Previously I mentioned I had a character who was 10 years old in a first book in a series. I had used him as a reader proxy, who gets into a little trouble but isn’t really a protagonist. How do I take a character who is now 15, grow … The post Questions 1114: Developing a Young Character appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Pablo asks: I have been struggling with a manuscript for a novel since 2015. I begin, stop, give up, take it up again, and all the time it keeps evolving in my head. Now it’s an unfinished chaotic first draft, only 38 pages so far. I’d like to be done … The post Question 1113: Troubles Finishing appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Khellan asks:What happens to the stuff you and Kitty write during nanowrimo? Lost Days, Last Nights The post Question 1112: Products of NaNoWriMo appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Jim asks:I may have asked something like this before, but how does one rekindle the enjoyment of writing? It used to be a thing I did to avoid doing things I didn’t want to do, like finding time in the middle of the work day to sneak in some words, … The post Question 1111: Tough Truths About Loving Writing appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Ed asks:What does it mean for an author to “break faith” with his readers? The Wheel of Time by Robert JordanPoodle Springs by Raymond Chandler and Robert B ParkerVariable Star by Robert A Heinlein and Spider RobinsonThe SilmarillionThe Game of ThronesWriting Excuses podcastA Subversive Masterpiece The post Question 1110: Breaking Faith With Readers appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Jim said:In my last question I talked about re-discovering the sequel I was supposed to be writing after spending 95,000 words on the wrong idea. As I approached the writing of the appropriate sequel, I bogged down early. I think I’ve figured out that the problem was not understanding the … The post Question 1109: Writing the Right Sequel appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Jim asks:A little while back I dove into a sequel featuring my protagonist about fifteen years down the road. It was a big time jump, one I was ready for in the character, but so much more would have occurred, and so much left undone that it was the wrong … The post Question 1108: Writing the Wrong Novel appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Indiana Jim:A couple years ago you did an epic twitter thread on what the Lord of the Rings films got wrong. Could you do an episode on this topic so we can learn how to avoid these pitfalls in characterization? Original twitter thread We Need To Talk About FrodoLord of … The post Question 1107: Film vs. Book: Characterization in Lord of the Rings appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

A guide to surgery for writers and an update from the hosts. Healthy Living Can Be Deadly The Secrets of the Heinlein Juvenile The post Where The Hell Have We Been? appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Quick show announcement – we will be back Monday. The post Quick Announcement appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Jim asks: You’ve spoken before about how ADD and its derivatives can be a boon to the creative person, and the dangers of medicating it out. What are some ways the writer can manage the symptoms while appreciating the benefits? The post Question 1106: Creativity and ADD appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Today we have feedback from Khellan on changing the way you listen and getting out of your own way. archivos The post Question 1105: Changing the Way You Listen appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Joe asks: Lots of young people want to be writers, but don’t have enough life experience to write anything interesting. What ways do you recommend to gain that sort of life experience? Meditations by Marcus AureliusThe Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas TalebThe Notebooks of Lazarus LongCity Slickers The post Question 1104: Building Life Experience appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Indiana Jim asks: Stephen J. Cannell produced some of the best television shows ever, and I know you’re an aficionado. What was his secret sauce for engaging and enduring episodic storytelling? WiseguyRockford FilesThe A TeamSilk StalkingsThe Commish The post Questions 1103: Cannell’s Secret Sauce appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

A handful of announcements, or what we’ve been up to. The Write Stuff50 by 50 ChallengeLost Days, Last Nights announcement postThe Shoes I Wore This Morning, a sample of the Lost Days collectionUnfolding the World substackAnd Then She Was Gone The post Catch-up & Announcements appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .

Joe asks:I’ve been enjoying these short q&a podcasts! Here’s a question for your next one: what is your take on reading as a writer? Do you believe it’s important to read widely in the genre you write, or to avoid your genre and read widely in everything else? I’ve heard … The post Question 1102: Reading as a Writer appeared first on The Every Day Novelist .