The Wax Quill Podcast

You want to write a book but aren't sure how to start? Characters, romance, love triangles, mystery, heists--there are so many options! The trick is to choose one that interests you enough to pull you through the ENTIRE first draft. If you're anything like me and Lizette, you get easily distracted and leave your writing project after 2 chapters to start a new story. I hate to break it to y...

Book Bootcamp: get your book idea set on paper, plotted, and drafted by the end of the year! https://waxquillpodcast.com/book-bootcamp/ Lizette is passionate about many things, and filling her coloring books is high on the list. From gel crayons, colored pencils, chalk, and pastels, Liz and I discuss our drawings, our artistic weaknesses, and our obsessions with vibrant hues. If you're an arti...

This is my interview with writer Bud Bellflower, an aspiring writer of sci-fi who is also newly retired from his career in wrestling. Bud and I talk about 6 mistakes we've both made in our writing journey, including how to choose beta readers, what subjects you should and shouldn't write about based on your past and experiences, and even the delecate operation of adding worldbuilding to yo...

If you've been wondering how to illustrate your own book or even asking yourself what is the process for finding a book illustrator, this is the episode for you. Here I interview Kyannah Durocher, professional illustrator, hobby writer, and advocate for clean fiction. She's not ashamed of her Christian beliefs and also gives some inspiring advice for how to invoke God's blessing upon t...

If you're on track to self-publish or even traditionally publish your book, you should hire an editor to check it over first. Grammar issues, punctuation errors, plot holes, character inconsistencies, all of these can be fixed and NEED to be fixed if you're going to send your work into the world. But where do you find a trustworthy editor? You don't want to send your work to someone wh...

Writers who want to become authors can get caught up with the nitty gritty things. Sometimes you have to let yourself have fun! The books shown in this episode do just that, magnifying the power of the words through magnificent illustrations. Whether you're planning on illustrating your book or not, these are key insights to keep in mind if your want your picture book to be unforgettable.

Many people want to become authors and they try to do things like writing sprints, writing courses, Nanowrimo, etc, thinking they'll finish their books and get published. This is great, but these 10 things often stop potential authors in their tracks. If you are making these mistakes, STOP IT! Instead, employ the 4 tips that I include at the end. Now stop reading this description, watch the vi...

Willa Layne, the author of Silver Lies and the upcoming Golden Secrets joins me in this interview where we discuss self-doubt and imposter syndrome, how to know your book is ready to be seen by beta readers, and the difference between studying writing and actually creating stories on paper. If you want to write a book but feel under-qualified, this episode is for you. Willa has young kids and a jo...

Author Jalen Tellis doesn't hold back when it comes to saying what's what. With experience as a film director and now a published author, he shares his secrets for writing fiction that grabs ahold of his readers and pulls them on a journey full of suspense. Jalen does his best to be sure his first drafts are as good as possible, which is the opposite of my rule to charge through a first dr...

Jalen Tellis stories will send a shiver up your spine, and if you're like me, his opinions about how a first draft should be may do the same. The only author to successfully convince me to take a break from generating first drafts and move on to actually edit one of my stories, Jalen has some great advice to share with writers like me. His enthusiasm and perspective will make your fingers itch...

How do you come up with unique and consistent character names? How do you make your villains relatable? How do you know if you're burnt out or if you're just being lazy? How do you make sure your characters are right for your plot? How do you know if your book idea is original enough for you to write it? This episode with M.E. Hansen is stuffed with advice for all of these questions. Join...

Burnout and writer's block are often romanticized in the art world. I'll be honest, I've outlined a book about a writer who goes on vacation from writing and ends up in a terrible situation, but that's fiction. M.E. talks about the reality of burnout and how writers and authors can get past it. Are you tired of writing your book? Struggling to churn out the next draft? You might be...

M. E. Hansen is a self-published thriller author of 8 books! In this interview, we discuss how she started her writing journey, the perks of self-publishing, how to write your book as a busy parent when you have small children running around, and how to send your book out to beta readers. The topic of giving your book out for critique is particulary highlighted. M. E. has a very methodical, measur...

Judith, a wonderful actress and mother, knows what is to juggle art and life. She's one of the most hilarious people I know, and I thoroughly enjoyed filming this podcast episode with her. This episode examines some of her experiences in the acting world, which I think is relevant because acting is intimately connected to storytelling.

Ashley's first book was for a nonfiction competition, and it won! She shares her writing journey, writing difficulties, and very practical advice.

If you've ever enjoyed eavesdropping on people, then this episode is for you. My sister and I discuss a plethora of bookish topics, including our nanowrimo goals, difficulties we face when planning and drafting books, character archetypes we hate, the secret sauce for a great ending, and more.

Meet Allison Hymas, published author of several middle-grade books, baker, and mother. Allison shares her journey to publish her first book, including how she managed to find an agent by using a cold query. She gives insight to the publishing process, including who gets to decide the title of a book and how the artwork is chosen. Allison also gives advice regarding the usefulness of writing groups...

All of my Nanowrimo planning has to be changed. Join me as I take on Preptober anew and plot my tactics for taking advantage of Nanowrimo. . . again!

Meet Sean Prentiss, a professor of creative writing, public speaker, environmentalist, husband, father, poet, and adventurer all in one. You may have seen his books at the library, particularly Finding Abbey, which has won 3 awards. Sean shares his journey to becoming a writer, how he continues to write while prioritizing his family and job, and the criteria needed for one to consider oneself a wr...

This episode is for you if you: Are indimidated by Preptober and Nanowrimo Don't know what Nanowrimo and Preptober are Aren't sure how to outline a book Want to compare your Preptobering with another writer's

If you're a busy person with stories swimming around in your head, then dictation is for you. In this podcast episode, I explain the benefits of dictating a book, my own process for finishing my books, and go through the steps you can follow to comfortably begin dictating your book now. By the end of this episode you'll know the tricks I've had to uncover myself and be that much furthe...

In this episode my most loyal follower asks me a few questions about writing inspiration, writing rituals, blocks, self-doubts, and more.

This episode is with Jack, a man with many hats. As an army guy, a cop, a dad, and a writer, Jack has accomplished many things. He has even self-published his own book, which he wrote while deployed (link below), though his writing has much improved since then. Jack shares his own journey as a writer, a bit about his writing process, and some helpful inspiration regarding how to overcome perfectio...

Meet Gi, a wonderfully creative woman who is incredibly busy with raising her sons and shoeing horses. You might know her as The Pale Horse Farrier. Well, Gi also happens to be my sister, and she is FAR more creative than I am when it comes to making stories. What I admire most about her is how she manages to come up with stories on the spot to tell to her sons at bedtime. Join me for this insight...

Writer's Block; we all hate it and yet we all experience blocks anyway. This episode examines how to approach blocks and get past them in order to make writing progress. Mothers in particular cannot afford to stay at a writing block if they are determined to get their book written, so employ some of the tactics explained in this podcast episode to keep advancing on your writing journey!