Breaking Writer's Block

What do you do when you come to the page to write but all you can think about is all the other things you need to do and all the stresses of your life? Today, I'm sharing a quick exercise to help you work through this. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #215: You're Allowed to Have Fun #193: Intentional Dream Building #160: Just One Thing Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

I have a quick exercise for you today to help you blast through your fear and get back to the page. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #13: Why Do You Resist Writing? #15: Four Words That Will Change Your Life #244: You're Not Lazy Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

We're finishing up our series on Jill Chamberlain's The Nutshell Technique by going through the full Nutshell for the movie Pitch Perfect. Happy writing! Get your copy of the book The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting and learn more about Jill Chamberlain ⁠on her website⁠ . Related Episodes: ⁠#248: The Nutshell Technique in a Nutshell⁠ ⁠#249: (You Know How to...

We're wrapping up our breakdown of Jill Chamberlain's The Nutshell Technique today with a discussion of catalyst/inciting incident vs the Point of No Return, with examples from Pitch Perfect and The Hunger Games. Happy writing! Learn more about Jill Chamberlain and get your copy of her book, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting , ⁠on Jill's website.⁠ Rel...

We're continuing our breakdown of Jill Chamberlain's The Nutshell Technique today by chatting about the Set-up Want , the Point of No Return , and the Catch . As a bonus, we're also discussing your character's journey from want to need. Happy writing! Learn more about Jill Chamberlain and get your own copy of her book, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwr...

Continuing our deep dive into The Nutshell Technique today by chatting about your protagonist, their flaw, and their strength. Happy writing! Get your copy of the excellent book The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting and learn more about its author, Jill Chamberlain, on her website. Related Episodes: #248: The Nutshell Technique in a Nutshell

Continuing our The Nutshell Technique series today by breaking down the definitions of Comedy and Tragedy , as defined by Aristotle in Poetics. I also go over how the Tragedy Nutshell differs from the Comedy Nutshell (which is what the vast majority of you will be using). Happy writing! Get your own copy of Jill Chamberlain's wonderful book, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successf...

Today we're starting our journey through Jill Chamberlain's The Nutshell Technique , starting with a general overview AKA The Nutshell Technique in a Nutshell. Learn more about Jill and get your own copy of The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting ⁠on her website.⁠ Happy writing! Related Episodes: ⁠#241: Story vs Situation⁠ ⁠#246: Let's Talk Craft Books⁠ Let...

There's a lot of angst in the writing community right now, much of it surrounding NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and some decisions and actions the organization has taken. While it's totally okay to mourn the loss of an event and community you once loved, I'm here to remind you that you do not need NaNoWriMo to write your books and create your best writing life. Happy writing...

Today I'm sharing my favorite craft books with y'all. These are the ones I've found most helpful: ⁠Dan Harmon's Story Circle⁠ (not actually a book, but the blog series is solid. Language warning on this one!) ⁠Save the Cat!: The Last Book On Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder⁠ ⁠The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting by Jill Chamber...

It's a new month, so it's time for another check-in on writing progress and goals. This month's goals changed at the last minute so I'm excited to dive in with this new plan. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #215: August Check-in #183: Mid-year Check-in: Five Questions to Ask Yourself #153: Setting Flexible Goals AKA June Check-in Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

When you find yourself procrastinating, it's easy to think it's because you're lazy. But your procrastination isn't laziness; it's fear . Let's discuss. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #3: Are Your Thoughts Helping You Write? #13: Why Do You Resist Writing? #40: Why Do You Procrastinate? Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

Spooky Season (AKA the best season ) is almost upon us, so today I'm sharing my Spooky Season TBR with you! Maybe you'll want to pick up one of these books to read for yourself: ⁠Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth⁠ ⁠Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner⁠ ⁠Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda⁠ ⁠The Lying Game by Ruth Ware⁠ ⁠One by One by Ruth Ware⁠ ⁠The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware⁠ ⁠Home Befo...

Today I'm answering the briefest listener question I've ever gotten: BUT WHY? Let's discuss why someone might actually want to draft their book slower . Happy writing! Related Episodes: ⁠#104: Five Tips for Faster Writing⁠ ⁠#180: Your Pace is YOUR Pace⁠ ⁠#27: How Do They Write So Fast?⁠ Let's Connect: ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ ⁠Email⁠

When I'm evaluating a manuscript or screenplay, one of the most common critiques I give is that the author wrote a situation and not a story. Let's discuss what this means and how you can make sure you're writing a compelling story . Happy writing! Learn about Jill Chamberlain and The Nutshell Technique Here! Related Episodes: #7: What Happens Next? #31: A Lesson from M Night #70 Writi...

We talk a lot about tips to help you finish your first draft, but what do you do after writing "The End"? Today, I am sharing with you my five steps to tackle your revision. Happy writing! Related Episodes: ⁠#207: But What If I Suck?⁠ ⁠#179: Baste Your Story Together⁠ ⁠#185: One Bite at a Time⁠ Let's Connect: ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Threads⁠ ⁠Email⁠

It's time for a first draft check-in...and things didn't go quite as expected! Let's discuss expectations vs reality and learning how you write best. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #225: First Draft Diaries: The Beginning #232: First Draft Diaries: Week One #83: Does Outlining Ruin the Discovery of Your First Draft? Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

I have an incredibly important exercise for you to do today to help you find the unique magic that will bolster you and keep you going when things get hard. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #96: Your Writing Superpower #113: Courage vs Confidence #25: YOU the Successful Author Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

"If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down." ~Ray Bradbury Happy writing! Related Episodes: #110: Do I Need an MFA? #134: Is it Practicality or Is it Fear? #...

Whenever you ask the state of the industry--whether publishing or film--there's a lot of doom and gloom. Things are getting harder than ever for writers, so how do you keep your head up and keep writing when there's so much professional negativity around. Let's discuss. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #137: The Sky is Falling! How to Write in a "Dead" Genre #136: Just the Fa...

It's time to stop waiting for someday to go after the life of your dreams. Why not today ? Happy writing! Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

It's time to stop chasing perfect in your writing...not only because perfect doesn't exist, but because readers will not connect with perfect. Perfect writing will actually make it harder for readers to fall in love with your work. Happy writing! Related Episodes: #233: Hidden Perfectionism #82: Let It Be Messy #99: Working WITH Your Inner Editor Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email

It's easy to think of perfectionism as simply having high standards, but that's not really what perfectionism is. You may be dealing with some hidden perfectionism that is keeping you from being the kind of writer you want to be, and because perfectionism can be quite insidious, you may not even realize that's what is at the core of your struggles. Happy writing! Related Episodes: ⁠#40...

It's time for a progress check as I write the first draft of my new book! This week, I wrote: TOTAL TIME: 3hr20min TOTAL WORDS: 5764 WORDS/MIN: 28.82 WORDS/HOUR: 1729.2 STIUTK CURRENT WORD COUNT: 5,762 (2 fewer words than what I wrote last week because that's how things shook out when I cleaned up previous days' writing before each new session) In this episode, I break down how writing...

After a long day on the road, I am exhausted...and giving you a rerun episode to remind you of the best way to learn about the genre you're writing. It's time for a trip to the library! Happy writing! Let's Connect: Instagram Threads Email