The Authorpreneur Podcast - Writing & Self Publishing Tips

Send us Fan Mail So, you’ve reached the end of the climactic sequence of your novel, and you’re wondering how to give your story a satisfying conclusion. Or, perhaps you’re currently outlining your novel, and you’re stuck and not sure how to plan the denouement scenes for your story in a way that will satisfy your future readers. I know the idea of having to wrap up every loose thread in your nove...

Send us Fan Mail At the start of January, I shared my revision plans for my thriller novella, Missing. It’s been a month since that show. So, I’ve decided to record this revision update show, where I will break down what I achieved as well as four lessons I've learned over the first three weeks of revising a novella. Before we dive into the revision update and lessons learned, I'm going...

Send us Fan Mail So, you’ve reached the climactic sequence, and you’re wondering how to make these final scenes the most dramatic part of your novel; the answer is simple: by including a hero at the mercy of the villain scene. At this point, you’ve probably got a few questions floating around your mind. What is the hero at the mercy of the villain scene? Where does this scene sit within the climac...

Send us Fan Mail As I look back over the last few years, I’ve noticed I have a bit of a problem. And that problem has to do with focus. Yep, my inner creative wants to do everything all at once. I have all of these writing ideas that I seriously want to pursue, but I can’t do it all; I need to focus. My ideas are all in the form of multiple series and are in four different genres. These genres are...

Send us Fan Mail So, you’ve reached the third act of your novel, and you’re wondering how to write an unforgettable climactic moment. The real secret is in the building up to this climactic moment in the third act. I remember that feeling I got when I reached the start of the third act of the first thriller that I wrote; I was so excited. This probably sounds a little dramatic, but I could almost...

Send us Fan Mail I’ve been thinking about the upcoming revision stage of the writing process for my thriller novella. My inner writing nerd wants to write something new while my inner coach is pointing toward my writing-related goals for the year and, as a result, highlighting how far away I am from achieving those goals. As you can probably tell by the super spoiler title of this show, I will be...

Send us Fan Mail As I was preparing the notes for what I thought was going to be the next episode of the Authorpreneur Podcast, I realised that I needed to talk about how to choose the right ending for your story before discussing the climactic sequence or the third act. I had planned on discussing story endings in season two, but in the final hour, I decided to bring this subject forward. So, how...

Send us Fan Mail So, I’m back after another podcasting hiatus. Yay!  And I have a few announcements, both personal and writing-related, that I can’t wait to share with you. I also want to discuss a few changes to the podcast and how I plan on structuring the episodes. Going forward, I aim to be more transparent about changes to the podcast and any reasons for long sabbaticals.  Without further adi...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of my behind-the-scenes podcast diary is going to be a casual writing update because it's been a while since the last episode. The break was due to my recent trip to Australia as well as travel-related tiredness. When I got back, I found my backlog of work hard to manage. As a result, I realised that I couldn’t do it all.   In this episode, I will share: An impor...

Send us Fan Mail So, you’ve reached the start of the third act of your outline or in your first draft, and you’re not sure how to propel your protagonist from the second act to the third act. There is a scene in story structure that creates a doorway or a transition between the final two acts. It’s generally referred to as the second turning point, second plot point, or the Dark Night of the Soul....

Send us Fan Mail Are you struggling to write the second half of the second act of your story? You already know there’s a Midpoint and the Dark Night of the Soul or the Second Plot Point, but you’re left wondering what to write between these two scenes. If this is a situation that’s all too familiar to you, then this episode is for you. In this episode, I will discuss the most important scenes with...

Send us Fan Mail Is the middle of your story dragging? Are you halfway through writing your manuscript and not sure where to go from there? If you said yes to either of these questions, than this episode is for you. So, what do you do if the middle of your story is dragging or if you’re stuck in a rut?  The answer to both of these problems is to include a midpoint scene in your novel. However, bef...

Send us Fan Mail I’m super excited to announce that I’ve finally stopped procrastinating and overcome my writing slump. Yay! Before I share seven tips on how to stop procrastinating and get out of that writing slump, I want to share with you a recent experience I had while writing the first draft of my mystery novella, Missing. So, How long has it been? I want you to understand that I’m not being...

Send us Fan Mail In this behind-the-scenes podcast diary, I discuss my plans and changes to the podcast going forward. As the podcast diary suggests, I give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my writing projects, both fiction and non-fiction. Since my last podcast diary episode, I've struggled with mindset issues in regard to creating a second edition of my non-fiction self-help book. I als...

Send us Fan Mail Are you struggling to figure out how to write the rising action scenes in your novel? I remember when I first started writing and using the three-act-structure, I outlined scenes in the first act and then got stuck with the second act. It wasn’t the entire middle of the story I was stuck with; it was the first half. I understood the midpoint and the second plot point, or the ‘Dark...

Send us Fan Mail I was recently listening to an episode of a podcast that was discussing how to build a platform as an unpublished author. Coincidentally, I didn’t agree with all the tips they shared. There was one tip I disagreed with that these guys shared with certainty. While writing your novel is the most important thing you can do as an unpublished author, you need to build your author platf...

Send us Fan Mail So you've brainstormed ideas for the three plot points in the first act of your story, and you're now wondering how to transition between act one and act two. How do you take your character into the core conflict of the story? The easiest way to do this is to set up a point-of-no-return scene in your story.  In this episode, I'll discuss: What is the first plot poin...

Send us Fan Mail At the beginning of January, I shared my writing and business goals for the year, just like every other entrepreneur, writer, and blogger. While this is a great practice, it hasn't been as motivating as I had intended. As I look back over 2017 and consider what has worked and what has not, I've realised there was one thing that did work. Well, this practice did encourage...

Send us Fan Mail So, you've created a great narrative hook and an ordinary world scene for your story, and you're thinking, 'What next?' In this episode, I will share with you the important elements of the next plot point of the first act of your story. The next plot point in the first act is the inciting incident. The inciting is the scene that many first-time writers seem to...

Send us Fan Mail Are you struggling to figure out how to start your novel? Quite often, we place much emphasis on the first sentence or paragraph and not on the large scene. In three-act structure, this scene is referred to as the ordinary world. In this episode, we are going to discuss why this scene is so important, and I'll share seven tips to help you write a great ordinary world scene. T...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of my behind-the-scenes video diary, I share my experience of struggling with productivity as a writer and my process of revising and editing a novel. This episode isn't a confession, I get to the source of the problem. The source of my unproductive months is fear of failure. There's a huge part of me that is afraid of handing my manuscript to a developme...

Send us Fan Mail So, how do you start a story? How do you hook the reader from the very first page? In the literary world, there is a lot of talk about how to write an inciting first line or paragraph, but if you're in the early stages of crafting a story, this advice is useless. There's a step you need to take before you put pen to paper. This step is outlining your story and structurin...

Send us Fan Mail I must confess this last fortnight didn’t go exactly to plan. I started the two weeks off with the best of intentions to revise Immunity, but I had a few struggles (procrastination, tech, changing podcast platforms). However, I did get this podcast ready to submit to iTunes and other podcasting platforms. So, I’ve crossed off one of my goals for October. As I got ready to record t...

Send us Fan Mail So, you've got a story idea that you can't wait to write, and you're wondering, how do you write a good story? Is there a structure you should follow as you write a novel? There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing a novel. If you're just starting out, then I recommend using Three Act Structure. This type of story structure is a writing tool used...

Send us Fan Mail I'm going to keep this episode short and sweet and just stick to all things writing and book-related. But, I will point out that I'm super happy with my current productivity levels since I shared my October Goals. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue this new trend with my productivity. Tools & Resources Revision is My New Reality | authorpreneurpodcast.com/bts00...