Write Better Together

Jon Meyers and Emily Brooks share how they name their characters!

Poet Adrian Sanders joins us to discuss the importance of boredom for creativity! As a poet, Adrian also answers the question, "Is Taylor Swift a poet?" We reference the article, "You can't have creativity without boredom" by Aaron Angello , so we highly encourage you to read it! Adrian Sanders is a full-time copy editor living in Elizabethtown, KY. She is a graduate of Wes...

For more information about WriterFest, check out writerfestnashville.com!

What if organizing your life fostered greater mental well-being? What if mental well-being helped you reach great results and satisfaction? Professor Sara Wigal teaches us how to accelerate productivity while being mindful of our personal needs and emotions. As a teacher, she uses specific, proven strategies to help her students organize their lives for better results and better mental resilience....

We just loved having Bob in our networking episode so much that we had to have him back! Today, we asked Bob about story logic, which he writes about in his book, That's Not the Way it Works : A no-nonsense guide to the craft and business of screenwriting . We also talked about turning our personal stories into fiction, which spurred a whole conversation with Emily and Jon Meyers afterwards ab...

Two weeks ago, we talked about overcoming anxieties around querying. Today, we go deeper into how to not just handle but actually embrace the trials that come to all writers through rejection and failure. CALL TO ACTION RESPONSES We hear from Adrian Sanders, who shares her favorite writing advice! We'll have Adrian join us in a future episode! HEY JON MEYERS Learn more about today's secret...

Do you see your writing as art or a product? What even is the difference, and does it matter? We talk about how our intentions, audience, and even definitions affect how we write. We respond to log lines from Jeanice, which sparks early conversation about art vs product. Here is the Rick Rubin video . Learn mor e here! Pick a side! You'll have to listen to the episode to hear both viewpoints,...

Emily Brooks recently queried agents and networked at a writing conference. Despite growing up with generalized anxiety, she has developed strategies that help her get out of her bubble, which she writes about on her blog, Little Did She Know. Even if you don't have generalized anxiety or panic disorder, you may have fears about going to conferences, pitching to agents, or getting out of your...

In part one of our interview with Pinar, she talked about unconventional productivity tips for authors. In part two, we continue the conversation and also discuss her romance novels and how she wrote a multi-book series. Pinar Tarhan is the author of several romance novels that even men like, including A Change Would Do You Good, A Change Would Do You Better, and Making a Difference . She has also...

Stories contain many elements, but which are the most important to get right? We discuss the three things you must have in a story as well as whether or not characters must change over the course of a novel or screenplay. 00:00-3:28 Why do literature teachers teach 6 or 10 elements rather than just 3? 3:28-6:28 Why hero, goal, and obstacle are the most essential elements to story 6:28-7:03 How to...

We interviewed romance author Pinar Tarhan about her unconventional productivity tips for writers! Because we had so much to talk about this is only part one of our amazing conversation! No writer is the same, and so we need to discover what advice techniques work for us. Pinar Tarhan helps break down the "rules" of writing so we can write more freely. Pinar Tarhan is the author of sever...

We talk about how our brains crave stories, the importance of free will, the limitations of our brains, and how we might even need to reshape the stories our brains "automatically" tell us. Why and how do our brains create stories? Neuroscientist Rachel Barr explains on her instagram account how our brains form stories as an automatic response. Does this answer diminish our free will? If...

As writers, we are often compelled to tell the truth. Kerrie Droban is an author, podcaster, and criminal defense attorney who is committed to the truth. Today, we talk with her about her true crime books and podcast and how she uses narrative storytelling to reveal reality. We learn about what compelled her to share these stories and how she dug deep into each character and event to not only get...

How do you revise your log lines? We practice revising log lines by reading Emily's log line for her work-in-progress! Our hope is that these critique sessions help you work on your own log lines and pitches. If you have a log line you would like to send us to critique, please feel free to share it in the comments or email it to us at writebettertogethernow@gmail.com! SHOUT OUTS Jon Meyers rec...

There are some disagreements (and outright confusion) going on about what defines speculative fiction. So we hope to clarify things with the help of the Oxford English Dictionary and Neil Gaiman's introduction to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (which is now in our Bookshop!) .

Have you ever come up with a great concept and then discovered that someone else is already doing it? It may be discouraging at first, but we actually think this can be a good thing . Today, we discuss why we think you should keep writing. CALL TO ACTION RESPONSES Dani Martinek responded to Bob Sáenz's Call to Action from Episode 3 —Go outside and write a log line about the first thing you see...

We read the log lines we wrote in response to Bob Sáenz Call to Action from Episode 3!

We share our favorite advice for writers and why it impacted our own writing journeys. Emily shares a lesson from Brandon Sanderson that shifted her mindset so she could write freely, while Jon Meyers uses a lesson in cheesemaking to explain his favorite tip for getting details right. RESPONSES We heard from our friend Morgan Stevens, whose log-line reminded Jon Meyers of a poem by our poet laurea...

David Lynch uses a stick, but how else can you judge your own writing? We talked about thinking-feelings, getting feedback, and other ways we can know our work is finished. CALL TO ACTION RESPONSES This week, we heard from actor and screenwriter Ashley Hargrove, and Kadey Bernhardt, editor of WriterCon Magazine! David Lynch video SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO... Screenwriter Tully Archer, aka Jon Meyers&#3...

We respond to our earlier Call to Action—If money and training were no object, what would you do?

We discuss Michael Jamin's recent video on prioritizing writing over being "well rounded," and we praise his book, A Paper Orchestra! In episode 1 , we argued that having hobbies enhances your writing and your life. Screenwriter Michael Jamin, who worked on King of the Hill among others, has a difference perspective: Writers should devote their free time to their craft. So we decided...

We were honored to have Bob Sáenz as our first guest on the podcast to talk about networking and embracing imposter syndrome! Bob Sáenz is a screenwriter whose work includes: CHURCH PEOPLE (Shaw 2021), A DASH OF CHRISTMAS (Dunne 2023), and THE CHRISTMAS YULE BLOG (Hawthorn Doyle 2020)  Find the Jon Meyers name drop! He is also the author of Jessica's Vampire Diary , a humorous YA novel, and Th...

In this episode, we talk about how everything you have experienced has brought you to where you are now. Your past isn't history. It's still part of you today, and that means you can still learn and grow from it. And, of course, as artists, it means we can draw from our experiences to create meaningful work. Call to Action Responses Our response today came from David Hal Chester. You can r...

In this episode, we talk about the importance of non-writing hobbies and interests for inspiring ideas for your stories, poems, screenplays, and more! Also, we hope you like birds, because Emily Brooks waxes eloquent about her obsession with bird watching. Read our full show notes at: https://writebettertogether.com/how-hobbies-enhance-your-writing-and-your-life/

Try as they might, Emily Brooks and Jon Meyers can't fully explain this podcast without your involvement. Note: Oops! We forgot to share the details of our speaking appearance! We are speaking at The Southern Oasis Film Festival! Come see us! https://www.facebook.com/SouthernOasisFF Read our full show notes at https://writebettertogether.com/episode-0-who-what-where-and-more-than-sometimes-why...