Write for a Reason

Send us Fan Mail Chapters cut your story up into manageable chunks, but there are so many brilliant ways of ending them. The aim is to keep your readers turning the pages because they just have to know what happens next (even after lights out; did you do that? :-)). Even the most desperate of readers may have to break off at some point, and that's usually at a chapter break, so you want to ma...

Send us Fan Mail If you're here, you're writing for a very important reason! Writing Christian books for children is so important. Even so, there can be days, weeks or even months when you just don't seem to be able to get round to write... In this podcast episode I give you some ideas on how to get writing fit again! And if you'd like to join the Write for a Reason Zoom traini...

Send us Fan Mail Do you have an author website? Do you wish you did? Twenty years ago, this wouldn’t have been a thing, but these days every author needs to have a website of some description. Would you like to know exactly what you need to do and how you need to do it? In really easy steps? Look no further than today’s episode! My guest, Sonja Anderson, is the perfect person to talk to us about w...

Send us Fan Mail We all love to root for the underdog, don't we? In this week's episode of the Write for a Reason podcast we talk about several different ways you can make your readers feel so angry for your protagonist, because of what they are being put through unjustly, that they won't be able to put your book down! Have a listen, and let me know what you think! Every blessing, J...

Send us Fan Mail Hi, Janet here. Today I have a fun writing assignment for you! Listen to the podcast, then bust out your writing journal and get writing... Have fun! Every blessing, Janet P.S. Would you like to join our Writers for a Reason Unite membership group? More details here. We'd love to have you! Support the show Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings ? Or perhaps yo...

Send us Fan Mail Just a quick writing tip today, to help your improve your writing. Janet Wilson talks about adding colour to your stories... Enjoy! If you'd like more free writing tips, or would like help with your story, hop on over to the Write for a Reason website. See you there! Support the show Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings ? Or perhaps you would like to join ou...

Send us Fan Mail Hi! In this episode of the Write for a Reason podcast (for Christians who write novels for children and teens) we look at 11 different things readers hate about novels. It's surprisingly easy to fall into these traps... so get listening and make sure you don't annoy your readers! Blessings, Janet Support the show Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings ? O...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer. Today we’re going to be l...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Write for a Reason podcast, I talk to author Jubilee Lipsey about the structure of chapters. That may sound like a bit of a dry topic, but actually there's so much more to it than meets the eye. It’s fascinating, and I’m sure you will learn a lot! After all, you do want your readers to find each of your chapters enthralling, right? So grab a pen and pap...

Send us Fan Mail Today I interview Sharon Tedford, who is here to talk to us about the whole big issue of rejection.  Sharon is an English writer, living in Dallas (I know, listen to the podcast for how that happened!). She’s a talented creative writer… but still suffered from that awful pit-in-your-stomach feeling when facing rejection – as most of us do. Rejection is a big thing, isn’t it, for w...

Send us Fan Mail Are you thinking about publishing your book on kindle? Today on the Write for a Reason podcast I’m delighted to welcome Christopher Benner, author of The Dragons of Ederstill. This is Christopher’s first book, and is for young adults. Christopher decided to publish his book on kindle because he was on a limited budget, and today he gives us the simple steps anyone can take to get...

Send us Fan Mail The better we can express deep emotions in our characters, the more we will engage our readers. Here's an exercise for you to do that you need never show to anyone, to help you get your emotions out into words. It will help you with your stories, I promise! Write freely without editing for at least ten minutes on each of the following topics (if you find it too difficult to w...

Send us Fan Mail Hi folks, I have another podcast for you! This one is from Pam Daunton, who recently had her first novel, The Dove Stone , published. (Congratulations, Pam!) You will be inspired by her writing journey. She started off great, but then gave up when she realised that writing a book was much more difficult than she thought it would be. Then... well, I'll let her tell her own sto...

Send us Fan Mail The idea of talking about this came from one of our Write for a Reason students. She asked me this excellent question: "My question concerns what target I should set myself in my writing. I know I've made some progress over the last few years, and hopefully a bit more as a result of your course [ The Write for a Reason Academy ]. Now I need to decide to be motivated to f...

Send us Fan Mail Thanks for coming over! I think you will enjoy this episode - it's more than a creative writing tip - there's an exercise for you to do... and I get real about some of my own childhood memories! So, a  generally excellent piece of advice for writers is to write about what you know. It makes sense. How can you describe the atmosphere of the crowd at a football match durin...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer – and in this episode we’r...

Send us Fan Mail After fracturing my elbow, everything has become more of a challenge, including one-handed typing! So this week I asked you for your own best writing tips and here they are... Shout out to all of you who sent in tips to encourage and inspire your fellow writers. They are brilliant! Enjoy. :-) If you'd like to look at doing the Write for a Reason Academy, check it out here . S...

Send us Fan Mail Today I have  five simple tips that can improve your writing immediately. You might be thinking yeah, yeah… but keep listening and you’ll see! So, taking a few minutes to prepare yourself before you sit down to write can improve your creativity and your output hugely. I wonder what you’re thinking – what will these simple ways be? Reading, a practice exercise, turning off the inte...

Send us Fan Mail Hello and welcome! Lovely to have you here. One of the brilliant ways you can increase visibility for your novel is with a book blog tour. Katherine Blessan, author of Lydia's Song and Home Truths with Lady Grey , strips away the overwhelm and gives us 6 simple steps we can follow to do our own DIY book blog tour! If you are starting to think about how you will sell your book...

Send us Fan Mail Hello and welcome! I'm delighted to introduce you today to Ruth Leigh. Ruth has been writing for a long time, but has only recently starting writing fiction... and she hasn't just dipped her toes, she's jumped right in with both feet! When her catering business crashed at the beginning of the first lockdown... well, I'll let you listen for yourself. :-) Ruth gi...

Send us Fan Mail It's never too early to start to think about your book launch! Joy Vee is about to launch books 5 and 6... so is getting good at launches. :-) She is kind enough to come on the podcast and give some tips as to what worked for her. So get out your writing journal or the notepad app on your phone, and get ready to make some notes... If you'd like to get in touch with Joy,...

Send us Fan Mail Once the goal has been reached and the purpose of your story fulfilled, you need to tie off loose ends fairly quickly. You know the story of Cinderella? Have you ever wondered what happens to her nasty step-family? Me neither! We don't care, because the story is about Cinderella – the only thing that matters is that good has triumphed over evil and she has her prince! Allow y...

Send us Fan Mail If you know your protagonist's key goal or final outcome in advance, you can work towards strengthening everything that takes them towards it (one conflict after another). Again, if you know what that key goal or outcome is (if you already have it in mind), you can avoid/remove anything that doesn't serve to move the plot forward! Simple, eh? Well, OK, it can take some t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer. Thanks for coming over, n...

Send us Fan Mail This is more of an encouragement than a series of creative writing tips... although I do offer some tips at the end... This morning I read Jesus' parable of the seeds and the sower, and as I reflected on being good soil and bearing fruit, my mind wandered to the parable of the talents. However many we have been given, we need to use them! As writers, though, it's easy to...