WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast: Write a Book, Change the World with Kitty Bucholtz

EPISODE 193 Today's episode is a round-up of lots of interesting and fun information I've found that might help your writing career, your motivation, your creativity, and your overall sense of well-being as we keep working in our homes (whether we want to or not). I also talked about the new book I'm working on, Encouragement for Writers , and I'll be adding a link shortly to a survey I'd love you...

EPISODE 192 We've had a lot of "new normal" forced on us lately, but what if we take charge and create our own new normal? We're creative people, we can think of ways to make our new circumstances work for us! In this episode, I talk about how to redefine the structure of your day so you still attain your overall goals. I mention my own health goals, business goals, and keeping some fun time in th...

EPISODE 191I Today’s guest is Brad Borkan , author of When Your Life Depends On It (co-written with David Hirzel, audiobook narrated by Dennis Kleinman). Brad's specialty area is decision sciences, how businesses and people make decisions. We have a fascinating discussion about Antarctic explorers, the main characters in his nonfiction book, and how we can learn from their choices, both for our ow...

EPISODE 190E This month for our Encouraging Words episode, I asked my friend Markus Watson to join us. We discuss how people weren't made to be in isolation, and some things we can do to overcome the emotional effects. Markus explains the "Robinson stories" and we talk about the ideas of families and people being lost and in isolation. We also talk about a lot of ways we can use technology to over...

EPISODE 189I Today's guest is James Blatch from Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Formula talking to us about one of their online classes that's open just a couple more days from when this episode goes live on April 2, 2020. I'm a student in both of Mark's courses, Self Publishing 101 and Advertising for Authors. I took the 101 course after hearing Mark talk about a couple things I didn't know how to...

EPISODE 188I Today’s guest is romantic suspense author Natalie Walters , author of the brand new Silent Shadows coming out on March 31, 2020. Listen to the end to find out more about pre-order goodies you can receive directly from Natalie if you order the book before March 31. :) [Sorry about the audio and video hiccups in this episode! With sooo many people using the Internet and streaming at the...

EPISODE 187T Since our world has been tipped on its side from the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many of us find ourselves trying to make sense of a new normal. Maybe you're working from home for the first time, and it may not have transitioned in a smooth and easy way. Maybe other people are at home now that you're not used to having in your work space, and you all have to figure out how to get...

EPISODE 186T This week I attended the first ever live event hosted by the Self Publishing Show podcast with Mark Dawson and James Blatch . It was awesome!! First of all, there is nothing like being with your people, the folks who "get" you, who don't have a blank look on their face when you talk about your writing, or editing, or read-through rates, or ad ROI. Second of all, the amount of positive...

EPISODE 185I Today's guest is historical fiction author Jill Eileen Smith . Jill's focus has been on Old Testament women of the Bible and, wow, does she have her research work cut out for her! We talk about how to research from multiple sources, and how to fill in the blanks when written history doesn't give you many details. Jill is particularly encouraging when it comes to writing a story "every...

EPISODE 184E I had a really crappy week this past week. Lots of good moments, but days that kept ending in stress and disappointment and frustration. By the end of the week, I was a bit of a wreck...which was no good since I was finally going to be enjoying some time with friends Friday night. I kept thinking that I just needed to think of something that makes me happy, or think of some things I'm...

EPISODE 183 Sometimes you hear or read similar things over and over in a short period of time. When that happens, our brains often nudge us to ask - is this something important that I should be paying attention to right now? This past week, I have heard or read similar ideas from Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn podcast , Susan May Warren with My Brilliant Writing Planner (on sale for 30% off as o...

EPISODE 182I Today's guest is fantasy author Kym Thurlow , writing as Eliza Raine . Kym tells us how she got started writing and why she decided to self-publish, sharing a lot of great information along the way. Kym has learned a lot about writing and the business of publishing through online forums like 20Booksto50K , courses like Mark Dawson's Self Publishing 101 and Ads for Authors , and podcas...

EPISODE 181 For my first EXTRA episode, I decided to have fun and read the first chapter of my short book, My Bullheaded Superhero Valentine , for your Valentine's Day listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy it! :-D

EPISODE 180I Today's guest is bestselling and award-winning author James Scott Bell . We talk about two of his many nonfiction books for writers, The Last Fifty Pages and Plotman to the Rescue . From the first book, Jim talks about the Ahhh and the Uh-Oh types of endings. There can be a satisfying ending where it all works out for the protagonists, or at the end, when things seem to have worked ou...

EPISODE 179I Today's guest is Tom Threadgill , author of police procedurals and suspense novels. His newest book, Collision of Lies , just released this week and is the beginning of a new series. For those of you who don't consider yourselves plotters, you'll love hearing Tom talk about how he writes - a true seat of the pants writer! He shares how he came up with the idea for Collision of Lies an...

EPISODE 178E Today I talk about having a word or verse for the year, something to help us focus or to encourage us toward this year's goals. But sometimes that point of focus changes - and you get even more focused! That's what happened to me this month. I hope my experience encourages you that this is the start of something great!

EPISODE 177T I just finished helping a friend get his very first book up on Amazon - woohooo!! We're both very excited as this is something he's wanted to do for a few years! It occurred to me that I could share what I know about repurposing your writing and maybe help you get a book together too! I hope you find this to be a helpful episode! Good luck and happy writing! :-D

EPISODE 176I Regina Scott has published over 45 historical novels, winning awards and fans along the way. She loves history, so she finds research fun, not boring at all. Today she tells us about some of the amazing fun - that is, research - she's done in the name of fiction, and helps us see what we can do as well. Since she writes Regency romances (and explains what that is) as well as Christian...

EPISODE 175I Today's guest is Lynette Eason , author of the new book, Collateral Damage . With over 60 books published, Lynette has a lot of experience in creating new characters, new series, and all kinds of interesting plots. Lynette shares how she starts a book, how she gets started writing for the day, how she found law enforcement and military experts to ask questions, how she works with her...

It's time to plan out our new year, to think about what worked last year and what didn't. But don't just write down a bunch of hoped-for goals, consider how much time you'll need to do them all compared to how much time you actually have. I go through several good first steps to getting the big picture under control as well as talk about what I've been learning from James Clear's book, Atomic Habi...

EPISODE 173E As you start the new year, it's important to remember that over-planning and over-scheduling can lead to stress, disappointment, and - worst case scenario - burnout. To avoid that and enjoy your work all year long, plan some white space into your schedule. Some extra room in your calendar so you can move things around when necessary, and to take a little time out sometimes to stare at...

EPISODE 172I Interviewing the lovely Patricia Bradley was an exercise in paradoxes. Hearing this sweet Christian woman pronounce in her soft, Southern drawl, "Oh, I love to talk about murder. It's just fun" was just the beginning of my mind bending to look at things differently. :-D But I should have expected nothing less after I read the tagline for her website: Where love and faith cross pa...

EPISODE 171I James Scott Bell is a Christy Award-winning and International Thriller Writers Award-winning author in several fiction genres, and a beloved and sought-after writing teacher. He has written many nonfiction titles on the craft of writing, including several for Writer’s Digest Books. In today’s episode, Jim talks about how he got the idea for his craft book, Write Your Novel From the Mi...

EPISODE 170T Today's guest is - ME! :-D In January 2018 , James Blatch interviewed me on The Self Publishing Show Podcast (then called Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Formula Podcast) about time management for writers. I've been teaching a class called Going the Distance for over a decade, helping other writers plan their time so they can get more done. I thought this would be a good overview of all...

EPISODE 169I Today Ellen Martin is back and discussing her Radical Rx - her path from overworked entrepreneur to fighting cancer and winning with a whole new health plan. As author entrepreneurs, we have to be careful not to work ourselves to the point of burnout - as I've talked about on several episodes - or worse, a terrible illness. What can we do to keep our health at its best while also gett...