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

EPISODE 168E A friend told me the funniest thing the other day in a Facebook comment - and I had to share it with you. Such a smart, funny bit of philosophy that can apply to so many areas of life!

EPISODE 167T A couple weeks ago, I spoke to my Rotary Club about myself and ended with what I hoped was an encouraging push for everyone to believe that they have a lot to give to the world, no matter background or age. I hope listening to my talk encourages you to believe you have more power than you realize! :-D

EPISODE 166I Our guest today, Natalie Walters , has just published her second romantic suspense novel, Deadly Deceit , the followup to Living Lies . We have an enthusiastic conversation about scary movies, where to hide the bodies, and finding story ideas in your own life. Natalie finds brainstorming to be the most fun part of writing. While usually a plotter, sometimes she brainstorms the main ch...

EPISODE 165I Today\'s guest is James R Hannibal , author of military thrillers for adults and fantasy adventure books for kids. His newest book is The Gryphon Heist , book one in a new series. In this episode, we chat about James\' military background and how he came to write military thrillers. We also discuss how to create characters different from ourselves, and the kinds of research James did...

EPISODE 164I Since I’m sick this week, I’m bringing you an encore of one of my favorite episodes of the show, an interview with Lisa Cron, which aired April 12, 2018. I hope it inspires you! In addition to teaching writing in the UCLA Extension writing program,  Lisa Cron  is the author of both  Wired for Story  and  Story Genius . She is an energetic and enthusiastic spea...

EPISODE 163E In this Encouraging Words episode, I compare how I get a book written with how I learned to run a half marathon, and I share some of the ways I keep up positive energy when I’m writing. So much of our energy is in our minds, so watch your thoughts! So much of it also comes from our hearts, so  choose how you feel about writing today. And have some fun – stickers, word coun...

EPISODE 162I Our guest today is debut author Tari Faris . Her first book, You Belong With Me , just came out in September 2019. Tari’s number one tip for authors is patience. She’s been writing for ten years, and it took seven years from the time she began pursuing publication to getting a contract. She encourages writers to find a community of writers to get involved in so you don’t feel alone. I...

EPISODE 161I Today’s guest is Ellen Martin , founder of CourseLauncherHQ . We’re talking about online classes and all the questions you might have as to whether or not this is something you might want to pursue. Some of the questions Ellen answers include: How do you know if you’re really a teacher? How do you know if you know enough to teach someone else? How do you know if your...

This month’s Encouraging Words episode – sorry it’s late! – is about the power of our words, both written and spoken. In Proverbs, it says words hold the power of life and death. I really think that’s true no matter what kind of words – spoken or written, fiction or social media or conversation. The tricky part is trying to keep our hearts in a good place…...

EPISODE 159I Our guest today has been a cheerful and encouraging presence on the show before – bestselling author Susan May Warren is back to tell us about My Brilliant Writing Planner . When people started asking Susie May how she gets so much done, she explained her system for planning and organizing all the facets of her life from writing to mothering to personal time. Her base idea is ca...

EPISODE 158I Join us today as Carol L Wright and AE Decker from the Bethlehem Writers Group share their wisdom and experiences in creating an online literary magazine. Carol and Ann explain how it all started, some of the mistakes made along the way, and how they found their groove. In addition to the quarterly literary magazine, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable (a paying market!), the group also publ...

Today’s guest is Ellie Rhodes , a product manager (and copywriter!) at Ubisoft Montreal, a video game developer. Ellie has tweeted her experiences in the area of anxiety, depression, and burnout, sharing tips with her followers about coping mechanisms and just helping others know they are not alone. We talk about burnout and the video game industry, self-care tips and taking selfish time to...

EPISODE 156E Sometimes it seems like I overplan. Some days I think I need a better plan. I’ve had a few days that have been blissful with no plan! But how do you know when to do the one thing and when to do the other? I give you my best ideas on how I decide.

EPISODE 155T Many of us are wrapping up the summer, vacations, and watching or helping students go back to school. It’s one of those natural times of year to see what else we want to accomplish in the last few months, and figure out the best way to accomplish our goals. I teach a time management class most January’s, and I help people do all they can to accomplish the tasks they set fo...

EPISODE 154T Sadly, I've felt like my journey to recovery from burnout has been a bit two or three steps forward, one step back. I don't ever want to create an episode about it just to have someone to vent to, but it's been a hard few weeks. I thought if I could figure out how to help myself, I could write down what seemed to work and share it with you. In this episode, I discuss how to learn to r...

EPISODE 153I Today's guest is Marianne H. Donley, a writer who has worked with her writers group to put out several fiction anthologies over the last several years. She uses this experience as an example for her tips and suggestions for you if you're thinking about getting some writers together and creating an anthology. There are a lot of pieces and parts to consider if you want to put together a...

EPISODE 152E There are times when I'm thinking about or talking about something happening in my life and I mention what didn't go well, and I wonder if I'm complaining. I'm often happy with and grateful for the bigger picture of the topic even though there are areas that I wish were different. It could be my hair or my writing or my vacation. In general, I'm happy with all those things...but I men...

EPISODE 151I Today’s guest is Jodie Brandt , senior bookseller at Brilliant Books , an independent bookstore in Traverse City, Michigan. Jodie shares some ideas on how to approach Brilliant Books or another bookstore as an author. You can find more information on what Brilliant Books is looking for in authors who would like to do a signing or other event on their Resources for Authors page. Even i...

EPISODE 150T When I self-publish my own books or work with clients to publish theirs, I use my Book Specifications Worksheet to collect all the information needed to create the final ebook and/or print book. In this episode, I go over several areas of the worksheet, letting you know all of the things you'll have to decide before you publish. If you use Vellum to create your book files, some of the...

EPISODE 149E I like to share things that I have recently found encouraging, and today it is the poetry Song of Solomon, also called Song of Songs, in the Bible. It is a beautiful five-page poem about two young lovers who are crazy in love. It's an analogy for how much God loves us and pursues us and wants to be with us, and how much he wants us to love him back. It's not only beautiful, it makes m...

EPISODE 148I Today's guest is Margaret Ethridge , author of Contentment and Commitment , who also writes as Maggie Wells , author of Love Game and Play Dates . Margaret likes to write about life choices, and she often uses her own life as a jumping off point for ideas. For instance, she loves college football, so she created a college sports series called Love Games. She met and married a single d...

EPISODE 147I Alice Rendell is an acclaimed video game writer currently working as a Senior Narrative Designer. Today she explains how writing for video games works and shares some tips about how to get into this type of writing. While most novelists work alone, writing for video games is super collaborative. You're in an office environment interacting with people in many other departments, pa...

EPISODE 146E One of my favorite verses is at the beginning of Joshua - "Be strong and courageous." It's written four times in just that first chapter. I find it encouraging when I have something big going on. Or when I have a lot to do. Or when I'm in the middle of a book that seems to be going nowhere. In this episode, I share some encouraging words that I hope help you find an extra kick of stre...

EPISODE 145I Today's guest is Sara Megibow , an agent at kt Literary in Colorado. While Sara is quick to point out that many of the things we discuss can be gross over-generalizations, and her thoughts and opinions on agenting are her own and not a guide for what all agents think, this is a great interview full of helpful information for just about all writers. Many people ask Sara how publishing...

EPISODE 144T We've finally settled down enough to start watching Game of Thrones (now that it's ending!) and it occurred to me that George R.R. Martin does not have a problem with throwing his characters into conflict. Not even if it kills them! As for me, I find it very difficult when writing a sweet romance to have an interesting conflict, something that's not too tame but not too far out. So I...