Lyrics First, Melody Second: Linda L. Garnett on Music, Playlists and Writing Red Falls – The Writing Coach Ep. 244

Red Falls author Linda L. Garnett returns to talk music: writing lyrics and fan fiction at fourteen, trading mixtapes with…

How to Write a Quiet Scene That Still Moves

Not every scene needs a car chase. Learn how to add momentum to quiet scenes through emotional change, small gestures,…

A Ten-Year Journey to The Call to Witchery: Lorraine Johnston on Contemporary Fantasy, Story Structure, and Marketing a Debut – The Writing Coach Ep. 243

Lorraine Johnston's debut contemporary fantasy, The Call to Witchery, began in a morning journal in 2016. She talks about the…

What Bob Dylan Can Teach Writers About Losing (and Finding) Your Creative Magic

Worried you've lost your creative spark? Bob Dylan's journey from intuitive genius to intentional craftsman illustrates how writers can write…

Writer's Block, Recovery, and Hope: David Deane Haskell on The Solarian Deep and Wounded Angels – The Writing Coach Ep. 242

Sci-fi and nonfiction author David Deane Haskell talks about the five-year writer's block that followed his sobriety, the floodgates that…

Write a Lean First Draft: Why Bare-Bones Beats Perfect Scenes

First-time author? Learn why writing a lean, bare-bones first draft builds momentum, makes you a better writer, and saves you…

Twenty Drafts, Three Books, One Character: Sherilyn Decter on Writing The Promise Trilogy – The Writing Coach Ep. 241

Sherilyn Decter spent two years and over twenty drafts turning a minor character from her Moonshiner Mysteries series into The…

A Writing Coach and Her Client: Ellen Baker and Terence Sullivan on Alice of Oz, Summerland Cove, and Two Paths to Publishing – The Writing Coach Ep. 240

Novelist and writing coach Ellen Baker joins her longtime client Terence Sullivan, whose viral TikTok series became the novel Alice…

Writing is Rewriting: Steven Puri Returns to Talk Flow States and Hollywood Screenwriting – The Writing Coach Ep. 239

Steven Puri, founder of Sukha and a former Hollywood visual-effects producer, returns to talk about the neuroscience of flow states,…

Pre-Made vs. Custom Book Covers, Explained | Usama Munir, Design Dusk - The Writing Coach Ep. 238

Usama Munir, founder of Design Dusk, walks through the real difference between pre-made and custom book covers, how genre conventions…

Writing Transgressive Fiction: Ron Black on Bleu and the Character No One Has to Like - The Writing Coach Ep. 237

Ron Black's debut novel 'Bleu: A Transgressive Tale' takes a hard look at addiction, the art world, and domestic violence,…

Marketing Your Book Without Losing the Time to Write It: Marvin Wey of AuthorScale on AI, TikTok, and Selling More Books - The Writing Coach Ep. 236

Marvin Wey, co-founder of AuthorScale, on the two proven social media formats selling books right now, how to find the…