I’ve always loved encouraging others, especially writers. I love to teach what I know in order to help people get a little further along a path I’ve walked. And I love asking other people about what they do and how they do it – especially writers!
So when I decided to finally make time to create a podcast, something I’ve wanted to do for a few years, I didn’t want to focus on only one of the areas above. In December, 2017, WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast (named after my classes of the same name) launched with three episodes a week.
On Sundays, I produce a short Encouraging Words episode whose aim is to help writers feel like they’re not alone, and give them some of my trademark sunny encouragement. 😀
Every Tuesday, I teach some writing tip or trick or talk about a writing device that the listener can put into practice right away in their writing.
And each Thursday, I interview someone in the writing industry (or tangentially related) about what they’re doing. I try to make sure there is always some take-away value for the listeners, but I also try to be sure the interview is interesting and fun!
If you want to start listening from the beginning, or jump in at any episode you choose, you can search for WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast on your favorite podcast app. (There’s probably one on your smart phone.) Either listen to just an episode or two, or hit the Subscribe button so that new episodes automatically download. You can also listen on my website, and most of the episodes are also on video that you can watch on YouTube here.
Episode 000 is a short introduction that tells you what to expect, then all the rest of the episodes have either a “T” or an “I” or an “E” after the number. T means it’s a teaching episode, I is for the Interviews, and E designates the Encouraging Words episodes. See how it forms T-I-E, TIE? I want to help you tie all the parts of your writing life together. Learn what you can do to improve your writing, learn from what others are doing, and get lifted up with some encouragement to keep going! 😀
This month’s interview guests include Bonnie DePue, an occupational therapist suggesting some good stretches and exercises for writers (and others who sit and type all day); Lee Batchler and Janet Scott Batchler, screenwriters sharing tips on screenwriting, story, and collaboration (airs tomorrow, May 10, 2018); Laura Drake, a women’s fiction author who will share her tips on how to make The First Five Pages sing (airs May 17); and Chris Fox, author of the new book, Plot Gardening (airs May 24).
Past guests include Jacqueline Diamond, Lauraine Snelling, James Scott Bell, Debra Holland, Lisa Cron, and so many more! I hope you find some interesting, helpful, and encouraging tips that help you take your writing life to the next level! 😀
0 0 Read moreWhat a wonderful meeting we had this last Saturday!
In the morning, we had a guest in PAW, Dawn Vaeoso of All Romance eBooks. I was already familiar with ARe, but mostly as a reader. Dawn and Debra led a lively discussion and I think we all learned something. I missed the morning workshop by Jackie Barbosa, but heard it was excellent.
But I want to riff a little on something our afternoon speaker, James Scott Bell said in his fabulous talk. When talking about creating unforgettable characters, he listed several characteristics that will make your characters jump off the page:
In passing, he noted that the last quality, nobility, is underused, but also discussed characters who are willing to sacrifice to attain their goals or to save someone else. I was busy listening and taking notes, but still thought at the time that nobility isn’t so rare in romance. I’ve been in critique and plot groups for years and can’t begin to count the number of times we’ve been plotting, usually toward the end of the book, only to have someone ask: What is he/she going to sacrifice? Or at least be willing to sacrifice?
Of course, the classic example of character sacrifice is The Gift of the Magi. Such a beautiful, romantic story. But that kind of sacrifice isn’t at all uncommon in romance. We’ve all read romances where the hero or heroine jumps in the path of a bullet to save the other. But it needn’t be a life or death matter. Is one willing to give up a job opportunity to be with the other? Or willing to uproot his/her life and move far away? There are lots of possibilities.
Here’s how the mutual sacrifice works in Rogue’s Hostage, my captive story set during the French & Indian War. Toward the end of the book, Jacques and Mara are trapped in the besieged city of Quebec. Mara’s brother, Gideon, is with the besieging British Army. Jacques knows the situation is dire and tries to have Mara ransomed to the British. He is willing to give up the woman he loves in order to keep her safe. When things go wrong, Mara risks her relationship with her brother, her only living relative, to save the man she loves. I could say more, but that would be giving away a spoiler, so I’ll refrain.
What do you think? Are romance characters more noble than most?
Linda McLaughlin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont
Rogue’s Hostage buy links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00BJO26OY
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1005663623
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/291719
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A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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