Writing Is Hard Work

I was able to sit down and interview my former student teacher about story.  What you have in this podcast is two English teachers who have studied fiction for most of our lives providing observations about what makes a great story. Trey Cabler also has a wonderful podcast called "Teacher's Pet" where he interviews average teachers about their thoughts on the state of education in the United States.  You should check it out!

What are the ingredients for compelling and interesting characters?  How do you create characters that are not cliche or which follow overused tropes?  Tune in to this episode where I give you some tips about creating characters with interesting quirks which cause readers to hang on to them.

In this episode I discuss how I break writer's block, one of the worst problems a writer can face.  I also touch on a 6th method not discussed on my latest blog post.  You can check out a host of blog posts about writing on my blog "Writing Is Hard Work", found at my website: http://www.rogerdcolby.com 

I am back after a long hiatus.  I know. It's been a year.  Hopefully I will be recording weekly podcasts from here on out.  I talk specifically about a planning and mind-mapping software I use called "Mind Node".  It helps me plan out novels like the one I'm working on right now.  You can find it in the App store or the Google Play store.   Find my article on this subject here: https://rogerdcolby.medium.com/why-i-use-mind-node-for-planning-writing-projects-85912fe369ae 

I broke down and bought "Final Draft 11". This will be the first in a series of podcasts chronicling my journey as a first-time screenwriter using the program. I purchased it using educator pricing (thank God) and am working on a screenplay to enter in a contest in April of 2019. In this episode I break down the basics of the program and discuss the reasons you should use Final Draft if you are going to get noticed as a screenwriter.

After a long hiatus, I've returned to talk about social media, specifically Facebook and why I no longer use it. I discuss many other forms of social media and how the writer can use them to their advantage. I discuss botometer (https://botometer.iuni.iu.edu/#!/) and how you can use this simple tool to remove bots from your Twitter followers. I also talk about my friend Jerry Bennett and how he's used social media to build a following that has worked to his advantage.

On this episode I talk about submitting to Pitch Wars and also about what screenwriting can teach us about story structure when writing a novel.

I interviewed Stephen McMurtrey over the phone and boy did we have a great conversation! We talked about writing comic book scripts for Okie Comics Magazine, writing spec scripts vs shooting scripts (screenplays) and how we are both entering our submissions on 8/29 for Pitch Wars. Good luck to us both!

This episode is really just a primer for the upcoming blog post about a direction my writing will be taking soon. The blog post hits my website on Tuesday 8/14. I hope some of you out there are thinking the same thing.

I'm working on an epistolary novel, and I dish all the good tips I've discovered about writing in this format. How do you compile all of the "real-world" documents into a readable text that a reader can follow easily and not get bogged down.

Like I'm an expert, but as a student of great literature and a teacher of great literature I can tell you what makes our writing that much more amazing. Tune in for my four tips to helping you go beyond good to great.

I can't think of a better book to discuss at this time in our history than the prophetic "Fahrenheit 451". I spend some time discussing it, but mainly I discuss the fount of writing advice found in the pages of the afterward Bradbury wrote some 30 years after it was first published.

Sometimes I will interview up-and-coming artists on this show and today is a real treat. I had the privilege of interviewing Myloe Yeager. She's a writer in my writing group, Rose Rock Writers. She's been writing for some time and is working on a thrilling crime novel currently. Listen as she shares her writing advice, experiences and how she is currently trying to market herself.

I was able to sit down with screenwriter and fellow member of the Rose Rock Writers Group to talk screenwriting. Michael Dean is a teacher like me (he teaches science) but like me he is also working on a writing career. Mike had some great advice!

In this first episode Roger discusses the 10 writing tips he gleaned from J.R.R. Tolkien's letters. He originally researched and wrote the tips back in April of 2012, but he wanted to talk further about each one and explain the context of each in detail. Tune in for more podcasts where Roger will offer writing tips, interview local authors and generally provide help for writers who have not yet quit their day-job.

Are you new to the independent author game?  Are you an old salt?  On this 12th anniversary of my first self-published novel, I thought I'd take the time to list twelve things I've learned throughout this process.  I hope they are some things that will save you a lot of time and money.

Have you ever been writing a work in progress and hear the call to write something else right away?  What about writing outside your genre?  Currently I've had an epiphany and I'd like to share it with you on this very short episode.

I was honored to interview author Ian Primeaux about his new book Emi and discuss with him about his writing process, how he goes about editing his work and who inspires him.  You can find his book HERE!

I had the privilege to interview the amazing and very knowledgeable Erik Buchanan this week.  He was delightful and very helpful.  This is one of those podcast episodes you shouldn't skip, as his advice is very informative and necessary in this game of being your own publisher.  We talk writing process, marketing, and various other indie publisher topics.  You shouldn't stop there, though, because he's written a few books.  His latest, The Trials of Abyowith is a page turner for sure, and you can get it FOR FREE by going to his website and signing up on the mailing list.

On this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Meuschke (pronounced "my-ski") about his new book "A Novel Idea" and just about the writing process.  Jason and I go way back, as he was, and still is, a fan of my old podcast "Fanboys on Fiction" so many years ago.  Jason has been on a long journey with writing, and we discuss everything from coming up with a great story to creating characters and book marketing. CLICK HERE to go to Jason's website where you can find out all about him, his books, and his love of sports fishing.