Releasing Your Inner Dragon
By Marie Mullany & Maxwell Alexander Drake
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Episodes: 226
Description
Welcome to the world of creative writing and story mastery with Maxwell Alexander Drake and Marie Mullany, your guides to Releasing Your Inner Dragon. This author podcast is a treasure trove of writing tips and advice, sparking inspiration and ah-ha moments for every stage of an author’s career.
Drake, an award-winning novelist and creative writing teacher, brings his experience from the gaming world and beyond, while Mullany, author of the Sangwheel Chronicles and YouTuber, shares her expertise in fantasy world-building. Together, they delve into the intricacies of crafting compelling narratives, offering invaluable writing resources and insights. Connect with this dynamic duo and join a community of listeners passionate about storytelling and writing more immersive books.
Listen and learn from the podcast and connect with your hosts: MaxwellAlexanderDrake.com
Starvingwriterstudio.com
Mariemullany.com
youtube.com/c/JustInTimeWorlds
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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Writing Conflict Beyond the Brawl
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Aug 20, 2026 |
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Live Critique: Don't Leave Questions Scratching At The Reader's Mind
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Aug 06, 2026 |
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Let Your Characters Talk
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Jul 30, 2026 |
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From Perspective to Dialogue: A Guide to POV and Discourse
|
Jul 23, 2026 |
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Back Inside: More on Interiority
|
Jul 18, 2026 |
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Our Favorite Reads and Why They Still Inspire Us
|
Jul 05, 2026 |
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Conflict Is Opportunity: The Hidden Engine of Story
|
Jun 21, 2026 |
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Live Edit: How a Great First Page Gets Even Better
|
May 15, 2026 |
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Live Edit: Nowhere and No One | Ungrounded Writing Problems
|
Apr 17, 2026 |
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Using Internal Conflict to Create Powerful Emotional Hooks
|
Apr 03, 2026 |
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Live Edit: What’s Missing Beneath the Surface?
|
Mar 27, 2026 |
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Action Isn’t Enough: The Hidden Flaws in Common Story Openings
|
Mar 20, 2026 |
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Don’t Ruin Your Book in the Last Chapter
|
Feb 28, 2026 |
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Live Edit: The First-Paragraph Mistakes Killing Your Story
|
Feb 19, 2026 |
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Paint With Words: Unlocking the Magic of the Five Senses
|
Feb 13, 2026 |
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First Impressions: Amazons Bestsellers
|
Jan 30, 2026 |
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Live Edit: Turning Drafts into Gold
|
Jan 23, 2026 |
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Live Edit: Cutting the Fluff and Fixing the Damage
|
Jan 16, 2026 |
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Turning the Last Page: Season Finale
|
Jan 01, 2026 |
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One Page to Impress: Writing a Strong Opening
|
Dec 25, 2025 |
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Writing Fight Scenes That Hit Hard
|
Dec 18, 2025 |
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Writing Perfectly Imperfect Characters
|
Dec 11, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Why Readers Struggle To Picture Your World
|
Dec 05, 2025 |
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Beyond Original: Finding Your Voice in a Shared Story World
|
Nov 21, 2025 |
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Live Edit: No More Telling, Seriously
|
Nov 16, 2025 |
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The Art of Immersion: My Chapter One Breakdown
|
Nov 07, 2025 |
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Don’t Try This at Home! (Unless You’re an Author)
|
Oct 30, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Cutting the Fluff to Let the Words Work
|
Oct 23, 2025 |
|
Launch Smart: Secrets to a Successful Kickstarter Campaign
|
Oct 16, 2025 |
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Crafting Unlikable Heroes Who Captivate
|
Oct 10, 2025 |
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From Map to Magic: Elevating Your Worldbuilding Game
|
Oct 04, 2025 |
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Live Edit: The Fatal Flaw in Your Opening Line
|
Sep 25, 2025 |
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Behind the Pen: Writer's Break Down Their Latest Work
|
Sep 20, 2025 |
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Is AI Killing Your Voice? The Dark Side of Machine-Assisted Writing
|
Sep 12, 2025 |
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Archetypes 05 | From Victim to Victor: Evolving the Final Girl Archetype
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Sep 04, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Why Your First Page Is Losing Readers and How to Fix It
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Aug 28, 2025 |
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Episode 200!
|
Aug 22, 2025 |
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Archetypes 04 | The Magic Within: Writing the Wise and Powerful Archetype
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Aug 15, 2025 |
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Archetypes 03 | Sage Advice: Rethinking the Mentor Archetype
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Aug 07, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Why Your Characters Aren’t Connecting, Yet
|
Aug 01, 2025 |
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Archetypes 02 | Writing the Flawed: Building the Perfect Anti-Hero
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Jul 26, 2025 |
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Live Edit: How You Lost Your Reader Without Even Knowing It
|
Jul 10, 2025 |
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Archetypes 01 | Become What You're Not: Voicing Perfection
|
Jul 05, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Writing That Pulls Readers In
|
Jun 27, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Winning Readers in the First Paragraph
|
Jun 19, 2025 |
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First Page Reads: How to Get Agents to Keep Reading
|
Jun 12, 2025 |
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Voices That Breathe: Writing Lifelike Dialogue
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Jun 06, 2025 |
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How to Write Interiority in 12 Steps!
|
May 29, 2025 |
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Storytelling Technique: The Six Layers of a Dynamic Plot!
|
May 21, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Plot can hook a reader, but interiority keeps them!
|
May 20, 2025 |
|
The Mental Struggles of Being a Writer
|
May 08, 2025 |
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Live Edit: How to Paint Clearer Scenes, Drawing with Words!
|
Apr 25, 2025 |
|
Backstory In Opening Chapters
|
Apr 19, 2025 |
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What Game of Thrones Got Wrong! (SPOILERS!!!)
|
Apr 12, 2025 |
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Live Edit: Why Weak Openings Fail!
|
Apr 04, 2025 |
|
Mastering Tragedy: Writing Stories That Will Move Your Readers
|
Mar 27, 2025 |
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Secrets to Starting Your Book Strong
|
Mar 20, 2025 |
|
Mastering the Art of Magic in Writing
|
Mar 14, 2025 |
|
Live Edit: Avoid the Pitfalls of Passive Language!
|
Mar 07, 2025 |
|
Too Deep for Fiction: Clarifying the Metaphysics of Story
|
Feb 28, 2025 |
|
Live Edit: Save Your Story from Falling Flat with Strong, Dynamic Language!
|
Feb 20, 2025 |
|
How to Write Unique Character Voices and an Unforgettable Cast
|
Feb 13, 2025 |
|
Live Edit: Master Punctuation, Master Your Story!
|
Feb 06, 2025 |
|
How to Write a Magic System that WOWs
|
Jan 30, 2025 |
|
Mistakes Writers Make That Kill Their Story's Tone
|
Jan 22, 2025 |
|
Live Edit: Hook vs Story - Which ONE is Killing Your Narrative?
|
Jan 16, 2025 |
|
WANT EPIC Fantasy Geography for your Fantasy World? Watch This Now
|
Jan 13, 2025 |
|
How to Build Fantasy Cultures: Craft Rich Fantasy Societies, Belief Systems, and Traditions
|
Jan 02, 2025 |
|
Live Edit: Turn Pages, Not Heads. How to Keep Readers Engaged
|
Dec 26, 2024 |
|
Character Development: What You Need Know About Your Characters and How to Reveal What's Important
|
Dec 19, 2024 |
|
Worldbuilding Geography Guide: How to Design Fantasy Worlds and Why the Details Matter
|
Dec 15, 2024 |
|
Live Edit: Tips On Immersing Your Readers
|
Nov 22, 2024 |
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Grammar, Point of View and Language
|
Nov 22, 2024 |
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Main Character Energy - Use Archetypes to Craft Psychologically Addicting Characters
|
Nov 08, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Tips on improving your writing.
|
Nov 03, 2024 |
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Worldbuilding Geography Guide: How to Design Fantasy Worlds and Why the Details Matter
|
Oct 25, 2024 |
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Narrative Point of View: Decide Who is Telling Your Story and Why
|
Oct 18, 2024 |
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Live Edit: The secret to success is GROUNDING your reader!
|
Oct 11, 2024 |
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Break the Cardinal Rule: Show Don't Tell Might Be Ruining Your Fiction Writing
|
Oct 03, 2024 |
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Selling Books at Conventions Made EASY
|
Sep 26, 2024 |
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Are Weak Verbs Ruining Your Writing? Make an Impact with Stronger Action Words
|
Sep 19, 2024 |
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Save the Cat Story Structure: Beat Sheets, Novels, and Screenplays
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Sep 12, 2024 |
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Live Edit: There's a twist at the end
|
Aug 31, 2024 |
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The Journey of a Hero - Crafting a Compelling Story Plot
|
Aug 22, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Working outside your style
|
Aug 15, 2024 |
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Beyond Romance - How to Write Dynamic Non-Romantic Relationships That Give All The Feels
|
Aug 08, 2024 |
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Best Tips for Mastering the Pacing of Your Novel
|
Aug 01, 2024 |
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How to Tell a Great Story in Three Acts - Story Structure for Authors
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Jul 25, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Show me, don't tell me
|
Jul 19, 2024 |
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Round two of the publishing game: Who will survive the slush pile?
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Jun 27, 2024 |
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Mistake Alert: Are You Killing the Tension in Your Stories? Learn How to Fix It!
|
Jun 20, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Keep your writing style consistent
|
Jun 13, 2024 |
|
How to End a Book - Ways to End a Story that Will Thrill Your Readers
|
Jun 06, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Make sure the story in your head is also on the page
|
May 30, 2024 |
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How to Write a POV Character's Internal Dialogue and Not Bore Your Readers to Tears
|
May 23, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Great premise, but keep the focus on the character
|
May 16, 2024 |
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What is the Falling Action of a Story and Why Is It Crucial for Reader Satisfaction?
|
May 10, 2024 |
|
Finding Your Funny Bone: How To Write Prose that Will Make Your Readers LOL
|
May 01, 2024 |
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Live Edit: Don't dump all your worldbuilding upfront
|
Apr 24, 2024 |
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Ultimate Guide to Writing a Climax that Satisfies Your Readers 😏
|
Apr 18, 2024 |
|
Writing Love - How to Write Intimacy and Romantic Tension to Create Swoonworthy Love Stories
|
Apr 11, 2024 |
|
Live Edit: Choose the right narrative voice for your story
|
Apr 03, 2024 |
|
How to Write Rising Action - Mastering Pacing, Character Development and Plot Structure
|
Mar 28, 2024 |
|
The publishing game: Learn to write a better first page!
|
Mar 22, 2024 |
|
Writing Transformative Character Arcs: From Zero to Hero and Beyond
|
Mar 14, 2024 |
|
Does Your Inciting Incident Work? How to Write a Phenomenal Call to Adventure!
|
Mar 06, 2024 |
|
Writing dialogue: How to engage the reader when characters are talking
|
Feb 29, 2024 |
|
Writing dialogue: The mistakes every writer makes at least once!
|
Feb 21, 2024 |
|
Common mistakes writers make with their opening chapters
|
Feb 14, 2024 |
|
Live Edit: Focus on your story, cut pointless actions
|
Feb 07, 2024 |
|
The secret to applying plot devices well: PART 2!
|
Jan 31, 2024 |
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You're Using Plot Devices WRONG - Here's How to Do Better
|
Jan 24, 2024 |
|
How to Write Fight Scenes: Avoid Common Writing Mistakes
|
Jan 17, 2024 |
|
Writing with dreams and flashbacks and telling?
|
Dec 27, 2023 |
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Writing with allegories, when does it work and what makes it fail.
|
Dec 20, 2023 |
|
Making believable fantasy worlds & characters
|
Dec 13, 2023 |
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Plotting a Novel: How to end your story
|
Dec 06, 2023 |
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Plotting a novel - Think like the Villain
|
Nov 29, 2023 |
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Mistakes writers make in creating tension and how to fix them
|
Nov 22, 2023 |
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Unresolved themes are a problem
|
Nov 15, 2023 |
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Plotting a novel - Sometimes the better ending requires major changes
|
Nov 08, 2023 |
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The problem with inflicting nothing but misery on your characters
|
Nov 01, 2023 |
|
Plotting a Book - Make Sure you like your tropes!
|
Oct 25, 2023 |
|
Making believable fantasy worlds & characters
|
Oct 18, 2023 |
|
Plotting a Book - Transitioning from Act 1 to Act 2
|
Oct 11, 2023 |
|
Writer's Craft - Chapters, Scenes and Dialogue
|
Oct 04, 2023 |
|
One hundred hours spent on the craft of writing
|
Sep 27, 2023 |
|
Writer's Craft - Punctuation for Prose (because it is important)
|
Sep 20, 2023 |
|
Plotting a Book - Character Motivation and Story Threads
|
Sep 13, 2023 |
|
Writing a story: But why do I have to do that?
|
Sep 06, 2023 |
|
Plotting your Second Book - Magicfall 2
|
Aug 30, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: Attach the reader to your character and theme delivery
|
Aug 23, 2023 |
|
Starting a Story - Plots and Characters
|
Aug 16, 2023 |
|
Advanced Writer's Techniques: Filtering & Disguising Info-dumps
|
Aug 09, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: Your Point of View
|
Jul 19, 2023 |
|
Leading a project and other musings
|
Jul 12, 2023 |
|
Scenes, Hooks & Selling your Books!
|
Jul 05, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: Set the Scene (and magic bread)
|
Jun 28, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: Do not bury your theme
|
Jun 21, 2023 |
|
Keeping track of your plot - We complete Magicfall
|
Jun 14, 2023 |
|
Giving your plot room to breathe
|
Jun 07, 2023 |
|
Editing AI - Why Chat GPT can help, but can't write
|
May 31, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: First Person Narrative Voice
|
May 24, 2023 |
|
Good Dialogue vs Bad Dialogue - How to write better
|
May 16, 2023 |
|
More techniques for Showing and Not Telling
|
May 10, 2023 |
|
Connecting the Reader to the Character
|
May 03, 2023 |
|
Can ChatGPT Write?
|
Apr 26, 2023 |
|
Creative Collaboration: The best parts and the dangerous parts
|
Apr 12, 2023 |
|
Listener Q&A: Horror, Mystery, Many Characters and more...
|
Apr 05, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: Show Don't Tell
|
Mar 29, 2023 |
|
Plot outlines: How to, benefits & pitfalls
|
Mar 22, 2023 |
|
Live Edit: Plot, tone & saving the cat
|
Mar 15, 2023 |
|
Writer's Craft - How to write dialogue in stories
|
Mar 08, 2023 |
|
Things we hate in prose...
|
Mar 01, 2023 |
|
Standard Punctuation, prose structure, tertiary characters and other dialogue writing tricks.
|
Feb 22, 2023 |
|
Starting Your Story - World building and Character Introduction
|
Feb 15, 2023 |
|
Writer's Craft - Making the reader care about the character
|
Feb 08, 2023 |
|
Writer's Journey - Maintaining relationships and how to keep writing
|
Feb 01, 2023 |
|
Making your world feel lived in
|
Jan 25, 2023 |
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A plot comes together... Magic Falls Act 2 (second half)
|
Jan 18, 2023 |
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Fleshing out Act 1 & 2A - Magic Falls
|
Jan 11, 2023 |
|
Head book vs Paper Book
|
Jan 04, 2023 |
|
Introducing your character
|
Dec 21, 2022 |
|
Why everyman moments matter
|
Dec 15, 2022 |
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Arguing Plot Points - Magic Falls
|
Dec 07, 2022 |
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Writer's Journey: Trails and Tribulations - Copyright and Other dire dragons
|
Nov 30, 2022 |
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How to create a plot outline - Magic Falls
|
Nov 23, 2022 |
|
Finding Inspiration - Using folklore and public domain content
|
Nov 16, 2022 |
|
Writing a Villain POV - Should you do it?
|
Nov 09, 2022 |
|
Creating tent poles for a story - Magic Falls
|
Nov 02, 2022 |
|
How to start a sentence and why it matters
|
Oct 26, 2022 |
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Allegories, Symbology and Lamp shading
|
Oct 19, 2022 |
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Getting Started with a novel - Magic Falls
|
Oct 12, 2022 |
|
A look behind the curtain
|
Oct 05, 2022 |
|
Writer's Journey - The darkest hour: Self editing your work
|
Sep 28, 2022 |
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How to write magic in fantasy books
|
Sep 21, 2022 |
|
Building a Fantasy Magic System
|
Sep 14, 2022 |
|
Writing Character Relationships
|
Sep 07, 2022 |
|
How to write religion in fantasy
|
Aug 31, 2022 |
|
Show Your World
|
Aug 24, 2022 |
|
Writing Combat
|
Aug 17, 2022 |
|
Writing Politics
|
Aug 10, 2022 |
|
Practical Editing – Punctuation and Prose
|
Aug 04, 2022 |
|
Opening Lines
|
Jul 28, 2022 |
|
Sharing the Story
|
Jul 21, 2022 |
|
Building Your Lore
|
Jul 14, 2022 |
|
The fall and rise of a reedeemed character
|
Jul 07, 2022 |
|
The shrouded path to publishing
|
Jun 30, 2022 |
|
Alien Races and Focused Traits - Why do it?
|
Jun 23, 2022 |
|
Writing great character growth arcs
|
Jun 09, 2022 |
|
Creating Great Characters
|
Jun 02, 2022 |
|
Spinning a Yarn: Story Structure
|
May 26, 2022 |
|
Six techniques to polish your prose
|
May 19, 2022 |
|
Love wisely, but not too well
|
May 12, 2022 |
|
Psychology of a character – Mental illness in speculative fiction
|
May 05, 2022 |
|
Split Timelines are Flashbacks
|
Apr 28, 2022 |
|
Writer's Journey - Promises
|
Apr 21, 2022 |
|
Good Punctuation is Invisible
|
Mar 03, 2022 |
|
Writer's Journey - Trials and Tribulations - The Plot Diamond
|
Feb 24, 2022 |
|
Showing Emotion
|
Feb 17, 2022 |
|
Patterns in Prose
|
Feb 10, 2022 |
|
Writing Action
|
Feb 03, 2022 |
|
Writer's Journey - Trials and Tribulations - Self-Doubt
|
Jan 27, 2022 |
|
Writing with non-malicious villains
|
Jan 20, 2022 |
|
Agony Aunt - Relationships in Fantasy Writing
|
Jan 13, 2022 |
|
Picking a Point of View
|
Jan 06, 2022 |
|
Rethink Your Flashbacks
|
Dec 30, 2021 |
|
Practical Editing – Motivations & Openings
|
Dec 23, 2021 |
|
The Writer's Journey: The Everyman Writer
|
Dec 16, 2021 |
|
How to End Things
|
Dec 09, 2021 |
|
Narrators & POV & framing devices
|
Dec 02, 2021 |
|
A Practical Guide to Editing
|
Nov 25, 2021 |
|
Set it up. Pay it off.
|
Nov 18, 2021 |
|
Complications vs Complexity
|
Nov 11, 2021 |
|
How to avoid deus ex politics
|
Nov 04, 2021 |
|
Fantastical Races and how to write them
|
Oct 28, 2021 |
|
Mentors & Motivations
|
Oct 21, 2021 |
|
Scenes & Hooks
|
Oct 14, 2021 |
|
Redemption & Other Character Arcs
|
Oct 07, 2021 |
|
Hero's Journey - Conquest of Theme
|
Sep 30, 2021 |
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Magic, Conflict, Prophecy & Character Death
|
Sep 23, 2021 |
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Magical Items, Editing & Themes
|
Sep 16, 2021 |
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Everything affects Everything
|
Sep 09, 2021 |
|
Immersive Storytelling & Expressive World Building
|
Sep 02, 2021 |
|
Grammar, Point of View and Language
|
Aug 26, 2021 |
|
Themes, Plotters and Pantsers
|
Aug 19, 2021 |