Writer Syndrome

Writing the Climax

It's what the entire story has been building toward. The climax! The promise set at the beginning of your story comes to a breaking point, all is revealed, and your characters' flaws are resolved (maybe). In this episode, Russ and Tim chat about getting to the climax of a story, what it is, and how it should satisfy your readers.

Audiobooks

With their popularity increasing year after year Audiobooks are a massive business. Making it a must have in your distribution arsenal as an author. Using Russ' recently launched audiobook for HOST as an example. Russ and Tim discuss the production, distribution, and goals of having an audiobook and why people love them.

REPLAY - Story Beats Act III

Wrapping up our replay series on Story Beats from 2023 with Act III. It all comes down to this...Act III. Our heroes have been removed from their normal world, thrust into a chaotic Act II world, been through the ringer, hit the bottom of the barrel, now it's time for them to shine (or maybe not?) and finish their journey. Join Russ and Tim as they wrap-up their deep dive into the Save the Cat! Act III story beats.

REPLAY - Story Beats Act II

Continuing the Story Beats replays from 2023. Doing their best to avoid strong act II vibes, Russ and Tim continue their deep dive into Save the Cat! Writes A Novel story beats with Act II.

REPLAY - Story Beats Act I

Diving into the Writer Syndrome archive we're revisiting our Story Beats episodes from 2023. Using Save the Cat! Writes A Novel as a jumping off point, Russ and Tim do a deep dive into the Act I story beats, and reference how this methodology was useful in crafting their own works.

REPLAY - Story Archetypes

A replay of an episode recorded in 2023. Story archetypes are a great starting point for building your narrative. In this episode Russ and Tim discuss the seven core story archetypes that can be found in most fiction, how they can be used to create engaging novels, and how they used (or didn't use) them for their own projects.

The Third Draft & Beyond

If you've survived the second draft, congrats! But you still have quite a way to go on your journey, which brings us to the third draft and beyond. Refining sentence structure and word choice, incorporating beta reader feedback, eliminating crunch words and phrases, the drafts where the polish happens. In this episode, Russ and Tim reflect on their drafting process, how many it took, and what hurdles they hope to avoid for future novels.

The Second Draft

So you've completed a first draft of your manuscript. Now what? The real work begins. Writing is re-writing and the second draft is a heavy lift of fixing those major character and plot issues that creep in during that first vomit draft. This episode Russ and Tim talk about the trials and tribulations of the second draft and how important it is when shaping your story.

The First Draft

The first draft, often called the "vomit draft," is one of the most important parts of the writing process. Once you type "the end," you can truly begin. In this episode, Russ and Tim revisit their first drafts and discuss the improvements they've made for their upcoming projects.

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

The battle is on! Pens vs swords! In this episode, we explore the variations of the classic idiom "the pen is mightier than the sword." We discuss its fascinating history, discover who made it what it is today, and why pens shouldn't turn into laser swords.