Writer Syndrome

Story Beats Act II

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.

Story Beats Act I

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.

Writer’s Block

Writer's block...

Character Motivations

Do your characters have the right motivation? Proper motivation is necessary if you want your characters to make believable decisions that lead toward their goals, even if those decisions are flawed. In this episode, Russ and Tim discuss internal and external motivations, how they connect to goals, and how they can change as the story progresses.

Marketing & Social Media

The work doesn't stop once you launch your book. If you want to be read, you need to promote your book to the world. In this episode, Russ and Tim discuss marketing, social media, advertising, and Russ' plan for promoting his new book, HOST.

HOST Book Launch

The day has arrived! Russ has launched his debut novel, HOST. Tim asks how Russ feels, what happens next, and what improvements he'll make as he ramps on book two. Also, go buy HOST so Russ can be a little less of a starving artist.

Cover Art Process

Cover art is often your first chance to make an impression on the reader, so you better make it a good one. In this episode, Russ and Tim chat about the cover art process, how Russ approached it for his self-published title, what mistakes he made along the way, and how it's a great way to refill the creative well.

Comps & Originality

Are you original? Do you need to be? In this episode Russ and Tim chat about comps, what they are, why they're useful, and how not to get derailed when you don't feel original.

AI & Writing

Join hosts Russ and Tim on an exciting journey as they explore the fascinating world where writing and AI intersect. From AI-generated story prompts to overcoming writer's block, discover how artificial intelligence can revolutionize the creative process. Get inspired and unleash your writing potential with this insightful podcast. (Credit AI for writing this description, although us humans think this AI is a bit full of itself.)

Dialogue Tags & Action Beats

He said, she smiled, they replied. Dialogue tags and action beats are one of many tools a writer can use to distinguish characters and create dynamic scenes. This episode Russ and Tim chat about lessons learned with dialogue tags and how they used action beats to pump life into their scenes.