Writer's Fun Zone

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

c 2026 BETH BARANY

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post Back To School Vibes for Writers | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 221 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Finding the Flow by Catharine Bramkamp

Guest Contributor — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:00:59 +0000

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “Finding the Flow.” Enjoy!

***

What is it like to be in flow?

You probably know.

But while we are here, let’s unpack flow in the context of art.

The Autotelic Experience

Flow is an autotelic experience — autos (self) and telos (end or goal) which identifies an activity as one of doing, not producing.

What is the best part of writing?

Writing.

What is the most annoying feature of authorship?

Publishing.

Back to doing.

Video game play is one of the best examples of flow.

Video games are built to exploit the autotelic experience.

The games are “addictive” because the space is so satisfying — transforming the player into another time and space.

You can experience flow by playing video games, but a better use of your time is to pursue flow through art.

Finding the Balance Between Challenge and Skill

A satisfying writing project balances challenge and skill.

If a project or a job is too difficult for us, we experience frustration.

If it’s too easy, we become bored.

In flow there is a match, like the perfect Pickleball five-minute volley — flow.

In flow, our actions and awareness are merged.

Our minds are not off on the usual guilt trip; they are right here with our body.

We are engrossed in a new fingering technique, getting the paint color exactly right, carefully wiring the gingerbread house for lights.

We are not worried, and we are not overthinking.

It’s heaven.

Flow Keeps Us in the Present

Along with merging action and awareness, the flow state forces focus.

Our minds can’t wander when we are cutting fabric, or learning a dance step, or listening for our cue.

This kind of concentration keeps us in the present, and out of our worries and regrets.

Flow means there is no failure; it’s all about process.

When we are involved, we are all in the present, the doing.

Afterwards we say, — wow that was fun!

We also say that went so fast!

I love how flow disappears my ego.

I am so involved in making sure I’m following the dance and listening to the music cues that I even forget to suck in my stomach.

When you are in flow, you lose complete track of time.

Time flies by, or it slows; it doesn’t matter; our art stretches and contracts time like taffy.

What Happens When We’re in Flow

When we are in flow, we:

Stop thinking about ourselves.
Forget our negative thoughts.
Repeat activities that reward our efforts.
Have fun.
Features of a good flow activity include:
Clear goals and recognizable steps.
Rules and rewards (video games).
Anticipation. (Knowing the next note to play, or the next line to say.)

Find the Flow

Be autotelic; do things for their own reason.

Find the flow, swim in the current, and see where it takes you.

What if you aren’t artistic?

Try Take Up Space — Art is Your Second Act, your how-to for a more artistic and satisfying second act.

***

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***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach, Chief Storytelling Officer, former co-producer of Newbie Writers Podcast, and author of a dozen books including the Real Estate Diva Mysteries series, and The Future Girls series. She holds two degrees in English and is an adjunct university professor. After fracturing her wrist, she has figured out there is very little she is able to do with one hand tied behind her back. She delights in inspiring her readers.

The post Finding the Flow by Catharine Bramkamp appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Constructive Critique Basics | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 220

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:25:12 +0000

Constructive Critique Basics – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 220

***

“It is so, so important on how to give constructive feedback to other writers, and also how to receive that feedback from other writers, and how to create a safe space.” – Beth Barany

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled “Constructive Critique Basics” host Beth Barany shares an episode from her premium “Edit Lab” channel where she shares how you can give and receive critique while remaining respectful.

Beth explains the communication basics to managing your own expectations when it comes to receiving constructive critique on your writing.

This episode shares great insight into what is offered to you in the exclusive Edit Lab group.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

Support the podcast! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

Get the workbook: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

Join the Edit Lab! https://bethbarany.com/editlab

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 220 The Mechanics of Constructive Critique

BETH BARANY: Hi everyone, Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future podcast. This week’s episode is pulled from, my premium channel that I offer to Edit Lab. Every month, we meet in person online, and we do critique, and we teach, and we write. And every week, they get a advanced piece of content, because they’re in the premium program in Edit Lab.

So I thought I would bring this out to you because it is so, so important on how to give constructive feedback to other writers, and also how to receive that feedback from other writers, and how to create a safe space. So you could take these tips and bring them to your critique group. I highly invite you to do them.

And if you would like to come and join us at Edit Lab, please do. If you join before the first Wednesday of the month, you get to come into that call and have your work looked at, if you’d like. We do 250 words so that as many people who want can get looked at in that hour. And we do some fun, free writing.

So take a listen to this for constructive critique basics, and these are really core principles that you can take with you into your critique group. All right. Happy writing and happy editing.

[01:22] Constructive Critique Basics

Hi, everyone. In this episode, I am going to talk about how to give good critique that is constructive and helpful to the other person. So here is what I recommend in being a good critique partner. So there’s two things I wanna talk about. How do you handle it when you’re the one being critiqued, and how do you offer critique that is constructive and not destructive?

[01:47] Respect and Hold Space

So number one, in our group, we ask people to tell us what is it they would like feedback on. So pay attention to what that is and be deliberate in giving them the feedback that they asked for. Be respectful, and it’s the golden rule, right? Treat others as you would like to be treated. If you’re not sure, ask questions, ask clarifying questions.

Hold space, meaning we all understand how tender it is to have our work critiqued, especially when we offer up critique thinking it’s just wonderful, and we get feedback that critiques, that tears apart our writing. So hold space for that and have compassion.

[02:28] No Blame or Explaining

Also, take responsibility for your method of communication, and if you make a mistake in the way you offer critique, own that.

In offering critique, there’s no blaming anyone, there’s no complaining, and there’s no explaining. Unless people ask for an explanation. By blame, I’m like, don’t make it be someone’s fault- your own fault or someone else’s fault. We’re all doing the best we can here. In terms of complain, if there is a complaint that relates to anything in the way the critique group is run, do bring it up to the organizer as an aside, unless you can state it in a constructive way.

Also, don’t explain. By explain, I mean if someone gives you feedback, you wanna say thank you.

[03:10] What Worked and More Of

There’s two main principles in giving feedback, which is to start off with what I liked. “What I liked was…” and you tell them what you liked. Everyone wants to know what is working in their pages so they can do more of that.

So we want to know what you liked, and also what you thought was working. That’s another way of saying it. “What I see is working is X, Y, and Z.”

And then the second piece of feedback that people do want to know, that’s why we’re offering our work for feedback- is: What isn’t working, or what is lacking? What is missing?

Another way to state that is: What I would like more of is…” And that puts it completely in the positive. We’re still saying what’s lacking, but we’re saying it in with positive language, and by positive language that the listener may be able to receive better. If you tell them, “Well, this isn’t working,” that can put them on the defensive.

But if you say, “What I would like to see more of is…” because I didn’t see it, and now we’re not saying that it isn’t working, we’re just saying, “I expected to see something in your pages, and I didn’t see it.”

[04:16] Ask for the Feedback You Need

Now, how do you ask for feedback when you are the one in the hot seat, or in the critique group, or even with a, just a one-on-one critique?

You wanna be up front. When you give someone your pages, you wanna say specifically what kind of feedback you would like. You get to control this. It is your book. It is your creative process. You get to control it.

There’s been times when I have been in an early draft, and I will give it to my critique partners, and I will say, “Please don’t give me dibby dabby line edits. Please don’t critique the story yet. Please, just speak to the characters. Are they interesting? Do they grab you? Do you want to know more?” So, ask specific questions. You get to.

[05:01] Set Critique Style and Genre

It’s your book. Also, you can tell the room or your partner how you wanna be critiqued. You could say, ” Throw it all at me. Anything goes.”

Or you could say, “Please use the sandwich method.” Something positive, something constructive, and something positive again. Something like that. Or you could say, ” Please just tell me what is working and what you’d like to see more of.” You get to guide the critique, and you can always ask if it’s an organizer or teacher like myself; you could say, “What do you suggest?” Or if you’re not sure.

[05:33] Genre Expectations

Also, it is important to understand the group expectations or the partner expectations around genre.

Are you putting your work in front of people who know your genre really well, like you’re doing in my group in the Edit Lab? Or is it in front of a mixed group of writers who come from all different backgrounds, some are experienced, some aren’t, some write in fiction, some write in nonfiction, some don’t even, and maybe nobody in, else in the group writes in your particular genre.

It’s really helpful to know this because we are writing for readers who are expecting something from our kind of book. And if you’re in front of readers, writers who do not understand those expectations, they are going to poke at your book expecting it to be something else.

And that’s okay, too. It’s great sometimes to get feedback from people who do not know your genre, and people who are good at that will say things like, “Well, I don’t read your genre, but what I noticed is working is this, and what I’d like more of is that.”

A good critique partner can critique your work even though they may not read, be an avid reader in your genre because they understand good writing craft, ’cause that’s what you’re looking for as well.

Is my material understandable even to someone outside my genre? That is a good test.

[06:47] Receive Feedback Gracefully

Also, when you are receiving feedback, it’s really good practice to say thank you after the feedback and leave it at that. You don’t need to explain, but you could ask clarifying questions. Your job is to receive the feedback and then next use what’s useful.

Throw away the rest. You are the one who decides. Inside of you is some kind of North Star that is pointing you in the direction of the book you want to write. That’s what you listen to. You could receive 10 pieces of feedback, and only one piece actually resonates strongly. Do listen to all the feedback and then make a considered decision and discard it if it doesn’t work.

But you might learn something even in the consideration of that. You’re like, “Oh, that’s really interesting. I hadn’t thought of that, but that doesn’t work for my story.” You don’t need to say all of that, though in a critique group. In a critique group, you’re just receiving critique, and it’s great to just say thank you.

[07:42] Supportive Culture and Wrap Up

Lastly, we wanna have a critique environment here at Edit Lab, and wherever you go that feels supportive; that is a win-win. No one needs to lose here. This isn’t a contest. This is about how to make your writing better and helping other people make their writing better. So those are some tips on giving and receiving feedback.

I hope you enjoyed that episode on how to give and receive constructive critique.

If you have any questions at all, please reach out to me. You can find me on all the socials, and there is a contact page on my How to Write the Future landing page… Be sure to check out the Edit Your Novel checklist if you are getting ready to edit or you’ve started editing your novel and you’re like, “Oh my God, where do I begin?”

Start with this checklist. It will give you a 30,000-foot view of your own work and help you reinforce what you’re already doing well and help you analyze where you need support. And remember, I offer that kind of support in Edit Lab, a monthly membership for science fiction and fantasy writers. So I hope to see you there.

Happy writing, everyone. Write long and prosper. Ciao, ciao.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

c 2026 BETH BARANY

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post Constructive Critique Basics | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 220 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF COMMUNICATING WITH ARTISTS FOR YOUR BOOK — From an Artist Herself by Anna Leitensdorfer

Guest Contributor — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:00:11 +0000

Today we welcome back Anna Leitensdorfer to Writer’s Fun Zone. She is stopping by to chat with us about “THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF COMMUNICATING WITH ARTISTS FOR YOUR BOOK.” Enjoy!

***

Reaching out to an artist can be both exciting and intimidating.

After all, they can turn your written words into book covers, interior art, scene illustrations, and so much more!

So, what are some things to do — and what to steer clear of — when looking for an artist?

DO’S:

1. Research your artist(s).

Make sure their style/their portfolio has elements that you want to see in your finished artwork.

2. Look at an artist’s Terms of Service to see what all is allowed/not allowed.

For example, some artists will not draw heavy machinery or gore or only specialize in one style and one style only.

3. Be polite and courteous.

The artist is most likely just as excited as you are!

In many cases, they are your biggest cheerleaders!

4. Communicate clearly.

When expectations are laid out plainly, the chances of miscommunication or misunderstandings diminish rapidly.

In addition, if an artist sends a revision, the sooner you reply with feedback or “It will take me a few days to figure out what I would like to change”, then the artist knows what is going on/can make those changes.

This also applies if you are out of town/will not be able to communicate for a certain amount of time, so just let your artist know (and give an end date/when you will be back).

5. Keep in touch frequently.

Yes, life happens, but touching base at least once every two weeks or even once a week with the artist while your commission is active is a great way to stay on track and keep misunderstandings at a minimum.

Sometimes artists are so absorbed in their work that they forget to reply and might just need a little reminder.

This also goes for the artist, too.

6. Ask the artist about their workflow.

How do they tackle revisions?

How long does a book cover in their style take on average?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how they work!

7. Request a contract if the artist does not provide one.

Contracts are a surefire way to protect you, as the client, and the artist.

Remember to read over any contract you receive carefully before signing and don’t be afraid to ask to make changes to the contract if there are errors.

8. Be clear and concise.

If you get a progress picture and the colors are not what you want, be upfront and let the artist know as soon as possible.

Do not be afraid to request revisions if they are available/part of your commission.

9. Stand up for yourself.

In the event you hire an artist that just isn’t quite working out (such as they are trying to turn the piece into what they want rather than what you want, or they are just not communicating with you), then look at parting ways with them.

Review the contract you signed with them and see if it outlines any policies regarding discontinuation of work.

Sometimes things don’t work out, and that’s okay. It’s just business.

DON’TS:

1. Ask an artist to mimic or copy another artist or another company’s art style.

Many artists have their own unique style, which is what separates them from others.

It’s like asking a film student to directly copy James Cameron’s filming style just because you want James Cameron cinema but can’t get James Cameron.

2. Request a discount on an artwork.

Many artists already undercharge, and some artists are willing to work within your budget.

Come to them with a budget you have set for yourself, and they may be able to work with you.

If they cannot, then resume your search for a new artist, ‌keeping them in mind for the future when you do have the funds.

3. Accuse an artist of tracing or AI-usage without proper evidence.

Baseless accusations can severely hurt an artist’s reputation, even if they are innocent.

If you are suspicious of AI, message a fellow artist friend privately to get their opinion.

4. Tell an artist that they “have the skills to do [this art piece]” that is severely out of the artist’s skill set.

For example, if an artist solely works on organic landscape paintings with not a single spaceship in their portfolio, it is most likely they do not specialize in machinery.

An artist knows their strengths and weaknesses, and while it is okay to try something new, please be respectful and understand that it might be something they have not developed enough skills for yet.

5. Ghost the artist after sending an initial inquiry.

If they are out of your budget, just reply with a “Thank you so much for your time, but this is just out of my budget for right now.”

Artists will follow up with any open leads, so this will let them know not to contact you.

This also applies to artists, as ghosting potential clients can come off as rude as well.

Conclusion

Basically, all that it comes down to when looking — and hiring — an artist is communication.

Be open with what you want and your expectations!

After all, the artists want to make sure they are creating art as close to your vision as possible.

Many of these do’s and don’ts can also apply to other professions, not just art, so they’re nice to keep in mind.

Did any of these do’s or don’ts surprise you?

***

About the Author

Anna Leitensdorfer is an illustrator, animator, and author who began offering creative services to fellow writers in 2024.

She provides illustration for children’s books, storyboarding, cover design, character art, interior art, maps, and promotional artwork for marketing.

A 2018 graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Animation, Anna continues to pursue her passion for storytelling through visual media.

She is currently developing her original animated feature film, Art of Auld Lang Syne, while also expanding her work in book design and print formatting.

In addition to supporting other authors, Anna writes her own fiction and recently completed a supernatural horror manuscript.

When she’s not behind her drawing tablet, she can usually be found playing video games or taking her two “little monsters,” Shelby and Percy, bowling.

She is open to commissions in animation, game design, and illustration.

The post THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF COMMUNICATING WITH ARTISTS FOR YOUR BOOK — From an Artist Herself by Anna Leitensdorfer appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Do You Have to Write Every Day? by Bailey Lang

Guest Contributor — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:00:22 +0000

Let’s welcome back Bailey Lang as she shares with us “Do You Have to Write Every Day?” Enjoy!

***

“How can I get myself to write consistently?”

This is one of the most common questions writers ask me in my book coaching work as the Literary Witch.

They’re often authors who find themselves writing in a desperate rush to meet a deadline and then crashing, wondering all the while what’s wrong with them.

“Why can’t I make myself write every day?” they ask.

The first question I always ask in response is, “Why do you think you need to?”

Now, there’s nothing wrong with a daily writing practice if that’s what works for you.

There’s also nothing wrong with wanting a writing practice that feels spacious and magical rather than rushed and stressful!

But consistency does not have to mean writing every single day.

In fact, I think conflating “being a consistent writer” with “writing every day” is kind of a trap, and it’s one that can set you up for failure.

Why We’re Told to Write Every Day

The suggestion to write every day is so common it’s practically a truism.

We see it in canonical creativity texts like The Artist’s Way, on social media, and hanging around in the ether like a scary ghost you can’t get rid of.

It’s easy advice to give and understand: If you want to make progress on your book, sit down and write a little bit every day.

Boom!

Done!

Conversation over.

It’s also quantifiable and trackable, which is great for our optimization-obsessed culture.

Did the number go up?

You’re succeeding! (Did you break your streak? Uh-oh!)

We’re told to write every day in part because it offers a simple way to track success or failure.

If you’re writing daily, you’re consistent.

If you aren’t writing daily, you’re not consistent.

Right?

Well, not so fast.

When the Advice Doesn’t Work

One of the problems with “write every day” as a metric of success is that it only measures one small component of your writing practice while ignoring everything else that makes creative expression worthwhile.

Adding new words to your draft is a single piece of your writing practice — an important piece, to be sure!

However, simply putting more words in the draft doesn’t reflect the totality of your creative experience.

“Write every day” doesn’t account for:

The things you do to fill your creative cup
Revising and editing your draft
The workshops and lessons you take to improve your craft
Conversations you have with other writers that spark a new idea or help you unravel a tricky plot knot
The reality of the creative cycle, which requires rest (we’ll come back to this!)

Expecting yourself to write every day creates a binary success/failure condition that ignores how complex creativity and life are, and feeling like you’re constantly failing is a surefire way to sap your creative energy.

Many of us have lives that simply don’t allow for rigid daily habits.

Take me, for example.

I’m Autistic and chronically ill.

My energy fluctuates day to day and across the seasons.

I can’t show up the same way all the time, and expecting myself to is a recipe for frustration or burnout.

Everyday life conditions like school, work, childcare, disability, neurodivergence, and even a desire for variety can make writing every day difficult, if not impossible.

Acute situations like health or climate emergencies cause disruptions that “write every day” doesn’t leave room for.

Fortunately, there is a way out of this success/failure binary — and it’s one that will actually help you write more consistently.

How to Write Consistently

If expecting yourself to write every day is a path to frustration and failure, what’s the alternative?

Can you still write consistently even if you’re not writing every single day?

You can, and there are a whole bunch of ways to make it happen.

The first thing to understand is that creativity is not a linear experience.

The writing process is recursive: it doubles back on itself, it loops, and it leaps around; it has cycles.

Honoring those cycles — and your own — is a faster, better, and more sustainable path to writing consistently.

We can think of a creative cycle as having seasons, like the year, or phases, like the moon.

Let’s stick with the seasonal metaphor for a moment.

First there’s a planting season, like spring: a time to gather ideas, brainstorm, create an outline, seek inspiration, make writing plans, and set the stage for what comes next.

Next comes a growing season, like summer: a time of active creative energy and productivity.

This is when all the seeds planted earlier produce fruit.

You’re in the flow state; the words are hitting the page.

It’s glorious.

Then, there’s a harvest season, like autumn: a time to gather everything you’ve created.

This is when you revise and invite others into the process, such as sharing the draft with a writing group or submitting it to publishers.

Finally, there’s a fallow season, like winter: a time to rest and resource yourself before beginning again.

The winter season is ideal for reflecting on what went well and what you want to adjust in the future.

These seasons don’t have to be identical in length, but they’re all important.

Neglecting creative rest will eventually mean your creative engine is running on empty.

Expecting yourself to write every day when you have no creative juice is going to feel bad!

Instead, welcoming fallow periods as normal and nourishing will allow you to prepare for another season of growth.

The seasonal method isn’t the only way to aim for consistency, either.

Here are a few other approaches that enable both flexibility and consistency:

Aiming to write more days than not (3 days out of 5, or 5 days out of 7, for example)
Setting experimental daily writing goals for a limited duration and then assessing the results (i.e., writing for 7 days, 14 days, or 30 days and then resting)
Assigning each day as a green/yellow/red light day based on your energy and circumstances (green light days are high-energy, high-capacity days; yellow light days are lower energy and capacity days; red light days are days for rest or doing the bare minimum)
Adjusting your writing practice based on your energy levels across different seasons of the year or in response to changing life circumstances

Writing consistently doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing expectation, and you don’t have to write every day to write consistently and make real progress on your book.

Wanting to write consistently is a valid desire.

Consistency and progress do go hand in hand.

The thing we often lose when conflating consistency with daily writing is that you can be consistent without having rigid, unforgiving expectations.

In the end, the only successful writing practice is the practice that works for you — and you get to decide what that looks like.

That’s pretty magical!

Resources and Reading Recommendations

Workshop: “The earth has seasons, why shouldn’t you: Cyclical planning for writers”

A Year in Practice, Jacqeline Suskin (affiliate link)

Magic Maker, Pam Grossman (affiliate link)

Word Witch, Kate Belew (affiliate link)

***

About the Author

Dr. Bailey Lang is the Literary Witch, a book coach who helps visionary authors reclaim their creative magic and finish their books.

Bailey has a PhD in rhetoric and writing studies and they love geeking out about writing, language, and magic.

You can sign up for Bailey’s free newsletter, Ink + Alchemy, for monthly missives that will help you build a writing practice you love.

Website

Newsletter

The post Do You Have to Write Every Day? by Bailey Lang appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 219

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:00:53 +0000

Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 219

***

“Everybody’s starting line is different. Everybody’s starting ingredients are different. We can still do what we want to do.” – Beth Barany

In this inspirational How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled “Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers,” host Beth Barany shares why it’s never too late to pursue your writing dreams. Beth shares a heartfelt message about how she often felt behind with her peers and shares what she says to herself to get motivated into action.

With advice on how to feed yourself creatively, there’s also an invitation to sign up to the newsletter and be invited to Fellowship of the Pen, a Facebook group where you can share your writing wins or struggles in a safe and nurturing creative community.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

Support the podcast! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

Get the workbook: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/ and you’ll be invited to join Fellowship of the Pen FB group.

Join the Edit Lab! https://bethbarany.com/editlab

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 219 Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers

Feeling Behind

BETH BARANY: I’ve always been behind. I was a preemie, two and a half months early. I walked late. My mom didn’t even know I could talk till I was, like, two and a half, although I was talking. And in my own career as a writer, I’ve often felt behind my peers. Or even before I decided to be my own boss, I was watching people go off and do things and make their careers.

So in my 20s, I wasn’t making my career happen. I was meandering around, living in Europe, dabbling in journalism, getting started in being a professional writer. But it wasn’t until I was 38 years old, when I started my own business, that I still felt behind. I’m like, “Oh, finally, I know what I’m doing.” But you know what? Look what all I’ve done.

Books written, published, classes made, presentations given, lots of students helped, lots of clients, lots of stories written. I’m on my 17th, 18th novel. I’ve lost track.

[00:58] Your Starting Line

All that to say, everybody’s starting line is different. Everybody’s starting ingredients are different. We can still do what we wanna do.

And if you wanna be a writer, if you wanna be a science fiction and fantasy writer, you totally can do it, even if today is day one, or day five, or day ten, or day thirty, or year one.

[01:18] Read and Write Daily

What do you need? All you need is a passion for it. You need to read, read, and read. And oh my God, read. Read, read, read, read, read.

If you’re not reading, it’s really hard to be a writer. And then you need to write. Play, doodle. Okay, doodling is drawing, but play with ideas. If all you can do is write down ideas, or world build, or have story seedlings, write it down. So reading and writing, key ingredients to being a writer.

Start today. Maybe you started last week. Maybe you started last year. That’s all good.

Dive into it. Do it because you love it. Read the things you love to read, watch the things you love to watch, research the things you love to research. All of that will be the foundation for your books.

[02:05] Build Writing Community

Third piece of being a writer: get thee into a writing community.

I know I’ve mentioned this many times. It is the core of my work because that’s how I developed as a writer. I, when I was in journalism, I learned from my editors. When I wanted to be a fiction writer, I joined a group, a critique group, an in-person group, and then later on that group became online, a different group.

Anyway, online is great. If all you have is online, there’s a lot of writing communities online. I have a writing community online. There are lots and lots and lots of communities.

[02:39] Fellowship of the Pen community

I have Fellowship of the Pen. If you sign up for my newsletter by getting the World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers, you are invited to join Fellowship of the Pen. It’s a Facebook group.

Come in, chat, share your progress. Share your support for others. Share your progress. Share your questions. Share your excitements. What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you listening to? We learn from each other. Community, it’s so interesting.

[03:05] Solo and Community

Writers, we tend to be solo, right? We tend to be kind of at the edge of the village, of leave me alone, I’m by myself. Maybe we meander into the groups from time to time.

Lots of writers are like this. We go away, we come back, we go away, we come back. You need your community. Go to writing sessions. Go to writing groups in your community. Go to book talks. Go listen to other authors read their stuff. Go to writing conferences. Go to salons. Go to your local cafe and chat with someone who is reading a book. Find out what they’re reading. Talk to people.

[03:44] Reconnect After Isolation

A very interesting thing has happened in the modern era, in the most recent modern era with the pandemic and the lockdowns and the isolation. It may have provoked some isolation, habits that got worse for those of us who like being alone. I liked all the time I had alone, but I also know I need people, and if I’m not around people, I get kinda depressed, frankly.

If I’m not doing my creative work, I get depressed, but if I’m not around people, I also get depressed. I have a husband, I have cats, I have my plants. It’s not enough. I have to go out into the world, meet new people, be around new people.

[04:21] Feed Creative Fire

And here’s the fourth component.

I talked about reading, I talked about writing, and I talked about community.

Feed your creative well. Feed your creative fire. Do new things.

How do we feed our creative fire? We do new things. New food, new, new clothes. Could just be different clothes that you haven’t worn in a long time. Try a recipe you haven’t tried in a long time. Go see some art. Go listen to some music.

Go walk in a neighborhood you haven’t walked in, safely. Walk into a store that you’ve always walked by, and you’ve never walked in. Walk in. Check it out. Do new things. When we do new things, we get new ideas. New patterns are created in our minds.

[04:59] Start Where You Are

So I am not behind. I am right where I am. And here’s the big tip I have learned how to do over the years.

I say to myself, “Start from where you are.”

And with the advent of computer games and computers and restarts and often I think of hitting the restart button. I’m just hitting restart. It’s okay. We’re clearing the slate. I think of like a, clearing the table, clearing the slate, clearing it, restarting.

It’s okay. We can restart every minute, every five minutes, every hour, every day. Now, I recognize that not everyone’s gonna need this advice. So please take what’s useful. Leave the rest.

[05:37] Final Encouragement

You are not behind. You are right where you are, and you can start from where you are. I did, and I know you can. All right, everyone, that’s it for this week.

Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

c 2026 BETH BARANY

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2022/01/19/getting-feedback-on-your-novel-by-beth-barany/

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post Read, Write, Restart: Writing Tips for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 219 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Can I Copyright AI-Generated Content? by Kelley Way

Guest Contributor — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:00:27 +0000

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Kelley Way as she shares with us “Can I Copyright AI-Generated Content?” Enjoy!

***

I recently asked my social media followers what AI-related topic they were most interested in hearing about, and the question “Can I copyright AI-generated content?” was by far the most requested.

So let’s talk about whether AI-generated content can be copyrighted.

Why Copyright Requires Human Authorship

First, let’s remember why we have copyright law in the first place.

Copyright law exists to encourage creativity and allow creators to profit from their creations.

Since these are the goals, it has long been held that only humans can create a copyrightable work.

While non-humans may create artistic works, they do not need incentives to do so; therefore, they do not need copyright protection.

This means that AI-generated works are not copyrightable.

AI programs are not humans and do not need an incentive to create.

So if you ask an AI program to write a book for you, you will not be able to get copyright protection for the resulting work.

The courts and the Copyright Office have both held firm on this point.

When Human and AI-Generated Content Are Combined

But what about when a book is a mix of AI-generated and human content?

Or what if your first draft is AI-generated, and you then put a lot of effort into editing it?

The official stance is that the portion of the book that is human-generated can still get copyright protection.

There was a case a few years ago where someone used MidJourney to create artwork, which they then put together to create a graphic novel.

They did not disclose that part of it was AI-generated, and when they received a copyright, they proceeded to brag on social media about it.

Not surprisingly, the Copyright Office found out, and they canceled the copyright, then issued a new copyright for the text and the selection and arrangement of the artwork, i.e., the parts of the work that were human-authored.

When the author objected, recounting how hard they worked to get the images they wanted from MidJourney, the Copyright Office explained their reasoning (and then they explained it some more in their Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, which you can read here.

Who Is Making the Creative Decisions?

The essence of their reasoning is that if you don’t know what the end result is going to look like, then you can’t be considered the creator.

In the case of AI prompts, no matter how carefully you word your prompt, you still have no idea what the AI program is going to give you.

Since you’re not making the creative decisions, the result will not be considered human-authored.

Let me reuse an example I gave before.

If you take a photo, upload it into an AI program, and ask the program to make the photo three shades darker, you know what the new photo is going to look like.

This new photo is still eligible for copyright.

However, if you ask the AI program to add a cat dragging a bathrobe into the photo, the AI program is doing a lot of the creative heavy lifting.

It’s deciding the color and size of the cat, the color and type of bathrobe, where the cat and bathrobe appear in the image, what direction the cat is facing, etc.

All of these creative decisions, and if the human is not the one making them, then these new elements will not get copyright protection (but the underlying photo is still protected, since you took that picture).

So to think about it another way, if you are using an AI program as a tool to get to an intended result, and the creative decisions are all made by you, then you’re fine.

If you’re asking the AI program to create something for you, and you’re letting the AI program make those creative decisions, then anything contributed by the AI program will not get copyright protection.

Final Thoughts

Now that we’ve answered “Can I copyright AI-generated content,” feel free to read other blog articles I’ve written on this increasingly important topic, including ways that you can safely use AI, in my previous blog post “What Can a Writer Do With AI?”.

For all other questions, feel free to email me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.

***

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***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English, followed by a Juris Doctorate. Kelley is a member of the California Bar, and an aspiring writer of young adult fantasy novels. More information at kawaylaw.com.

The post Can I Copyright AI-Generated Content? by Kelley Way appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Protecting the Creative Life: Why Writers Burnout Before Finishing by Iman Llompart

Guest Contributor — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:00:38 +0000

Let’s welcome back Iman Llompart as she shares with us “Protecting the Creative Life: Why Writers Burnout Before Finishing.” Enjoy!

***

I Still Want to Write. So Why Can’t I?

I’ve been in a writing slump for the better part of 2026.

I constantly think about writing, and it hurts more than it should because, for the longest time, I was writing.

I’m only three chapters away from finishing my rough draft, and this is when my motivation and discipline decide to take a nosedive.

It doesn’t help that I’ve had a few added stressors.

I lost my job.

I live in a country that isn’t my own, so figuring out visas and who to get them through has added another layer of uncertainty I need to navigate.

On top of that, I’m starting a freelance business and learning everything that comes with it.

Client outreach has become especially important because of my job situation, and every new responsibility seems to take me further and further away from my craft.

Creating is important.

For many of us who choose to live in the creative space, it’s the air we breathe.

But when life throws rocks at you that you can’t simply bury, sometimes the thing that gives you joy gets tucked into a corner and left to collect dust.

We still think about our projects.

The characters.

The setting.

The plot.

The story.

But the longer we go without putting meat on those bones, the more that little seedling of guilt starts to grow.

Our untouched work gathers more dust, doubt grows heavier, and eventually our confidence and some of the joy we once found in creating — disappears.

So we make assumptions.

I’m not motivated enough.

Maybe what I’m writing is shit.

Maybe I’m not disciplined enough.

Or, worst of all:

Maybe I’m not meant to finish it.

But what if we’re wrong?

What if the problem isn’t the writing itself?

Burnout Rarely Arrives All at Once

When life gets in the way, or when creative entrepreneurs start businesses and discover just how much happens behind the scenes to keep them running, the actual craft can easily become the last thing on their minds.

Burnout can come from work, family, admin, marketing, querying, networking, client responsibilities, deadlines, constant decision-making, maintaining visibility, and the never-ending pressure to keep producing.

No single responsibility looks catastrophic on its own.

That’s the problem.

It’s the accumulation of all of them that wears us down.

Eventually, there isn’t enough time or energy to do the things that feed our souls.

Instead, we’re barely keeping ourselves afloat, and that can slowly suffocate the ember that made us want to create in the first place.

The Writing Becomes the Thing We Blame

With everything I already have to think about and all the decisions I have to make throughout the day, when I finally have some free time and a glimmer of energy left, the last thing I want to do is write.

Create.

Because when I open my manuscript, I feel exhausted.

I know more decisions are waiting for me there.

What does this character do next?

Does this scene work?

How am I going to connect everything?

Is this actually the ending I want?

And sometimes, making even one more decision is the last thing I want to do.

But the manuscript isn’t causing my exhaustion.

That feeling was there long before I opened it.

The book simply becomes the place where I finally notice it.

The blinking cursor on the screen doesn’t create the burnout.

Like an open wound, it exposes it.

When Creative Resistance Isn’t Really Resistance

As a writer, I hear a lot about resistance, procrastination, discipline, consistency, and pushing through.

And as someone who is also trying to build a freelance business as a creative, I’ve started to notice that there’s a difference between procrastination and depletion.

I can avoid the work because I’m afraid of it.

I’ve done that before.

But I also know that right now, I keep pushing my writing back because I don’t have energy left to give.

That doesn’t mean we should never push ourselves.

Sometimes we need to sit down, open the document, and begin even when we don’t feel like it.

But struggling to write doesn’t always mean you’re procrastinating.

Sometimes you’re avoiding the work, and sometimes you simply don’t have enough energy left to give it.

Sometimes you’re resisting.

Sometimes you’re depleted.

Knowing the difference matters.

The Cost of Carrying Too Much

So what happens to the creative process when we’re burned out?

It doesn’t just mean we’re tired.

Burnout can look like:

rereading the same paragraph over and over
struggling to make simple story decisions
losing excitement about scenes you once loved
avoiding the manuscript because it feels like another obligation
comparing yourself to writers who seem to do more
feeling guilty whenever you rest
struggling to distinguish exhaustion from a genuine lack of interest

And perhaps the worst part is that burnout can lead us to resent the very thing we once loved.

The book we were writing.

The artwork we were painting.

The clothes we were sewing.

The thing that once gave us an escape can feel like one more thing demanding something from us.

I’ve been stuck with only three or four chapters left to finish my book, and I’ve been relatively stagnant since the beginning of the year.

Have I made progress?

Yes.

But not much.

I haven’t reached the goal I set for myself.

Instead, I’ve watched myself push that goal further and further back.

For a while, I assumed the problem was the book.

Meanwhile, I was working, building a business, supporting clients, networking, writing articles, dealing with uncertainty in my own life, and trying to keep everything else in check.

So now I have to wonder:

Was the manuscript ever really the problem?

Or was it simply the place where I finally noticed how tired I was?

Why “Just Write” Can Make It Worse

We’ve all heard some version of it:

Just do it.

Butt in chair.

Build the habit.

Write anyway.

Push through.

And those approaches can work.

I’ve used some of them as motivation myself.

But when someone is truly depleted, demanding more output can turn writing into yet another obligation.

And once creativity starts to feel like another obligation, we’re much more likely to withdraw from it.

This isn’t an argument against discipline.

It’s an argument for diagnosis before prescription.

Before telling yourself to push harder, figure out what’s actually draining you.

Maybe the answer is that you’ve been procrastinating and need to sit down and begin.

But maybe it isn’t.

Burnout Is a Capacity Problem

How much are we actually capable of carrying at once?

We only have so much attention, energy, decision-making ability, emotional bandwidth, and creative focus in a day.

Every responsibility draws from that same pool.

Writing doesn’t somehow exist outside of it.

If you’ve spent the entire day:

making decisions
solving problems
supporting other people
worrying about money
managing your business
or simply dealing with life

You don’t magically receive a fresh reserve of creative energy when you open your manuscript at night.

You’re drawing from whatever is left.

And sometimes, that isn’t much.

Protecting creativity, then, sometimes means looking beyond the writing and asking:

What else is using the energy my writing needs?

Maybe You Haven’t Lost the Story

I thought I was losing interest.

I thought I had failed.

I’ve had moments when I wondered if my book was dead.

But now I think: maybe not.

Maybe I’m tired.

Because I know the story is still there.

I still think about the characters.

I still think about the ending.

I still want to know what this book becomes.

Maybe I need to understand what’s been pulling me away from my creative space before I can figure out how to return to it.

And maybe that’s something we all need to consider before deciding we’ve lost our discipline, our motivation, or even our stories.

Before you decide that something inside you has disappeared, ask yourself a different question:

Have you lost the desire to create, or have you simply run out of room to carry it?

***

About The Author

Iman Llompart is a Creative Systems & Delegation Strategist who helps writers, book coaches, and creative founders protect their creative capacity by building the structure around their work — through workflows, client systems, and operational clarity.

Take her Creative Capacity Check-In Assessment to identify where your business may be quietly draining your creative energy.

Instagram @imanllompart • Instagram photos and videos

The post Protecting the Creative Life: Why Writers Burnout Before Finishing by Iman Llompart appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Building Your Inner Circle of Support: How to Find Beta Readers | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 218

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:38:47 +0000

Building Your Inner Circle of Support: How to Find Beta Readers – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 218

***

“We may write alone, but we actually edit together.” – Beth Barany

This short episode packs a punch!

Did you know building trusting relationships with your beta readers can make the process easier when it comes to your next book as they’ll be waiting for the email about your new story?

Listen to this episode of How To Write the Future titled “Building Your Inner Circle of Support: How to Find Beta Readers” where host Beth Barany shares why it’s important to nurture your beta reader relationships, where to find beta readers, and what questions you can ask them after they’ve read your book.

Beth also shares an actual sample email in the resources you can adapt to your book from her article: “3 Essential Editing Tips: Beta Readers (Pt 3).”

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

Getting Feedback on Your Novel by Beth Barany

3 Essential Editing Tips: Beta Readers (Pt 3) by Beth Barany

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2015/09/17/3-essential-editing-tips-beta-readers-pt-3-by-beth_barany/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 218 Building Your Inner Circle of Support: How to Find Beta Readers

Welcome and Topic

BETH BARANY: We may write alone, but we actually edit together. This episode is about finding beta readers. Nurturing your supporters, your fans, and beta readers is a relationship. It is not transactional, in my opinion. You can have transactional relationships, but I want to encourage you to have real relationships with your beta readers.

Hi everyone. I’m Beth Barany. I am the host of How to Write the Future podcast. I’m a writing teacher and coach, and specialize in helping science fiction and fantasy writers.

[00:35] Where to Find Beta Readers

So today we’re gonna talk about how to find beta readers and the importance of beta readers. How do you find them? You may find them in your critique group, writing group, online, in your social media channels, on your email list.

If you have a Substack, that’s a good place to find them. If you’re in a writing community, that’s a good place to find them.

[00:58] Preparing Your Request

So what do you ask beta readers?

Here’s what you ask beta readers.

And you can follow the resource link for the actual sample email that I suggest you send to beta readers.

So first, you wanna get their agreement and get them on a waiting list so that when you are ready to send out for more feedback to these beta readers, you are ready. You have a list of people.

So there you are, you have your list of people, and you get right to the point.

Thank them for their, their feedback and support.

[01:32] Formats and Deadlines

Tell them that you have attached the manuscript with the working title, or maybe you have a fixed title. Give it to them in the format they like. I usually offer people Word, PDF, or EPUB. And Draft2Digital lets you convert easily a Word document into an EPUB and PDF.

And I collect what is their preferred format ahead of time in a Google form. I have a sample of that. You can see my actual beta reader request form also in the resource section.

You tell them how long it is and you give them a deadline. People love deadlines. And then you give them a list of questions. Here are six questions that I ask them, and they’re in the email, and I say, “Short answers are fine.” These are not editors. These are people who are reading your book for free.

We’re not expecting them to be editors, copy editors, fix our typos, although some people will because they can’t help it.

[02:26] Six Key Questions

So here’s what we want to ask them.

Number 1: At what point does the motivation or the actions of the characters seem realistic?

Number 2: Where does the story get boring?

Number 3: What was missing? What do you want more of? It’s two different ways of asking the same thing.

Number 4: What would make this a five-star story for you?

Number 5: Do you feel attached to the characters?

Number 6: Optional. Any line edits like typos or grammar would be great.

[03:01] Set Expectations and Thanks

Then I tell them this. I say, ” Thank you for your honesty. I would rather learn that my story doesn’t work now than learn that it sucks from Amazon reviewers, and I don’t take constructive criticism personally. Thanks again. Have a great week.”

And then I do my sign-off.

So that is a sample note that you can send your beta readers.

[03:24] Wrap Up and Teaser

Let me know if you have any questions about finding beta readers or dealing with beta readers so I can answer them in an upcoming episode. That’s all for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

c 2026 BETH BARANY

The Ghost You Left Behind

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post Building Your Inner Circle of Support: How to Find Beta Readers | How To Write the Future podcast, Ep 218 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die? by Kelley Way

Guest Contributor — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:00:45 +0000

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Kelley Way as she shares with us “What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die?” Enjoy!

***

Planning for Your Copyright Legacy

I spoke to a literary agent at a conference recently, and he mentioned how many of his author clients are flummoxed when he asks what will happen to their copyrights after their death.

It’s a topic that many authors just don’t think about.

All right, let’s be honest: the fate of your property after your death is a topic many people don’t want to think about, because it’s just depressing.

But death and taxes are the only certainties in life, so let’s answer the question right now: What happens to my copyrights after I die?

If you do nothing to change the fate of your copyrights, they will be part of your general estate.

They will pass to your legal heirs or, if you have a will or trust, to your named beneficiaries.

In most cases, these recipients lack the interest and/or expertise to manage the copyrights, so they will probably languish until the copyrights eventually expire.

And for some people, that’s perfectly fine.

Not every book is a bestseller, and many books cost more money to make than authors get back in royalties.

In these instances, it might make sense to just let nature take its course.

But that’s certainly not true in every case.

Not every author is willing to let their books go quietly into the night, and for those willing to make the effort, there are options to keep your books alive and in circulation.

The question is, what is your ultimate goal?

Do you want your books to be read by as many people as possible, or do you want them to generate a good income for your heirs and beneficiaries?

Options for Managing Your Copyrights

Depending on your answer, you could:

Make your books freely available.

You can instruct your executor to make your books available to all.

This could be as simple as not enforcing the copyright (easy for the executor, but not very effective for wide circulation), or it could mean setting the price on Amazon to zero and/or uploading it to a site where people can download it with a Creative Commons license.

A podcast host suggested this option recently, and it is a viable option if you care more about wide circulation than income.

Just be aware that people may use your book for things you don’t agree with, like copying passages for their writing or uploading it to an AI training database.

Designate a manager/literary executor for your copyrights.

If your goal is to keep generating revenue for as long as possible, then you’ll want to think about who is the best person to make that happen.

This person should either already have some expertise in managing copyrights, or they should have enough interest to learn from you what needs to be done.

Once you’ve identified your ideal torchbearer, you can plan how to incorporate them into your estate plan, and how to make the transition as easy as possible.

I’ll talk more about this in a later article.

Final Thoughts

Thinking about the question “What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die?” is not a fun topic, but it will be a great relief once you’ve made a decision.

If you need help deciding what’s best for your copyrights and incorporating that into your estate plan, please feel free to reach out to me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.

***

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***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The post What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die? by Kelley Way appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Creative Myths Debunked: What the Creative Process Actually Looks Like by Nicole Plumridge

Guest Contributor — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:13 +0000

Let’s welcome back Nicole Plumridge as she shares with us “Creative Myths Debunked: What the Creative Process Actually Looks Like.” Enjoy!

***

As a collective, we tend to maintain a dreamy image of the creative as someone who wakes with the sunrise, follows a breadcrumb trail of inspiration throughout the day, and produces a masterpiece by nightfall, leaving everyone gobsmacked and in awe.

She is born wildly gifted — carried along the skirts of curiosity and whimsy to her immense fame, fortune, and success.

If only this were true.

As any creative would have experienced, the majority of the work is the silent, nose-to-the-grindstone work of showing up, even when no one is watching.

It takes consistent commitment, grit, and perseverance to breathe life into a creative project.

The False Image of the Creative

This idolized image of the creative hurts more than it helps.

It depicts a mirage, an illusion of success, as unattainable as it is unrealistic.

If you struggle to follow the above routine — balancing work and children and household duties — you are a failure as a creative.

If your first creative endeavor does not catapult you into astronomical success, you should give up.

If no one is applauding your creative attempts, it is unworthy and should be tucked quietly away.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like with any skill, job, or initiative, you need to put in the behind-the-scenes work.

We do not expect a doctor to become an overnight success.

We do not assume that the moment she enrolls in medical school, she is already an expert.

We give her the grace to spend three or four years earning her degree, followed by several more years of specialization, supervised clinical practice and experience before she is considered an expert in her field.

Why then, when it comes to the creative, do we have this bizarre notion of becoming an overnight success, maintaining perfection with little practice, cultivating genius with scarce guidance?

The Real Narrative

As with any profession or skill, one needs to put in the work to become good.

Creativity is no exception.

There is typically a natural inclination towards a certain mode of creative expression — such as writing — however, once that is established, the practice hours involve showing up to the page and actually writing.

The truth behind creative genius rarely involves overnight success or immense innate talent.

It is carefully honed skills, regular practice, failing over and over again, facing rejections, and continuing on despite this.

Finding that stubborn grit within — that unique creative spark — is what will see you through the potential silence.

After all, there is no separation between you and your creativity.

It involves writing because there is a story in your heart.

Painting because your fingers itch for the rough texture of the canvas.

Gardening because the feel of earth and sunlight is intoxicating for your soul.

You do it for you over and over again — until one day, it does find its way into the world.

Perhaps it meets fame.

Maybe there is fortune.

But more often than not, what you find starts with simple connection.

Community: Your Accountability Partners

One of the greatest things about finding your creative community is the shared genuine passion you have for creative expression.

However, on a more practical level, a like-minded community provides you with accountability.

While much of the time, creative endeavors tend to be a solitary pursuit, having a person to reflect with, share progress with, and cheerlead on can make all the difference between having a dusty half-finished draft sitting on your desktop for years and a finished manuscript within a few months.

Accountability — not more inspiration and whimsy — is what may bridge the gap between dreaming and actually getting the job done.

Doing What it Takes

As creatives, we have ideas — we may even have shiny idea syndrome, constantly hopping from one great idea to the next best thing.

Where there tends to be struggle is in the execution of the million and one ideas hoarded in the mind.

Accountability leads to action, and action bridges the gap between dreams and finished projects.

There is no vaulting over this step.

Not only are we required to take action on our projects, but that action must also be consistent.

We must keep showing up and putting in the hours if we want to reach the finish line.

Taking action when it feels scary, unfamiliar, unseen, unappreciated, or exhausting is what we need to do if we are to take our creativity seriously.

The Unseen Grind

Your creative library may store hundreds of poems, paintings, or pieces of pottery.

Of those hundreds, perhaps only a handful are actually seen by the world.

Does that make the rest worthless — wasted time and effort?

In a world of ‘picture or it didn’t happen,’ where everything needs external proof and validation for its very existence, it is hard to do something long-term, silently, for the sake of the craft before anything else.

However, putting in the practice hours is an inescapable part of the creative journey.

Creative output is akin to the flower bud sprouting above the earth.

Just beneath this beautiful, fragile gift of nature is an underground, unseen system of roots intertwining and tangling, ensuring that the surface flower stays alive.

Each root is vital.

Every speck of soil a necessity.

The unseen entanglements are just as important as what finally bursts through into the visible world.

The Paradox of Structure

So, how does one prioritize their creativity when there is little initial validation?

The best way to take action amidst the busy lives we all lead is to schedule it.

It is too easy to allow our creative projects to fall to the wayside of life until we wake up one day and realize we had an idea three years ago and still have not actioned it.

Deliberately carving out time for our creativity — knowing that it may not have any monetary or social value — is something we must prioritize to avoid the above from happening.

We tend to think structure is the antithesis to working with inspiration.

Containment is entrapment of the creative soul.

Simply put, it is a loss of freedom — and freedom is essential to creative expression.

However, scheduling tends to have the opposite effect.

Instead of waiting to be the recipient of inspiration, we empower ourselves and realize that we can create it.

We do not need to wait for the ephemeral whimsy to descend upon us, quickening the fingers across the keyboard.

Instead, we can cultivate our muse.

We can shape it.

We can treat it like clay in our hands, ready to be molded whenever we decide.

We create the environment within which our creativity can thrive.

Practical Parameters to Consider

Scheduling in our creative practice will look different for everyone based on the current architecture of their lives.

It may be 15 minutes in the morning when everyone is sleeping.

It could be a two-hour chunk on the weekends.

It could be every other day once work is finished.

Whatever it is, the key to consistency lies not on willpower alone, but on setting up your environment to ensure you are successful in maintaining your creative practice.

Have a reminder on your phone that it is time for your practice. If you paint, ensure all your tools are ready and waiting — reducing any unnecessary friction involved in the setup.

Protect your time by telling family and friends that during a specified window you are busy and cannot respond.

Set up an ecosystem that makes creating inevitable.

It is also important to note that consistency does not need to equate to perfection.

It is okay if a week was particularly hectic and the creative practice slipped between the cracks.

The important thing is simply returning to the practice with fresh energy and commitment.

The Creative Practice: Concluding Thoughts

Creativity is not a bestowed skill which flows with ease and grace, instantly meeting acceptance and celebration.

It is hard work and effort sustained over long periods of time.

It is the silent work carried out after hours while the world sleeps.

It is the quiet chipping away at projects, showing up day after day, with nothing to show the world by the end of it.

Creativity is not all magic and muse, but structure, containment and grit.

For the artist to move from ideation to creation, having a system in place is a prerequisite.

As much as we like to think there is a veil of mystery around the creative process, there actually isn’t.

The formula is simple.

Show up.

Create.

And do it all over again tomorrow.

That’s all it takes.

***

About The Author

Nicole Plumridge is the author of three books, including an Amazon bestselling debut novel.

Her work has appeared in The Poetryhood and Half-Light Magazine.

She is also a creativity and book coach who supports creatives in building creative practices and reconnecting with their inner magic.

Connect with Nicole and book a discovery call if your creativity is calling you.

Website: https://nicoleplumridgecoaching.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authornicoleplumridge

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-plumridge-39512368

Novels by Nicole:

Healing House

Erosabel

The post Creative Myths Debunked: What the Creative Process Actually Looks Like by Nicole Plumridge appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

How A Character’s Breathing Reveals Their Emotion in Your Novel | How To Write the Future, Ep 217

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:39:19 +0000

How A Character’s Breathing Reveals Their Emotion in Your Novel – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 217

***

“It all starts with awareness of yourself and noticing how you’re feeling at different moments and how you’re breathing and your emotional state, how we tie them together in our own awareness.” – Beth Barany

Did you know the five senses play an important part in making a connection between your character and readers?

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled “How A Character’s Breathing Reveals Their Emotion in Your Novel” host Beth Barany shares how you can create a deep emotional bond between your characters and readers, when to use breath and emotion cues, and provides writing examples in prose using breath as a technique to hook your readers.

Beth also shares the inspiration behind the episode and shares about her Edit lab, a monthly membership with exclusive perks.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

You finished your novel? Now what? Get the 30,000-foot view with our Edit Your Novel Checklist: http://edityournovelchecklist.com/

Get the workbook: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

Join the Edit Lab! https://bethbarany.com/editlab

Support the podcast! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?
How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?
How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 217 – How A Character’s Breathing Reveals Their Emotion in Your Novel

Why Body Senses Matter

BETH BARANY: In this episode, I am going to help you translate some body senses and body sensations into your prose. One of the biggest mistakes I see as a writing teacher, a coach, and editor of science fiction and fantasy writers is that the human component is missing. And one of the biggest ways to help the reader experience your story is to put into your story body senses.

So today, I’m gonna talk about a few of those body senses, and actually, I have an entire class on this. And I go into greater depth in my edit lab, my monthly membership, which I’ll tell you about toward the end. All right. Let’s get started.

[00:48] Meet Beth Barany

Hi, everyone. I’m Beth Barany. I am a writing teacher and coach, award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer, and creative entrepreneur.

I have this podcast ’cause I really believe that with know how and understanding and practice, you too can be a science fiction and fantasy writer. And I deeply believe that our stories have deep impact on our readers for entertainment, of course, but also for transformation. So let’s use our power of storytelling for good and help transform the world.

All right. Let’s get started.

So in today’s episode, we are going to talk about breathing. And in future episodes, I am going to talk about some other senses that I see really powerful in our stories. Smell, proprioception, which is our body’s ability to sense itself and where it is in space, and sound. So stay tuned for those.

[01:49] Episode Roadmap

Okay, first off, readers will stay hooked into your stories for longer, wanna keep reading, and wanna read your next book if you can create a strong emotional bond between the reader and the characters. One of the ways you do that is by layering in sensory detail.

As I said, to we’re gonna talk about breathing.

[02:11] Breathing Awareness Basics

We’re always breathing all the time. That is the hallmark of being alive. So there are multiple components to being able to bring sensory details into your fiction. The first one is to start noticing these elements in yourself, and your only job is to bring up to conscious awareness these senses. In future episodes we’ll cover some more, and in our edit lab we go into greater depth as well, especially through actual line edits.

So breathing. Notice your own breathing. Most of the time, we don’t notice our breathing. Most of the time it’s below conscious awareness, which is great. We need that. Our body is great at doing most things below conscious awareness. So you’re not gonna affect your breathing, you just wanna notice your breathing, and notice how your breathing is when you’re calm.

There’s nothing to write home about.

[03:04] Breath and Emotion Cues

Now notice what happens when you’re surprised. Often people take an intake of breath. Or notice what happens when you’re frustrated. People sigh, and they, like, push their breath out. Notice what happens if people are panicked. I’m not gonna replicate that. I don’t wanna…If I try and breathe quickly, I’m going to make myself feel panicked.

Notice how we use our breath when we’re angry, when we shout with ‌force. Notice how our breath feels when we’re laughing, and how the muscles feel in our stomach also, but what’s going on with our breath? It kinda comes out in short bursts, it feels like, with our laugh.

Your job is just to start to notice your own breathing. Again, do not change it. Now, notice what emotions are associated with different breathing. So say you needed to describe a character who was surprised. There are a ton of ways to do that. And lots of resources out there to help you describe this, like The Emotion Thesaurus, which is mentioned in the resource section, written by some authors who, who have a series of these. It’s a great resource.

But also, it’s one thing to grab a phrase from a book. That’s a great placeholder, but really where the power of truth will come through is when you experience it yourself, and you work at putting words to that. All right.

[04:33] Writing Examples in Prose

So notice your own breathing, notice the emotions associated with it, and I wanted to give you an example.

So you could say, “Janet was surprised.” That’s kind of boring, though, and it doesn’t help us feel what she feels. What is she feeling? You could just say something like, “Janet sucked in a breath with surprise,” or, “Janet sucked in a breath. She had no idea he was coming to the party.” So now, what did I do?

I gave you a physical reaction, and I gave an inner thought, interiority, which is great for fiction. Now, say you wanted to express frustration. You could say, “Janet was frustrated.” Again, boring. Or you could say, “Janet puffed out a breath. When will this stupid line move?” Again, I’m using body language and interiority.

There are other thing, things you can do, but that’s what’s coming to me right now. So play with that.

[05:32] Observe and Collect Techniques

Pay attention to your own breathing and what emotions you’re associating with the different kinds of breathing you do, and then start noticing it in other people and see if you can watch how their breathing changes with their emotional state or what you interpret might be their emotional state.

Next, observe breathing inside of stories that you’re reading. How are other writers writing about this and using it, and do you like it? And start collecting phrases that you like. Also notice where they have a missed opportunity or where they use it in a clumsy way.

[06:07] Using Breathing Strategically

So what do you notice, what do you notice with breathing and what it might mean for your character? Also, your main character, maybe they’re really a calm person and they do not seem to vary their breathing. I wouldn’t find that realistic. I would actually, uh, want your character to vary their breathing because we all do.

So you want to use breathing in minimal places. You don’t have to put it throughout your story everywhere, but it’s great for shock, surprise, anger. Of course, there’s laughter, and even a meditative space.

[06:47] What Inspired This Episode

So I just wanna let you know that this episode came out of a conversation with one of my writers. Where the writer realized that her character needs to be more visual in terms of how they react physically, not just verbally, not just through dialogue, but physically through her body’s awareness.

So this writer realized that she wasn’t really making it clear in her prose what was going on when her main, when her character was breathing heavily or hyperventilating. How do you differentiate between that in your writing, and how do you make it relevant and powerful for the reader? So, as I shared with in examples of today’s episode, it all starts with awareness of yourself and noticing how you’re feeling at different moments and how you’re breathing and your emotional state, how we tie them together in our own awareness.

[07:48] Wrap Up and Edit Lab

All right, let me know if you have any questions about how to write the body senses into your fiction. I have lots of material on this that I can share with you. I am going to go forward with a few topics that I mentioned, but I have a lot more to cover.

Oh, yes, I wanna let you know about my Edit Lab.

This is a monthly membership that you can join, where you can come to monthly calls and get live edits at 200 words at a time. And you can ask questions directly to me live, and you can also have an opportunity to interact with other science fiction and fantasy writers. Who is this group great for?

If you are finishing your first draft, or you’ve finished your first draft and you’re starting your edits, that’s what this membership is great for. If you’re not sure that this is right for you, go ahead and check out my Edit Your Novel checklist, which will give you a 30,000-foot view of your book and help you start editing.

And I introduce you there also in the welcome sequence to the Edit Lab. All right. That’s it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

c 2026 BETH BARANY

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/10-ways-to-generate-ideas/

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post How A Character’s Breathing Reveals Their Emotion in Your Novel | How To Write the Future, Ep 217 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

When Hell is Other People by Catharine Bramkamp

Guest Contributor — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:00:01 +0000

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “When Hell is Other People.” Enjoy!

***

“Hell is other people.” — Jean-Paul Sartre, Author of No Exit.

The Endless Pull of Other People’s Needs

We love our people.

But our people have needs; their needs wax, wane, and change over time, or over an hour.

Their needs carry multitudes, and apparently no one in the house can find the ketchup in the refrigerator faster than you.

No one in the family has faith there is still ketchup in the house.

You abandoned your novel work in progress and march to the kitchen, pull out a broad collection of ketchup bottles, and return to your work.

I am on call to help with home improvement projects, which theoretically makes sense since I live in the home:

windows need cleaning;
closet doors need planing
blinds need dusting.

There is an acre of yard that needs, in no particular order:

Mowing
Thatching
weed killer
moss be-gone
stick removal
stump destruction
Meticulous edging.

If I am not in that yard helping, working side by side with my husband, I risk overwhelming guilt.

Every time I squint through the dirty window, I feel compelled to drop my work and shuffle outside to leaf blow the patio, then clean the window, then all the windows. . .

Until one chilly November day it dawned on me that home improvements, gardens, committees, family drama, children’s needs are as unending as an Escher stairway.

We don’t finish gardening, meetings, holiday prep, projects, meetings, or events.

We only press pause.

We can abandon them for a week or two.

We can vacation.

But they will always circle around and around, reappearing yearly, monthly, hourly.

When Creative Time Is Sacrificed

One morning I sacrificed (and I used that word specifically) my writing time in favor of mowing the lawn.

Not a big deal, I thought.

But it was a big deal.

Morning is my creative time.

But THIS morning was mission-critical to my husband’s fertilizing project.

My job was mowing; his job was following me with the lawn fertilizer hours before the predicted rainfall and the onslaught of hot summer days.

Totally fine, happy to help.

But the rest of the day just crumbled away.

The lawn was happy.

The husband was happy (as he scrutinized the yard for more things that needed attention).

I was decidedly unhappy.

The Invisible Nature of Creative Work

One of the challenges of protecting our art time is that when we are in the throes of creating, it doesn’t look like much.

Writers stare out the window, musicians repeat a chord progression, painters scrutinize a paint color.

If you are composing a symphony, you are likely sitting still, which in most families is a trigger event.

You are just sitting there;

come help hang this picture
install this bookcase
wrestle this enormous desk through that narrow doorway.

The ask is not malicious; it’s a compliment that they want your help and, often more importantly, your company.

And you are just as inclined to help because the activity is mutually beneficial.

But that music needs you too, and once interrupted, that moment of creativity is lost.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeping into your time with little cat feet, and before you know it:

Your sister calls to tell you she is leaving for a retreat
Can you pick up the dogs at 10:00 AM?
Be sure to lock the back gate
Remember Fido is on a special diet of hand-shredded chicken and imported liver pate.

How did this happen?

Does it help to know that you are not unique?

Historically, female artists have pushed, resisted, and despaired about creeping and often overwhelming time encroachment (and now we share the problem with everyone! You’re welcome.)

The process of making art just doesn’t LOOK important (except for found art sculpture, which has the advantage of size, noise and fire: far more impressive than composing poems), and worse, we often work directly in the line of sight (which is why those rooms of our own are important — out of sight, out of the way, unavailable for picture hanging).

It implies we are both ready and able to help with anything or everything.

Protecting Your Creative Time

But we are not.

We are working on art, and yes, it is important.

Assure your family you love them, but they are probably quite capable of hanging that picture themselves.

They may also possess superior lawn mower blade sharpening skills, and just in case, all four bottles of ketchup are arranged like a firing squad on the first shelf of the fridge.

Two things will happen.

You will control your time.

Fed up with waiting, they may just do it themselves.

Remember to praise their good work.

Learn More

Look for my new book — Take Up Space — Art is Your Second Act.

***

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***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The post When Hell is Other People by Catharine Bramkamp appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

How to Restart Your Writing after a Break | How To Write the Future, Ep 216

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:42:59 +0000

How to Restart Your Writing after a Break – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 216

“Do not make yourself wrong. Life is busy. We have multiple commitments that we’re juggling, all of us.” – Beth Barany

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode titled “How to Restart Your Writing after a Break,” host Beth Barany shares the emotional turbulence of coming back to writing after a break and why feeling anger can be a powerful tool to use in your writing. She also offers tips to use timed writing and helpful prompts, which are available to download free here.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 216 How to Restart Your Writing after a Break

Welcome And Topic

BETH BARANY: Hi everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future podcast. Today, I’m gonna talk to you about how do you restart your writing after a break. For some of you listening as I release this, it is summertime, and maybe you’ve had to step away from your writing, or maybe you’re trying to restart after a busy first six months of the year, or maybe it’s another time of year, and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I’ve stepped away from my writing. How do I get restarted?”

I have to say, I have been in this position many, many, many, many times. I feel like I’m an expert in restarting. It is something that, gosh, I have done so many times.

[00:42] Emotional Turbulence

So first of all, you might encounter some emotional turbulence as you realize you’ve stepped away from your writing, and now you’re, like, waking up after a dream or a very busy life, and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, I wanna make time for my writing.”

But maybe you feel upset, which is something I used to feel. I’d feel so upset. “Oh my God, how could I forget my writing?”

That’s how I used to feel. I feel less so now. Now it’s more like, “Oh wow, I’m really cranky. I need to make time for my writing.”

Yeah. If I don’t write, I am… I feel very cranky, and I also feel like, uh, I’m not living my purpose, and that actually makes me really angry at myself, but more angry, just like explosive energy of anger.

Anger is such a great indicator of how some boundary has been crossed. And basically, the boundary that I cross when I forget about my writing, or I don’t make time for my writing, is a commitment, a promise to myself. I have crossed that line. I have broken that promise to myself. So once I feel all that, feel your feelings.

I make space for my emotional turbulence, and I recommend that you do the same. Do not make yourself wrong. Life is busy. We have multiple commitments that we’re juggling, all of us. So once you take some time, feel your feelings, make some room for that, and then that could take a few days. That could take an hour.

Come to neutral. Find yourself in a neutral place and start.

[02:17] Start Small Again

Now, how do you start writing?

When I have taken a break, I start small. I give myself permission not to be overly ambitious, but just to rev the engine. It is like a car has been sitting overnight in very cold temperature, and what do you do?

You don’t expect your car to just go. You rev your engine. You clean the windshield, do-do-do, and you warm up the car. You need to warm up. Just like you’re not gonna expect yourself to go and do a really long run if you’ve taken a break from running. I don’t run anymore; I used to, or any kind of working out.

You don’t wanna jump in full force; you wanna jump in gently. So what does that look like for you? That could look all kinds of ways. Maybe you just work for 5 minutes, maybe 10, maybe 20.

[03:06] Timed Writing Boundaries

I love timed writing. I have talked about that multiple times on the podcast. This is what I do to help myself stay focused. Is I do timed writing.

When I am starting out again with my writing after a break, I will contain the space. I will put a boundary around the space. I will set the timer even for 5 minutes or 10.

I ask myself, “What feels doable right now?” And I set that timer for that. I don’t make it overly ambitious. I don’t try and, “Oh, my God, today I’ve gotta write five pages.”

I don’t set ambitious deadlines or goals, or word counts. Nothing. I just keep it really small, and if all I do on the day one of coming back after a break is 5 minutes of writing, that’s successful. And so that’s the mindset shift I wanna invite you into. And then promise yourself, tomorrow, I’m gonna write for 6 minutes or 10 minutes.

I’m gonna increase it a little bit because you are a bit rusty mentally, emotionally, even maybe physically, just sitting down to write and focus.

[04:09] Warm Up The Muse

So those are my two main tips, is leave space for your emotional turbulence, really have compassion for yourself there, and start slowly warming up your own creative engine as you get back into your writing.

The other thing, uh, that you may wanna do is reread your work so you can acquaint yourself with it, reread your story notes, and do other things that invite the creative muse to join you, whether it’s opening up your Scrivener program, or putting in your favorite music, or having your favorite writing drink, or, making sure that you do something physical before you write.

I like to walk and then write. So there’s a lot of different habits that you can put together; people call that habit stacking, so that you are welcoming the muse, and the muse will come with you. And you’ve set up your writing environment the way you like it so you can get back to your writing. Writing is a practice in the most fundamental sense, meaning the more we do it, the better we get at it.

So if we’ve taken a break, we’re gonna feel rusty. We’re gonna feel like, “Wait, how do I do this thing?” And that’s okay. We need to warm up. And there might even be writing prompt exercises that you like to do to get your juices flowing. I used to not really have any affinity for writing prompts, and now I love using writing prompts.

[05:34] Prompts And Free Gift

So if you would like some writing prompts today, this episode, I’m gonna offer you a special gift. It’s my 10 writing prompts little e-book. Be sure to look for that giveaway in the show notes so that you can grab your own writing prompts book and have lots of ideas for what to write about if you are just getting started or if you’re stuck.

[05:58] Closing Sign Off

All right, everyone, that’s it for this week. Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

2026 BETH BARANY

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post How to Restart Your Writing after a Break | How To Write the Future, Ep 216 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

How to Write an Unlikable Character That Readers Still Root For by Nick Bailey

Guest Contributor — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:59 +0000

Today we welcome a new guest writer to Writer’s Fun Zone, Nick Bailey who is stopping by to chat with us about “How to Write an Unlikable Character That Readers Still Root For.” Enjoy!

***

If you’ve spent any amount of time in online fan communities over the past few years, you may have heard the term “problematic fave,” which refers to a character we know we ought to condemn, and root for anyway.

They’re easy to love and difficult to write.

Make your character too hard to stomach, and readers will never make it past chapter three.

Lean too hard in the other direction, and you risk sanding off their irksome edges, which sort of defeats the point.

Fortunately, likability isn’t a fixed trait your character either has or hasn’t, like intelligence or bravery. It’s manufactured based on what you show the reader.

In this post, I’ll run through a few ways to manufacture it, so you can pen an off-putting (but compelling) protagonist of your own.

Give them one redeeming act early

One of the simplest ways to make an unlikable character endearing is to give them a brief moment of altruism in your story’s opening chapters.

If it’s made clear that your reprobate can be kind, readers will hold out hope for a redemption arc throughout the rest of the story.

In the pilot episode of The Sopranos, we meet Tony, the cold-hearted head of a New Jersey crime family.

Extortion, adultery, murder — nothing is off the table for Don Antonio.

But no matter how depraved Tony acts, viewers cling to the possibility that he can change, thanks in large part to a singular redeeming scene in the opening.

In between all the backstabbing and bloodshed, Tony finds time to feed a family of ducks that have taken up residence in his backyard.

Watching the little ones fly for the first time is enough to knock him out cold at a family barbecue.

In a later scene, Tony is brought to tears when recalling the incident to his psychiatrist.

None of this makes Tony a good person.

And indeed, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Sopranos fan who would describe Tony as likable.

But that brief moment of vulnerability is enough to convince viewers that there’s a man beneath the mobster worth rooting for, and his therapy sessions in subsequent episodes help keep that hope alive.

Explain their actions (without excusing them)

Where an early redeeming act lets readers know that a character is capable of compassion, this next technique goes one step further, planting a relatable motivation at the heart of everything they do.

You’d be surprised how much readers are willing to let slide, provided they understand why a character is behaving badly.

Perhaps the most iconic example of this in action is Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned methamphetamine manufacturer from Breaking Bad.

The impetus for his late-stage career change is undeniably sympathetic: following a terminal cancer diagnosis, Walt wants to make sure his family is financially secure long after his passing.

Much like Tony Soprano before him, Walt isn’t damned by his criminality alone.

It’s the way he manipulates and belittles his supposedly precious family that really makes him hard to stomach.

Still, the altruistic motive allegedly lurking behind his every move keeps viewers in his corner regardless.

While the spoiler-free Breaking Bad viewer meets Mr. White with no idea what he’ll become, readers of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes have no such luxury.

They are already well acquainted with Coriolanus Snow, President of Panem and butcher of children.

But the Snow they meet in The Hunger Games prequel is a far cry from the monster of the original trilogy.

Here, he’s hungry, destitute, and desperate — by the time Coriolanus does anything inhumane, readers have already spent a hundred pages willing him out of poverty.

Even though they know Snow will grow into a detestable tyrant, they can’t help but hope he succeeds.

Play up their talents, play down their crimes

The first two techniques I’ve covered both ask something of your character. One requires a flicker of compassion, the other a reason we can empathize with.

But a character doesn’t necessarily need to be good for a reader to root for them.

They just need a writer who knows what to dwell on.

Take Tom Ripley, the covetous con artist at the center of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Tom is unquestionably immoral: he swindles struggling artists out of their savings, and kills his friends the moment they become inconvenient.

But unlike our previous examples, Tom has no noble justification for his transgressions, nor does he stop to feed the ducks every now and then to keep readers on his side.

Instead, Highsmith pays great attention to Tom’s many talents: he’s a gifted mimic, a fluent forger, and a superb improviser under pressure.

His crimes, meanwhile, are understated — the focus remains squarely on how Tom’s actions affect him.

When he murders someone, all we are told is that the victim’s cry is loud, and that it frightens Tom.

The subsequent body disposal reads more like a chore than a crime-scene cleanup.

The result is a reader who finds themselves admiring a murderer, and hoping he gets away with it.

The Conclusion

These three techniques all rest on the same idea: your readers can only judge a character by what you choose to put in front of them.

So don’t be afraid to let your protagonist be truly awful — just make sure you’ve given readers a reason to stay.

***

About the Author

Nick Bailey writes about anything and everything in the realm of writing and self-publishing for Reedsy, an online marketplace that connects authors with editors, designers, and marketers to help them publish a book.

Aside from reading, Nick enjoys hiking, electronic music, and filling up his personal cookbook with new recipes.

The post How to Write an Unlikable Character That Readers Still Root For by Nick Bailey appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Brand Protection 101: The Legal Checklist Self-Published Authors Need by Kelley Way

Guest Contributor — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:00:25 +0000

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Kelley Way as she shares with us “Brand Protection 101: The Legal Checklist Self-Published Authors Need.” Enjoy!

***

Understanding Brand Protection

This is the next installment in my series on legal considerations for self-published authors.

Now that we’ve covered copyrights, let’s talk about branding, or more specifically, brand protection for self-published authors.

In business, branding is how you identify yourself in the marketplace, so consumers know who they’re buying from.

A business’s brand includes things like their company name, logo, tagline, product packaging, and the general design and tone of their marketing materials.

As an author, when we discuss protecting your brand, this includes your pen/author name, series and/or book titles, visual identity, voice and genre reputation, and website/social handles.

In both industries (because an author’s works are a business), if you want to sell anything, you need people to know who you are and be easily identifiable to your audience, which also helps you build a reputation that encourages customers to buy your product.

Below is a basic checklist of tasks related to brand protection for self-published authors:

1. Define your brand and choose your brand identifiers.

To protect your brand, you have to clearly state what it is.

On a broad level, your brand is the promise or expectation you are offering to potential buyers, i.e., it’s what you want to be known for.

Your website and marketing materials will be built around this promise or expectation.

Your brand identifiers are features or elements consumers will come to associate with this promise or expectation.

Examples of brand identifiers include your name as it appears on your books (celebrities have a head start here, but unknown authors can still build a reputation around their name), the name of your series or story universe, or taglines you use to identify yourself and your books.

2. Research your brand.

Again, your brand is what sets you apart from everyone else.

In order for that to happen, you can’t use the same brand identifiers as someone else.

Take the time to check and make sure someone isn’t already using your chosen brand identifiers.

It will be much easier to change things now than it will be after you publish.

3. Use your brand consistently.

If you are not consistent with your brand or your brand identifiers, it will be harder to protect them.

Use the same branding and brand identifiers in all your marketing, so there’s no question about what your brand is. (And to be clear, you can change your brand and brand identifiers, or have several; just make sure you have clear rules for which brand appears where and stick to those rules.)

4. Protect your brand.

Your brand is only as strong as the protection you give it.

Once you gain a certain amount of market recognition, people will try to ride on your coattails.

You need to keep an eye out for people using your brand or brand identifiers, and you need to put a stop to it before it hurts your sales.

This is also where trademark protection comes in — many brand identifiers can qualify as trademarks, so it’s worth a conversation to see if trademark protection is appropriate for your brand.

5. Maintain your brand.

You can keep things simple when you are starting out, but as your market grows, your brand may need to grow with it.

This could mean updating your brand, adding additional branding, or creating more protection for your existing brand.

When you do these things, save any official records, keep your branding consistent, and consider how these changes will impact new or existing contracts.

Final Thoughts

If you are a self-published or aspiring author and would like to dive deeper into brand protection for self-published authors, please email me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.

***

Want to read more articles like this one Writer’s Fun Zone? Subscribe here.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The post Brand Protection 101: The Legal Checklist Self-Published Authors Need by Kelley Way appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Make Your Environment Writer-Friendly | How To Write the Future, Ep 215

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:40:57 +0000

Make Your Environment Writer-Friendly | How To Write the Future podcast, episode 215

“I really like to have physical objects in my environment to inspire my creativity so that when I look at them, the story comes to mind very easily.”

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, “Make Your Environment Writer-Friendly” host, Beth Barany shares how you can create unique surroundings that will inspire and motivate you in your writing. From crafting a collage and displaying physical items to using a corkboard, Beth shares ideas that are great to help get listeners be more creative in their writing space.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

Episode 127 – Writing practice. “I can do this.” (Step 2): https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2024/11/18/writing-practice-i-can-do-this-step-2/

Episode 184 – Writing Consistently: Facts and Myths: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2025/12/22/writing-consistently-facts-and-myths/

Episode 78 – How To Plan Your Writing Life: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2024/01/01/how-to-plan-your-writing-life/

Episode 55 – Get Writing: Seven Ways to Get Out of Your Own Way: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2023/07/24/get-writing-seven-ways-to-get-out-of-your-own-way/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for “Make Your Environment Writer-Friendly” | How To Write the Future, Ep 215

Why Environment Matters

BETH BARANY: In past episodes, I have talked about setting up a writing practice, and I’ve talked about it from the inner perspective, beliefs and rituals. Activities that you can do, how you can organize your writing life, and some mindset shifts that you can make. But I haven’t really talked about the environment that you can have around you to help you with your inspiration and to getting to your writing.

So that’s what I’m gonna talk about today. Hi everyone. I’m Beth Barany of How to Write the Future podcast. I’m an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, and I specialize in working with science fiction and fantasy authors through my courses, edit labs, masterminds, and one-on-one coaching and consulting.

I really believe that our creativity is our superpower. So let’s get to it.

[00:54] Client Challenge No Wall Space

Sometimes we need to brainstorm to figure out how our environment can work for us, and one of my clients asked me how she could set up her environment to have her be more inspired and get to her writing more, because her biggest challenge was just sitting down and working, but her physical environment wasn’t very conducive, and she has the added problem that she can’t put anything on her walls.

No tacks, no sticky paper, no thumbnails, nails, nothing. She has to leave the walls pristine. So we’re brainstorming some options for her. So I’m gonna talk about some options if you can’t put anything up on your walls, but I’m gonna first talk about what you can do to inspire you if you wanna put things up on your walls, or you wanna use a poster board, or, I was brainstorming…

What else is there besides a poster board? Or maybe you want to use corkboard, or maybe you want to make a collage and put that up on the wall. Okay, so let’s talk about it.

[01:53] Clutter or Cozy Setup

What is inspiring to you in your physical environment? Do you want it completely clear of clutter?

Then you kn- you need to clear your desk, or maybe you want to work at a cafe. But this episode is really for people who want to make their work environment congenial. Maybe you only have a corner of a dining table or of a common room, or maybe you are, you have your desk in your bedroom, which is the case for this client.

So some people need it clear, in which case I really encourage you to just move all the clutter off, and I even do that in my work desk is I just move as much clutter off as I can.

[02:31] Tactile Story Triggers

Now, secondly, something about writers is we think it’s all in our head. You know, our imaginations are working. Maybe we have pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, but a lot of writers are tactile like this client of mine, and I am as well.

I really like to have physical objects in my environment to inspire my creativity so that when I look at them, the story comes to mind very easily. So what might that look like for you? Maybe it’s figurines or stones or pretty postcards that represent the setting, or maybe it’s cutouts from magazines that you put up on a clothesline.

I did that one year, while I was working on one of my stories. That was really fun.

[03:13] No Wall Inspiration Hacks

So what do you do if you can’t put anything up on your walls? Well, we brainstormed together some options, and one of the ideas we had was to take a notebook and stand it up and put her affirmations or her images on this notebook and have it be there on her desk.

So here’s a blank book, and imagine I could set this on my desk, maybe in a little bookstand, and I could put images on the book or stickers, and I could change the pages and change the inspiration. ‘ Cause that’s another thing that I noticed with her, with this client, and also I have this too, is I need to change up the environment.

So rotate things, clean things, put down other objects.

[03:59] Collages and Rotation

So for example, I have on my desk, dragons, crystals, a wizard. Yes, I write fantasy. I also have a collage that I made to represent the film project I’m working on, which has things like Paris, and a woman climbing up a wall, and cats, and things that make me feel inspired, but also warm and fuzzy.

So when you make a collage, you don’t wanna think about it too much. You wanna just see what your subconscious has to say, and go ahead and find images that inspire you right now about what you’re working on right now. And print that out if you can, and put it on the wall, or a corkboard, or a little notebook to stand it up.

Another thing you can do if you can’t put anything on your walls is to use a kind of book stand that you can get to prop up a book or prop up a pretty postcard or an image so that you can look at it and then also rotate it out.

[04:59] Beyond Visual Sound Smell

So what is important to you? Is it the tactile objects in your space?

Is it visually clean and clear and having nothing around you? What else? Some people need it quiet, so sometimes that’s easy to come by. Other times you need to put in a headset or set up a white noise track, so that’s all you hear. What else? We’ve got tactile. We’ve got sound. What about smell and touch?

This is where having something to drink or nibble on while you’re working is important to some people. I usually just want coffee or water. And what else?

[05:39] Brainstorm and Rearrange

I encourage you to take the time to brainstorm what would make your physical environment inspiring to you. Give yourself thirty minutes or an hour to rearrange your space so that it’s more conducive for writing. And honestly, I encouraged my client to do some research and what else can she do to put art around her that inspires her for her story?

All right.

[06:02] Share Your Setup Outro

So what can you do to make your writing environment inspiring, encouraging, and really trigger that, “Ooh, I wanna work on my story,” feeling when you walk into that space? I’d love to hear. Go ahead and share that with me on on my contact page, or in the comments, or wherever you listen to this podcast, or in the blog post that accompanies this podcast.

I’d love to hear. If you have any questions about your writing practice, about writing craft, about mindset, or anything at all related to writing science fiction and fantasy, let me know. I can make a future episode about it. And lastly, be sure to check out my edit your novel checklist if you’re ready to edit your novel.

That’s it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

CREDITS

EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)
MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.
DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)
SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
EDITORIAL by Iman Llompart

c. 2026 BETH BARANY

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2007/02/01/the-writers-gmc-know-what-you-want/

_________

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

The post Make Your Environment Writer-Friendly | How To Write the Future, Ep 215 appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Rituals and Writing: How Magic Can Support Your Creative Practice by Bailey Lang

Guest Contributor — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:00:04 +0000

Let’s welcome back Bailey Lang as she shares with us “Rituals and Writing: How Magic Can Support Your Creative Practice.” Enjoy!

***

I consider myself a Literary Witch — that’s my title, and writing and witchcraft are major parts of my life.

Magic and writing both involve craft, after all, and in my experience, combining the two activities amplifies their benefits.

I also believe that writing is a uniquely human form of magic, and one we all have access to.

When I sit down for my writing practice, ritual is always involved.

Depending on how much time I have, that ritual might be more or less complex.

Sometimes it’s as simple as pulling an oracle card and reflecting on it.

For example, the card I pulled as I started working on this post was all about endings, and specifically patterns of death and rebirth.

As a book coach, I regularly talk to writers about how cycles of creation and composting are essential for creative work — we need periods of productivity and times when we rest.

Getting that card during my own creative ritual was a good reminder that self-care is part of writing, and that fallow periods are normal and beneficial.

So, for the rest of this post, let’s talk about the relationship between rituals and writing.

First of all, what is a ritual?

And, most importantly, why should you incorporate one into your writing practice?

What is a Ritual?

Rituals are everywhere, although we don’t always notice them.

When we think of ritual, we often assume we’re dealing with something mystical or religious — dancing around a bonfire under the full moon, or following along with a church service.

Those are obvious forms of rituals, but they’re far from the only ones!

A ritual is any type of repeated, symbolic actions that distinguish a space, event, or interaction and set it apart from normal, everyday activities.

More simply, a ritual is something you do to mark something as important and shift your energy to focus on it.

Some other common examples of rituals include:

Shaking hands with someone when you meet them for the first time
Singing happy birthday before the candles get blown out
Attending a commencement or graduation ceremony

When it comes to your creative practice, a ritual could be anything that helps you create the right internal and external conditions for your writing.

Creative rituals can be highly personalized to your tastes and interests.

Although I enjoy a witchy flair in my practice, that doesn’t mean you have to rush out and buy a tarot deck!

Remember that a ritual is, at its core, a repeated action that helps shift your energy — in this case, we’re trying to shift our energy to our writing.

Elements of a creative ritual might include:

An environmental element (lighting a candle, starting a specific playlist)
A clear set of actions (pulling an oracle card, freewriting for 10 minutes, choosing a writing prompt or exercise)
A mind-body shift (a brief meditation, some breathwork, a yoga sequence)

You could have different rituals for different aspects of writing, too — your ritual for a new writing session might be different from an editing day.

Your writing rituals get to be unique to you, so don’t be afraid to experiment until you figure out what feels right!

Why Should You Incorporate Ritual Into Your Writing Practice?

By now, you might be wondering why you should add a ritual to your writing practice at all — isn’t it just one more thing to check off the to-do list?

It sounds fun, but isn’t it just a bit…silly?

To that I would say, silly things that add some fun to our lives are worth doing for their own sake.

We all need a bit of whimsy now and then!

But starting your writing practice with a ritual is way more than just silly fun, and it’s definitely not just another task to complete.

Rituals are powerful.

Every human society across time has used rituals because they are powerful.

When we perform rituals with intention (even fun, silly ones), we get to access that power and harness it for our own creative ends.

A ritual activity at the start of your writing practice signals to your brain that you have started an important activity.

Rituals are performed to separate an activity from the mundane and signal that it’s valuable, or even sacred.

Treating your writing as meaningful by connecting it to a ritual is one way to ensure you show up for your practice.

Performing a ritual across time can also help you get into a flow state more quickly.

Going through the ritual actions — lighting the candle, pulling the oracle card — tells your subconscious that it’s time to get into the creative zone.

Aligning your actions and expectations creates better conditions for reaching a flow state and getting more writing done.

Treat Your Writing Like It Matters

Creating your own personal writing ritual is a way to treat your writing practice like it matters.

It allows you to bring a bit of magic and a bit of joy into the routine, and to harness the power of ritual.

We live in an era that is geared toward optimization and constant productivity, and most of us are more miserable and burned out than ever before.

Pairing our creative practices with ritual offers us an alternative approach — one that is more attuned to our true creative cycles and our individual needs.

You might feel a bit self-conscious the first few times you try your ritual, and that’s okay.

New things always feel a bit strange at first.

Stick with it, let it be fun, and watch how ritual deepens your writing practice.

Reading Recommendations

Magic Maker, Pam Grossman (affiliate link)

Word Witch, Kate Belew (affiliate link)

***

About the Author

Dr. Bailey Lang is the Literary Witch, a book coach who helps visionary authors reclaim their creative magic and finish their books.

Bailey has a PhD in rhetoric and writing studies and they love geeking out about writing, language, and magic.

You can sign up for Bailey’s free newsletter, Ink + Alchemy, for monthly missives that will help you build a writing practice you love.

Website

Newsletter

The post Rituals and Writing: How Magic Can Support Your Creative Practice by Bailey Lang appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

How to Self-Coach Toward Your Writing North Star

Kerry-Ann McDade — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:41:41 +0000

How to Self-Coach Toward Your Writing North Star – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 214

***

“What you want is to be able to look at your goal, what you’ve written down, and have a really clear picture for what that looks like.” – Beth Barany

If you self coached, could you be more efficient with your writing time?

That’s exactly what How To Write the Future podcast host, Beth Barany is sharing today in the episode titled “How to Self-Coach Toward Your Writing North Star.” Beth shares what the writing GMC stands for and breaks down each area explaining how you can create your best in your storytelling,

From defining your big goal, how to find your motivation, to even handling conflicts, Beth also shares an example of a quick-timed exercise at the end of the episode, which is great for when you’re feeling stuck in your writing.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

The Writer’s GMC: Know What You Want

This episode is adapted from The Writer’s Adventure Guide by Beth Barany

https://books2read.com/writersadventureguide

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for How to Self-Coach Toward Your Writing North Star

What Is Writers GMC

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone, Beth Barany here. I am the host of How to Write the Future podcast, and I’m sharing with you an episode from my premium channel because I think it is so relevant to everyone. So let’s dive in. Enjoy.

Today I’m gonna talk about the writer’s GMC. What does GMC stand for? That stands for goal, motivation, conflict. And I pulled that right from a book called GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Deb Dixon.

Why is this important? As a writer, you are designing characters. You need to know your character’s goal, your character’s motivation, and your character’s conflict or conflicts for storytelling.

Now years ago, I took that idea and I was like ah hah! This is great if we apply it to ourselves, to the creative process. So I wrote a book actually using that tool and many other tools, specifically the hero’s journey, and I wrote The Writer’s Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book. This is a self-coaching guide for the creative process.

So this book is still available. You can check it out. It’s got a lot of great exercises in there. I today wanna explain to you what is the writer’s GMC and how you can apply it to your writing as well as any creative project that you’re doing.

So let’s go through it step at a time, and I even have an article that is a companion to this if you wanna check that out, in the show notes.

I’m gonna go a little bit more in depth than what this article does because, hey, I wrote this article, gosh, nearly 20 years ago, and I’ve updated it.

Okay, so in your writer’s GMC, you can use this as a rubric, a template, a checklist for any creative project.

[02:02] Define Your Big Goal

We’re gonna focus here today on your creative writing, but if you have a creative business, I work with also with creative entrepreneurs, you could use it for that, and you could use it for small projects, big projects, medium-sized projects .

So the first thing: goal. And when I speak of goal, I mean the hard goal, the goal that is a little bit of like, ah, difficult. Not the one that’s easy. Write the big goal that you’re working on that feels meaty, that feels challenging, that feels, like you’re up against a big, tall mountain, and you’re like, “Ah, I’m not really sure going straight up, that seems awfully hard, but I need to do it,” that kind of goal.

So be specific. What are you working on right now? What is the shape of it? But also, what is the end goal? There you are, you’re at the end of this project, where would you like to be? Or if you wanna cut it down to size, it doesn’t have to be the whole project.

Like a book, you don’t have to put, “I wanna be publishing my book.”

That’s great, but let’s bring it down to: what is it that you’re trying to accomplish today, tomorrow, this week, next week, next month? The next big chunk. Okay?

So write that down. What is your goal? And what you want is to be able to look at your goal, what you’ve written down, and have a really clear picture for what that looks like.

Like, uh, I might say I wanna finish my copy edits by, gosh, at this rate, I think I could, I could finish my copy edits in two weeks.

So if I’m diligent at it, to give myself some room, I’m gonna say my goal is to get it done by the end of the month. Or I could say, if I’m writing on a first draft, which I am, also, I’ll say, “Okay, my, my goal is to have a first draft ready to show my critique partners by the end of the year,” for example.

That project personally, I don’t have a deadline on, but I do know what I’m working on.

[03:58] Find Your Motivation

All right, next, next, motivation.

M for motivation. You want to understand what is driving you. Just like we wanna know why our characters do what they do, and we need to hint at that in our stories so that our readers can relate to our characters, you need to know what is fueling you, what is driving you to work on and accomplish this goal.

And then what are your secondary motivations? And maybe there’s even a deeper reason and another deeper reason below that. When we want to accomplish something, it’s not just for the externals of it. There’s a deeper reason.

I’ve talked to a lot of writers, and they talk about satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, leaving a legacy.

All of these are, are deeper goals. So, see if y- when you explore your motivation for your goal, how deep can you go? Go as deep as you can. For some, it might be about communicating a dream, a message to the world. For others, uh, they want to teach, they want to serve. For others, they want recognition, and they want to have a place in their community. So there’s no right answer to this part about motivation. It’s really what is the truest thing for you. So we talked about goal. What is your goal? Be as specific as possible. We talked about motivation. Be as truthful as possible, and see if you can go deep, deep into your soul and really answer the question: Why is this important to you?

Why is this goal, this very specific goal, important to you?

[05:40] Motivation Example – Refreshing A Book

Let me give you just one example. I am working on copy edits for a book that’s already published. Why would I even do that? And it’s not easy. Copy edits aren’t easy for me, but they’re necessary. So I have learned a ton since I first published that book, and I wanna be really proud of this book today.

The version of me who published it years ago, that was the best I could make it.

So now I want to make it the best that I can today, this week, this month. And so I can stand proud beside it because it’s also a foundational piece of a larger storytelling universe that I’m involved in, and I really wanna feel like I put my best foot forward today.

So I’m giving it a refresh, and I feel like I’m reconnecting and recommitting to this story world, and to the characters, and all the bigger things that are, I plan to have coming from this book, like a TV show, maybe a film, who knows? It’s a big, ambitious project. So why not? I’m an independent author.

I get to do this, and I’m gonna do it, and I am doing it. So it, there’s a sense of bonding deeper, a recommitment ceremony, if you will, with this whole vast project and what I wanna do with it. It’s my Henrietta the Dragon Slayer series.

All right. So we talked about goal. We talked about motivation.

[07:03] Name The Conflicts

Let’s talk about conflict.

Our characters encounter challenges on the way to their goal. That’s what makes their goal hard. Same with us. We are going after our goal, and it’s not easy. That’s why we’re doing this exercise. What is in the way? What are the challenges? What are the conflicts?

There’s gonna be two main categories.

There’s gonna be the internal conflicts, and there’s gonna be the external conflicts.

Time, for example, is often feels like an external conflict, a limitation, if you will; another way of putting it: conflict, challenge, limitation.

So also, self-talk. Self-talk is often a challenge. We often put ourselves down.

I notice I’m constantly berating myself. Not very helpful. And I also have complainy voice inside. “Oh, this is so hard.” Yes, it is hard.

Okay. I’m gonna list that down as one of my conflicts. Judgment from any quarter, judgment from within, judgment from without. Those are all conflicts. We’re not trying to, we’re not trying to fix anything right now, we’re just noticing, acknowledging, writing it down. Being overly busy, having a lot of commitments that maybe you’re like, “Hey, I really wanna work on my book, but I have these other commitments,” and it’s like, and it’s clashing. That’s a real, a real conflict.

Our work obligations, our family obligations. Also hobbies. Maybe we have a lot of hobbies and writing is just, takes up some of that time, but other things take up that time. Those are real things. I’m not gonna judge you for that. What we’re doing here is we’re just taking an inventory of conflicts. We’re not solving any problems right now. Because once we know what our internal and external challenges, limitations, conflicts are, then we can take action. We can make choices. So this is a moment for taking inventory. So now we’ve done the goal, the motivation, the conflicts.

[09:07] Add Strengths To The Mix

Now what? I am not leaving you hanging.

I invented a fourth component, S for strengths. Because our characters, they need to confront their challenges to get to their goal, and we hopefully create characters that transform and grow, so by the time they are facing their biggest challenge toward the end of your story, they have also grown and transformed and gained strengths and allies and the ability to do something they couldn’t do at the beginning.

Well, same with us. Except we’re gonna harness your strengths right now. So let’s take an inventory of your strengths.

And strengths again are in two main categories. You’re gonna have the internal strengths, the gifts that you were born with, the things that you have learned, your mindset, your know-how, your life experience.

And we’re also gonna look at the external strengths: the people in your life, the environment that you’re in. The fact that you have tools, computer, phone, typewriter, pen, paper, desk, chair. These are all, I consider them strengths. They’re gifts. They’re parts of our life that allow us to do what we can do as writers, as creative people.

Other strengths can be humor, curiosity, intelligence, drive. Also, another outer strength that, that you might have is the ability to schedule time to write and the ability to go and write. Another one of my strengths is I have a long playlist that helps me write and that I put together.

So I would call that an external strength.

So there you have it. I just went through the writer’s GMC, goal, motivation, conflict, and the bonus one, strengths.

[10:59] How To Use GMC When Stuck

I recommend that you do a short brainstorm on these elements. Give yourself 5, 10 minutes, or set the timer for 20 minutes, which is one of my favorite things to do for timed writing, and just brainstorm on this.

Now, any time you are stuck, confused, overwhelmed, forget, wait, where am I? Maybe you’ve taken a break from your writing, and you’re like, “What? Wait, what am I doing?” Use the writer’s GMC to refocus yourself, reorient yourself, find your North Star, and take your next step.

[11:29] Wrap Up And Next Steps

All right, everyone, that’s it for this week.

Write long and prosper.

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ABOUT BETH BARANY

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