Whether you sketch out your characters and know everything about them before you begin writing or learn about your characters as you write, it's important that they be compelling and individualistic. Prolific crime writer Vicki Delany joins us for Episode 70 to discuss things we can do to ensure that the casts of characters with tell our stories through are interesting and help us achieve our story goals.Vicki Delany's website: http://vickidelany.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

We all carry with us the wounds and trauma and scars that are, along with the good things we've experienced, integral to the people we've become. The same is true for your characters. While their story begins with the first words you put on the page, their backstory precedes your novel . Janet S. Fox joins us to talk about how to use your characters' backstories to develop and shape them into the person your readers experience. Janet S. Fox's website: https://janetsfox.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

You work really hard to make sure you suspense and mystery novels have enough twists and turns to keep your reader guessing about how things will turn out. Samantha Skal joins us this week to talk about things you need to do to make sure you have twists that work, and don't fall into traps.Samantha Skal's website: https://www.samanthaskal.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

Kyla Zhao wrote her debut novel, The Fraud Squad (link), with no expectations and no pressure. But as it came out with media attention and fanfare, she was writing her second novel in the midst of promoting the first and had to learn to juggle the dueling responsibilities of introducing one novel to the world while writing the next, Valley Verified (link).Kyla also talks about how the pandemic lockdown in 2020 directly resulted in her authoring her first book, and how she manages her author career alongside a burgeoning job in the tech industry.Kyla Zhao's website: https://kylazhao.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

For Episode 66, intellectual property lawyer Jodé Millman joins us to talk about what legal right we have for the written works we create. She helps distinguish between copyright and trademark laws, and what kinds of works fall under each category. She also takes about steps you can take to protect your work.Jodé Millman's website: https://jodemillman.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Lynne Golodner is a Jewish woman telling Jewish stories. She focuses her marketing efforts and community building on reaching Jewish readers. She is not excluding anyone, but she knows who her core audience is. She knows who will most closely identify with the books she is writing. And she is using her energy and efforts to draw in the people most likely to support her work. Lynne Golodner's website: https://lynnegolodner.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Author Yasmin Angoe joins us for an inspiring conversation about perseverance and purpose. J. W. Judge's high school football coach referred to perseverance as stick-to-it-tiveness, a quality that all writers need to cultivate. Of equal (or possibly greater) importance is knowing why you are endeavoring to do your creative work. Listen to this refreshing conversation, and walk away with encouragement to keep carrying on with your creative work. Yasmin Angoe's website: https://yasminangoe.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

For Episode 63, Kimberly G. Giarratano joins us to talk about writing mystery novels in a four-act structure. Giarratano gives insights into using Scrivener to set up your story templates and even gives ideas to panters/non-plotters/discovery writers about applying structure after drafting to make sure your novel has the appropriate pacing and hits the right plot points.  Kimberly G. Giarratano's website: https://www.kimberlyggiarratano.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.comJ. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Dreams don't have to be the strange things that live at the outer rim of your consciousness after you wake up in the mornings. You can use them to inspire you, to guide your writing, and to help you answer questions. Tzivia Gover joins us with practical ideas for incorporating dreams into your writing process and implementing methods that will enable you to capture and utilize your dreams. Tzivia Gover's website: https://thirdhousemoon.com/ Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

In Episode 61, Christopher Hoffman joins J. W. Judge and Barbara Hinske to discuss methods of researching literary agents to find those who represent authors in your genre and who you may want to query. The group also talks about the business decisions that go into query selections and whether to accept an offer of representation if one finds its way to your inbox.Christopher Hoffman's website: https://copywriteconsultants.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Great scenes are the foundation upon which modern novels are built. In Episode 60, we talk with Margaret Lucke about writing compelling scenes and avoiding unnecessary exposition or explanation. Margaret Lucke's website: https://www.margaretlucke.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

We talk a lot on this podcast about maintaining reader interest. One of the keys to doing that is setting the right stakes for your novel. Susanne Dunlap joins us for Episode 59 to discuss how to set and maintain tension in our novels to keep the reader engaged and drive the story forward.You can read more of Dunlap's perspective on this topic in her article "How High Stakes Keep Readers (and Viewers) Invested," which is where we first encountered her work.Susanne Dunlap's website: https://www.susanne-dunlap.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com

Writing is hard. Writing humor is even more so. In Episode 58, Joni B. Cole visits to give us tips for writing humor more effectively and with more consistency. It's important to note that you don't have to be a "humor writer" to have funny lines, scenes, or characters. Humor is an intrinsic part of the human experience. For writing of any ilk to feel authentic to our humanity, humor is a natural component.You can also check out Joni B. Cole's article, "Find the Funny: 8 Tips on Writing Humor".Joni B. Cole's website: https://www.jonibcole.com/ Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

Sometimes podcast episodes choose us. As J. W. Judge was scrolling through Threads, he came across a statement by author Kyra Davis that was simultaneously honest and encouraging and disconcerting: "I’ve been relatively successful as an author. “Relatively” because I’ve occasionally struck gold but it has frequently been a struggle. I’ve made the NYT list, there have been yrs when my royalties have been 150-350k, & yrs when they’ve been 10-20k. There have been times when my publishers have literally toasted me with champagne & others when they’ve declined to give me a new contract.The lowest advance I’ve ever accepted ended up being for my highest grossing book. The publishing industry is rife with uncertainty, but uncertainty is the price we pay for possibility.So to my fellow authors, struggling, successful or in between the two, hang in there with me. As long as you keep writing your possibilities are boundless."This episode of The Write Approach, which touches on humor and hope and hard times was born out of that social media post. Kyra Davis' website: https://kyradavis.com/ Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

The Write Approach returns in 2024 with more practical discussions for authors. We start with interviewing Deborah Williams about making your story relatable to readers. You protagonist is likely going to bring different experiences to the table than your readers have ever experienced. Still, it is imperative that the reader is able to make an emotional connection with the protagonist, which you achieve through relatability. In Episode 56, Deborah Williams gets into the weeds about things authors can do to achieve that. It's also important to note that being relatable is not the same as being likable.We first encountered Deborah Williams by reading her article, What It Means to Make Your Story Relatable.Deborah Williams' website: https://mannahattamamma.net/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

In Episode 55, Barbara Hinske and J. W. Judge talk about their works in progress. After waffling between three different ideas, Judge made a business decision for writing his sixth novel. Hinske is taking on the issues discrimination and solitude that affect the visually impaired in her fifth Guiding Emily novel. They also talk about using foreshadowing to delight readers.  Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

In Episode 54, editor, author, and podcaster Erin P.T. Canning joins us for a practical and implementable topic -- strengthening your sentences. Canning shares seven ideas for ensuring that your writing has more dynamic sentences that will better engage readers and drive your story forward with more vivid language. Erin P.T. Canning's website: https://erinptcanning.com/Erin's podcast, Parents Who Write: https://parentswhowrite.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

There's a lot the opening pages of your novel need to accomplish so readers are completely engaged and to ensure you hit the benchmarks readers are subconsciously expecting. Susan DeFreitas share some practical advice for making sure you are starting your novel in the right place and what elements of story you need to establish to keep the reader to pages and not putting your book in the DNF pile.Susan DeFreitas is another in a growing line of Jane Freidman alums (along with Tiffany Yates Martin and Allison K Williams); check out her article, How Can You Tell If You’re Starting Your Story in the Right Place?, which served as the base for our conversation.Susan DeFreitas' website: https://susandefreitas.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

In Episode 52, author Angie Elita Newell joins us to talk about her experience as an indigenous person trying to bring her novel All I See Is Violence into the world. We discuss how Newell researched for her novel by interviewing elders who share the oral histories of their people and coupled her lyrical storytelling with the magical realism that is intrinsic to the worldview of many indigenous people. Angie Elita Newell's website: https://www.angieelitanewell.com/Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/

When you're writing there are plenty of people willing to offer their opinions about your work. Some of them are even qualified to do so. However, among professional editors there will be differing ideas, and the writing may receiving conflicting suggestions about revisions they should make to their work. When this conflict arises, how should the writer decide what to do? We walk about this with author and writing coach, Allison K Williams.Allison K Williams' website: https://idowords.net/ Allison K Williams' article, I Received Conflicting Advice on My Query Letter. What Now?Barbara Hinske's website: https://barbarahinske.com/J. W. Judge's website: https://jwjudge.com/