Episodes – Diving into Writing

December 13, 2019

#26 – The Crisis Point in a Novel

In Episode 26, Anna and I talk about how to identify the crisis point in a story. The crisis point of a novel often happens towards the end, after the protagonist has either failed previous tests or overcome trials. In…

December 13, 2019

November 29, 2019

#25 – Writing Through a Crisis

In Episode 25 of Diving into Writing, Anna and I talk about the impact of crisis on our writing. What is a crisis? It can be an illness or the death of a family member, or it can be smaller,…

November 29, 2019

November 15, 2019

#24 – Why Write?

Anna and I talk about our reasons for wanting to write and what we hope to achieve with our writing. Get in touch and tell us why you started writing. We'd love to hear from you.

November 15, 2019

November 1, 2019

#23 – Scenes

Scenes When I heard that each scene needs to move a story forward, I didn’t know how to do it. To me, it’s clear that the story should progress but what about downtime, having some relief from the tension or…

November 1, 2019

October 18, 2019

#22 – Short Story Competition

Episode 22 is a short episode. Anna and I talk about a short story competition that we entered together. Below you will find an early effort, followed by the finished story. Wish us luck. Early Effort - Dina and the…

October 18, 2019

October 4, 2019

#21 – Author Voice

This week’s episode has Anna and I entering a short story competition. It’s the first project that we have worked on together. See how we get on as we document our process. We go on to talk about the author…

October 4, 2019

September 20, 2019

#20 – Marketing Your Author Business Through Newsletters

The experts tell us that one of the essential aspects of marketing your books is putting out a regular newsletter.Why put out a newsletter?· Build your brand.· Build a relationship with your audience.· Keep people interested between books so that…

September 20, 2019

September 6, 2019

#19 – Revisiting Goal Setting

In episode 19, Anna and Lucinda discuss goal setting and revisit Lucinda’s goals set earlier in the year.Why is it good to set Goals?It is motivating. – Goal setting is a way of monitoring our achievements.It helps us to use…

September 6, 2019

August 23, 2019

#18 – Collaborating on a Writing Project

In this episode Anna asks me some questions about my experience collaborating on a series of novels in someone else’s universe. We talk about the challenges and practicalities of collaborating on a project.

August 23, 2019

August 9, 2019

#17 – Writing Conferences and Events

Anna and I have a conversation about the benefits and struggles of attending writing conferences. We talk in some depth about the 20Books conference that happened at the end of July in Edinburgh. We agree that there are many benefits…

August 9, 2019

July 26, 2019

#16 – Secondary Characters

A secondary character should help reveal the details of the plot and progress the story in some way. They can either inspire the protagonist or oppose the protagonist.Do:Attach them to a place so that the reader can remember who they…

July 26, 2019

July 12, 2019

#15 – Six Senses

In episode 15, Anna and Lucinda talk about incorporating six senses into writing and give some tips on how to achieve this. Anna talks about her experience of NPL (Neuro Linguistic Programming) to determine how people learn in different ways,…

July 12, 2019

June 28, 2019

#14 – Goals

In this episode, Anna and Lucinda revisit goal setting and discuss why it is okay not to achieve those goals. Goals aren’t meant to constrain us. They are tool, like many others, that’s help us to get where we need…

June 28, 2019

June 14, 2019

#13 – Conflict

In today’s episode, Lucinda and Anna talk about how conflict and motivation add tension in a novel. Almost every important character in a novel needs two types of conflict. External conflict: Character vs another character/nature/technology. Internal conflict. Character vs self.…

June 14, 2019

May 31, 2019

#12 – Standing at the Sky’s Edge

Introduction Anna and Lucinda share their joy at going to see a play called Standing at the Sky’s Edge, written by Chris Bush about Parkhill flats in Sheffield. They go on to talk about character and character development. Standing at…

May 31, 2019

May 17, 2019

#11 – Process and Goal Setting

In this episode, we talk about process and help Lucinda set goals with the aim of becoming a full-time writer in 5 years. Each author develops their own process over time, but that process does not necessarily remain static. As…

May 17, 2019

May 3, 2019

#10 – Mental Health and Wellbeing

Episode 10 is about creativity and mental health. On examining the evidence, few scientific studies support the widely held assumption that there’s a link between creativity and mental health. While the research says that exercise helps mild to moderate depression,…

May 3, 2019

April 19, 2019

#9 – Barriers to Writing

In this episode, Lucinda and Anna talk about barriers – internal and external. They discuss trying to find a way through, from family issues to imposter syndrome.Signs of being stuck:While deep down we might know that we should be writing,…

April 19, 2019

April 5, 2019

#8 – Writing Education

In this week’s podcast we discuss the benefits and pitfalls of writing groups and give listeners some ideas of the options available (see below). The links included are local to Sheffield but you will find similar classes near to you…

April 5, 2019

March 22, 2019

#7 – Indie versus Traditional

In this episode Lucinda and Anna talk about the pros and cons of indie versus traditional publishing.

March 22, 2019

March 10, 2019

#6 – Creative Writing

In episode 6, Anna and Lucinda talk about a local creative writing class that Anna attended and her process in completing the exercises.

March 10, 2019

February 21, 2019

#5 – Theme

In this episode Lucinda and Anna talk about what having a theme adds to a novel and how to develop one.

February 21, 2019

February 7, 2019

#4 – Setting

In this episode, Anna and Lucinda consider the importance and function of setting in a novel. When it comes to your settings, never forget emotion, The Urban Setting Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

February 7, 2019

January 31, 2019

#3 – Character

In this episode Lucinda and Anna talk about character drawing ideas from old favourites like Anne Elliot in persuasion and newer novels they develop ideas on how to come up with a character.

January 31, 2019

January 17, 2019

#2 – Inspiration

This is episode 2 of diving into writing where Lucinda and Anna talk about what inspires them as writers. How real life can inspire your writing and other inspirational sources and their individual paths into writing.