The Writership Podcast Editing Tips For Fiction Authors

Ep. 138 World Building

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts) — Fri, 8 Feb 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, editor Leslie Watts takes a small detour from the usual format to discuss World Building, the way you craft the domain your characters inhabit. She offers several exercises to help improve your story by strengthening your world.

The Writership Podcast is designed to help you develop self-editing skills and write a better story. In a typical episode, Leslie critiques a fiction submission from a real writer who is, or hopes to be, a published author. They understand they may need help seeing what's working and not in their stories and are brave enough to share the experience. Each episode comes with an editorial mission to apply the topic discussed so you can improve your writing too.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 137 Strengthen Your Setting

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts takes a small detour from the usual format to discuss story setting, the place and time where your character gets into and hopefully out of trouble. She offered three exercises to help strengthen your setting and story.

The Writership Podcast is designed to help you develop self-editing skills and write a better story. In every episode, Leslie critiques a fiction submission from a real writer who is, or hopes to be, a published author. They understand they may need help seeing what's working and not in their stories and are brave enough to share the experience. Each episode comes with an editorial mission to apply the topic discussed so you can improve your writing too.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 136 Resolutions

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 09:00:00 +0000

We all have some idea of what a resolution is, but what are these scene- and story-enders meant to do? In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts explores scene and story resolutions in the context of C. Gabriel Wright’s LBGTQ love story, “Someone.” The editorial mission encourages you to collect resolutions by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.

The Writership Podcast is designed to help you develop self-editing skills and write a better story. In each episode, Leslie critiques a fiction submission from a real writer who is, or hopes to be, a published author. They understand they may need help seeing what's working and not in their stories and are brave enough to share the experience. Each episode comes with an editorial mission to apply the topic discussed so you can improve your writing too.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 135 Scene and Story Climaxes

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 09:00:00 +0000

What are story and scene climaxes? Why do you need them? In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts discusses the decisions your characters make, as well as the actions they take, when faced with a dilemma. You’ll hear Matt Bizzel’s horror story, "A Window Out: Or, the Accidental Death of Frank Ortiz" and Leslie’s analysis of the scene. The editorial mission encourages you to collect examples of these critical decisions and actions by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 134 Crisis Questions for Your Scenes

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 23:30:00 +0000

What are crisis questions? Why do our stories and scenes need them? In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts discusses the dilemmas your characters face on the way to scene and story resolutions in the context of the opening of Jerry Dawson’s science fiction story, Meteor. The editorial mission encourages you to collect crisis questions by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 133 Progressive Complications for Your Scenes

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 19:35:00 +0000

What are progressive complications? Why do our stories and scenes need them? This week, story editor Leslie Watts discusses the people, places, things, and events that stand between your characters and their goals within the context of the opening of Anna Ferguson’s YA science fiction novel, The Empire of Saffron. The editorial mission encourages you to collect progressive complications by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 132 Inciting Incidents for Your Scenes

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:00:00 +0000

What are inciting incidents? Why do our stories and scenes need them? What are the elements of a solid inciting incident? This week, story editor Leslie Watts discusses these story event catalysts in the context of the opening of Drew Horstman’s fantasy novel, Nicholas Crumb. The editorial mission encourages you to collect inciting incidents by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 131 Analyzing Your Scenes

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Sun, 8 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

You’ve written lots of scenes for your work in progress, but how do you know whether they work? In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts shows you how to analyze your scenes by looking at the opening of AW Moyer’s YA fantasy story, The Grim Book.

The Writership Podcast is designed to help you develop self-editing skills and write better stories. In a typical episode, my guest-host and I critique a fiction submission from a real writer who is, or hopes to be, a published author. These writers want to find out what's working and not in their stories and are brave enough to share the experience. At the end of the episode, I’ll share an editorial mission to help you apply the topic we’ve discussed, so you can improve your writing too.

Click here to learn more about the podcast, read the full show notes, and grab this week’s editorial mission.

130. Writing with Abandon with Grant Faulkner

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 03:05:00 +0000

In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts discusses writing with abandon with Grant Faulkner, the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month. They talk about what it means to write with abandon, how to go about it, and why it’s important. In lieu of an editorial mission, Grant shares the word sprint, an old NaNoWriMo practice to help you get your words down—just in time for Camp NaNoWriMo in July.

Click here for the full show notes.

Ep. 129 Essential and Literal Action in Your Scenes

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 04:37:00 +0000

In this episode, editors Leslie Watts and Anne Hawley discuss literal and essential action in the context of “Madeline,” a short horror story by Nathaniel Patterson.

They show you how to identify the essential action (the character’s scene goal) and literal action (what the character does to achieve it) within your own scenes. You’ll find out why the essential action should be consistent and aligned with the character’s story goal (or conscious object of desire). In the editorial mission, they encourage you to identify the essential and literal action of a scene from a story you love, as well as one from your own work in progress.

Click here for the full show notes.

128. How to Take Your Story from Pretty Good to WOW!

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 02:43:00 +0000

In this episode, editors Leslie Watts and Lori Puma critique “Night Fishing,” a coming of age short story by Kevin Glasgow. They discuss how to take your story from pretty good to WOW.

You’ll discover specific tools to improve a story that’s already working by enhancing the elements of your genre and style to focus on your ideal reader’s specific expectations. You’ll also hear about ways to connect the protagonist’s external and internal journeys by showing what the former means to them.

For the full show notes, visit Writership.com.

127. Meeting Reader Expectations for Your Fiction Sales Category

leslie@writership.com (The Writership Podcast) — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 17:46:00 +0000

Leslie welcomes James Thorn, an author of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction and Story Grid Certified editor, to discuss how you can discover reader expectations related to your sales category.

They consider how dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction are the same and different, and which must-have elements will help you tell a satisfying story. The editorial mission encourages you to discover the specific sales category expectations for your story, whether it's dystopian fiction, a category romance, a character-driven literary novel, or something in between.

Click here for the full show notes.

126. Second Person Point of View

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Tue, 3 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Intrepid editors Leslie Watts and Anne Hawley talk about when you might want to use second person point of view in the context of David Austin's short story "All American."

This week's editorial mission challenges you to experiment with this rare point of view to see what insights can be gained from the unique perspective it affords.

Click here for the full show notes.

Episode 125: Putting Your Writing First with Mark McGuinness

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 17:22:28 +0000

In this episode, Leslie talks with poet and creative coach Mark McGuinness from the 21st Century Creative podcast about why it’s important to put your writing first—both for you personally and for your creative career. The editorial mission asks you to write something you might not expect.

Episode 124: Your Character’s Internal Journey

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Thu, 4 Jan 2018 17:10:08 +0000

In this episode, story editors Leslie Watts and Rebecca Monterusso critique “The Flight,” a science fiction short story by Scott Adam Gordon. They discuss the internal journey or change that characters experience as a result of external events in a story. Leslie and Rebecca then uncover which internal genres might be present in “The Flight.” This week’s editorial mission offers questions to help you identify and craft the internal change at work in your stories.

Epside 123: Leslie's Approach to Editing and Why You Need to Tell Your Story

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 16:29:56 +0000

In this episode, story editor Leslie Watts and Writership’s first officer, Liz Green, discuss the way things have changed around the podcast and answer some burning questions about story structure, Leslie’s approach to editing, and why you need to tell your story.

Episode 122: Do Your Scenes Contain Conflict?

leslie@writership.com (Story editor Leslie Watts) — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 16:33:32 +0000

In this episode, editors Leslie Watts and Courtney Harrell critique the first chapter of Seeker, a science fiction novella within the Chaos Nova universe by Smith & Kaos. They discuss conflict within stories and scenes.

Antagonistic forces and obstacles are necessary elements of stories because change within a character comes as the result of dealing with conflict. It is the vehicle through which they change over the course of the entire story, but also incrementally, scene by scene.

Conflicts delay the resolution of every unit of story (scene, sequence, act, story). If the character achieves a goal for the unit of story without effort or worry, then tension drops and narrative drive wanes. Even if your story overall has great conflict, you’ll tell a better story if each scene contains robust conflict as well.

This week’s editorial mission shows you how to analyze your scenes for conflict so you can make things as tough as possible for your characters.

Episode 121: Structure for Character-Driven or Literary Stories

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:24:29 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie Watts and Rachelle Ramirez critique “How I Stumbled into the Golden Cage,” a short story by Jose Arroyo. They discuss genre and how stories that emphasize the protagonist’s inner journey still need structure.

Writers of literary stories can use the steps in the Kubler-Ross grief process to plan and revise the structure of their stories and may find it’s a better fit than other systems suited to more active stories. Even if you’ve written a thriller or an action story, you can use the Kubler-Ross steps to follow your protagonist’s inner journey alongside whatever structure you use for the external events of the story.

One challenge writers face with character-driven stories is how to demonstrate the inner shifts the character experiences without over-relying on thoughts and telling. Leslie and Rachelle talk about ways to dramatize internal events to evoke certain emotions in your reader.

This week’s editorial mission encourages you to use the Kubler-Ross steps to check your protagonist’s internal journey and be sure the important events are present and adequately dramatized.

Episode 120: Crisis Questions

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts) — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:12:17 +0000

In this episode, story editors Leslie Watts and Valerie Francis analyze a scene from Lock and Key: the first book in The Essence Riven Trilogy by Emily Bowie. They discuss the crisis question, a moment in a scene when a question arises for the POV character. To keep the story moving, your scenes should turn, more specifically, it should become more or less likely that the protagonist will get what they want and need. When the turn happens within the scene, it’s a natural time for the protagonist or POV character to decide how to respond to the change. This week’s editorial mission will help you identify or add these questions and make them stronger to support your story.

Episode 119: Scene Value Shifts

leslie@writership.com (Story Editor Leslie Watts, Leslie Watts) — Mon, 6 Nov 2017 21:25:17 +0000

In this episode, editors Leslie Watts and Jay Peters critique the beginning of “What Lives Beneath,” a short story by A.V. Herzberg. The author’s synopsis for the story suggests that the main genre could be Obsession Love Story or Horror. Leslie and Jay talk about how those genres can be translated into story values (in other words, the external change that happens from the beginning to the end of the story). Then they analyze the scene in the submission, including how the scene value changes from beginning to end. Then they discuss ways to strengthen the scene by bringing the value shift into closer alignment with the overall story. This week’s editorial mission challenges you to compare the value shifts in your scene to see how they relate to your global story.

Episode 118: Why You Must Choose a Genre

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts) — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 18:59:21 +0000

In this episode, fiction editor Leslie Watts and author C. Steven Manley critique “The Highwayman,” a fantasy short story by Jacob Oakley. They discuss genre and why it’s important to choose one primary one. The same characters, setting, and circumstances can give rise to a wide range of stories. When you nail down your primary or global genre, you’ll gain valuable information about the story you want to tell that will help you plan, draft, and revise your story.

Episode 117: Shoe Leather: Eliminating Unnecessary Exposition

leslie@writership.com (The Writership Podcast) — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 15:10:23 +0000

In this episode, Leslie is joined by author and Story Grid editor Jarie Bolander. They critique the opening chapters of The Home Front, a women’s society novel by Melinda McDonald. Shoe leather, that is description, backstory, and other information that your reader doesn’t need, can weigh down your story. The editorial mission this week will help you to seek out and eliminate shoe leather and use exposition in a more powerful way. Leslie and Jarie also talk about what makes a society story great and how to start your story with a bang.

Episode 115: Motivation-Reaction Units

leslie@writership.com (The Writership Podcast) — Mon, 9 Oct 2017 15:11:04 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie Watts and Kim Kessler critique the first chapter of Passage, a fantasy/women’s society novel by S. Thies. This week’s author submitted her scene in first- and third-person point of view, providing an opportunity for us to ask, how can you improve your scenes no matter which POV you choose? The answer is MRUs, that is Motivation-Reaction Units. If you practice writing these stimulus-and-response sequences within your scenes, your character’s reactions will make sense and be unique to them. And more importantly, your reader will get to experience the events of the story (as opposed to merely reading about them).

Episode 114: Inciting Incidents

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts) — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 14:43:44 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie Watts and Anne Hawley critique the beginning of Sheila Lischwe’s as yet untitled psychological thriller. They discuss inciting incidents: the submission as a possible inciting incident for the global psychological thriller and also within the scene. These pivotal story events pull the rug out from under your protagonist or POV character. This week’s editorial mission will help you identify the elements of inciting incidents to make your scenes and stories stronger.

Episode 113: Intentional Sentence Construction

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 16:37:48 +0000

Fiction editor Leslie Watts is joined by Liz Green, Writership’s first officer, to discuss the first chapter of The Left-Handed Gunslinger, a western fantasy novella by Shaun Gill. In this episode, they explore intentional sentence structure. You have a wide variety of tools to support your story, including the words and sentence structure you choose. The trick is to understand when to use different tools to provide the reading experience you’re aiming for. This week’s editorial mission will help you get granular so you can revise your sentences with intention. Special note: Clark Chamberlain is taking a well-deserved break from the podcast, so we’ll invite guest hosts for the next couple of months.

Episode 112: Flashbacks

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 7 Sep 2017 17:51:16 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of The Fifty-Two Week Chronicles, a chick lit/romantic comedy novel by Joslyn Westbrook. They discuss flashbacks, getting specific, and obtaining feedback when you write about characters and situations that are different from your own.

Episode 111: Experiment with Omniscient POV

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 17:13:21 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of The Palace Thief, a YA fantasy novel by AR Richardson. They discuss omniscient point of view and why you should give it a try if you haven’t. This POV option is often considered old-fashioned, but it offers flexibility and options that you don’t have with the other POVs. While it’s probably the most challenging, you might find that it’s the best vehicle for your story. Speaking of options, Leslie and Clark have a fun editorial mission with lots of choices to help you experiment with the elements of this writing tool.

Episode 110: Self-Editing Your Fiction

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 15:03:36 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark talk about self-editing. To get the most from hiring an editor, you'll want to tackle certain tasks before you turn it over. There are plenty of steps you can take to improve your story so that your editor can focus on deeper issues. Be sure to check out the show notes for resources, tips, and this week’s editorial mission, and don’t miss Clark’s Healthy Author Challenge.

Episode 109: Where to Begin Your Story?

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Mon, 7 Aug 2017 17:07:32 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark critique the prologue and first chapter of From the Flame, a fantasy novel by Kristen Franklin. They discuss where to begin your story. If all the events of the protagonist’s life were laid out in front of you, which is the most powerful moment to use for chapter one?

Episode 108: Narrative Drive—Compelling Your Reader to Turn the Page

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 15:58:30 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie Watts and Anne Hawley critique the first chapter of Esperanza, a science fiction horror novel by Mike Ward. They discuss narrative drive. Different people use the term “narrative drive” to mean different things. What we discuss here is the amount of information the reader possesses relative to the character. The reader can have more, less, or the same information the characters in the scene have. In the opening scene of our submission today, the author gives the reader a key piece of information that the character doesn’t have, and it changes the way we experience the scene and the question that compels us to find out what happens next.

Episode 107: Check the Tension in Your Opening

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 16:25:14 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Valerie Francis critique the first chapter of The Arctic Compass, a middle grade fantasy novel by Ryan Gannon. They discuss how to check your opening scene for tension and special considerations for middle grade fiction.

Episode 106: Capture Your Character’s Essence

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 18:10:53 +0000

In this episode, fiction editor Leslie Watts and guest fiction editor Anne Hawley critique the opening pages of The Bad Shepherd, a crime story set in Los Angeles in the 1980s, by Dale M. Nelson. They discuss characters and how to make them relatable so your reader can connect with them. This week's editorial mission asks you to capture your character's essence in a sentence.

Episode 105: Do Your Scenes Work?

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 17:35:35 +0000

In this episode, fiction editor Leslie Watts and guest editor Valerie Francis critique the prologue of Shadow Falls, a thriller novel by Maxwell Perkins. They discuss the elements of scenes that work and how you can check your own scenes in early drafts.

Episode 104: Revising Your Action Scenes

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 8 Jun 2017 15:36:13 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark critique a scene from *Beneath the Crypt*, a middle grade fantasy novel by Alex Heath. They discuss how to evaluate and revise action scenes. When characters fight, chase each other, or engage in acts of derring-do, it can be hard to keep track of all the moving parts. Often, the clear image of how the action unfolds in our minds doesn’t make it into the story. If you unpack what’s happening in your action scene, you can make sure that it does everything you intend, and nothing you don’t.

Episode 103: Narrative Identity and Why It Matters

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 25 May 2017 15:11:21 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark critique “A Hero Least of All,” a literary short story by Tim LaFave. They discuss narrative identity and why it matters for your writing. Humans use story to make sense of their lives, and it’s important to understand the stories we tell about ourselves and the how this impacts our writing. This week’s editorial mission asks you to explore your story and see how you can use this insight for your writing journey and fiction.

Episode 102: How to Choose Your Story's Point of View

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 18 May 2017 17:08:39 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark discuss point of view (POV) in their critique of “The Second Prayer: A Confession for the Dead,” a thriller short story by David L. Storm. The POV is the filter through which the reader experiences your story: Each option has advantages and disadvantages and can produce vastly different results. In this week’s editorial mission, Leslie and Clark share a list of questions to ask when you choose the POV for your first draft and later when you revise your draft. Check out the show notes at Writership.org/episodes for the complete story and written critique.

Episode 101: Check Your Narrative Distance

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 10 May 2017 18:57:29 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark critique the beginning of Osweyth, an epic fantasy novel inspired by Cornish folklore by J M Hudson. They discuss narrative distance, omniscient point of view, and moving smoothly between vantage points. They also talked about the weather as a character in the story, lush prose, sentence and paragraph length, and commas. The editorial mission asks you to check your narrative distance, that is how close your reader is to the character or narrator.

Episode 100: Answers to Your Questions about Writing and Editing

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 3 May 2017 21:05:04 +0000

In this episode, fiction editors Leslie and Clark celebrate 100 episodes. They depart from the regular format to answer your questions about writing and editing. They discuss passive voice, pantsing vs. plotting, head hopping, how long your story should be, and how to write character thoughts. This week’s editorial mission is about finding your strengths and weaknesses.

Episode. 99: Revealing Character: Science Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 17:10:36 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of Let’s Go Inwards, a science fiction novel by Jake. They discuss revealing character. Unlike screenwriters, we can’t rely on actors to show the audience who our characters are. But we have access to and can expose our characters’ thoughts and motivations in other ways. This episode also includes suggestions for word choice and figurative language.

Episode 98: Storytelling vs. Telling a Story: Horror Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 18:32:11 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique “Vermillion Dusk & Crimson Dirt,” an as yet unpublished horror short story by Lane M.M. Whitens. They talk about storytelling vs. telling a story and framing stories. They also discuss -LY adverbs, and facts relevant to the story. Leslie and Clark are taking questions for the 100th episode of the podcast. If you have a burning question about editing or storytelling, please visit www.writership.com/ask.

Episode 97: The Pick Up: LGBT Romance Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 20:20:14 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of The Pick Up, a LGBT romance novel by Allison Temple. They discuss genre, obligatory scenes in romance stories, and romantic conflict.

Episode 96: Forgotten December: Steampunk Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 8 Mar 2017 19:30:42 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and guest host Jody T. Morse critique the prologue of Forgotten December, an as yet unpublished steampunk novel by Noah Deuker. They discuss the elements of an effective prologue and description of characters and setting.

Episode 95: Wingless Bird: Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 2 Mar 2017 18:18:02 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of Wingless Bird, an as yet unpublished science fiction novel by Tori. They discuss the elements of a strong beginning hook. This week’s mission will help you revise your opening to pull the reader in right away.

Episode 94: Edge of the Future: Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 19:24:59 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of Edge of the Future, a science fiction novel by Andria Stone. They discuss ways to reveal character, including thoughts, reactions to events, and reactions from other characters. One thing to consider (especially in science fiction or fantasy) is how to convey what’s normal for the wider culture and within particular groups. This week’s editorial mission will help you make your characters unique.

Episode 93: The Writer’s Internal Genre

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 19:12:06 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark talk about the internal genre for your journey as a writer. As writers, we face resistance in different forms (we hit a snag in our project, life throws us a curve ball). These unexpected events are opportunities to become derailed or renew our commitment to our work. Leslie and Clark explore what you can do to stay on track.

Episode 92: Day 115: Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of Day 115, a science fiction novel by J. M. Bedard. They discuss pacing, providing enough detail to make clear the setting and characters’ vantage point, and questions that pull the reader into your story. Leslie's birthday giveaway ends on January 25, 2017. Check out the show notes at Writership.com/episode for details.

Episode 91: The Snakes of Playa del Carmen: Young Adult Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 18:48:48 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of The Snakes of Playa del Carmen, a young adult thriller novel by Penelope Aaron. They discuss backstory (including its purposes and methods of delivery), foreshadowing, dialogue sentences, where to begin your story, and Leslie’s birthday giveaway.

Episode 90: Kill Screen: Science Fiction Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 5 Jan 2017 17:37:58 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of Kill Screen, a published literary science fiction thriller by Benjamin Reeves. They discuss unreliable narrators and the ways characters are dishonest, methods of revealing facts to the reader, setting, and tension.

Episode 89: Edge: Atompunk Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 22:29:50 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the beginning of Edge, an as yet unpublished atompunk novel, by Ethan Motter. They discuss the ordinary and special worlds of the story, mysteries and questions, world building, scene and summary, and dialogue tags with similes to reveal emotion.

Episode 88: Let’s Call This What It Is: Literary Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 16:00:45 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique “Let’s Call This What It Is,” a literary short story by David Austin. They discuss plot- and character-driven stories (and the need for both elements), experimenting with the opening of your story and where to start it, brand names, and reviewing your year.

Episode 87: Ascendancy: Sword and Sorcery Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening of Ascendancy, a sword and sorcery novel by A. B. Corley. They discuss transitions between scenes, tweaking dialogue so that the characters are distinguishable, and diction in dialogue.

Episode 86: Acolyte of Shadow: Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:21:19 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of Acolyte of Shadow, an as yet unpublished fantasy novel by Daniel Kellberg. They discuss dialogue, descriptive beats, pacing, and backstory.

Episode 85: “Doing the Work”: Contemporary Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 17:34:26 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique “Doing the Work,” an as yet unpublished contemporary short story by Julie Prudhome. They discuss stories that tackle social issues and ways to use them powerfully, brand names, and questions we explore in our writing. Trigger warning: This submission contains a discussion of child abuse and exploitation.

Episode 84: Women’s Historical Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 15:36:58 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of a women’s historical fiction novel submitted by an anonymous author. They discuss tension, conflict, character traits, and description.

Episode 83: The Moorpark Horror: Middle Grade Horror Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 2 Nov 2016 16:51:21 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of The Moorpark Horror, a middle grade horror novel, by Russell Gibbs. They discuss proactive protagonists, making transitions clear, and conflict.

Archmage’s Rage: Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the first chapter of The Sentinels Sworn Book One: Archmage’s Rage, a fantasy novel by Andrew J. Cardin. They discuss world building, strategic use of exposition, point of view, tightening your prose, and the role of sidekicks.

Dark Water: Dystopian Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 14:25:07 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique “Dark Water,” a short story by James Middleton. They discuss world building, genre, and how details can affect the stakes.

Episode 80: As Realms Unravel: Epic Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 18:32:13 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of As Realms Unravel, an as yet unpublished epic fantasy novel by Steven T. Bushar. They discuss world building, flashbacks, conflict, and dialogue.

Episode 79: Hiraeth: Family Saga Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 19:34:58 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Hiraeth by Robert Fritz Gaston, an as yet unpublished family saga novel. They discuss point of view, tense, introducing characters, and characteristic moments.

Episode 78: Me and My Bacon: YA Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:14:11 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Ceanmohrlass’s Me and My Bacon a published YA novel. They discuss the passage of time, setting as it relates to the characters, and the characteristic moment.

Episode 77: Snow Like Ashes: Literary Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Brian McWilliams’s “Snow Like Ashes” an as yet unpublished literary fiction short story. They discuss short stories, character arcs, conflict, and narrative identity. Special notice: This story contains some disturbing scenes involving the situations that firefighters experience.

Episode 76: The Automatic Author: Literary Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 15:49:24 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Marcelo Mendes’s “The Automatic Author” an as yet unpublished literary science fiction short story. They discuss short stories, economy of words, where to start your story, and ways to evoke feelings.

Episode 75: The Wolf and the Ravens: Historical Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 16:06:53 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of D.J. Umber's The Wolf and the Ravens, an as yet unpublished historical fiction novel. They discuss explaining character motivations, trusting your readers, and making the setting clear.

Episode 74: Hanna's Hearts: Romance/Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 15:36:18 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Bobbie Carlton-Hess's Hanna's Hearts, an as yet unpublished Romance/Science Fiction novel. They discuss backstory and ways to convey what's important for the reader to know as well as polarizing topics.

Episode 73: Feathers of the Phoenix: Historical Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 14:40:54 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of J.T. Morse's Feathers of the Phoenix, an as yet unpublished historical fantasy novel. They discuss point of view, the omniscient narrator, word choice, and accents.

Episode 72: Bloodbound: Paranormal Fantasy/Horror Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 3 Aug 2016 15:57:09 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Sarah Brett's Bloodbound, an as yet unpublished paranormal fantasy/horror novel. They discuss active opening scenes, scenes and sequels, character motivation, and literal and metaphoric elements.

Episode 71: Daughter of the Flood: Magical Realism Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 15:02:50 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Chrishaun Keller-Hanna's “Daughter of the Flood,” an as yet unpublished magical realism story. They discuss identifying characters, dialogue tags, setting, and strong verbs.

Episode 70: Affery’s Earth, Magical Realism Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 7 Jul 2016 18:25:25 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Sondra Turnbull's Affery’s Earth, an as yet unpublished magical realism novel. They discuss adverbs that end in ly, how to use adverbs to “unwrite” your sentences and make them stronger, the use of inanimate objects, and US vs. UK English.

Episode 69 - Expedition, Brace Cordova Book One: Space Opera Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of C. Steven Manley's Expedition: Brace Cordova Book One, an as yet unpublished space opera. They discuss setting, capitalization, flashbacks, and characterization.

Episode 68 - The Case Files of Jack Nimble: Supernatural Mystery Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 15:32:36 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique Carl Vaughn's The Case Files of Jack Nimble, an as yet unpublished supernatural mystery. They discuss fiction mash-ups, innovating scenes, character descriptions, and tightening prose.

Episode 67 - Hypnotic Destiny: YA Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Charlie Reale’s Hypnotic Destiny, an as yet unpublished YA Fantasy. They discuss fight scenes, character thoughts and reactions, point of view as it relates to character description, setting, and strong verbs.

Episode 66 - Castor Revelations: Science Fiction/Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 8 Jun 2016 15:06:28 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Stephen Allan’s Kastori Revelations, a published science fiction/fantasy novel. They discuss story beginnings, indicating the passage of time, action, and military culture.

Episode 65 - Nicolas Marson’s The Key of Astrea, a science fiction/fantasy novel

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 1 Jun 2016 14:20:27 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening pages of Nicolas Marson’s The Key of Astrea, a science fiction/fantasy novel. They discuss rapid-fire dialogue, punctuation and tags for dialogue, and point of view.

Episode 64 - Michele Potter’s The Colonists - Historical Fiction

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 25 May 2016 15:57:03 +0000

In this episode, Leslie welcomed Clark Chamberlain, the new co-host of the podcast. They critiqued the beginning of Michelle Porter’s The Colonists, an as yet unpublished historical fiction novel. They discussed internal dialogue, increasing character interaction, strong verbs, ellipses, and em dashes.

Episode 63 - Posted as Missing, an Action-Adventure Romance

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 18 May 2016 14:07:22 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening of Michael Walsh's Posted as Missing, an action-adventure romance. They discuss genre, traumatic events and how to include them in fiction, underwriting, strong verbs, echoes, and foreign languages.

Episode 62 - Forged, a YA paranormal adventure

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 11 May 2016 13:59:37 +0000

In episode 62, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening of Jennifer Hale and Holly Mora’s Forged, a YA paranormal adventure. They discuss beginning hooks, flashbacks, similes, repetitive structure, and echoes.

Episode 61 - Beyond the Stars, Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 4 May 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Thomas Cardin’s_Beyond the Stars_, an unpublished fantasy novel. They discuss conflict, point of view, echoes, and disclosing relevant detail.

Episode 60 - The Missing Yesterdays, MG/YA Novella Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:10:20 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of Terry Marchion’s_The Missing Yesterdays_, an MG/YA novella. They discuss specificity of detail and verbs, rising tension, worldbuilding and applying humor to your story.

Episode 59 - Beauty’s Daughter, Fantasy Novella Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:48:09 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Eustacia Tan’s novella Beauty’s Daughter. They discuss throat clearing, strengthening verbs, point of view, and rising tension.

Episode 58: Smarter Artist Summit

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie share their experiences and takeaways from attending the 2016 Smarter Artist Summit. Panelists included: Mark LeFebvre, Joanna Penn, Nick Stephenson, Julia Kent, J.A. Huss, Andre Chaperon, and James Tonn in addition to Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright.

Episode 57 - "The Man on the Motorcycle," Supernatural Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 6 Apr 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique "The Man on the Motorcycle," a short story by Sean Seebach. They discuss point of view, character and plot arc, and genre considerations.

Episode 56 - Mystery at Blackstone’s Stables, Historical Mystery Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Fri, 1 Apr 2016 15:15:20 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Saralee Etter’s Mystery at Blackstone’s Stables, and discuss deft character descriptions, bridging tension, and setting.

Episode 55 - Underneath - A Merfolk Tale, Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of M.N. Arzu’s Underneath, and discuss foreshadowing, verb choice, repetitive sentence structure, and genre considerations.

Episode 54 - Raven’s Peak, Paranormal Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 15:19:45 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Lincoln Cole’s Raven’s Peak, and discuss tone, using secondary character reactions to develop your reader’s understanding of the protagonist, restraint in delivery, and a few finer points of comma & colon usage.

Episode 53 - Martha’s Dream, Literary Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 9 Mar 2016 17:32:51 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of Genya’s literary fiction novel, Martha’s Dream. They discuss sentence and paragraph length, poetic language, and reconciling adult-like observations with the protagonist (a child).

Episode 52 - Hard Reboot, Dystopian YA Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 2 Mar 2016 16:24:32 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the prologue and opening of chapter one from JF Erickson’s Hard Reboot. They discuss worldbuilding, advanced dialogue punctuation, maintaining tension, and stage direction.

Episode 51 - The Humanarium, Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 17:31:57 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the prologue of Chris Tick’s The Humanarium, a science fiction novel. They discuss classic scene structure, grounding the reader, worldbuilding, and characterization.

Episode 50 - Feather the Painter, Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 15:41:58 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Mary Pat Lynch’s Feather the Painter, a fantasy novel. They discuss repetitive sentence structure, tension, sensory detail, dialect, and getting to know setting through your character’s point of view.

Episode 49 - Awakened: Paragons Book One, Superhuman Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of CS Manley’s Awakened. They discuss the opening device (amnesia), tension, setting, and the high polishing techniques that will make your writing lean.

Episode 48 - Generation Havoc, YA SF Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 3 Feb 2016 17:00:48 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of J.H. Lucas’s Generation Havoc. They discuss panoramic vs. intimate openings, developing tension, tone, diction, and worldbuilding.

Episode 47 - The Hipster Who Leapt Through Time, SF/F Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 17:32:12 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of Luke K’s The Hipster Who Leapt Through Time, a science fiction/fantasy novel by Luke Kondor. They mention echoes and strengthening verbs. They discuss how the author builds sympathy by getting in the moment, and they debate which tense might be the best choice for this piece.

Episode 46 - The Bite of Rust, Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 15:11:12 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Simon Cantan’s The Bite of Rust, a fantasy novel. They discuss unusual protagonists, characters’ emotional reactions, and effective hooks and world building.

Episode 45 - “The Quirky Old Couple” Fantasy Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique Alysia Seymour’s “The Quirky Old Couple,” a fantasy short story. They discuss tension, action, and conflict, repetitive sentence structure, and earning back story.

Episode 44 - Society, Urban Fantasy/Thriller Critique (Explicit)

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 6 Jan 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the first five pages of Kinda Ra Harashal’s Society, an urban fantasy/thriller novel. They discuss grounding the reader in a fantasy world, nailing your genre and audience, and different aspects of problematic dialogue.

Episode 43 - The Book of Fawla, Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie and Alyssa critique the first chapter of Edward Antrobus’s The Book of Fawla, a fantasy serial. They discuss telling detail for characterization, setting, and props, amping up your verbs, paying attention to diction, and how to take a story that’s working to the next level.

Episode 42 - Untitled Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening pages of a thriller by AD Davies. They discuss the genre and maintaining tension, and get into some granular detail on verb tense and dialogue tags. Put your grammar hat on for this one!

Episode 41 - “The Flagstone in Ms. Leech’s Garden,” Middle Grade Horror Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique Todd Gerring’s middle grade horror short story. They discuss considerations when writing horror for this audience, 3rd person distant POV, building sympathy for your characters, and tips for copyediting and proofreading.

Episode 40 - Pleasure Point, Romance Critique (explicit)

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 9 Dec 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Jennifer Evans Kochalka’s novel, Pleasure Point. They discuss the romance genre, character reactions, and get into the nitty gritty of compound words, spaces after punctuation, brand names in fiction, and extraneous detail.

Episode 39 - Guest of Honor, Suspense Novelette Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 2 Dec 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of Mark S.R. Peterson’s novelette, Guest of Honor. They discuss the suspense genre, prepositions, present tense, tension, characterization, and point of view.

Episode 38 - “One’s Place,” Science Fiction Adventure Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of a science fiction adventure story, “One’s Place,” by Edwin Downward. They discuss characterization, setting, lingering questions, plot devices, and diversity in science fiction.

Episode 37 - Ripples Through Time, Literary Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of the literary fiction novel Ripples through Time by Lincoln Cole. They discuss characterization, telling detail, the power of subtlety, and what defines literary fiction.

Episode 36 - Crystal, Young Adult Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie discuss genre, pacing, tension, and engagement as they critique the first five pages of Christine Waters’s Crystal, a young adult story.

Episode 35 - Eclipse of the Heart, Historical Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 4 Nov 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie discuss poetic prose, character introductions, genre expectations, and setting in this critique of the opening of Winifred Onyema’s novella, Eclipse of the Heart.

Episode 34 - Chasing Status Quo, YA/SF/Mystery Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa discuss prologues, openings, establishing the genre, character relationships, and sensory detail in this critique of the opening of Melissa Bieman’s Chasing Status Quo.

Episode 33. - “Children at Tide’s Ebb,” Literary Short Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:19:13 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa discuss poetic prose, interesting structure, the hallmarks of literary fiction and how this piece displays them, symbolism, and grounding the reader in the face of extremely poetic prose.

Episode 32 - “Last Eve,” SF Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 15:24:27 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of Last Eve, a short story by Carolina Greene. They discuss throat clearing, developing the conflict of man vs. nature, and provided a few copyediting tips.

Episode 31 - Sojourners, Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 7 Oct 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening of Aaron Hubble’s Sojourners. They discuss the importance of emphasis within a sentence, precision in language, delaying backstory, and the development of great internal and external conflict.

Episode 30 - Ghosts of Koa, Urban Fantasy/Dystopian SF Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the prologue of Colby R. Rice’s Ghosts of Koa. They discuss identifying repetitive syntax, seamless worldbuilding, developing intrigue, and finding beta readers.

Episode 29 - Rain, Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening of David L. Storm’s thriller, Rain. They discuss pacing and diction appropriate to the genre, as well as setting, and the introduction of conflict versus backstory.

Episode 28 - The Nutcracker King, YA Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 15:53:13 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening chapters of The Nutcracker King, a novella by Eustacia Tan. They discuss genre, public domain characters, conflict, and deepening characterization.

Episode 27 - Her, Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 9 Sep 2015 12:30:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the short story “Her” by John Rose. They discuss the use of trademarked characters, establishing setting and point of view, and rapid fire dialogue.

Episode 26 - The Messengers, Paranormal Mystery Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 2 Sep 2015 12:30:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the first five pages of Anthony Greer’s The Messengers. They discuss passive voice, character engagement and sympathy, including telling (not repetitive) detail, word choice, and straying from POV.

Episode 25 - Gone, Suspense Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the first five pages of Stacy Claflin’s Gone, a Suspense thriller. They discuss how the shifting point of view and resulting irony (where the audience knows something the characters don’t) work brilliantly to increase tension. They discuss adding visceral detail, and minor changes to improve the submission.

Episode 24 - The Feedback Loop, Cyberpunk Techno Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the first section of Harmon Cooper’s The Feedback Loop. They discuss how the POV and tense works for the genre, repetitive sentence structure, and dialogue (and its punctuation).

Episode 23 - Fire on the Flight Deck, Military/Coming of Age Critique (Explicit)

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the first chapter of Darren Sapp’s Fire on the Flight Deck. They discuss point of view, establishing the ordinary world, back story, and the technical details that make an unusual setting come to life.

Episode 22 - Tristan, Science Fiction/Revenge Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 5 Aug 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Alyssa & Leslie critique the opening chapter of Kindar Ra Harashal’s Tristan. They discuss repetitive sentence structure, passive voice, sentence fragments, and intrigue versus melodrama.

Episode 21 - It’s A Nightmare (The Gold Stone Girl, book 1), Dystopian Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Leslie & Alyssa critique the opening pages from Nicole Quinn’s It’s a Nightmare. They discuss the genre, the function of the comma, the importance of a name, and suspending disbelief.

Episode 20 - Walrus of Death Urban Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from Steeven R. Orr’s Walrus of Death. They discuss appropriate humor and how it can benefit your story, judicious pruning for a smoother reading experience, setting reader expectations with character appearance, and great hooks.

Episode 19 - University Acknowledged New Adult Critique (explicit)

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 16:40:48 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages from a New Adult novel. They discuss the specter of Pride & Prejudice, building and maintaining sympathy for your characters, and developing a narrative hook or throughline.

Episode 18 - The Chronicles of PJ Middle Grade Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 8 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from a middle grade novel.They discuss raising the stakes, increasing tension, rapid fire dialogue, and incorporating more telling detail.

Episode 17 - The Clone Rules Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 1 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages from a science fiction novel. They discuss choosing tense, rapid fire and commonplace dialogue, and well-executed backstory.

Episode 16 - Nightblade: Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from a fantasy novel. They discuss cadence and diction, dialogue, opening lines, and setting and maintaining reader expectations.

Episode 15 - Glamorous: Paranormal Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages from a paranormal thriller. They discuss character relationships, the “normal” world versus the supernatural world, incorporating specific and telling detail, and redundancy in dialogue.

Episode 14 - Night School: Horror Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages from a horror novel. They discuss tightening the opening to get to the paranormal elements more quickly, the possible inclusion of humor, and how technical issues are an issue for this piece.

Episode 13 - Once Upon a Saturn Moon: Science Fiction Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 3 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from a science fiction adventure story. They discuss oversharing and how it relates to showing versus telling, clusters of echoes, and the difference between a series of situations and a plot.

Episode 12 - High Flyer: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 27 May 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages from a paranormal/urban fantasy novel. They discuss grounding the reader in the genre, British vs. U.S. English, echoes, visceral details, and starting the story with an inciting incident.

Episode 11 - Naked Montreal: Erotica Critique (NSFW)

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from an erotica novel. They discuss different types of erotica, character development, tools for assessing complexity of language and readability, and the reader experience.

Episode 10 - Ted Saves the World: YA Superhero Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 13 May 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from a YA superhero fantasy novel. They discuss: why this opening works so well for the sotry, strong opening lines, including visceral details to ground your reader, and strengthening verbs.

Episode 9 - "The Bad Baby": Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 6 May 2015 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages from a literary short story. They discuss omniscient viewpoint, deepening setting and characterization, and making good on the implicit promise in your title and hook.

Episode 8 - Prophecy’s Queen: Fantasy Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 19:30:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages from a fantasy novella in progress. They discuss information dumps, delaying back story, and revisit elaborate dialogue tags. They go on to discuss overcapitalization and why that’s a problem for your reader, and leave you with an editorial mission based on what this submission teaches us about characterization.

Episode 7 - "It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later": Religious Inspirational Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 19:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique a religious inspirational short story. They discuss showing versus telling, creating an active and vivid setting, rapid fire dialogue, and strengthening the darkest moment.

Episode 6 - Looking in Shadows: Crime/Thriller Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 18:30:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique an excerpt from a crime/thriller novel in progress. They discuss what’s working for the unconventional opening, dive deeper into active openings, and ask for clues about the protagonist’s competence. They go on to discuss varying sentence structure, the creation of new words, and what to avoid with elaborate dialogue tags.

Episode 5 - Think Tank: Middle Grade Fantasy Short Story Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 18:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique an excerpt from a middle grade fantasy book. They discuss: point of view/head hopping, passive voice, streamlining language for impact, echoes, strengthening verbs, and hesitant words.

Episode 3 - Last Search: Mystery Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 16:15:00 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie critique the opening pages of a mystery novel in progress. They discuss: tense, point of view, consistency in characterization, dialect in dialogue, permissions and copyright issues, and touch on the issue of showing versus telling.

Episode 2 - Grigory’s Gadget: Steampunk Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 16:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Leslie and Alyssa critique the opening pages of a steampunk novel in progress. They discuss what was working for the story, how to improve the opening paragraphs, tension, and open-ended questions. They go on to talk about getting past the police description, diction, and identifying echoes.

Episode 1 - Mustang Summer: Romance Critique

leslie@writership.com (Leslie Watts, Story Grid Certified fiction editor) — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 15:58:03 +0000

In this episode, Alyssa and Leslie launched the podcast with the critique of an excerpt from a romance novel. They discuss some requirements of the romance genre, and what constitutes a love interest and well-motivated character. They go on to talk about how to follow through on your story’s hook and avoid information dumps, false starts, echoes, and the passive voice.