<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new">Send us a text! We&#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.</a>If you’ve ever found yourself polishing the first chapter of your novel over and over again while the rest of the story stubbornly refuses to move forward, this episode is going to feel very familiar—and very reassuring.In this conversation, I’m joined by editor, author, and book coach <a href='https://rebeccapickens.com/'>Rebecca Pickens</a>, and we talk about something that doesn’t always get as much attention as plot or structure, but might actually matter more than anything else: emotional impact.Rebecca works with a lot of writers on their debut novels, and she sees a very common pattern. Writers learn all the craft tools—story structure, narrative arc, opening hooks, character arcs—and they apply them carefully and thoughtfully. But somewhere along the way, they start to lose touch with the very thing that made them want to write the story in the first place: the emotional heart of the story and the characters they fell in love with.As Rebecca points out, writers often love craft, but readers love characters. Readers remember characters who feel real, complicated, and emotionally alive, even more than they remember perfectly structured plots or beautiful sentences.We talk about how emotional impact often comes from two key tools: interiority and subtext. Interiority is what the character is thinking and feeling inside—the things they don’t say out loud. When readers are given access to those private thoughts and feelings, they feel closer to the character and more invested in what happens to them.Subtext, on the other hand, is what’s happening beneath the surface of a scene. Instead of telling the reader exactly what a character is feeling, we show it through their behavior, their reactions, and what they don’t say. Readers get to connect the dots themselves, and that makes the story more engaging and more emotionally powerful.Rebecca also talks about how emotions become more compelling when they are connected to a character’s identity—who they believe they are, what they fear, what they want their life to mean. When conflict threatens a character’s identity, the emotional stakes become much higher and the story becomes much more compelling.We also talk about when writers should think about emotional impact—during outlining, drafting, revising, or editing—and why, for many writers, it’s actually easier to put all the emotional material into the first draft and then shape it later, rather than trying to add emotional depth after the story is written.Finally, we talk about endings—why writers often get stuck when they reach the end of their manuscript, and why a satisfying ending usually depends less on the final chapter and more on whether the character has truly earned that ending through a believable character arc.Rebecca has also created a <a href='https://rebecca-pickens-coaching.kit.com/excellent-endings'>free workbook</a> to help writers craft stronger endings, with prompts and checklists you can use to evaluate whether your story is landing the way you want it to. You can download that free workbook here and use it as you revise your ending.This is a thoughtful, practical, and encouraging conversation about how to make readers not just read your story—but feel it.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new"&gt;Send us a text! We&amp;#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you’ve ever found yourself polishing the first chapter of your novel over and over again while the rest of the story stubbornly refuses to move forward, this episode is going to feel very familiar—and very reassuring.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this conversation, I’m joined by editor, author, and book coach &lt;a href='https://rebeccapickens.com/'&gt;Rebecca Pickens&lt;/a&gt;, and we talk about something that doesn’t always get as much attention as plot or structure, but might actually matter more than anything else: emotional impact.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rebecca works with a lot of writers on their debut novels, and she sees a very common pattern. Writers learn all the craft tools—story structure, narrative arc, opening hooks, character arcs—and they apply them carefully and thoughtfully. But somewhere along the way, they start to lose touch with the very thing that made them want to write the story in the first place: the emotional heart of the story and the characters they fell in love with.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As Rebecca points out, writers often love craft, but readers love characters. Readers remember characters who feel real, complicated, and emotionally alive, even more than they remember perfectly structured plots or beautiful sentences.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We talk about how emotional impact often comes from two key tools: interiority and subtext. Interiority is what the character is thinking and feeling inside—the things they don’t say out loud. When readers are given access to those private thoughts and feelings, they feel closer to the character and more invested in what happens to them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Subtext, on the other hand, is what’s happening beneath the surface of a scene. Instead of telling the reader exactly what a character is feeling, we show it through their behavior, their reactions, and what they don’t say. Readers get to connect the dots themselves, and that makes the story more engaging and more emotionally powerful.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rebecca also talks about how emotions become more compelling when they are connected to a character’s identity—who they believe they are, what they fear, what they want their life to mean. When conflict threatens a character’s identity, the emotional stakes become much higher and the story becomes much more compelling.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also talk about when writers should think about emotional impact—during outlining, drafting, revising, or editing—and why, for many writers, it’s actually easier to put all the emotional material into the first draft and then shape it later, rather than trying to add emotional depth after the story is written.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, we talk about endings—why writers often get stuck when they reach the end of their manuscript, and why a satisfying ending usually depends less on the final chapter and more on whether the character has truly earned that ending through a believable character arc.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rebecca has also created a &lt;a href='https://rebecca-pickens-coaching.kit.com/excellent-endings'&gt;free workbook&lt;/a&gt; to help writers craft stronger endings, with prompts and checklists you can use to evaluate whether your story is landing the way you want it to. You can download that free workbook here and use it as you revise your ending.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a thoughtful, practical, and encouraging conversation about how to make readers not just read your story—but feel it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show. If you’ve ever found yourself polishing the first chapter of your novel over and over again while the rest of the story stubbornly refuses to move forward, this episode is going to feel very familiar—and very reassuring. In this conversation, I’m joined by editor, author, and book coach Rebecca Pickens, and we talk about something that doesn’t always get as much attention as plot or structure, but might actually matter more than any...

How to Write with Emotional Impact, with Rebecca Pickens

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new">Send us a text! We&#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.</a>In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m talking with novelist <a href='https://www.datingdisasters.paris/'>Whitney Cubbison</a>, who lives in Paris and writes romantic comedies inspired by her experiences as an American expat navigating dating, divorce, friendship, and life abroad. But what makes Whitney’s story so interesting isn’t just the Paris setting or the dating disasters—it’s how she became a novelist in the first place.Whitney didn’t grow up planning to write novels. She spent many years working in communications and PR for Microsoft, writing speeches and corporate communications. Writing was always part of her life—she journaled for years—but fiction wasn’t something she had seriously considered. That all changed after her divorce, when she found herself going on a series of truly terrible dates in Paris. Every time she told the stories to friends, they kept saying the same thing: “You have to write a book.”Eventually, she did.She started writing down her experiences on a plane after a work trip, without really knowing how novels worked or how to structure a story. Like many first-time writers, she wrote first and figured out structure later. She describes that early draft as basically pouring her life onto the page and then trying to figure out how to turn that into an actual novel. What followed was a long learning process—hiring editors, restructuring the story, rewriting large sections, pitching agents, getting rejected, hiring another editor, and rewriting again. Through that process, she learned how novels are built and what it really takes to turn a story into a book.Her first novel, <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Will-There-Be-Wine-Novel-ebook/dp/B0BLHWTC92/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2S1LH00ECZ009&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.042vVoLiVkFLWZr51QkL2d8DimaXjUSTasmoaV3igL3Ld3QoryZoiiAu4jFDTCf0hJsQC_aR0YcPTvYGupXMCdfsS9_DpbyALDaoFOYbURTjR750Exv0jV5ASPmlAJz4yBBoKy9O_E2PN2a8zms0o4QJW4bpLF5I7imks3IQTSSC1mdkQ5XK5wMg46yO_PS9MTqD47M7l3lt0zFpizfLUrA-BAlTQ24jMDVgk3JqENI.vvUc7U-pssbuT40nQb6l5ySQEtFlpfaLai7cQBqOzM0&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=will+there+be+wine&amp;qid=1775673969&amp;sprefix=will+there+be+wine%2Caps%2C137&amp;sr=8-1'>Will There Be Wine</a>?, grew out of that experience and became a romantic comedy about an American expat in Paris trying to rebuild her life after divorce. But her second novel, <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Will-There-Love-Whitney-Cubbison-ebook/dp/B0F154WK5P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PDQKNXB99FNX&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FRP_BEMbTTus871dH0ZPD9hQqKb5eSZqKlsKOoG34zcZum106wL-uHIVFXUnkOVwNucDgc0j4IH509yEeR9a6L0Li8qvepoFaIFyItvYO_UGWWRgWTaCI4wwqSJJMnpRxanwNUGNnMqgEY7AW_Qwox3kSwD7xR7bA41N47CJU2A7hw_BWoItuCjmpepLUGFZ_IybKs0kfuFPpZoC8ekGHq3SSRQIYlTYWmzFULz0oCE.kHhKVKp_AST2_2b_Ba19_aQBR441InYL8BTO3aVrpmM&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=will+there+be+love&amp;qid=1775673987&amp;sprefix=will+there+be+lov%2Caps%2C140&amp;sr=8-1'>Will There Be Love?</a>, was a completely different challenge. This time she wrote a fully fictional story told from four different points of view and set mostly over the course of a single dramatic weekend in Ibiza. She intentionally wanted to challenge herself as a writer by working with multiple narrators, writing from male perspectives, and compressing the timeline of the story.One of my favorite moments in this conversation was when Whitney said that after her first book, she still wasn’t sure she was really a writer. But after writing the second book—from a blank page, building characters and story from scratch—that was when she finally thought, “Okay, I think I’m a writer now.”We also talked about self-publishing and marketing, because of course when you self-publish, you’re not just the writer—you’re also the marketing department. Whitn

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new"&gt;Send us a text! We&amp;#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode of &lt;em&gt;The Resilient Writers Radio Show&lt;/em&gt;, I’m talking with novelist &lt;a href='https://www.datingdisasters.paris/'&gt;Whitney Cubbison&lt;/a&gt;, who lives in Paris and writes romantic comedies inspired by her experiences as an American expat navigating dating, divorce, friendship, and life abroad. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But what makes Whitney’s story so interesting isn’t just the Paris setting or the dating disasters—it’s how she became a novelist in the first place.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whitney didn’t grow up planning to write novels. She spent many years working in communications and PR for Microsoft, writing speeches and corporate communications. Writing was always part of her life—she journaled for years—but fiction wasn’t something she had seriously considered. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That all changed after her divorce, when she found herself going on a series of truly terrible dates in Paris. Every time she told the stories to friends, they kept saying the same thing: “You have to write a book.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Eventually, she did.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;She started writing down her experiences on a plane after a work trip, without really knowing how novels worked or how to structure a story. Like many first-time writers, she wrote first and figured out structure later. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;She describes that early draft as basically pouring her life onto the page and then trying to figure out how to turn that into an actual novel. What followed was a long learning process—hiring editors, restructuring the story, rewriting large sections, pitching agents, getting rejected, hiring another editor, and rewriting again. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Through that process, she learned how novels are built and what it really takes to turn a story into a book.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Her first novel, &lt;a href='https://www.amazon.com/Will-There-Be-Wine-Novel-ebook/dp/B0BLHWTC92/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2S1LH00ECZ009&amp;amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.042vVoLiVkFLWZr51QkL2d8DimaXjUSTasmoaV3igL3Ld3QoryZoiiAu4jFDTCf0hJsQC_aR0YcPTvYGupXMCdfsS9_DpbyALDaoFOYbURTjR750Exv0jV5ASPmlAJz4yBBoKy9O_E2PN2a8zms0o4QJW4bpLF5I7imks3IQTSSC1mdkQ5XK5wMg46yO_PS9MTqD47M7l3lt0zFpizfLUrA-BAlTQ24jMDVgk3JqENI.vvUc7U-pssbuT40nQb6l5ySQEtFlpfaLai7cQBqOzM0&amp;amp;dib_tag=se&amp;amp;keywords=will+there+be+wine&amp;amp;qid=1775673969&amp;amp;sprefix=will+there+be+wine%2Caps%2C137&amp;amp;sr=8-1'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Will There Be Wine&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;?, grew out of that experience and became a romantic comedy about an American expat in Paris trying to rebuild her life after divorce. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But her second novel, &lt;a href='https://www.amazon.com/Will-There-Love-Whitney-Cubbison-ebook/dp/B0F154WK5P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PDQKNXB99FNX&amp;amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FRP_BEMbTTus871dH0ZPD9hQqKb5eSZqKlsKOoG34zcZum106wL-uHIVFXUnkOVwNucDgc0j4IH509yEeR9a6L0Li8qvepoFaIFyItvYO_UGWWRgWTaCI4wwqSJJMnpRxanwNUGNnMqgEY7AW_Qwox3kSwD7xR7bA41N47CJU2A7hw_BWoItuCjmpepLUGFZ_IybKs0kfuFPpZoC8ekGHq3SSRQIYlTYWmzFULz0oCE.kHhKVKp_AST2_2b_Ba19_aQBR441InYL8BTO3aVrpmM&amp;amp;dib_tag=se&amp;amp;keywords=will+there+be+love&amp;amp;qid=1775673987&amp;amp;sprefix=will+there+be+lov%2Caps%2C140&amp;amp;sr=8-1'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Will There Be Love?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, was a completely different challenge. This time she wrote a fully fictional story told from four different points of view and set mostly over the course of a single dramatic weekend in Ibiza. She intentionally wanted to challenge herself as a writer by working with multiple narrators, writing from male perspectives, and compressing the timeline of the story.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of my favorite moments in this conversation was when Whitney said that after her first book, she still wasn’t sure she was really a writer. But after writing the second book—from a blank page, building characters and story from scratch—that was when she finally thought, “Okay, I think I’m a writer now.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also talked about self-publishing and marketing, because of course when you self-publish, you’re not just the writer—you’re also the marketing department. Whitn&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show. In this episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m talking with novelist Whitney Cubbison, who lives in Paris and writes romantic comedies inspired by her experiences as an American expat navigating dating, divorce, friendship, and life abroad.  But what makes Whitney’s story so interesting isn’t just the Paris setting or the dating disasters—it’s how she became a novelist in the first place. Whitney didn’t grow up planni...

How to Write a Rom-Com (from Paris!), with Whitney Cubbison

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new">Send us a text! We&#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.</a>If you love stories that explore art, history, identity, and the lives of women artists across time, this episode will absolutely fascinate you.In this conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by writer, translator, and literary critic <a href='https://meravfima.com/'>Merav Fima</a>, author of the short story collection <a href='https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/late-blossoms-by-merav-fima'>Late Blossoms</a> and the forthcoming novel The Rose of Thirteen Petals and the Pomegranate Tree. Merav’s work explores the lives, struggles, and artistic legacies of Jewish women artists across history, and this conversation is a wonderful deep dive into how a book can grow slowly over many years and eventually become something much larger than originally imagined.Merav shares that Late Blossoms actually began as part of her master’s thesis in creative writing, but the earliest story in the collection was written even earlier, inspired by a painting she encountered while studying art history. That moment sparked a story about Else Lasker-Schüler, a Jewish expressionist poet and artist persecuted by the Nazis, and that story eventually became the seed for an entire collection focused on Jewish women artists and their lives, struggles, and creative work.One of the most fascinating parts of this conversation is how the collection came together over more than twenty years. Rather than writing all the stories at once, Merav wrote them slowly—sometimes only one story per year—until she eventually realized she had a full collection. We also talk about the challenge of structuring a short story collection and how important it is to think about the book as a whole, not just individual pieces. Merav shares how organizing the stories chronologically and thematically helped create a narrative arc across the collection.We also talk about her upcoming novel, The Rose of Thirteen Petals and the Pomegranate Tree, which follows a contemporary Sephardic family tracing their lineage back through history to medieval Spain. The novel moves backward through time across different countries and generations, exploring migration, memory, identity, and cultural legacy. Merav explains how this novel grew out of her doctoral research and required extensive historical and literary research to bring the settings and time periods to life.Another wonderful part of this conversation is our discussion about writing across different genres. Merav has written short stories, novels, memoir, scholarly writing, and even picture books, and she shares how each form requires a different mindset and writing process. She talks about how short stories focus on a single turning point, while novels require expansion and deeper emotional exploration, and memoir required a completely different drafting process.We also talk about perfectionism, mindset, and learning to see a book as a whole project rather than just individual chapters or stories — something so many writers struggle with.This is a thoughtful, inspiring conversation about writing across genres, writing about art and history, and how books sometimes take many years to become what they are meant to be.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new"&gt;Send us a text! We&amp;#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you love stories that explore art, history, identity, and the lives of women artists across time, this episode will absolutely fascinate you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by writer, translator, and literary critic &lt;a href='https://meravfima.com/'&gt;Merav Fima&lt;/a&gt;, author of the short story collection &lt;a href='https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/late-blossoms-by-merav-fima'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Late Blossoms&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and the forthcoming novel &lt;em&gt;The Rose of Thirteen Petals and the Pomegranate Tree&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Merav’s work explores the lives, struggles, and artistic legacies of Jewish women artists across history, and this conversation is a wonderful deep dive into how a book can grow slowly over many years and eventually become something much larger than originally imagined.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Merav shares that &lt;em&gt;Late Blossoms&lt;/em&gt; actually began as part of her master’s thesis in creative writing, but the earliest story in the collection was written even earlier, inspired by a painting she encountered while studying art history. That moment sparked a story about Else Lasker-Schüler, a Jewish expressionist poet and artist persecuted by the Nazis, and that story eventually became the seed for an entire collection focused on Jewish women artists and their lives, struggles, and creative work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the most fascinating parts of this conversation is how the collection came together over more than twenty years. Rather than writing all the stories at once, Merav wrote them slowly—sometimes only one story per year—until she eventually realized she had a full collection. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also talk about the challenge of structuring a short story collection and how important it is to think about the book as a whole, not just individual pieces. Merav shares how organizing the stories chronologically and thematically helped create a narrative arc across the collection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also talk about her upcoming novel, &lt;em&gt;The Rose of Thirteen Petals and the Pomegranate Tree&lt;/em&gt;, which follows a contemporary Sephardic family tracing their lineage back through history to medieval Spain. The novel moves backward through time across different countries and generations, exploring migration, memory, identity, and cultural legacy. Merav explains how this novel grew out of her doctoral research and required extensive historical and literary research to bring the settings and time periods to life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another wonderful part of this conversation is our discussion about writing across different genres. Merav has written short stories, novels, memoir, scholarly writing, and even picture books, and she shares how each form requires a different mindset and writing process. She talks about how short stories focus on a single turning point, while novels require expansion and deeper emotional exploration, and memoir required a completely different drafting process.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also talk about perfectionism, mindset, and learning to see a book as a whole project rather than just individual chapters or stories — something so many writers struggle with.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a thoughtful, inspiring conversation about writing across genres, writing about art and history, and how books sometimes take many years to become what they are meant to be.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show. If you love stories that explore art, history, identity, and the lives of women artists across time, this episode will absolutely fascinate you. In this conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by writer, translator, and literary critic Merav Fima, author of the short story collection Late Blossoms and the forthcoming novel The Rose of Thirteen Petals and the Pomegranate Tree.  Merav’s work explores the live...

How to Structure a Short Story Collection, with Merav Fima

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new">Send us a text! We&#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.</a>If you’ve ever wondered whether a personal essay might actually be the seed of something much bigger—or if you’ve felt the tug to write a memoir but weren’t sure where to begin—this episode is for you.In today’s conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by <a href='https://www.carolynflynn.com/'>Carolyn Flynn</a>: eight-time published author, TEDxWomen speaker, winner of the 2014 Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, and founder of The Story Catalyst at Soulfire Studios. Carolyn is also the author of <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Boundless-Carolyn-Dawn-Flynn/dp/B0DMSW1GCV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RYYVYEC4GW6E&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XNq5xcEFKwJLG4roRdsPQw.BTDEVB1ZpMa6tWwm2mPGTkuD8QdIqQKJL8KLC5Bq0Bc&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=boundless+carolyn+dawn+flynn&amp;qid=1774467569&amp;sprefix=Boundless+Carolyn+%2Caps%2C178&amp;sr=8-1'>Boundless</a>, a moving and darkly funny memoir that grew from an essay published in Fourth Genre into a full-length book after nearly a decade of reflection.Carolyn shares how that transformation happened—and why memoir often begins not with “my whole life story,” but with one meaningful slice of life that won’t let you go. For her, that slice was a season of enormous change in 2017, when her twins were leaving for college at the same time she was stepping away from a long career in journalism. In other words: two huge parts of her identity were shifting all at once.What followed became the emotional heart of Boundless, which Carolyn describes as a tragicomic empty-nest memoir guided by one central question: When you have become no one, how do you become someone again?We talk about what makes memoir different from autobiography, and Carolyn offers such a smart, grounded way of thinking about it. Memoir, she says, is about selecting the events that carry the most meaning—and then reflecting on them. She explains the importance of the two voices always present in memoir: the remembering self who narrates, and the experiencing self who is living through the events without yet understanding them. That distinction alone is worth the listen.Carolyn also shares several of the “superpowers” she believes memoir writers need. We discuss why theme can be more useful when framed as a main dramatic question, how time-boxing your memoir can keep it from sprawling, and why writing in scene is essential if you want readers to feel the story instead of simply being told what happened.And yes—we also talk about one of her most memorable pieces of advice: get a therapist. Carolyn speaks candidly about the vulnerability memoir requires, and why emotional support can be just as important as craft support. She also makes a compelling case for working with a book coach—someone who can help you shape the scope, validate your voice, and keep the revision process from becoming overwhelming.This is such a rich conversation about identity, reinvention, structure, and the courage it takes to turn lived experience into art. If memoir has been calling to you—or if you’re navigating a season of change and trying to write your way through it—I think you’ll find a lot of wisdom here.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new"&gt;Send us a text! We&amp;#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you’ve ever wondered whether a personal essay might actually be the seed of something much bigger—or if you’ve felt the tug to write a memoir but weren’t sure where to begin—this episode is for you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In today’s conversation on &lt;em&gt;The Resilient Writers Radio Show&lt;/em&gt;, I’m joined by &lt;a href='https://www.carolynflynn.com/'&gt;Carolyn Flynn&lt;/a&gt;: eight-time published author, TEDxWomen speaker, winner of the 2014 Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, and founder of &lt;em&gt;The Story Catalyst&lt;/em&gt; at Soulfire Studios. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Carolyn is also the author of &lt;a href='https://www.amazon.com/Boundless-Carolyn-Dawn-Flynn/dp/B0DMSW1GCV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RYYVYEC4GW6E&amp;amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XNq5xcEFKwJLG4roRdsPQw.BTDEVB1ZpMa6tWwm2mPGTkuD8QdIqQKJL8KLC5Bq0Bc&amp;amp;dib_tag=se&amp;amp;keywords=boundless+carolyn+dawn+flynn&amp;amp;qid=1774467569&amp;amp;sprefix=Boundless+Carolyn+%2Caps%2C178&amp;amp;sr=8-1'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Boundless&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, a moving and darkly funny memoir that grew from an essay published in &lt;em&gt;Fourth Genre&lt;/em&gt; into a full-length book after nearly a decade of reflection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Carolyn shares how that transformation happened—and why memoir often begins not with “my whole life story,” but with one meaningful slice of life that won’t let you go. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For her, that slice was a season of enormous change in 2017, when her twins were leaving for college at the same time she was stepping away from a long career in journalism. In other words: two huge parts of her identity were shifting all at once.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What followed became the emotional heart of &lt;em&gt;Boundless&lt;/em&gt;, which Carolyn describes as a tragicomic empty-nest memoir guided by one central question: When you have become no one, how do you become someone again?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We talk about what makes memoir different from autobiography, and Carolyn offers such a smart, grounded way of thinking about it. Memoir, she says, is about selecting the events that carry the most meaning—and then reflecting on them. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;She explains the importance of the two voices always present in memoir: the remembering self who narrates, and the experiencing self who is living through the events without yet understanding them. That distinction alone is worth the listen.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Carolyn also shares several of the “superpowers” she believes memoir writers need. We discuss why theme can be more useful when framed as a main dramatic question, how time-boxing your memoir can keep it from sprawling, and why writing in scene is essential if you want readers to feel the story instead of simply being told what happened.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And yes—we also talk about one of her most memorable pieces of advice: get a therapist. Carolyn speaks candidly about the vulnerability memoir requires, and why emotional support can be just as important as craft support. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;She also makes a compelling case for working with a book coach—someone who can help you shape the scope, validate your voice, and keep the revision process from becoming overwhelming.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is such a rich conversation about identity, reinvention, structure, and the courage it takes to turn lived experience into art. If memoir has been calling to you—or if you’re navigating a season of change and trying to write your way through it—I think you’ll find a lot of wisdom here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show. If you’ve ever wondered whether a personal essay might actually be the seed of something much bigger—or if you’ve felt the tug to write a memoir but weren’t sure where to begin—this episode is for you. In today’s conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by Carolyn Flynn: eight-time published author, TEDxWomen speaker, winner of the 2014 Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, and founder of The Story Catalyst at Sou...

From Personal Essay to Memoir, with Carolyn Dawn Flynn

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new">Send us a text! We&#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.</a>If you love historical fiction that uncovers the hidden stories of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances, this episode is going to pull you right in.In today’s conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by historical novelist Diane Shotton, author of Motty’s Vow and her latest novel, <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Dictograph-Case-Diane-Wahn-Shotton/dp/B0FMJJ5DXV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12CVB4RXGFVE9&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FDPbMD5gPx3D1Ck-6lPoSg.es65PmXp4Fg037MmJlvlBUdqjQbxybyx-9G6aLTEacg&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=the+dictograph+case+Diane+Shotton&amp;qid=1773851317&amp;sprefix=the+dictograph+case+diane+shotton%2Caps%2C131&amp;sr=8-1'>The Dictograph Case.</a> Diane writes the kind of fiction that shines a light on forgotten people and overlooked moments in history—and this story began with one of those astonishing discoveries that simply won’t let a writer go.Back in 1999, while researching her family history in a local library, Diane stumbled across a newspaper story about seven men accused of treason during World War I for talking among themselves in a shoe shop. The case involved a “Dictograph”—an early listening device used to secretly record their conversations—which were then used against them in court. Three of the men, all over the age of 65 and respected in their community, ended up in jail. Diane knew immediately this was a story she had to tell.What makes <a href='https://www.amazon.com/Dictograph-Case-Diane-Wahn-Shotton/dp/B0FMJJ5DXV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12CVB4RXGFVE9&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FDPbMD5gPx3D1Ck-6lPoSg.es65PmXp4Fg037MmJlvlBUdqjQbxybyx-9G6aLTEacg&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=the+dictograph+case+Diane+Shotton&amp;qid=1773851317&amp;sprefix=the+dictograph+case+diane+shotton%2Caps%2C131&amp;sr=8-1'>The Dictograph Case</a> especially compelling is the way Diane blends fact and fiction. At the core is a real historical event, but around that she builds a richly imagined mystery with noir undertones, a slow-burn romance, and a town full of secrets. We talk about the choices she made as a novelist: why she told the story through Michael, the grandson of the shoe shop owner, and how Olivia—whose father was killed during the events surrounding the case—became an essential part of the narrative.Diane also shares some of the craft challenges behind writing the book, including working with dual point of view for the first time, trusting readers to pick up on clues without over-explaining, and figuring out how to raise the stakes for the antagonist so the mystery had real tension. It’s a thoughtful look at how historical fiction is shaped not just by research, but by storytelling decisions on the page.We also talk about the delicate balance between truth and invention. Diane is a genealogist, so facts matter deeply to her—but in this case, fiction allowed her to explore what history left behind. In reality, the town seemed to move on and never speak of the incident again. In the novel, Diane imagines what it might look like if the emotional and social consequences lingered for decades.Our conversation also touches on the eerie relevance of the novel’s themes today: free speech, patriotism, public pressure, and the ways fear can be used to divide communities. This is one of those historical novels that doesn’t just immerse you in another time—it also throws light on our own.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/fan_mail/new"&gt;Send us a text! We&amp;#39;d love to hear your thoughts on the show.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you love historical fiction that uncovers the hidden stories of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances, this episode is going to pull you right in.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In today’s conversation on &lt;em&gt;The Resilient Writers Radio Show&lt;/em&gt;, I’m joined by historical novelist Diane Shotton, author of &lt;em&gt;Motty’s Vow&lt;/em&gt; and her latest novel, &lt;a href='https://www.amazon.com/Dictograph-Case-Diane-Wahn-Shotton/dp/B0FMJJ5DXV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12CVB4RXGFVE9&amp;amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FDPbMD5gPx3D1Ck-6lPoSg.es65PmXp4Fg037MmJlvlBUdqjQbxybyx-9G6aLTEacg&amp;amp;dib_tag=se&amp;amp;keywords=the+dictograph+case+Diane+Shotton&amp;amp;qid=1773851317&amp;amp;sprefix=the+dictograph+case+diane+shotton%2Caps%2C131&amp;amp;sr=8-1'&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Dictograph Case&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Diane writes the kind of fiction that shines a light on forgotten people and overlooked moments in history—and this story began with one of those astonishing discoveries that simply won’t let a writer go.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Back in 1999, while researching her family history in a local library, Diane stumbled across a newspaper story about seven men accused of treason during World War I for talking among themselves in a shoe shop. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The case involved a “Dictograph”—an early listening device used to secretly record their conversations—which were then used against them in court. Three of the men, all over the age of 65 and respected in their community, ended up in jail. Diane knew immediately this was a story she had to tell.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What makes &lt;a href='https://www.amazon.com/Dictograph-Case-Diane-Wahn-Shotton/dp/B0FMJJ5DXV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12CVB4RXGFVE9&amp;amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FDPbMD5gPx3D1Ck-6lPoSg.es65PmXp4Fg037MmJlvlBUdqjQbxybyx-9G6aLTEacg&amp;amp;dib_tag=se&amp;amp;keywords=the+dictograph+case+Diane+Shotton&amp;amp;qid=1773851317&amp;amp;sprefix=the+dictograph+case+diane+shotton%2Caps%2C131&amp;amp;sr=8-1'&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Dictograph Case&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; especially compelling is the way Diane blends fact and fiction. At the core is a real historical event, but around that she builds a richly imagined mystery with noir undertones, a slow-burn romance, and a town full of secrets. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We talk about the choices she made as a novelist: why she told the story through Michael, the grandson of the shoe shop owner, and how Olivia—whose father was killed during the events surrounding the case—became an essential part of the narrative.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Diane also shares some of the craft challenges behind writing the book, including working with dual point of view for the first time, trusting readers to pick up on clues without over-explaining, and figuring out how to raise the stakes for the antagonist so the mystery had real tension. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s a thoughtful look at how historical fiction is shaped not just by research, but by storytelling decisions on the page.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also talk about the delicate balance between truth and invention. Diane is a genealogist, so facts matter deeply to her—but in this case, fiction allowed her to explore what history left behind. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In reality, the town seemed to move on and never speak of the incident again. In the novel, Diane imagines what it might look like if the emotional and social consequences lingered for decades.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our conversation also touches on the eerie relevance of the novel’s themes today: free speech, patriotism, public pressure, and the ways fear can be used to divide communities. This is one of those historical novels that doesn’t just immerse you in another time—it also throws light on our own.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show. If you love historical fiction that uncovers the hidden stories of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances, this episode is going to pull you right in. In today’s conversation on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m joined by historical novelist Diane Shotton, author of Motty’s Vow and her latest novel, The Dictograph Case.  Diane writes the kind of fiction that shines a light on forgotten people and overlooked m...

How to Write from True History, with Diane Wahn Shotton

Welcome to the Resilient Writers Radio Show! This is the podcast for writers who want to create and sustain a writing life they love. It's for writers who love books, and everything that goes into the making of them. For writers who wanna learn and grow in their craft, and improve their writing skills. Writers who want to finish their books, and get them out into the world so their ideal readers can enjoy them, writers who wanna spend more time in that flow state, writers who want to connect with other writers to celebrate and be in community in this crazy roller coaster ride we call “the writing life.”&nbsp;

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