Episode 19 - “It’s Just A Challenge” Mindset, How to Approach Your Writing Problems Through This Lens, Meeting Self-Imposed Deadlines, Crafting Interesting Characters and Strong Opening Pages

In this episode, I talk about: Balancing giving yourself time to write the best book possible while also pushing yourself to meet a deadline that’s a little stretch (yes, both are possible 😜) How to make a plan for you to finish a draft by a certain date and how that can be useful in your process How to see the progress you’re making on your novel by breaking it down in smaller pieces Why it is important to diversify yourself as a writer, how it can bring you more stable income but also more joy in your career, as well as ways for you to do it How making your goal less specific opens you up for more hope that you can reach the life of your dreams How to find the recipe to write strong opening pages for any genre The steps to approach any writing problems as a challenge Get inspired by other stories to make sure your story innovates while still being in conversation with the works of your genre How woo-woo I am about characters and ideas How to craft interesting characters Why sometimes the best thing to do is to move away from the challenge ✨ Join the 5-Day Writer Hype Challenge! Five days of me hyping you up to get you so excited about your writing again and get you eager to go back to the page every single day! We start April 20th. Join here: https://stan.store/leftieaube/p/join-the-5day-writer-hype-challenge-c7bwq81j ✨ Mentioned in this episode: Support the podcast on Ko-Fi Horror Writers Association The Scholarship from Hell Follow me on Instagram or TikTok Join the 5-Day Writer Hype Challenge! Book one of my editing services or a writing coaching call with me here Subscribe to my newsletter The Haunting of Hill House TV series Victoria Aveyard Kristen Kieffer Well Storied Kristen’s Character Creation Workbook Ted Lasso Email me Recorded on April 13th, 2026 Tag me on your screenshots of the show @leftieaube and follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leftieaube/ Follow me on TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@leftieaube Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/leftieaube Get my FREE Essential Reading List for fiction writers (all the books that changed my life and that I wish I had when starting out): https://stan.store/leftieaube/p/get-my-essential-reading-list-for-writers-4ag5vdil Visit my Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/leftieaube Try out Scrivener (my favorite writing tool ever, the one I use to write all my novels!): https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener-affiliate.html?fpr=leftie68 This podcast is recorded and edited using Descript! Try Descript with my link and get 50% off your two first months of the Creator monthly plan: https://descript.cello.so/AalBvnPSC8o It is hosted by Spotify for Podcasters: https://podcasters.spotify.com/ Intro music credit: “Cinematic Cello Arpeggio Trailer” by Gregor Quendel, found on Free Sound https://freesound.org/s/555995/ Disclaimer: Some of the above links are affiliates. At no extra cost to you, I’m receiving compensation for any purchase made through those links. Buying through those links supports my writing journey, which I highly appreciate! Let me know what you think of the podcast! Support the show