The Taylor Stevens Show

This is part two of this short Hack The Craft episode, where Taylor digs deep into the importance of quickly setting up the readers mental movie with chapter openings and after narrative breaks. We split into two episodes to fit into our normal timing for the show, but the entire program can be viewed on […] The post TSS186: Part Two of Critical Elements with Chapter Openings and Narrative Breaks appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this Hack The Craft episode, Taylor digs deep into the importance of quickly setting up the readers mental movie with chapter openings and after narrative breaks. The podcast is split into two episodes to fit into our normal timing for the show, but the entire thing can be viewed on Taylor’s Patreon page (no-registration […] The post TSS185: Critical Elements with Chapter Openings and Narrative Breaks appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s episode, we get caught up with Taylor’s publishing journey, and then into the topic of creating emotions in your readers. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS184: Generating Emotion In Your Reader appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s program, Taylor shares her thoughts on how and when to reveal information in your stories.  As she puts it, “Story sense really is a revealing of information and the timing of that reveal. Things mentioned on this show: The Mackenzie August Series at Amazon The Go Into The Story Blog from Scott […] The post TSS183: Withholding and Revealing Information In Your Stories appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, we discuss the lengthy delay between shows, and how the writing life can so often feel like failure when the reality is that if you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you’re in the process of accomplishing your writing goals. Thanks so much for joining us again this […] The post TSS182: What Does Failing Forward Look Like? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In today’s show, Taylor shares her thoughts on character growth over the course of a multi-book series as a way of answering Steve’s question on his current work in process. As a note, we’ll be taking the next two weeks off so that Taylor can focus exclusively on her writing, and we’ll be back towards […] The post TSS181: Character Growth Over A Multi-book Series appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, author and listener Jessie Garcia joins us to share her experience with writing, producing and narrating her audiobook, Death At The Dog Park, released as an audio exclusive in late December 2018. We dig deep into the process that Jessie used to produce her audiobook, including her use of a studio to record, […] The post TSS180: Narrating your own audiobook, with Jessie Garcia appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, we discuss the value of the Wandering Mind to the writing process, and how the busyness of life can eliminate the wandering and force us to think on the page. Taylor discusses how changes in her own life have forced her to find new ways to allow her creative mind the freedom to […] The post TSS179: The Value of a Wandering Mind for Authors appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s episode, Taylor shares a problem that she’s had for the past week or so with the way two of her point of view characters interacted in a scene.  She explains the source of the issue and a simple solution that solved the problem for her and could work for us as well. […] The post TSS178: What Can Happen When You Allow Plot To Drive Your Characters appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

During the intro for week’s episode, we discuss this year’s Bouchercon conference which takes place in Dallas, October 31st – November 3rd.  Both Taylor and Steve will be there this year and we’d love to see you there as well.  You can get more information here: https://www.bouchercon2019.com/ Our topic for this week’s show is the […] The post TSS177: The Importance of Understanding The Audience For Your Book appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

We open this week’s show with a discussion of superhero movies and how they relate to a previous show, then we get into this week’s topic on not hitting our (Steve’s) writing goals. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear […] The post TSS176: What Happens When you Don’t Hit Your Writing Goals? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s episode, we discuss Taylor’s post-publication marketing activities and then get into the ways in which the life you’ve lived can affect your writing in ways that you may not understand. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. […] The post TSS175: How Your Life Impacts Your Writing appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, we discuss fight sequences and how to keep them interesting for your readers while maintaining the non-fight-scene drama of your story. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or […] The post TSS174: How To Keep Your Fight Scenes Interesting appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, Taylor shares her thoughts on the value of empathy when writing.  She believes empathy is a great tool for creativity, which can expand and improve your storytelling. In this week’s episode, Taylor shares a story about a story written for a college class and explains how telling a story in the […] The post TSS173: Empathy As A Tool In The Writer’s Toolbox appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s episode, Taylor shares a story about a story written for a college class and explains how telling a story in the way we might experience a video game can improve our writing. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love […] The post TSS172: Video Game Story Telling appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on plot points and other story building techniques. Not surprisingly, her insights are thought-provoking. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find […] The post TSS171: How Important Are Plot Points to Your Story Building? appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s episode, Taylor shares her thoughts on something both she and Steve are currently working on.  Tying up the loose ends at the end of your story. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. You can […] The post TSS170: Tying Up the Loose Ends In Your Story appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s ultra short episode, we share a few of the things we’re thankful for during this Thanksgiving week. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our contact […] The post TSS169: A Short and Woefully Incomplete List of Things We’re Grateful for This Thanksgiving appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, we consider the ways in which we can identify the areas where our writing could stand some improvement. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear from you. You can leave your suggestions as comments or find our […] The post TSS168: Figuring Out Where Your Writing Could Stand Some Improvement appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.

In this week’s show, we open with some anti-good-health tips, and then Taylor responds to a listener question on dealing with the things that take him out the writing zone while he’s working. Thanks so much for joining us again this week! If you have questions or suggestions for future shows, we’d love to hear […] The post TSS167: Use Workarounds to Avoid Squirrel Chasing While You’re Writing appeared first on The Taylor Stevens Show.