S17:E26: The Real Purpose of the Second Act (And Why You Can’t Skip It)
Helping Writers Become Authors
Release Date: 10/27/2025
S18:E09: Thoughts on How the Marketplace Is Shaping the Stories We Tell
Helping Writers Become Authors
For most of human history, stories were not primarily viewed as commercial products to be sold. Story functioned first as myth, meaning-making, entertainment, cultural memory, and a way of understanding ourselves and the world around us. But in today’s marketplace-driven culture, storytelling exists almost entirely within commercial systems—something that inevitably shapes not just what we create, but how we relate to story itself. In this episode, I explore the tension between story as product and story as something deeper, older, and more archetypal. From publishing culture and content...
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The Emotional Toll on Writers in the Modern Landscape (And Why So Many Are Burning Out)
Helping Writers Become Authors
Many writers are struggling with burnout in today’s creative landscape—but the cause isn’t always personal habits. In this episode, I explore why writer burnout sometimes has less to do with storytelling itself and more to do with the conditions surrounding modern creative work. From constant output and visibility to the subtle pressure to keep up, many writers are navigating an environment that reshapes not just what we create but how writing feels. If writing has started to feel heavier, more resistant, or more like effort than discovery, this conversation looks at what that might be...
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S18:E07: Internal Conflict vs. External Conflict: The Shift From Projection to Agency in Character Arc
Helping Writers Become Authors
Most stories frame conflict as something happening "out there"—a villain to defeat, an obstacle to overcome, or a problem to solve. But the most powerful character arcs aren’t really about defeating the antagonist. They’re about the protagonist reclaiming agency. In this episode, we explore the deeper difference between internal conflict vs. external conflict and why strong stories use external conflict not just to create tension, but to force meaningful inner change. We also look at how stories can unintentionally weaken their protagonists when they place too much emphasis on blaming...
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S18:E6: 9 Tips for How to Write Dark Stories Responsibly (And Make Hope Feel Earned)
Helping Writers Become Authors
What does it really mean to write dark stories responsibly—and how can you make sure hope feels resonant? In this episode, we explore the craft principles behind balancing darkness and meaning in fiction. Some stories venture into shadow and leave us better for it. Others leave us depleted. The difference is rarely in how much suffering appears on the page. It’s whether that suffering is tethered to consequences, transformation, and movement within the character arc. We’ll talk about: Why darkness must be used to interrogate something specific in your story How to track psychological...
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S18:E05: Embodied Writing: How to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Story
Helping Writers Become Authors
Are you writing from your head—or from your body? In this episode, we’re exploring embodied writing and why so many stories lose emotional depth when we over-intellectualize the creative process. Craft and structure matter, but when storytelling becomes purely analytical, something vital can sometimes disappear. We’ll talk about what embodied writing actually means, how archetypal depth arises from lived experience rather than brainstorming alone, and why disconnection from our physical rhythms can leave our creative wells feeling dry. I also share practical ways to rebalance a mental...
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S18:E04: The Four-Act Structure and the Circular Shape of Story
Helping Writers Become Authors
When we talk about story structure, we usually jump straight to acts, beats, and turning points. But beneath all of that is a deeper question: what is the shape of story itself? In this episode, I explore why I’ve always taught structure in four quarters—long before I ever called it a Four-Act Structure—and how that perspective reveals story as a cycle rather than a straight line. We’ll look at why the Midpoint matters so much, how circular structure creates meaning through return and renewal, and why four-part models keep showing up not just in stories, but in psychology, history, and...
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S18:E3: Story as Cosmology: A Framework for Meaning
Helping Writers Become Authors
What does it mean to think of story as cosmology? In this episode, I explore story not as entertainment or belief, but as a deeper framework for meaning—one that helps humans understand change, transformation, and lived experience. When I talk about story as cosmology, I’m pointing to the idea that story functions beneath ideology and belief systems, shaping how we make sense of crisis, consequence, and change. Long before we articulate doctrines about the world, we experience life through story, and long after specific ideologies strain or collapse, the shape of story remains. This...
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S18:E02: Why Writers Need a Sense of Wonder in Fiction More Than Ever
Helping Writers Become Authors
We’re living in a storytelling moment deeply fascinated by darkness—and for good reason. Stories have always helped us metabolize fear, trauma, and moral failure. But darkness is not meant to be the destination. In this episode, I explore why writers need a sense of wonder in fiction, not as escapism or denial, but as a way of completing the story arc. Wonder is what allows stories to move through the descent rather than getting stuck there and to imagine a future still worth moving toward. This is a reflection on how stories work psychologically and culturally, why so many books already...
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S18:E01: How My Writing Career Evolved in 2025—and the Author Business I’m Building for 2026
Helping Writers Become Authors
In this episode, I’m looking back on how my writing career evolved in 2025—a milestone year marked by turning forty, rediscovering my teaching voice, and stepping into a deeper vision for my work. I explore the transitions from SEO to GEO, the shifting landscape of the writing life, and the tools and insights that helped me reimagine the next decade of my author career. Join me as I share the lessons, transformations, and new directions that are shaping where Helping Writers Become Authors goes from here.
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S17:E29: The Best Books I Read in 2025: My Top Fiction and Nonfiction Picks
Helping Writers Become Authors
It’s that time again—my annual roundup of the best books I read this year! In this episode, I’m sharing the top 10 reads that made my 2025 unforgettablem, from romantasy and magical realism that were some of my best reads of the decade to thought-provoking nonfiction that challenged how I think about life, creativity, and the world around us. This year, I read purely for the joy of it. No research, no goals, just great stories, fascinating ideas, and the simple pleasure of turning pages late into the night. Join me as I talk about the books that inspired me most and why they stuck with...
info_outlineWhat would stories be without their long, uncertain middles? In this episode, we explore the real purpose of the Second Act in story structure. The Secodn is the heart of every story, where transformation happens. You’ll learn why this “middle” isn’t just filler, but the symbolic journey that tests your characters, deepens your theme, and gives your ending power and meaning.
Whether you’re struggling with the “murky middle” or want to understand how to make your story’s structure feel organic and emotionally resonant, this discussion will help you see the Second Act for what it truly is: the story itself.