An Interview with Lia Riley Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey insists all stories follow the Hero’s Journey template—but does this actually work for romance novels? I mean, we know they have climaxes… just not necessarily the kind Vogler was talking about. In this workshop, we corner romance…
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Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Eleven: The Resurrection&Stage Twelve: Return with the Elixir Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Just when you thought you had the Hero’s Journey all figured out, we’re back with a surprising twist! In our previous episode, we confidently declared that the “Road Back Home” stage was the climax…
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Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage 9: RewardStage 10: The Road Home Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Subscribe to our Newsletter Remember family road trips? When you’re finally past the halfway point and it’s nothing but “Are we there yet?” from the backseat? That’s where we are in Christopher Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey”…
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Empowering the Powerless:Tim Waggoner’s Tips for Keeping Horror Heroes Active Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Horror stories and the hero’s journey – a match made in hell? In this insightful workshop episode, we talk with award-winning horror writer Tim Waggoner to explore his plotting techniques. Tim shares strategies for keeping everyday protagonists…
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Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Eight: The Ordeal Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Think you know where your hero’s journey is headed? Think again. We’re diving into the Ordeal – that gut-punch moment some people still confuse with the Climax (spoiler alert: they’re not the same thing, folks). This episode had us…
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The Road to ArmageddonAn Interview with Summer H. Hanford Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Subscribe to our Newsletter How do you craft a journey worthy of an apocalyptic showdown? Epic Fantasy author Summer H. Hanford reveals the art of preparing characters for those fate-of-the-world battles that define the genre. Through insights from…
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Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Six: Approach to the Innermost Cave Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Subscribe to our Newsletter Remember how we’ve occasionally side-eyed Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey? Well, today we fully roast this bewildering mess, starting with his “Approaching the Innermost Cave” stage, which is the part of the…
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An Interview with Kristen Tate Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Subscribe to our Newsletter Looking for help with your novel’s middle section? While countless craft books offer guidance on crafting gripping openings and satisfying endings, the challenging second act often gets overlooked. In this workshop episode, we dive deep with freelance editor…
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Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Six: Tests, Allies, and Enemies Subscribe to our Newsletter What really happens between “accepting the call” and facing the big bad? Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey skims through this crucial story phase with vague talk of Tests, Allies, and Enemies. But Kim and Renee aren’t settling for that. Armed with…
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Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Four: Meeting with the Mentor&Stage Five: Crossing the Threshold Subscribe to our Newsletter So much has happened you haven’t even made it to the Special World! But that’s about to change. Your Hero has received the Call! They’ve Refused it! The Mentor gives them some basic training! Now, they stand…
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Can AI truly enhance your creativity without taking over? Our previous episodes left us wondering, but in this episode of “Words to Write by,” we interview educator Kate Scott...
Can AI truly enhance your creativity without taking over? Our previous episodes left us wondering, but in this episode of “Words to Write by,” we interview educator Kate Scott...
Submitting work to your first workshop or critique group is nerve-wracking – these aren’t your supportive friends or family, but strangers with opinions. Yet honest feedback is the lifeblood...
Can writers harness AI ethically without surrendering the soul of their craft? In our provocative new mini-series, we’re not just theorizing about AI’s role in creative writing—we’re putting it...
In this episode, we’re finally putting the Hero’s Journey to rest and bidding farewell to Christopher Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey.” And by “putting to rest,” we mean cramming the...
An Interview with Lia Riley Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey insists all stories follow the Hero’s Journey template—but does this actually...
Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Eleven: The Resurrection&Stage Twelve: Return with the Elixir Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Just when you thought you had the Hero’s...
What if writing the first draft was the easy part? Every week on serial writing websites like Royal Road, hundreds...
Everyone who’s read a blog post on the Hero’s Journey can spot the Hero and Mentor archetypes, but what...
In response to Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousands Faces, aka The Hero's Journey, folklorists and academics (many of...
The Mentor -- arguably the second most identified archetype from The Hero's Journey (after the eponymous hero). In his...
Last episode we explored the concept of the hero archetype as presented in Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey. But...
Whether every protagonist is a Hero is open to debate (and debate it we do in this episode) but...
Writing Workshop with Kim & ReneeThe Writer’s Journey Subscribe to our Newsletter The Hero’s Journey Study Guide The Writing...
We’ve officially started our new book, Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. And boy is there a lot in the...
We’re on the last chapter of Judith Barrington’s book, Writing the Memoir, “Practical Advice on Critique Groups,” plus the...
Your memoir is about you (obviously) but it’s not just about you. In this episode we cover Judith Barrington’s...
Writing Workshop with Kim & ReneeWriting th Memoir Subscribe to our Newsletter The Writing Workshop Exercise Map your Novel...
Judith Barrington’s Writing the MemoirChapter 8, 9, & Appendix Subscribe to our Newsletter Writing (and publishing) a memoir can...
Our Interview with Erik Harper Klass In this stand alone episode, we talk with Erik Klass, the entrepreneurial editor...
Writing Workshop with Kim & ReneefromWriting the Memoir Subscribe to our Newsletter The Writing Workshop Exercise Find two or...
Memoirs are rarely straight chronological narratives, what with the musing we talked about last episode, and they almost always...
AI & Authorship: Where’s the Line?
We've explored AI as brainstorming allies, critique partners, and research assistants. Now we're tackling the most contentious question: should writers use AI in the actual writing process? Not the...