I am so excited to share this week's episode as each of these conversations was so much fun to record. Edan has been on the show before, but I wanted to have her back to talk about her love of writing difficult characters within the framework of her latest novel, Woman No. 17. Edan delights in creating tension by revealing her character's flaws for the reader's view and puts these characters in situations sure to highlight these flaws and bring them to a head. So many books create tension through plot and action, but the suspense in Edan's books is just as much about pushing flawed characters to their edge, all the while leaving us asking "Oh my god, what will they do now??"
Jim Butcher has written so many novels that I wouldn't be shocked to learn that he doesn't sleep at all. He admitted that he has trouble keeping track of the exact details of former books after having revised them numerous times, so he relies on his fanbase Wiki to keep track, a detail I found both charming and extremely practical. In addition, we dove into the beauty of throwing your characters into sticky situations and the necessity to write scenes so things go from bad to worse. This chat helped me feel much braver about putting my character into tough spots to see how she will navigate rocky territory.
I hope both these conversations inspire you to investigate the less savory corners of your story and take your books into riskier places. May we all send our characters down a dark alley, metaphorically, after taking both of these writers' advice!
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Panel Discussion | How I Wrote a Novel in 2020
Mia P. Manansala | Visibility and Community
Nikka Karli | Honoring the Magic
Raynor Winn | Becoming a Visible Writer
Claire Harnett-Mann | How You Share the Story
Natalie Goldberg | Three Simple Lines
Alexandra Franzen | The Many Ways to be Visible
Caroline Donahue | The Boat Explosion Principle
Sarah Selecky | Going Through the Portal
Helen Redfern | Writing and Boundaries
Amy Cooper-Wright | The Fancy Notebook Challenge
Amie McNee | Staying Inspired to Write
Jacqueline Winspear | This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
Greta Solomon | We're All Real Writers
Emily Nagoski | Writing and Burnout
Tana French | Hope In Hard Times
Kemi Nekvapil | Asking For What We Need
Rachael Stephen | Containing the Story
Esmé Weijun Wang | For Ambitious Writers Living with Limitations
Sarah Von Bargen | Efforts Not Outcomes
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