Jesper Schmidt's Blog, page 5
July 26, 2021
How Beta Readers Improve Your Writing—with Pam Burleson & Paul Kilpatrick
Sure, you’ve heard about beta readers, but why do they help improve your writing so much? And what’s the best way to utilize (and organize!) their help?
Join Autumn and two special guests, Pam Burleson and Paul Kilpatrick from Betabooks, as they talk about how beta readers can be such an asset, how best to use and find them, and how they created Betabooks to help authors learn to ease into the intimidating realm of asking people to read your book.
PLUS, grab the 25% off coupon on Betabooks! Use AWF when you enroll in a paid plan on Betabooks at https://betabooks.co/.
Check out the articles Paul mentioned on How to Run a Beta Read and How to Find Readers who will Love your Book. And don’t forget to check out Pam’s Beta Jam (PBJ) and submit your book if you’d like to have it considered!
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/24f5348a...', rssUrl: 'https://feed.podbean.com/podcast.amwr...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post How Beta Readers Improve Your Writing—with Pam Burleson & Paul Kilpatrick appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
July 22, 2021
The Reaction Phase
It is time to continue on in the next phase of the 7 Steps of Story Structure with the Reaction Phase.
After tackling the Intro, we brought the reader on a journey from becoming familiar enough with the world to feel comfortable and beginning to forge a relationship with the main character. Then, with the Inciting Incident, we upended that carefully laid out world to leave the reader truly concerned for the welfare, and ability to survive, of protagonist.
Where do we go from here?
The Reaction PhaseWell, just like any life event, a big upheaval tends to leave us… lost. The same is true of your main character. The inciting incident must be so great that the main character cannot simply resume ordinary life, no matter if s/he hated it or loved it. There is no waking up in a familiar bed in known surroundings.
Instead, the protagonist is kicked out the door and the passage back is sealed behind them. This leaves your main character reeling.
And probably completely unable to survive, much less excel, on her/his own.
Yes, survival is in doubt. Do not launch the reader straight into just wondering if the character will be top of the heap. THAT is for much later. Instead, the new journey starts with feeling lost as much as the shock of what just happened. And that overwhelm results in cloudiness, which slows reactions just when the character needs to gather their wits to survive.
It should all come down to a bit of luck (but not too much or the reader will be rolling her eyes) and help. The help could come from friends who are along on the journey, newly discovered allies, or a grudgingly assigned guardian to an equally lost companion (like a baby dragon…). That all depends on your story.
The reaction phase is one of the longest parts of your novel, sometimes up to 20%. You can’t just fill it with near misses and lucky breaks though. Instead, you need to plan out a series of hurdles along with some lulls, each needing to be different as well as serving a purpose.
What purpose? Well, it is to help the character with her/his character arc!
Adding in the Character ArcYes, we are finally linking the character arc to the plot. This is when it all gets exciting!
Remember from previous discussions on character arc, a basic arc requires four things:
Inner motivation: what the character truly needsOuter motivation: what the character wantsInner conflict: what stops the character from pursuing the inner motivationOuter conflict: what stops the character from pursuing the out motivation (and realizing that there is an inner motivation)The Inciting Incident kicks off the character arc. The character is left scrambling to cling to some safety or a reason to survive; these, naturally, align with the outer motivation.
Now, in the reaction phase, the main character tries to pursue the outer motivation and is thwarted at every attempt. Those missteps could be caused by being pursued, reacting badly to the current situation (because they don’t really want to be there doing that, they want to be back home in chapter 1), weather obstacles, angry gods, etc.
Each hurdle results in the character being pretty much smacked in the face and knocked on her ass. All the while, the main character also glimpses that there is so much more going on in the world around her. Those glimpses are at once the main book plot and theme, like good versus evil, and the main character’s inner motivation—something like you should be good even if that means giving up a cherished dream.
The two (the plot and inner motivation) are parallel, because the inner motivation is also tied to the book plot and climax. Otherwise, the stakes of the novel will not feel personal and readers will feel disconnected to the story and not believe in the stakes. All the action should have the reader, already invested in caring for the main character through the curiosity created during the mini-story, worried the character won’t make it out of the next scrape while wondering how s/he does.
Meanwhile, the lulls will deepen the character with emotional moments, so don’t spend too many on whining or the reader might just toss the book and character out of annoyance. The reader wants to see some understandable confusion but also some pluck and bravery! And don’t forget to keep building little hints that there is more going on, something underlying the surface story that the character sees. Curiosity is a great page turner from creating exciting chapter endings to seeking to understand the mysterious drive of the unfolding book plot.
Back to Our ExampleOk, that all sounds either like a complicated mess you will never hope to solve or like it makes the absolute most sense (until you sit down to try and create it). What does it all mean and look like?
Which brings us back to our goat girl!
Remember, instead of winning over the mage to take our young heroine in the place of her arch-rival, our goat girl has managed to get herself banished to some remote island school for those who cannot control their rebellious brand of magic. All she wanted, her outer motivation, was to win that spot in her favorite subject (and maybe show up her rival once and for all).
She doesn’t want to be sent away to a harsh place with difficult rules that she won’t know.
It is easy to come up with some obstacles she’ll find at a tightly run school full of boys and girls containing powerful magic that they aren’t supposed to use and who ended up there by hurting someone … think Azkaban for the young and powerfully gifted. Our innocent goat girl will be lucky to survive the day!
BUT … all should not be as it seems. This isn’t just about her surviving amidst the rebellious and rough teenagers who “greet” her arrival. There must be more to this story than that. Instead, what if this is a good versus evil theme where what seemed good (working with the arch mage) was really the evil path? What if her inner motivation is to not only be all she can but also to be more than she ever dared dream?
So, there will be the quiet teacher who stands in the shadows, watching the girl with patience and interest. The potential new friend, also a new arrival but with a few more days under his belt, who can show her the quick paths to escape the watchful eyes of teachers or the fists of frustrated students. And, of course, the wild beauty of the remote island that she wants to hate but that the boy already loves.
Away from the walls where magic is blocked, they find a few others who challenge themselves to learn what is forbidden to them now, discovering friends whose stories don’t fit with the ruthless, unruly, and unwanted kids they are told live in this place.
So what, really, is the truth of who they are and why they can’t use their magic?
That is a discovery for next time when we tackled the New Info/Dark Night of the Soul!
For more tips on plotting, check out our Plot Development Book! Learn not only how to plot, but how to create characters, align them with character arcs, and tie the character’s journey with your plot to create tension filled, character-driven fiction!
The post The Reaction Phase appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
July 19, 2021
A Bit About Our Writing—Listener Q&A!
We’ve had listeners ask SEVERAL times for us to talk about our books and writing… haven’t we done that yet?! 
So, in the spirit of sharing, we are answering listener questions about us and our writing! Because who doesn’t want to squirm with the question, “Have you ever written a book/series that didn’t sell well and what did you do?” Join us for some insight, fun, and maybe a few secrets…
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/72425705...', rssUrl: 'https://feed.podbean.com/podcast.amwr...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post A Bit About Our Writing—Listener Q&A! appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
July 12, 2021
Tips on How to Write Fiction Well
The more you write, the better you’ll get at it. Some think that you’re naturally born as a good writer, but that’s not the case. Practice is the only thing that’ll make you better.
In this episode of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast, Autumn and Jesper aim to make your journey a bit easier with some advice on fiction writing which you can go and implement right away.
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!
Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy.
For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/ef32f2f2...', rssUrl: 'https://feed.podbean.com/podcast.amwr...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post Tips on How to Write Fiction Well appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
July 5, 2021
Top 10 WORST People to Ever Teach Magic
Some people don’t make great teachers… so imagine what would happen if they were teaching magic!
Join us as we try to out-do one another with the worst person we can imagine having as instructor for magic. Expect to laugh, and to be suddenly grateful that any bad classes didn’t include having to learn hexes…
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/c97d986d...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post Top 10 WORST People to Ever Teach Magic appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
June 28, 2021
Jeff Wheeler on Amazon as a Publisher and Writing Fantasy
Jeff Wheeler is a highly successful fantasy author.
His books have been on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list 5 times and have sold more than 4 million copies. His novels have also been translated into many languages.
Jeff Wheeler joins the Am Writing Fantasy podcast to talk about his road to becoming a full time author, having Amazon as a publisher and his love for fantasy.
Jeff can be found here: https://jeff-wheeler.com/
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!
Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy.
For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/08e8f95e...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post Jeff Wheeler on Amazon as a Publisher and Writing Fantasy appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
June 22, 2021
What is the Emotional Plot?
There are a LOT of parts involved in writing a story. Even if you are a panster, you should be thinking about the story’s plot, characters arcs, how the two inter-link, sub-plots and how they affect the main plot, and then there is the story’s emotional plot.
Wait. Emotional plot?
The emotional plot of a story isn’t something we talk about much. In fact, there isn’t a ton of information out there on it, but it is an important part of plotting as well.
Tune into episode 130 of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast as Autumn and Jesper (well, mostly Autumn) share insights on the emotional plot.
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!
Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy.
For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/d86a6e8d...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post What is the Emotional Plot? appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
June 14, 2021
Our Favorite Book Sales Tracker and Why You Need One
Do you know how well your books are selling? We mean really know?
Without accurate sales and royalty data, you can’t make accurate assessments on advertising, read-through rate, or how well that last giveaway did. Join us as we discuss some of our favorite book sales trackers and how exactly to use them.
Check out the book sales trackers we mention in the episode!
Book Report: https://www.getbookreport.com/ Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/KDP Reports Beta: https://kdpreports.amazon.com/BookTrakr: https://www.booktrakr.com/ Bundlerabbit: https://bundlerabbit.com/home/worlds Draft2Digital: https://www.draft2digital.com/ Abacus: https://publishdrive.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026379074-Abacus-for-Co-AuthorsTune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/d07006f8...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post Our Favorite Book Sales Tracker and Why You Need One appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
June 7, 2021
Top 10 Reasons Why Your Character Will HATE You
In this episode of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast, Autumn and Jesper compete to come up with the best (or worst rather) list of things you could ever do to your characters.
Here’s a list of the worldbuilding and RPG podcasts where Autumn and Jesper were interviewed recently.
Worldbuilders Weekly: https://youtu.be/I_yLroTjxVc
TableTopTotality: https://youtu.be/YbikMcycuig
Game Mastery: https://anchor.fm/game-mastery/episodes/Episode-23-World-Building-and-Storytelling—Interview-e1068tb
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!
Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy.
For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/00a89334...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post Top 10 Reasons Why Your Character Will HATE You appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
May 31, 2021
What Fantasy Readers are Looking For—with Damon Courtney
What are fantasy readers looking for? What attracts them to your book? What sort of reader magnet do they pick up the most? Heck, what sort of giveaway should you join?
Join Autumn and special guest fantasy author and creator of Bookfunnel, Damon Courtney as they hash out some tips to help you understand what readers love and some ways that Bookfunnel can help you reach new readers. Oh, and the fun of introducing your kids to D&D! 
Check out Bookfunnel at https://bookfunnel.com/.
Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.
SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.
Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.
Read the full transcript below.
(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).
Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/f8024857...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };
The post What Fantasy Readers are Looking For—with Damon Courtney appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.
