Ethan Freckleton's Blog, page 5

Exploring the New Normal with Joanna Penn

For over ten years, Joanna Penn has been the voice behind the seminal writer’s podcast, The Creative Penn. 

She started out by building a business around her non-fiction work, but deep down she always knew that writing fiction was the bigger dream. Since taking the plunge, she’s published nearly twenty works of fiction, including a Finalist in the International Thriller Writer Award for Best Ebook Original. 

In the year of COVID, Joann...

Here We Are with Susan Ruth

After winning numerous awards as a singer/songwriter, including two ASCAP Achievement Awards, Susan Ruth’s career was on the precipice of a big launch.

As happens too often in the music industry, the opportunity was squandered by factors outside of her control, and for a while, she contemplated giving up on her dream. 

Instead, she moved from Seattle to Nashville to become a professional songwriter, where she’s written songs for artist...

Writing a Series with Christopher Husberg

For epic dark fantasy author Christopher Husberg, writing that first novel was the easy part. After all, there are plenty of writing books and resources available for the aspiring author. 

But when it came time to write that second book? There were a whole new set of challenges.

By the time Christopher wrapped up the final installment in The Chaos Queen Quintet, published by Titan, he’d overcome a series of unique hurdles. 

In this int...

There Is No Plan B with Jason Blume

From the time his older sister landed a record deal, Jason Blume had dreams of making it in the music business.

With an unwavering love of music and dedication to mastering his craft, he had plenty of chances to settle for the first breaks that came his way. 

The first several years weren’t easy, but as Jason said, “I knew I had to pursue my dream, or (I’d) never forgive myself.” 

For anyone who’s thought of giving up, or decided that ...

Imperfect Take on Ego, Taste, and Craft: Part Two

Learn how the concepts of ego, taste, and craft work—sometimes at odds—together in the ongoing journey that is creating for fun and profit. 

This episode can be enjoyed on its own, but I’d encourage you to visit the episodes list and find Part One first, particularly if you’d like to hear my definitions of the terms: ego, taste, craft.

About The Fearless Storyteller:

Are you finding this podcast to be a valuable resource? Learn how to ...

Embracing Fearless Storytelling with HaJ

HaJ is one of those creative whirlwinds that wears all sorts of labels with a high decree of success and accolades. 

“I denied calling myself a writer for a long time.” 

Despite growing up with creative, independent parents, she somehow attached a stigma to the profession of writing. It took her years to fully embrace her creative identity. 

Now, she’s comfortable calling herself a Writer—capital ‘W’—with a track record of success with...

Remaining Relevant with Michael La Ronn

Laying in a hospital bed after a near-death experience in 2012, Michael La Ronn decided it was time to open himself up to the beautiful vision of making an impact by writing and publishing books. 

He’s since published over 50 fiction and non-fiction titles, enjoying the process enough to describe writing as “the most sacred prayer.” 

His driving goal has evolved in the past year, from the quest for creative freedom and self-expression,...

Imperfect Take on Ego, Taste, and Craft: Part One

Learn how the concepts of ego, taste, and craft work—sometimes at odds—together in the ongoing journey that is creating for fun and profit. 

Aptly, this episode is not to my taste. Summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest, and despite my best efforts, the fan on my laptop kicked in mid-recording. Apologies for any less-than-stellar audio.

We’re All Storytellers with Daniel Swenson

Daniel Swenson is the creator of the long-running, Hugo-nominated podcast, Dungeon Crawlers Radio. 

He started writing stories as a kid but the spark fizzled and remained dormant for several years. That didn’t stop him from learning and exploring story via dungeon mastering games like Dungeons & Dragons. 

As Daniel says, “we’re all storytellers,” but it was only after starting a podcast and interviewing several of the top authors and g...

Stories that Heal with Lindiwe Mueller-Westernhagen

College is where Lindiwe Mueller-Westernhagen first fell in love with words.

Lindiwe felt other for much of her upbringing, despite being the daughter of two high-profile, high-impact parents. Her father was an author and her mother created South Africa’s first TV talk show.

It was stories that provided the vital elixir. As she says, “stories attach to your soul; you see yourself.” 

Named by ISA as one of the top 25 screenwriters to wa...