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September 22, 2025

What is Biocomputing? Interview with Ewelina Kurtys

What is Biocomputing? Interview with Ewelina Kurtys – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 171

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“This is a new field, in which we are trying to use living neurons to process information, and we want to use them as processors, to process information as today we do with computers.” – Ewelina Kurtys

Explore the potential of biocomputing in this How To Write the Future podcast episode, as host Beth Barany talks to scientist-turned-strategist, Ewelina Kurtys, where Ewelina shares how living neurons could revolutionize AI with energy-efficient processing in “What is Biocomputing? Interview with Ewelina Kurtys.”

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

FOR CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSIONALS – BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SERVING WRITERS

https://bethbarany.com/apprenticeship/

Support our work for creatives!

Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCAST

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

GET SUPPORT FOR YOUR FICTION WRITING BY A NOVELIST AND WRITING TEACHER AND COACH

Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers.This podcast is for readers too if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

ABOUT EWELINA KURTYS

Scientist-turned-entrepreneur with a PhD in neuroscience (+20 peer-reviewed papers). After academia, I transitioned into business development and technology commercialization, advising tech companies on sales, partnerships, and market strategy.

I founded Ekai Ltd to support innovation and scale in science-driven companies. My work spans advisory roles, go-to-market planning, and translating complex R&D into real-world impact. I also speak publicly on innovation, neuroscience, and the intersection of science and entrepreneurship.

Originally trained in biology and biomedical science, I expanded into engineering through client projects, gaining experience in signal processing and Python.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/finalspark/posts/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ewelinakurtys/

Transcript for episode 171: What is Bio-computing? Interview with Ewelina Kurtys Introduction and Host Welcome

BETH BARANY: Hi everyone. Welcome to, or welcome back to How to Write the Future Podcast. I’m your host, Beth Barany. I am an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer who is super excited to write in both genres, and both of my series feature strong women heroines going out into the world, being bold, being adventurous, and I started this podcast because I really want to focus on the fact that with story, we can reimagine what we want as humanity. And I vote for positive, optimistic futures ’cause what we envision we can help make it so.

And I believe writers have a strong gift as well as responsibility to help make that happen. Occasionally, I interview subject matter experts, and I have one of them with us.

Today who I will bring in just a moment. So I just wanna say Welcome, welcome Ewelina. So happy to have you here with us. That’s so great. We’re gonna talk about bio-computing in a moment, is that right?

EWELINA KURTYS: Yes, correct.

BETH BARANY: Yes, it’s such an interesting topic. I’ve been hearing about it for about the last nine years since I’ve been writing my science fiction mysteries, my Janey McCallister mystery series, and really fascinated by this topic.

So if you could take a moment and introduce yourself, and then we will dive into the questions.

EWELINA KURTYS: Hello. My name is Ewelina Kurtys. I’m a strategic advisor at Final Spark, one of the three startups in the world, which try to build computers from living neurons.

BETH BARANY: That’s amazing. That is amazing. So why don’t we just start off with: What is bio-computing?

[01:44] Predictions & Future of Bio-computing

EWELINA KURTYS: So bio-computing is actually a new field. So the terminology is not yet fully established. I prefer to use bio-computing, but you can also use other terms like wet ware computing or organoid intelligence. So this is a new field, in which we are trying to use iving neurons to process information and we want to use them as processors, to process information as today we do with computers.

BETH BARANY: So why is this technology important? And maybe also if you could say a little bit about why you were attracted to this field.

EWELINA KURTYS: So at first I will say why it’s important because we can see today that artificial intelligence can have a scalability problem because AI is using an increasing in amount of energy.

Actually the amount of energy which is used is increasing exponentially. So today is still manageable, but we can expect that in the future it can become a problem. So we try to solve this problem by using living neurons for computations because they are 1 million times more energy efficient than digital computers.

So that’s, that’s the reason why it’s important and why we believe that it’s a future for AI. And why I work on this, the reason is because I’m neuroscientist. I have done research in brain imaging. I was always fascinated with brain. And after I left academia, I started to work in industry. I started to discover new areas, and I discovered artificial intelligence.

I realized how important it is, how many crazy things you can do. I become fascinated. I trained myself in the field, and I was working a lot in the commercial applications of artificial intelligence and now I work on step farther, you could say, on the future of artificial intelligence, which is bio-computing.

So this is how we see future of AI in around 10 years when we can do, we can run artificial and intelligence algorithm on the living neurons.

BETH BARANY: That just blows me away. I remember hearing years ago about using crystals or quartz or diamonds and, and organic material for computing. So is that just my science fiction brain putting things together that maybe haven’t been put together or is that also like a part of, of bio-computing?

EWELINA KURTYS: Well, it’s not part of bio-computing, but it’s part of bigger field, which is called “unconventional computing”. And there are actually many ideas. Also, quantum computing is one of the type.

So unconventional computing is everything different than digital, what we have today.

So there are actually many ideas, and people try to make computation with fungi, with bacteria, with DNA.

So there are many, many ideas on how to do computations in different way, and we belong to that field.

BETH BARANY: So the, the broader field of, what did you call it?

EWELINA KURTYS: Unconventional computing.

BETH BARANY: Unconventional computing. Okay.

EWELINA KURTYS: And then there are many, many different fields inside, including bio-computing on living neurons.

BETH BARANY: Okay. And so can you paint a picture for me? Are you there working with petri dishes, or like what, at what scale are the, is the organic matter?

And maybe today, what is it that you can have it do? I have heard about, fungus and, and what it can do. Um, but I’m wondering, yeah. What does that look like in in in your field specifically, or what you’re working on specifically?

EWELINA KURTYS: So, at the moment it’s everything is very small. We work on the 3D structures of living neurons, which we call neurospheres. So they’re such a round block of cells, 10,000 cells each. We put them on the electrodes. So at the moment is very, everything is small. It’s a small scale, and we try to discover the basic algorithm on how to program neurons.

BETH BARANY: Okay. And, and when you say small, can you give me a comparison? Is it like a small, as a coin, smaller than that? Do you have to use a microscope?

EWELINA KURTYS: Smaller. Definitely, so it’s actually like half millimeter diameter is one neurosphere, which we put on the electrodes. And actually, if you want to see this visually, you can go on our website finalspark.com.

We have section live. And there is a camera view from our laboratory on how it looks.

BETH BARANY: And so looking into the future, you mentioned 10 years from now AI will be run on bio computers. Is that hard, like a hard prediction? Or is that a wish? Is it somewhere in between?

EWELINA KURTYS: No, it’s our estimation. We have been made some specific plans for our research. We are talking currently to investors. We are seeking 50 million Swiss francs of investment. And we think that with this investment we can accelerate our research. With investor, we plan to solve the problem of learning in vitro. So how to teach neurons, some basic algorithm in the next two, three years.

After around three years for advanced algorithm to match the performance of digital computers, and then around three years for scaling.

So we want to make huge structures, even a hundred meters long of neurons, which will be so-called bio server. It will be remotely available computational power the same way as today cloud computing. So we assume it will take us 10 years to arrive to this.

BETH BARANY: And you said that one of the advantages over the energy usages of the computers running AI systems is some kind of energy efficiency with bio-computing. How can that be the case? Is it because everything is so much faster or it uses less energy to power the same kind of computations? And again, is this more of a guess, or is this like based on actual experiments that you’re doing in the lab?

[07:41] Energy Efficiency: Brain vs. Computer

EWELINA KURTYS: Well, we cannot really measure this, this yet, but there are some publications which compare human brain to digital computer. And they estimate that human brain is around million time times more energy efficient. And we know also that to stimulate human brain, we would need small nuclear plant. And we can run on one banana for all day.

From this are these calculations about energy efficiency, and of course, in our bio- computing at this stage we can store one bit of information. So this is a little bit early to measure real efficiency of bio-computer.

BETH BARANY: Can you explain to me again what you were just saying about a nuclear power plant?

Are you saying it would take one nuclear power plant to make our brains go? Tell me.

EWELINA KURTYS: No, no, no. To simulate, to simulate what happens in our brain with digital technologies.

BETH BARANY: Ah, okay. Because the human brain is so much more energy efficient than any computer.

EWELINA KURTYS: Yes. And actually there are a lot of considerations about this.

I also wrote recently a blog article about this, which is on my LinkedIn, comparing different aspects. So we know that brain is actually processing information, encoding information, totally different way comparing to digital. So brain is encoding information in time and space, so it matters when exactly and where in your brain neurons are active.

So this is totally different type of encoding than zero- ones in computers. Also, in brain you have a lot of recurrent connections, which are, a little bit more difficult in digital, not so common. And also, you have a lot of filtering information.

So we can treat in hierarchical way information. So not everything has the same importance like in the computer, although there are some solutions for that. But, more or less in the computer, every information is the same importance. We can filter, we can focus on most important things and let’s say ignore less important ones.

Also, we can, for example, when we analyze images with our brain, we can only for example, we can detect. So we can spend energy only when we detect the differences in our field of view, while computer would analyze all the pixels, for example.

So these are just, there are many, many examples on how brain is more efficient also because, memory and computation happens in the same, place in

in the brain. So that also increases the efficiency because you don’t have to spend energy on, on the changing the location of the information, like in usual digital computers. So there are many ways, how you can explain this energy efficiency of the brain.

BETH BARANY: That’s fascinating. I’m very fascinated by the idea that the brain is actually making choices about our reality before we’re consciously aware. That pattern recognition is solely based on our previous experience. And if we want to have new experiences and new understandings, we actually have to input new things that we have never seen before. So our brain can make new patterns. So that essentially our brain is a predicting machine, and all coming down to being super energy efficient.

One brain scientist talks about it being: our brain it wants to keep us alive. Therefore, it wants to save as much energy as possible. Therefore, it is making constant predictions about every single word I’m gonna say next. Everything I might even understand in terms of coding emotion, what it means when someone makes a certain facial gesture–all of it.

It’s all based on this predictive model happening way below our conscious awareness. So is bio-computing somehow looking at that is, oh, how do we take advantage of that? I know it is early days yet, but that’s something that I’m fascinated about. So I was wondering how does that apply, if at all, to the field of bio-computing?

EWELINA KURTYS: Well, I think for now it’s a little bit difficult to compare because we are at the stage of one bit of information. So let’s see what the future will bring, and then we will see with experiments.

BETH BARANY: Absolutely. So, I know this is a brief interview today and, and it is such a vast topic. So where can people find out more about this work, of bio-computing?

EWELINA KURTYS: Our website is a good resource. We have also some articles. We have a lot of information, final spark.com. We also have Discord account. We build a community there. There are a lot of technical discussions also. So I recommend this. Also on our website, you can find the link to Discord. Also we have LinkedIn page and, X page. So we try to communicate our work widely. And we also talk a lot to podcasters and journalists because we would like that this new field of bio-computing is more recognized in the society.

BETH BARANY: That’s really wonderful. And as I I told to you before I even started recording, I have a nephew who wants to go into the field of biotech and for all the young people who may be listening to this, what recommendations do you have about where to put their attention in terms of, of their education?

I know my, my nephew is doing his biology and chemistry as well as computer sciences. So yeah, any recommendations for the younger generation who are curious about this unconventional computing and specifically bio-computing?

[13:09] Advice for Future Generations

EWELINA KURTYS: So I always recommend people to follow what they’re interested in because the future is unpredictable and we cannot really know what will be the jobs and what will be the market in 10 years or 20. So I think the surest bet is to follow what you’re interested in. And then you can always change and you can learn something new, some new skills if there will be necessary. But if you do what you like, it’s much easier also to learn new stuff and to keep going. It’s much more pleasant. So I really recommend to follow the interest.

And, if someone is specifically interested in bio-computing, they are recommended to check our paper in Frontiers. And it’s a blend of biology and engineering. So there is also such a trend, maybe in education. And also you can see this in research and in private companies, there are more and more projects which combine biology and engineering, and I think it’s quite hot now.

However, still I really recommend to do what someone is interested and enjoy because the trends can always change. So we don’t know, but there is a lot, currently a lot of interesting projects on combining biology engineering, so people who understand biology but can also code, code and maybe build some hardware. So that’s interesting mix.

[14:27] Closing & Where to Learn More

BETH BARANY: I really love that advice. I wish someone had handed me more engineering skill sets when I was younger. I had the mindset of a builder, but I didn’t have the skillset. And I mean now I am a builder of, of media and podcasts and film and books and courses, et cetera. So, I want to say, let me put myself here in the spotlight.

Ewelina Kurtys, thank you so much for being a guest on How To Write The Future. I think your insights and input will be so fascinating to both writers and non-writers and anyone who cares about the future. So thank you. Thank you so much for being with us today.

EWELINA KURTYS: Thank you, too.

BETH BARANY: Everyone. Write long and prosper.

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ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany teaches science fiction and fantasy novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor. She’s an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist and runs the podcast, “How To Write The Future.”

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

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CREDITS EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade

c 2025 BETH BARANY

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Published on September 22, 2025 02:17

September 15, 2025

Building Creative Confidence in Sci-Fi with Author, Michael Colon

Building Creative Confidence in Sci-Fi with Author, Michael Colon – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 170

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“The Gift from Aelius is a sci-fi tale that explores the meaning of purpose and life and what it means to be alive.” – Michael Colon

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, host Beth Barany talks to sci-fi author Michael Colon about his journey of creative confidence and authentic storytelling through science fiction. Learn how his novel explores AI-human relationships with a refreshing optimistic perspective, challenging traditional sci-fi narratives while inspiring writers to trust their unique creative voices.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

FOR CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSIONALS – BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SERVING WRITERS

https://bethbarany.com/apprenticeship/

Support our work for creatives!

Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCAST

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

GET SUPPORT FOR YOUR FICTION WRITING BY A NOVELIST AND WRITING TEACHER AND COACH

Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

ABOUT MICHAEL COLON

My name is Michael Colon born and raised in New York City. I am a novelist and a freelance writer. My author’s story is about hard work, perseverance, and believing in the power of imagination. My inspiration comes from various societal elements and my own life experiences. Outside of writing I enjoy working out, watching sports, and going on hiking trails with my wife.

MORE ABOUT MICHAEL: https://www.clippings.me/users/michaelcolon

Transcript for episode 170: Building Creative Confidence in SciFi with Author, Michael Colon [Introduction and Host Welcome

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone. Welcome to How To Write the Future Podcast. I’m your host, Beth Barany. I’m a writing teacher, creativity coach, filmmaker, editor and all the things, and obviously podcaster. So I host this podcast, How To Write The Future podcast, because I really care about creating positive, optimistic futures with our fiction. I primarily help science fiction and fantasy writers. This is a podcast for writers and for anyone who cares about the future.

[00:26] Guest Introduction: Michael Colon

BETH BARANY: So today I have a special guest, Michael Colon. Welcome.

MICHAEL COLON: Thank you for having me on. I really appreciate this. Thank you.

BETH BARANY: Oh, you’re so welcome. So just so everyone can get to know you a little bit, I’m gonna go ahead and read your awesome bio that you gave me. I really like it. So everyone please meet Mike. Michael. Michael Colon. Colon was born and raised in New York City. He is a novelist and freelance writer, and his author story is about hard work, perseverance, and believing in the power of imagination.

His inspiration comes from various societal elements and his own life experiences. Outside of writing, he enjoys working out, watching sports and going on hiking trails with his wife.

So thank you again. It’s so fun to talk to someone from across the country. I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area and you’re in New York City.

How cool is that?

MICHAEL COLON: Yeah, this is my first podcast where the host was from the California state area. This is fun. This should be interesting.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. Yeah. Time travel. Woo. We love all that.

MICHAEL COLON: Actually like to visit the state in general. I’ve never been, so yeah, that would be pretty cool.

BETH BARANY: Come on down. It’s gorgeous. Just beautiful. Ah yeah, I’m in this ideal location, the San Francisco Bay area. Most of the time it’s just lovely.

[01:42] Discussing ‘The Gift from Aelius’

BETH BARANY: You have two books that we’re gonna highlight today. So if you can, tell us a little bit about your first book, which is called The Gift from A Aelius, right?

Yes. Okay. So tell us a little bit about the book. Hold up the book cover. I’m gonna put you in the spotlight there for us all. Nice. Can you say the title for us?

MICHAEL COLON: Yes. The Gift from Aelius.

BETH BARANY: Great. And, for those who aren’t watching on video, ‘ cause this is an audio podcast as well. It’s like, you’ve got like a robot shaking hands with a man with this beautiful like storm clouds in the background with lightning, like a lightning strike hitting this desert-like earth structure.

Yeah. Beautiful. So tell us about this book.

MICHAEL COLON: Definitely. The Gift from Aelius is a sci-fi tale that explores the meaning of, purpose and life and what it means to be alive. And the protagonist is A 191, a Codex unit, which is basically artificial intelligence. And, A 191 lives in the machine city called Paradise.

Um, Paradise is a Machine City that is at the far corner of the planet in the middle of a wasteland. And humans basically, um, after they helped build the utopias of the world, they were basically like, okay, we don’t need you guys anymore, um because it could be a threat to us one day. And all the leaders of the world agreed they could have their own place, just, they’re not allowed to leave. They have to stay within the bordered walls and it’s very communistic. Um, the Codex units aren’t allowed to basically think for themselves. They have to follow a very strict routine and way of life. Now, A 191 is very different. He’s a dreamer. A free thinker and he has a built-in love for human beings.

His goal is to escape paradise, which is kind of ironic that the Machine City is called Paradise when it’s really not. Maybe to the other Codex units it is because the way human beings are advertised, they’re like these animals or monsters and like they’re gonna come back and just wipe them off the face of the planet one day.

But A 191 doesn’t see them like that. So basically, uh, the main plot is him trying to lead Paradise and make it across the endless wasteland to the human world and try to reunite the two dominant species again for basically world peace and the way it was before.

BETH BARANY: So the robot is the main character, the protagonist of your story?

MICHAEL COLON: Yes. A 191. So I purposely used Codex Unit ’cause I feel like in almost all sci-fi movies and TV shows or books, they’re usually referred to as robots and essentially it is.

But I wanted to write this sci-fi story very differently where it’s the opposite, where it’s not the typical case of machines enslaving mankind. I wanted to have more of a spiritual element to it and give a different twist to the genre.

BETH BARANY: I, I really like that. Uh, and it’s, it’s very interesting. It feels like humanity we’re obviously in the thick of it, trying to understand what is the relationship that we want to have with these thinking machines that we’re creating. So I really love that you’re helping us explore that from, but from this, um, very peaceful perspective of why can’t we be friends, kind of thing.

MICHAEL COLON: Yeah. Yeah. Because the way I look at it, and you look at how things are today, you know, AI is growing faster and faster, and I can understand how that could be intimidating for a lot of people, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be like the ends of time, like it could actually be a blessing and a gift.

I think it all depends on us because at the end of the day, just like in the book, codex units were made in the image of its creator, which was mankind. So, you know, how we grow and mature as a species predicates to how AI will serve us.

BETH BARANY: Yeah, absolutely.

MICHAEL COLON: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: I, I, I totally love what you just said because, uh, it really is about us, humans evolving and how, how can humankind go to the next level in which we are more conscious of how we choose to use these machines and not let the machines dictate as if people treat the machines like they dictate to us. But actually we designed them, so let us find a better way. So I really love that.

MICHAEL COLON: Definitely.

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

[06:17] Exploring ‘The Greatest Comic Book Tale Ever Told’

BETH BARANY: So let’s switch to your second book. Let me just tell folks what it is called and then you can introduce it and tell us a little bit about it.

I love this title ’cause it’s, it brings me back to childhood. You call it The Greatest Comic Book Tale Ever Told, so I love that. Show us. Excellent. Oh, I love that. Lemme put you in the center here. There we go. Greatest comic book. Let me tell people what it is like. Uh, it looks like a young person, a young man, standing in the middle of maybe a neighborhood that’s been destroyed a little bit. He’s holding, it looks like maybe a comic book or something. And then above his head is two superhero figures, one in a red cape, one in a blue cape, and as if like the angel devil kind of motif. Yeah. Wow. So tell us about this.

MICHAEL COLON: Definitely. So The Greatest Comic Book Tale Ever Told. Quite the title. It took me a while to figure out what the title of this book was gonna be and funny enough, this was actually my very first manuscript I worked on before my first published book, The Gift from Aelius. So I ended up getting around back to this and it went through many iterations, but yes.

So you follow the story of Sunny, who’s from Irontown City, lives in a poor neighborhood. And he lives with his adopted single mother who’s doing everything that she can to raise him. She does everything that she can. And Sunny is obsessed with comic books. It’s his escape from the harsh conditions and how he sees himself as a person, very low self-esteem, very hesitant, very afraid of the world and people in general.

And as you follow his story and the more he tries to figure out about his past and like the orphanages, he’s the orphanage that he’s from, and, about his family, fiction starts to bleed into reality. So this is a very psychological urban fantasy. Again, I feel like this does, like this book’s genre is a mix of different things.

It’s its own thing. But whoever’s a fan of comic books, classic superhero tales, but also you get that drama and that deep psychological like impactful, um, theme that, you know, really touches the reader and that, that was my goal with this book was, you know, to really reach the reader’s heart.

And the main theme of this book is, as we go about our lives, we could choose whether we could be a hero or a villain in our own lives based on the choices that we make. So, it’s definitely an adventure. It’s fantasy, but the reader’s gonna get that sense of, wow, like when I finished putting down this book, maybe my perception towards my life will be a little bit different.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. Oh, I love that. And I read some of your reviews for both of these books and I, it jumped out at me that some people were really, really touched by this book. It really moved them. And I just thought it was so wonderful. And, I’m really happy for you. And I love that you also are really helping people see that they have a choice.

That there is a choice between, do they wanna listen to the devil on their shoulder or to the angel on their shoulder? And I just.

MICHAEL COLON: Exactly.

BETH BARANY: And I also noticed, in both stories, your protagonists are male and this story, it seems like a young guy, a teenager, maybe. And I just also wanna say how that’s a wonderful, it feels like you’re doing some really good positive representations of allowing young men to really wrangle with these things and think about them. And I just think that’s really important.

MICHAEL COLON: Yes, I agree.

[09:43] Personal Influences and Writing Advice

MICHAEL COLON: And I would say to add to that in a way, both stories are like an essence of me. Like with The Greatest Comic Book Tale Ever Told, um, Sunny’s story is Sunny’s story, but like all artists and writers, you pull from like bits and pieces of like your upbringing.

And you know, for me, being raised in a single mother, uh, parent household, you know, my mom is, you know, without my mom, you know, I wouldn’t, wouldn’t know where I would be today.

Also like Sonny, you know, very, you know, hesitant. You know, I didn’t, I didn’t know what my voice was. I felt like, you know what, what is my purpose? And you know, I had my escapes too. So in a way, like I feel like writing this book was also very helpful for me too.

With The Gift from Aelius, you know, obviously, you know, we’re dealing with artificial intelligence and it’s more sci-fi, but even with the main character, A 191, like, you know, he feels like there’s more outside of his community or his world then meets the eye or what’s being shown to him.

And for me growing up, I always saw myself like, what else is out there? I just didn’t know how to go about stepping outta that bubble. So, um, these books that I wrote and the future books I plan on writing, you know, it’s, I do pray that like not only does it entertain, but like it also touches the reader.

But it’s also very helpful for me too. So I feel like it’s a good shared experience.

BETH BARANY: That’s really wonderful, and thank you for sharing with us a little bit about your past. I’m always curious, like, what, what were the ingredients in your life? If you could name like one key influence from your past, whether it’s something you read or saw, or somebody, or a place, that really influenced you as a writer today.

And this is one of the lightning round questions, the surprise questions for you. Yeah, what would that be?

MICHAEL COLON: Oh, a hundred percent my mom. My mom is the influence of my upbringing. She taught me, you gotta work hard for what you want, but she also, and it was a lot of tough love. It, it was both but I feel like it made me the well-rounded person that I am now. Nobody’s perfect, but at the same time, in terms of like, just pure impactful influence, I would say my mom and anybody who knows me personally, it’s like, yeah. You know, like I, they, they just know right away. Um, yeah, I would say how I was raised echoes to the creative, how I approach my creative projects today, which is, work hard.

You deserve to like, put yourself out there like you deserve, like these type of things, like why not you? ’cause we’re all special in our own ways. So yeah, definitely my mom.

BETH BARANY: That’s great. And, and why not you? That’s a great piece of advice. Yeah. For every writer listening to us, there’s no one else like you who’s had exactly your life experience. Just reaching out into listener land out there.

What’s one piece of advice you would have to a writer who’s working on their science fiction or fantasy story? and they might feel lost or confused or not know exactly. I don’t know, not have complete confidence in what they’re doing. Yeah. What is some, a piece of advice you would give them?

MICHAEL COLON: Wow. I would say for anyone who’s just starting out, writing their first book, it’s a very exciting thing.

And, they, the first thing I’ll say is, just be proud that you’re starting this journey. It could be very intimidating. It could seem like a lot, but I would say believe in yourself first. Because if you don’t believe in your work, then no agent or publisher is gonna believe in you.

And, you just have to keep working hard and keep being persistent. The three things that I always preach is hard work, faith, and consistency. And I feel like if you apply those three things, no matter what creative project you’re working on, it may not land you exactly what you want, but it’s still going to have a positive, solution or answer.

Like for me, when I was trying to get my first book deal, I don’t know anybody in the industry. I don’t have a master’s degree in literature or literary arts.I basically did research. Did a lot of research, and was open to self-criticism and, just being open-minded to tweaking things.

And, you start to refine yourself. It’s like putting a sword in a fire. It may be uncomfortable and it may burn a little bit, but after a while you become accustomed to it. You become sharp, not in the sense of sharp, as in your work’s gonna be perfect and anything like that, but sharp as in like your mind and your spirit.

Because there’s gonna be a lot of rejection. And I’m sure you, me, other authors out there, like the amount of email rejections, it gets to the point where you just laugh after a while, and not laugh in the sense of it’s funny, but because at the end of the day, you know that this is just one step closer to the goal.

And yeah, I would say I, there’s no one piece of advice. I would just say know yourself, be genuine. Be, be, uh, consistent and you know, nobody can owes you anything because at the end of the day, it’s like you have to have that love for the craft and then that’ll take you to where you need to be.

BETH BARANY: Well said, beautiful advice.

And just in full disclosure, I’m, I’m actually independently published, um, but I still brought my work through lots and lots of rounds of it, of edits and iterations and I wanted to get basically, to use a, a space metaphor like space flight, like green across the board.

Like I had to get nine pe, nine outta ten people had to say, this is great. I, there could always be one who it wasn’t. They’re like, oh, this is not really my thing. Okay. But I had to get everybody on board. All the beta readers, all the alpha readers, all the critique partners, everybody, the strangers. I would have random people sometimes read my work when I thought it was almost done, just to make sure I was really in the pocket, as with my goal. So just for those who are self-publishing, also, like I’m not putting out shoddy work. I really wanna make sure it is excellent and to jump, go through all the hoops of being traditionally published in any form, being accepted, going through revisions, all of that.

It’s not easy. So I just wanna give it a little shout out to folks on that.

[15:47] Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up

BETH BARANY: So as we wrap up, I have uh, one more question. For you and it won’t be too, uh, out of left field. Um, I always like to, lately I’ve been asking my guests: What does it mean for you to write the future?

MICHAEL COLON: That’s a good question. What does it mean for me to write the future? I think like any form of art, everybody’s going to take it different. It’s like when you go to a museum, um, you have lots of paintings, everybody’s gonna take something different. But at the end of the day, it’s gonna be impactful.

So what it means for me to write the future, it means to continue to put out my art as genuinely as me as possible. And the more genuine you are with your art, the more people are gonna want to continue to take from it and apply it to their life.Yeah, I, I would say that’s how you write the future is making sure that you’re as genuine and that you’re putting as much as your, as much as your essence in the work.

Because readers feel that, like they could tell when something is just kind of thrown onto paper and when every word is it just makes sense to where it is. So I would say that’s how you write the future.

BETH BARANY: That’s really great, Michael. I love that. So we’re gonna wrap up here. I’ll have to have you back when you, when you come out with another book.

That’s it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper. And that’s a wrap.

MICHAEL COLON: Thank you, Beth.

BETH BARANY: Thank you. Awesome. Awesome..

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Published on September 15, 2025 02:46

September 9, 2025

Habit of Mind: Engagement by Bailey Lang

Let’s welcome back Bailey Lang as she shares with us “Habit of Mind: Engagement.” Enjoy!

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Our habits of mind — the thinking patterns we’re focusing on in this article series — affect our writing process in surprising and powerful ways.

So far, we’ve talked about curiosity and openness, and the roles those mental habits play in building a successful writing practice.

In today’s post, we’ll focus on engagement.

What is Engagement?

The Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing, a primary resource for learning about habits of mind, describes engagement as “a sense of investment and involvement in learning.”

Your writing practice isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing — it requires you to put in the time and effort required for growth.

Engagement encourages us to seek out new information and examine it in light of what we already know and believe.

Staying engaged helps us integrate what we’re learning and, most importantly, put it into practice in our own writing.

You can think of your writing practice like a houseplant.

It needs the right soil, nutrients, light, and water if it’s going to flourish and grow.

Engagement is what keeps you from neglecting the houseplant until it withers away and then wondering what went wrong.

How do Writers Practice Engagement?

A houseplant needs regular care if it’s going to thrive.

So does your writing practice.

Engagement is a habit of mind that lends itself to taking external action quickly, which can lead to powerful results.

You can start getting more engaged by reflecting on what and how you want to learn.

Simply checking in with yourself about this aspect of your writing practice on a weekly or monthly basis is a great beginning step.

Some questions to ask yourself:

Have you actively invested in learning a new writing technique, deepening your knowledge of the publishing process, or exploring your genre?What did you learn, and how are you applying it?

You might decide that investing in your learning as a writer looks like hiring a book coach and reading widely in your genre.

Researching book coaches and getting up-to-date on recent releases in science fiction, fantasy, romance, and mystery is a great way to keep yourself engaged with your writing practice.

Engagement often begins with reflection and ends in taking action.

For writers, active engagement might look like:

Developing a strong foundation of reading widely in your genreSeeking out or building a writing community, online or in personTaking writing classes or working with a coachGetting feedback on your draftsLooking for publishing opportunitiesEngaging Activities for Writers

Getting engaged isn’t about leaping into action.

It’s about taking thoughtful, considered next steps that you think will have the greatest impact on your writing.

Here are a couple of activities you can try to start practicing engagement as a habit of mind.

The Weekly Engagement Check-In

Establish a weekly reflective check-in.

This could be a few minutes of journaling on some basic questions, or an elaborate spreadsheet where you track different topics you want to learn about and what steps you’re taking — the sky’s the limit.

If you’re just starting to think about engagement as a habit of mind, I’d begin with something simple, like the following questions:

What do I want to learn about writing as a craft?What do I want to learn about writing as a career?What have I done over the past week to explore the craft, my preferred genre(s), and my professional development as a writer?What would I like to do over the next week?The DIY Writing Curriculum

If you really want to make engagement an active part of your writing practice, you could create a mini-curriculum for yourself (or work with a writing coach to build one and offer some accountability!).

Choose a specific topic you want to learn more about. Get specific: “writing fantasy flash fiction” or “self-publishing for first-time authors” is better than “writing fantasy” or “publishing.”Establish a time-frame for your curriculum. Aim for a minimum of a month so you can do a deep dive into a topic.Gather resources on the topic you chose. Search for a reasonable collection of books, articles, podcasts, videos, and other materials. Start sorting them into loose topic categories.Design a course based on your resources and the topics you identified, complete with weekly reading and assignments.Crack those books and get to learning!Reading Recommendations Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (Affiliate link) The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery (Affiliate link) Find Your Unicorn Space (Affiliate link)

***

About the Author

Dr. Bailey Lang is a book coach, writer, and editor.

At The Writing Desk, she helps authors build sustainable, enjoyable writing practices that take their books from draft to done.

Bailey has a PhD in rhetoric and writing studies and loves geeking out about writing.

You can sign up for Bailey’s free newsletter, Word to the Wise, for more writing advice and regular author interviews.

Website

Newsletter

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Published on September 09, 2025 03:00

September 8, 2025

Creating Positive Visual Futures with Illustrator Melquea Smith

Creating Positive Visual Futures with Illustrator Melquea Smith – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 169

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About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

ABOUT MELQUEA SMITH

Melquea Smith is a New York based illustrator with an obsession with color, animals, and children’s media. When not illustrating or traveling, you can find her watching cartoons and animated movies, learning all about Japan, terribly dancing with her cat Kilala, and giving her other cat Bumblebee pit-pats on her super fluffy tummy.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prettykittypaintings/

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Transcript for episode 169: Creating Positive Visual Futures with Illustrator Melquea SmithIntroduction and Host Welcome

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone. Welcome to How To Write the Future Podcast. I’m your host Beth Barany. I’m a creativity coach for science fiction and fantasy writers, and I also am one. I really care about creating positive, optimistic visions and and stories for the future. And I believe that us as creatives, we are. We are doing it. That’s our job is, is to create visions for the future.

[00:28] Guest Introduction: Meet Melquea Smith

So I’m really excited to bring to you a new, a guest today, a new guest, Melquea Smith.

Melquea, welcome.

MELQUEA SMITH: Thank you so much for having me, Beth, and thank you dear listener for tuning in.

BETH BARANY: Yes, thank you so much. I’m gonna read Melquea’s bio, everyone, so you get to know her a little bit, and then we’re gonna chat.

All right, let me put myself in the spotlight here.

Everyone please everyone welcome Melquea and meet her.

[00:56] Melquea’s Artistic Journey and Inspirations

She is a New York based illustrator with an obsession for color, animals and children’s media. When not illustrating or traveling, and we’ll talk about that in a moment, you can find her watching cartoons or animated movies, learning all about Japan, terribly dancing with her cat K Kalala, Kilala and giving her other cat Bumblebee, pit pats on her super fluffy tummy.

We love cats. We have two cats too. Welcome Melquea again. So glad that you’re here and, oh my God.

[01:31] Life in Belgium: Pet Sitting Adventures

You’re, uh, just so everyone knows, you are, in Belgium right now, pet sitting?

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes, I am in Belgium right now. I’m pet sitting in this little town called, I hope I’m saying it right, Eksaarde. It’s about, wanna say like 30 minutes away from Gent or Ghent.

And it’s, it’s been really cool because being able to bicycle to the nearest station and then take the, the bus or take the train in to like the cities has been really cool and I’ve been biking a lot more and I’ve been feeling a lot better, just like mental health wise, physically even just like my own stamina has been pretty cool too.

It’s been really fun.

BETH BARANY: Oh wow, that’s so fun. And just so folks know, Belgium, you know, is northeast of France and is French and Flemish.

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes

BETH BARANY: So it sounds like you’re in the Flemish region.

MELQUEA SMITH: I’m in the Flemish region. Um, a lot more people speak English, so it’s been really helpful because I do not speak Dutch nor Flemish, nor French, like I can get by in Spanish speaking countries, much easier than, and a little bit in Japan, but mostly I have been clinging on to dear English.

BETH BARANY: Thank goodness. That’s really lovely.

[02:49] Melquea’s Unique Art Style and Membership

So you are a children’s book illustrator.

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes.

BETH BARANY: And I just wanna say everyone who, if you’re not listening, not seeing the audio that Melquea, you have these gorgeous braids that are what? Magenta and green and pink, and just gorgeous.

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes. I’m multicolored. Um. I was inspired by, uh, an author and content creator. I’m going to butcher the last name, but their name is Amina. And then their, what is it? A Rainbow in Your Cloud is the children’s book that they wrote, um, illustrated by Elle Pierre.

And seeing that person wear rainbow braids and do it for so long, I was like, I, I, I’ve always wanted to dye my hair, but, I was like, I don’t want to dye my hair. I want to make sure that my hair is as, as healthy as can be. So I was just like, what if I just start getting crochet braids? And that’s what I did. I got rainbow colored crochet braids and I haven’t looked back.

BETH BARANY: Oh, it’s so awesome. I just love them so much and it really. It seems to be so on brand for you because I’m part of your membership. So everyone, Melquea has this fabulous membership that I’m gonna talk to you, you can tell us about, but I just, I love your art because it’s so vivid, bright and playful, and you exude that and, and

MELQUEA SMITH: Thank you.

BETH BARANY: So wonderful. So tell us about your membership. What is it and what kind of people can join? You know, I’m an author and I don’t write children’s books. I have YA, but I just love your art. It makes me happy to be supporting you and also I wanna have more representations of different kinds of people in whatever I market.

And I, I want to remember that. And so your work really reminds me of that and it, just makes my world bigger. So that’s my endorsement for you.

[04:39] The Importance of Representation in Art

You’re really for children’s book authors, teachers. Who else is your membership ideal for and what is your membership?

MELQUEA SMITH: Yeah, so I’ll go into it. So I have a membership, it’s a monthly membership, it’s just $9 a month and every week you get a new piece of clip art of black and brown kids in your inbox. The name is called Brown Sugar Graphics and I was tearing myself apart trying to figure out the name of this thing for like six months and I’m so glad that I figured it out.

But it is, like I said, a monthly membership, $9 a month where you get a new illustration of black and brown kids in your inbox. And the way that clip art works is if you’re creating social media content, if you’re a podcast host and you somehow impact kids positively. You can be a entrepreneur, author, educator, homeschool families, and homeschool parents. Anyone who is sick and tired of trying to find diverse graphics and clip art of kids and families, and also that’s not generated by AI.

I definitely do not use AI with my work. What I’ve seen on Etsy and Canva and all these different websites where you can get, uh, graphics and, and stock imagery, at least for illustrated versions, is that they’re not illustrated.

I wouldn’t say it’s not illustrated enough. I would say that the representation is just not there. You can generate your own graphics through generative AI, but there’s just little details in the black and brown experience that just isn’t replicated. And only a person, only a person with lived experience can make that.

So, the way that it started was I had a bunch of authors. I, I, I’m, I’m an in the children’s book world and a lot of authors told me that they could not find clip art of black and brown kids when they– I, I have a, a friend who does presentations, for schools, school visits, you name it. And they try to add little graphics and little pops of color and little bit of joy in, in the work that they do.

And yet they find something and they’re just like. Okay, I found three and they’re digging and digging and digging for more. And they’re so frustrated because they can’t find what they’re looking for.

And so I thought, one, this is a perfect Melquea shaped hole that I can fill. And two, it allows me to draw something new every week.

As I illustrate picture books, it can take seven to eight months, if not a year, to finish illustrating a whole children’s book and that’s only at max, maybe two to three, four characters. And yes, it’s great that we have a book out, but I knew that there was going to be a better way to be able to diversify the amount of imagery of black and brown kids.

Yeah, that’s pretty much my membership and thank you so much for the glowing review.

BETH BARANY: Sure, for sure. I mean, here we are, everyone listening like this is a prime example of how you are putting art into the world in a very direct way, where you get to impact how people see themselves. How I get to envision the world. How everyone, gets to see the world and it opens it up for us.

[07:58] Creating Positive Imagery of Black and Brown Kids

And, and so that brings me to your other interest, like of representing boys with their dads reading and maybe doing other activities together, and I just love that so much. Like that imagery, that warmth, the family, you know, the father being a role model for the son.

And you’re bringing forth something so positive in, I mean, we have to say it, in historically very disjointed and broken and very sadly tragic, past of, of where fathers were ripped away from the family, and boys growing up without a father. And um, that’s been such a traditional thing that’s happened over the last few hundred years in the United States and, and who knows, maybe earlier, but it’s tragic.

And here you are just repairing the world a little bit in your beautiful way. Here’s a positive representation that we can step into and envision and feel like when I see those images, I just feel like warm and so positive and, and like aww, you know, my heart melts. And I’m like, yes. Right? Like, oh yeah, let’s have some stories. Like my story brain starts writing a little story about that, you know?

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes. So, yeah. so I have a mentor, his name is Reggie Brown. And he, when I think of an illustrator that illustrates black boys and fathers, I think of him. For me, I actually– my comfort zone is little black girls. And, but he told me when we were working together, he said, you know, publishers are really looking for positive imagery of black boys and their fathers or black boys, and families, because I guess, I don’t know why black girls are more palatable. And I say that in air quotes, dear listener, um, to our industry. But, that’s just something that I was like, I should probably start, you know, looking into and, and, and being more deliberate in the way that I illustrate, black kids. And so I was like, all right, let’s take a look and let’s see, like what, what has been done?

What is cliche? IE The Killmonger, the Killmonger hairstyle.

Um, and, and I also looked into, I, I looked into animation. I looked into illustration. I looked into books. I looked into all different types of children’s media, just to have an idea, like, almost like a holistic sense of like, what is- what is out there? And then I try to fill in that gap of like, what can we like, include?

[10:31] Future Projects and Aspirations

So for example, one of my things that I wanna really hone in and focus on a little bit is, this little, what I call it, a collection. Yeah. Like a new collection that I wanna work on, called Back in Nature or Black in Nature. It’s just a bunch of black kids and families that are in nature. Either they’re hiking, they’re biking, they’re scuba diving, they’re out in nature, and, and sort of repairing that, that sense of being in nature as well.

Even though I’m terrified of bugs, um, I love being in nature. Uh, I love being near, near the water. I love being near trees and all sorts of things. And so that’s something that I want to start illustrating and having that replicated in my work. And I also want to illustrate and either illustrate and or write and illustrate a book about that too.

And, that’s just something that is like a passion of mine.

BETH BARANY: I I love that so much and let me see if I can just put myself in the speaker view for a second. I forgot. I was supposed to be like being the producer. Um and you and you also mentioned ahead of time, like you also wanna show black and brown kids,in professions, different professions or doing different activities.

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes.

BETH BARANY: And I also really, really love that, especially I’m a champion for women in the sciences. I have a heroine who’s a kickass heroine who’s scientific and kickass because I’m like, you can have both, you know, but women in sciences, women doing and girls doing professions that aren’t normally, haven’t traditionally been typically put into the media, and I love that you include that in your illustrations.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your decision there?

MELQUEA SMITH: Yeah, so that is not a collection that I have illustrated yet, but that’s something that’s like, I have such a big to-do list on all the illustrations that I wanna do for this membership, but I know of a few people that are in the sciences that travel, that do these things that I want to include because like when I think of, black kids in clip art, we have some sciences, we have some maths, we have police officer, we got the fire department. Like, it’s all of the same types of jobs that, that have been represented in media, in our literature for eons.

And I’m like, yeah, but I know somebody that works in marine biology. Come on. That’s cool. I never thought that that was a thing. Like, there’s some of these, like these, an artist, you know? Yeah. We have like a person who’s a painter. But now just imagine being someone who’s like a social media influencer.

Like these sort of things that I love to just shake the mold of like what we see and what we expect when we think of careers. Like obviously, because it’s just, it just has to happen. I’m gonna have your, you know, kid with a test tube beaker or you know, things like that. But I also wanna add a little bit more pizazz, razzle dazzle.

I don’t know, just something that, something that, you know, that sparks conversation. You know, when I do release that illustration of a black kid engaging in marine biology work, I’m gonna write about the person that I know who is in marine biology, who’s also a children’s book author actually, and you know, the people that work in IT and sciences that work in, in all of the STEM fields and all of all of these different things, and just normalizing it. And just also having, and also just a way to differentiate myself too.

BETH BARANY: Oh, I love that so much. I have a nephew who just turned 21, who’s um.

MELQUEA SMITH: Wow.

BETH BARANY: He is a brown boy. His papa is from North Africa. And, um, and he is going into biotech or he wants to go into biotech.

MELQUEA SMITH: Wow.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. And I was just thinking, you know, what would be a representation for someone like him? you know.

MELQUEA SMITH: Yeah

BETH BARANY: He also is doing computer stuff too. And, yeah, and I was just thinking of, of my, um. I have family in Hawaii, you know, and like what? And, and my brother is way into like all the jungle and the plants and, you know, native cultivation and, and I just thinking how illustrations for him and his kids and yeah, I just love how it opens up so many possibilities.

And there’s that wonderful saying, you know, “if you can see it, you can be it.” And I feel like you’re really opening that door and it makes me hungry to see your illustrations and for people to know about them and to, you know, What else could you be creating and how else could you be putting those visions into the world?

And I’m very excited for you.

MELQUEA SMITH: Thank you. Thank you, and thank you for just being my champion. I really appreciate you being, just being my founding member and believing in me, in my art. And I, at first it was a little selfish of what, of what, what me doing this membership. It was, okay, I need recurring income.

I need to draw something that I want. I need this. This is a great place. But then I started thinking about my altruistic side. And I was like, wait a minute, but I get to be able to showcase all of these different folks and all these different backgrounds and skin tones and all the things that I’m passionate of, and then other people are sharing how much that means to them. And it makes me think of, you know. It can be “Yes-And.”

At first I was like, oh, well this is a bit of a selfish thing to, to to do. And then I thought about it and I was like, wait a minute though. But I’m, but it’s helping people. It’s helping people. People see this and they go, oh my gosh, like, this is so beautiful.

Or even just the simple fact of like my artwork, bringing joy twofold, especially in the, where we are in this world, the climate, all over, all over. And just knowing that my artwork can be a beacon of hope and joy makes me so happy.

BETH BARANY: I really feel like that is so key, you know, you call it selfish, and then there’s the altruistic, and you’re right, it’s both- and.

I think creative people, we, we maybe start with the urge to create the urge to.

MELQUEA SMITH: Mm-hmm.

BETH BARANY: To do that all on our own. And, and that’s, that’s beautiful. That’s what makes our work so unique and so individual and then sharing it with the world.

Well, our art is our gift. And being able to share that and you coming from this place of wanting to do something that suited you, that really suited you, I think is so important.

I, I teach creatives how to build their businesses and, and, and this is really key because if you’re not coming from a place of true, truth for yourself, then how can you go out and help others do the same? And, right?

MELQUEA SMITH: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: Can we be part of that, global, like bringing the energy up with what, with beauty, what, what art does?

[17:31] The Role of Kid Lit in Shaping Young Minds

And so this brings me also to, to kid lit writers and you working with kid lit writers and how they are, have such a key role and have had a, such a key role in really shaping us as children. And you know, What is that like for you to be able to work with these kid lit authors? And it sounds like you’re also a kid lit author yourself, you know?

MELQUEA SMITH: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: What is that like, or, I mean, do you think of the global responsibility? Is it really? Yeah. How, how do you perceive that?

MELQUEA SMITH: Being a kid lit writer and a kid lit creator there, it’s a gravity to the fact that we are creating for our next generation or for our, our younger generations. And then there’s also this big responsibility that we’re creating for our next generation.

But then there’s also the sheer fact of like, we get to have fun. We get to, influence kids and we also get to, heal ourselves as well as kid lit creators. Uh, like you said, there’s a both and there’s so much that goes into creating children’s books and, and when I first started getting into this industry, I thought, oh, this will be a cinch, this will be so easy.

I could just draw whatever, write whatever, and these kids will eat it up. And no. Everyone set me up to think that It was like, oh, just get into children’s books. Just write children’s books. It’ll be so easy. No, there’s a reason why there’s gatekeepers. There’s a reason why this is a craft, you know.

Some folks who write novels will, they’re like, I won’t even touch a children’s book manuscript because every single word of your 500 word manuscript has to matter. Everything. Um, there’s a structure- some of, there’s, there’s a bit of a structure to it. There is a bit of like a craft that goes into it. And so, there’s just so much that goes into kid lit writing and illustrating, and then the illustration as well.

You’re literally illustrating a story that is not illustrating the text all the time, like don’t illustrate the text, and you’re still telling either a separate story and or a, uh, a story that compliments what is on the page because Littles- So many of the, the books that are being read to Littles, they can’t read yet.

They can’t read yet. So they have to be able to decipher through illustration what is happening in the story. And it is fascinating learning about being a children’s book illustrator and, and crafting something that will hopefully be read for years to come over and over and over again. But there’s a little, there’s like this gravity of, you know, you’re impacting kids.

You are, You’re also impacting the adults that are reading it because the adults are also the ones that are getting the books from the bookshelves and reading to their kids as well. So when you speak to the adults, it’ll speak to the kids as well. So there’s, there’s, there’s so many little nuances that goes into like the kidlit community and being in kid lit as well.

BETH BARANY: Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I, I don’t, I don’t write for kids. I mean, YA is, is hard enough. A lot of consideration. Yeah. And I don’t do middle grade. That’s so wonderful.

[21:03] Closing Thoughts and Reflections

So as we wrap up, I would love to know, um, when you hear how to write the future, what, what does that evoke for you?

MELQUEA SMITH: It is so funny because I’m literally think of like science fiction and tech when I think of like writing the future, but I, I do, I also- I just looked out the window and I just saw like a bird flying and I’m just like, I think of hope.

I think of hope, and especially in a world that can be seen as cruel, that can be experienced as cruel. I, I think of for those who have the capacity to do what they can to spread that hope and to spread that joy so we can uplift the folks that need a little bit more help. Um. I think of writing the future, as raising littles and, and hopefully unlearning as adults.

Just compassionate young people. I believe in our newer generations, I feel like our newer generations have so much to, so much that’s going against them and so much anxiety and all this like. Why does a 10-year-old know about taxes? They should not, but at the same time, I love the ability that folks, that folks have to discern that we, there are things that don’t need to exist or in terms of, certain hardships, certain things, and it’s just like, honestly, no, we’re gonna interrogate this and this should not be this way.

Or why, I signed a contract for nine, a job for nine to five, and I’m leaving at 8:00 PM?

Like, you know, there, there are some toxic things and, and things in this world that we are just used to, and we normalize that our younger generations that are just like, mm, mm-hmm. This isn’t normal. I don’t think so. And I’m just like, I’m all for it. Like shake this, shake this industry, shake everything up, because obviously it’s working for some people, but it’s not working for everyone.

BETH BARANY: I love what you’re saying, you know, shaking things up. That, taking away some of the things that have been normalized that people think, oh, it’s just the way it is. But actually no, it’s not. Yes, it’s created by other human beings. For reasons.

MELQUEA SMITH: Mm-hmm.

BETH BARANY: Um, and I think our job as creatives is to, is to show a new way.

I mean, obviously that’s my point of view. And I feel like in your work as a children’s book illustrator and author like, and with these positive images of the way black and brown kids can, can be in the world, you’re painting a new picture, you’re like putting pictures in our heads of like, it can be another way y’all. Here, let’s have some fun with these other ways.

MELQUEA SMITH: Yes.

BETH BARANY: And I, I think that’s so vivid and so. Right there. Uh, I just love that. I mean, yes, story, like the kind of stories I write and it, but it’s more involved, right? You gotta read the whole book versus the kids’ book, you just open it up and boom, there you are. You’re, you’re in that new vision. And I just applaud you and, and just really love, love, love, love the work that you’re doing, Melquea.

MELQUEA SMITH: Thank you

BETH BARANY: And so I, I know we could keep going on, but, um, we’re gonna, we’re gonna have to have you back and, and have more conversations. And so I just wanna say thank you so much for coming on the podcast today and, hanging out with us and, and chatting art and, and just what could be and, and play. We’re having fun folks.

MELQUEA SMITH: Thank you so much for having me, Beth. I really appreciate just spending this time and just hanging out with you and, and you, my dear listener.

BETH BARANY: Thank you so much everyone for joining us here on How to Write the Future this week. Write long and prosper.

And that’s a wrap. Woo-hoo. We’re done.

Woo.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/

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c 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

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Published on September 08, 2025 00:00

September 5, 2025

Toxic Goals By Catharine Bramkamp

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “Toxic Goals.” Enjoy!

***

The Promise of Goals

We are conditioned that meeting our goals will deliver happiness and contentment.

But life always gets in the way.

And we feel we will never reach our goals and so are resigned to never achieving true contentment and happiness.

But what if the biggest obstacle to our happiness is the goal itself?

The Cultural Weight of Goals

We are so entrenched with the necessity and sanctity of the big goal — Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. How do you know you’ve arrived if you don’t know where you are going? — that it is hearsay to even question goals.

Goals are good.

Goals are what you use on your college applications.

Goals are what you have at hand during a job interview or when you are begging for money in a grant proposal.

Goals are big business.

What I discovered is that even in the second half of life, it is difficult to drop the goal habit.

You NEED GOALS so you can ACHIEVE them.

Goals and the Artist’s Life

But what does that look like for an artist?

Let’s say a photographer has established goals and is relentlessly working to achieve them.

He is ready to check off his SMART goals.

The stretch goal is to show his work in an upcoming gallery exhibition three months from today.

This show, like publishing a book, like a performance gig, will be IT and will not only make him rich but will go viral, propel him to fame and launch his lucrative second career.

He will be recognized and . . . make lots of money.

And money is always the goal.

Sound familiar?

The Wrong Wall

Yet, another popular saying about goals is: Before you spend your whole life climbing the success ladder, check to make sure the ladder is leaning on the right wall.

If we are in the second stage of life, we may want to indulge in asking — why are goals religiously focused on fame and money?

Both are fine, but we are capable of creating and following more interesting and life affirming pursuits.

What if the goal is to just finish a piece you love?

What if the goal is to feel good about an outcome?

Or — and this is radical — what about setting a goal based on joy and creating something you care about while becoming enriched by the process?

When Goals Undermine Creativity

Okay, okay, you still can’t shake off the whole fame/money dynamic.

Let’s unpack our LV trunk and take a look inside.

Because the wrong goal can alter the very process of creating art, and not for the better.

You are the photographer, SMART goal list in hand.

Plus the stretch goals of the Gallery show, lead to shows in larger and larger ventures, garnering more money, much of which you have already spent in your head.

You leave the house weighted down with camera equipment and expectations.

You line up your first shot but all those expectations cloud the image.

Will this fit in the upcoming show?Is this the right angle for the stated theme of the show?What are the other photographers submitting?Can you find out so you can be different?

As you eye the angles, the unknown competition, the opacity of the judges’ mood that day, the vision of the new car you will buy when this show works out and you sell all your prints, you notice an individual lingering in the shadow of the doorway across the street.

You briefly wonder about their story, but that is a distraction from THE GOAL.

After a whole day spent second guessing every building, every angle, every light, you return home exhausted with no photos at all: Every shot was pre-judged, pre-rejected.

Not good enough to meet the goal.

Artists in the Same Trap

Every artist gets to play this game.

Writers are particularly prone to contorting their work to fit the mandatory goal of Best Selling Author.

This goal demands months of market research, scraping up funds to attend important conferences, weeks crafting a pitch for agents, and later for publishers.

Years writing and re-writing manuscripts that meet the criteria for a best seller (for instance: vampires, Jane Austen romance plot, zombies, short chapters, things that explode.)

Out of frustration, the writer may even resort to using AI to create a bestselling novel outline plus just a few scenes that will grab the reader and propel the author to fame and fortune.

Or perhaps you are an actor bent on fame in this second phase of life because you always wanted to act but instead went into a successful career in sales.

But now, here you are, retired and laboring in the community theater space but always, every day, reminding yourself that the goal is Broadway.

Yet it’s taking too long.

The small theater company isn’t good enough to showcase your talents.

You become impatient with fellow actors and impatient with the necessary processes.

You have no time to mess around, and the longer it takes, the more important the goal of fame and money looms.

Are your artistic goals turning you back into the striving machine you vowed to leave in retirement?

Perhaps that hamster wheel of always striving inspired retirement?

Maybe there was a health scare and you thought — I only have one life, I should live it.

Yet here you are, same old frustrations, same old worry, same goals.

The Cost of Toxic Goals

While you focus on those goals, and force your new work to meet the Time-bound, Measurable goal, your creative flow at first backs up, then bursts the dam, sweeping away everything in its path.

Like a heart attack.

But we must have goals.

Shouldn’t we have goals?

Stay with me…

I love goals, I need goals, but I’ve learned to change how to manage them, and bend them to my will, so the goals help my creative process, not thwart it.

Because socially acceptable yet un-creative goals are anathema to living our passion.

For instance, the Muse will take one look at your SMART goal list and whisper, “I’m here to inspire, not increase your bank account.”

Without even realizing it, we have fallen back into our work default — create what is acceptable in exchange for money, believing this exchange will make us happy.

What Makes a Good Goal?

If not fame, what then is a good goal?

Maybe the creative goal for photography is not to hang portraits in a juried show, but rather spending a glorious day exploring your art.

Staying open to surprise and serendipity.

Spending a minute or two talking to the person lurking in the shadows who happens to have a key to the nearby cathedral vault and would be happy to show off its treasurers.

Or you land an acting role in the local production of Our Town with your only goal to perform well and support the troupe.

During the show run, you discover that as much as you loved the idea of acting, you are far better at managing both the performers as well as the fundraising.

You become famous for saving the local theater company.

As for the writer, he considers his AI generated novel and begins to wonder if this is really the right wall on which to rest his ladder.

Is this the work he wants to be known for?

Is he an artist or a content provider?

Or will he spend his days crafting a story that feeds his soul and helps readers?

Choosing Joy

Did you create your goals or are you just responding to what is popular or easy?

This is our time to feel the earth, photograph the sky, write from the heart.

We have time to help our friends realize their own creative lives, to help our community nurture more creative expression, to deliver joy into the universe.

Joy.

That’s a good goal.

***

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***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach, Chief Storytelling Officer, former co-producer of Newbie Writers Podcast, and author of a dozen books including the Real Estate Diva Mysteries series, and The Future Girls series. She holds two degrees in English and is an adjunct university professor. After fracturing her wrist, she has figured out there is very little she is able to do with one hand tied behind her back. She delights in inspiring her readers.

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Published on September 05, 2025 03:00

September 4, 2025

Creative Entrepreneurship: How Creatives Build Thriving Businesses

I’m so excited to bring you my latest media (and program) creation: the Creative Entrepreneurship Interview series, co-created with novelist and strategist, Gala Russ.

Our focus is on how creative writing professionals, like coaches, editors, promoters, etc. build thriving businesses.

Youtube Interviews

We’ve interviewed 16 people and all the interviews are up on Youtube now!

Check them out!

All are authors and all run businesses supporting authors.

Nicky Blewitt on how his punk rock roots and social work background shaped his mission to empower authors with marketing skills.Matty Dalrymple on her journey from novelist to podcasting expert. Bailey Lang on building sustainable writing practices for authors.Romy Sommer on how she built Gemini Writers Studio by starting small—offering free editing at charity auctions, then scaling up. Melquea Smith on valuable insights for children’s book illustrators and creative entrepreneurs.Sarah Ramsey on insights about PR for creatives, emphasizing when to delegate tasks versus doing them yourself. Miranda Darrow on how she balances a corporate attorney career with her editing work while practicing the crucial skill of appropriate pricing. Savannah Gilbo on her journey as a developmental editor and podcast host who built her business around removing gatekeeping in the writing industry Meg Hartmann on the importance of following your passion while balancing family responsibilities. Nadine Shaw , developmental editor, on practical advice for creative entrepreneurs, emphasizing breaking administrative tasks into manageable pieces instead of seeking mastery before starting Daniel David Wallace , founder of the Plot Forest summit, on the importance of listening to clients’ real needs rather than assuming what they want Danika Bloom (aka Donna Barker) , teacher and consultant, on community building as crucial for success Ainsley James (AJ) , book coach, on maintaining creative energy while supporting others through clear boundaries Megan Fuentes , story coach, on how entrepreneurs don’t need formal credentials to start—just expertise and willingness to help. Stacy Juba , freelance editor and founder of Shortcuts for Writers, on importance of organizing digital, internal, and physical spaces to enhance creativity, while adapting writing routines to life’s challenges and changes Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer , author and writing instructor, on the importance of finding and focusing deeply on one niche in creative business.

Along the way, Gala and I share our stories, tips, and philosophy.

Please leave comments, like, subscribe, and share our series with people you think would benefit from these conversations.

Thanks!

Want to know your Creative Business Style?

TAKE THE QUIZ

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy novelist and writing coach who specializes in helping authors create, publish, and market their books.

With over 19 years of experience guiding writers through both creative and business aspects of writing, she co-leads the Creative Writing Professionals Apprenticeship program to help aspiring book coaches build sustainable businesses.

When she’s not coaching, Beth magical tales of romance, mystery, and adventure that empower women and girls to be the heroes of their own lives.

More at https://bethbarany.com/.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethbarany/

ABOUT GALA RUSS

Gala Russ is an experienced romance author and teacher, who empowers writers to navigate the writing and publishing journey through a customized, stress-free approach so they can thrive creatively.

Drawing from her own experiences publishing seven novels as Willa Drew, she now uses her project management expertise and teaching skills to guide clients through the complex process of completing manuscripts and building successful indie-publishing businesses.

When she’s not coaching, Gala writes heartfelt, engaging romances that leave readers swooning.

More at https://galarussauthor.com/.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galarussauthor

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Published on September 04, 2025 17:30

September 1, 2025

Upcoming classes in the Barany School of Fiction

Upcoming classes in the Barany School of Fiction – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 168

***

“We have a fabulous program that we are launching for the first time. It’s a pilot program. And this is for you if you are a writer and you want to serve writers, that is you want to build a business helping other writers.”

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, host Beth Barany shares upcoming classes in Barany School of Fiction, including how you can sign up for them, and how they will benefit writers. From a critique group to a creative entrepreneurship training program, craft and mindset trainings, listen to the episode for details.

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

FOR CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSIONALS – BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SERVING WRITERS

https://bethbarany.com/apprenticeship/

Support our work for creatives!

Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCAST

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

GET SUPPORT FOR YOUR FICTION WRITING BY A NOVELIST AND WRITING TEACHER AND COACH

Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 168 Upcoming classes in Barany School of FictionIntroduction and Host Background

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future Podcast. I’m your host and I’m also a writing teacher, creativity coach, and novelist. And filmmaker and, okay, now I’ll stop.

[00:14] Upcoming Classes Overview

In this episode I want to share with you our upcoming classes in Barany School of Fiction.

I used to run an online school, and then it went dormant and now it’s coming back. So I wanna let you know what is on offer for this fall 2025. If you are listening to this after this period or after any of the registrations have closed, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to get notified of our next classes.

And the best way to do that is go ahead and grab our World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers, and you’ll get on our mailing list and you’ll get an awesome World Building, Workbook for Fiction Writers, which is going to help you whether or not you write science fiction, fantasy, any kind of speculative fiction or even contemporary or historical, because world building is one of the key elements that allows your reader to be fully immersed in your story.

All right, so what is coming up this fall?

[01:13] Next Step Writers Group

First off, we have the Next Step Writers Group, which is a critique group that starts September 8th. By the time you’re listening to this, we’ve already closed registration, but stay tuned. We’re gonna be opening it up again. If this is something that you really, really, really, really, really, really want, reach out to me and we’ll see if there’s room, but probably registration will be closed.

[01:34] Creative Entrepreneurship Training Program

Next up, we have a fabulous program that we are launching for the first time. It’s a pilot program. And this is for you if you are a writer and you want to serve writers, that is you wanna build a business helping other writers. You might be a book coach, a VA, an author’s assistant, a ghost writer, an editor, a book designer.

We are launching our pilot program to get you up and running on the basics of your business. In 12 weeks, we’re gonna teach you how to, put together all the fundamentals you need to either start your business this fall or be ready to do so, come January of next year.

We have a, a really great program for you. It is a commitment, and we hope to see you there. I wanna say that the Creative Writing Professionals apprenticeship program starts September 16th and goes for 12 weeks skipping the week of Thanksgiving, here in the United States. Also in the Creative Entrepreneurship Training program, we’re only taking 12 students.

[02:41] Romancing the Subplot Course

Next up, we have Romancing The Subplot. This course will be a four week course starting October 1st, and this will be taught by Gala Russ, who is a romance author who will teach you how to weave your romantic subplot into your story. It’s for you if you are writing any kind of genre fiction that isn’t romance. And you want to know how to weave romance into your novel. This works best if either you’re a plotter or you already have your first draft done, this class will be for you. So I highly recommend that you take that. We’re only taking 12 students.

[03:19] Habits of Mind Webinar

Lastly, we’re gonna do a one off webinar, a 90 minute webinar in October, with a fabulous writing teacher and ghost writer, Bailey Lang and we’re gonna teach you how to enhance your creative writing process in her Habits of Mind workshop. So stay tuned for that.

[03:40] Conclusion and Contact Information

Be sure to get on our mailing list to get notified when registration opens.

All right, that is it for this week, everyone. If you have a class that you wish I would teach, let me know. I am a speaker who comes to other people’s writing groups. And I offer, select programs here in Barany School of Fiction.

That’s it for this week, everyone.

Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

***

Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/bethbarany/

TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@bethbarany/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/bethbarany

X: https://twitter.com/BethBarany

c 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

Like the work we do? Tip us! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

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Published on September 01, 2025 03:12

August 29, 2025

How Margo’s Money Troubles Teach Us All About Building a Creative Business by LA Bourgeois

Let’s welcome back LA Bourgeois as she shares with us “How Margo’s Money Troubles Teach Us All About Building a Creative Business.” Enjoy!

***

Why This Book Resonates for Creatives

Along with being an utterly entertaining piece of fiction, Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe is a brilliant description of building a creative business.

When I first read this book, my immediate reaction was to send a copy to my best writer friend and say, “THIS! We need to do this!!!”

After all, if you have a goal of making money with your writing, building a creative business is exactly what you are doing.

And the whole cast of characters in Margo’s Got Money Troubles details strategies and tips to overcome obstacles and avoid pitfalls of that process.

A Quick Summary of Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Margo Millet is a young community college student and waitress who had an affair with her English professor, got pregnant and decided to keep the baby.

Once the baby is born, two of the four roommates who share her apartment leave with little notice, she loses her job, and her father, an ex-pro wrestler shows up needing a place to live.

Her response?

Start an OnlyFans.

This hilarious and heartwarming book takes us on the twists and turns of her life following this decision, including betrayal by friends and family, the discovery of an accepting love of a found family, and what it means to take your own power as a woman, a sex worker, and a business owner.

This review does contain spoilers.

You have been warned.

The Dream You Must Pursue

In reading this book, we start off with Margo and her new baby, this precious child that she just couldn’t say no to.

For me, the baby symbolizes that dream that just won’t go away, that one thing that you would throw everything away to do.

And make no mistake, Margo does throw everything away to have this baby.

In a conversation before the child is born, Margo asks her mother, Shyanne, if the baby will wreck her life and she replies, “Yes, Noodle, it will ruin your life, for sure. But sometimes ruining your life is the only thing you want.”

Our need to express our creativity can sometimes take hold in a way that is impossible to say no to.

I know that’s true for me.

At multiple times along this path of entrepreneurship I’ve thought (and even said out loud), “Oh my GOD, what was I thinking?”

“I have ruined our lives and wasted our savings building a dream world!”

I mean, who among us hasn’t thought of a version of this?

But the follow-up expressed by Shyanne saying, “You ruined my life so pretty, Noodle,” is also true.

Following our dreams, pursuing a goal that demanded our attention, the chance to ruin your life for that beautiful thing?

It’s a very pretty way to ruin your life.

And the truth is, you have to be willing to ruin your life on this because this goal or dream must be persistent enough to demand your dedication to it.

Otherwise, the resilience needed to make the dream or goal a reality just doesn’t appear.

It’s easy to go back to the waitressing job if it feels like a lateral move.

But once you see the possibility of advancement, of making your life better in whatever way that means, then you will echo Margo’s thoughts when she says that lateral movement “makes it feel like trying to run when you’re facing a wall.”

Selling Your Writing

Now, a big part of what Margo has to deal with is the world’s view of her job as she decides to follow the OnlyFans path and becomes a sex worker.

Maybe this is part of your path.

No shame if that’s the case.

I’m sex-positive.

Regardless of your position on sex workers, here’s how I interpret this as a metaphor for everyone else.

First, let’s confront the idea of being a “slut.”

Just like knowing that you are showing your body and that people are willing to pay to look at your body makes someone a slut, a lot of artists feel like charging money for their art turns them into a whore.

So how do you approach that idea?

Suzie, Margo’s one roommate who stayed, and Margo highlight this conundrum during a conversation about what makes a slut a “slut.”

Margo ponders, “She’d had a similar thought before, which was that if sex wasn’t shameful and being paid wasn’t shameful, then why was it shameful to have sex for money? Or sell pictures of your boobs or whatever? Where was the shame coming from?”

The same can be said for writing.

If writing isn’t shameful and being paid isn’t shameful, why is it shameful to sell your writing?

It’s worth asking the question since there are many folks who really do believe this is true.

The truth is that it’s as okay to sell your writing as it is to give it away.

It’s your choice.

And if you choose to sell your writing, then the only obstacle is in getting over what other people may call you or think about you.

After all, when Suzie finds out how much money Margo is making from her OnlyFans, she exclaims, “Holy shit, then who cares if you’re a slut? …I mean you get to stay home with the baby, you’re safe, you’re not having contact with these people. Four grand a month?! F***ing slut it up!”

Knowing How to Run a Business

If you are making money with your writing, you have to listen to Margo’s dad, Jinx, the ex-pro wrestler, when he talks about setting up the business and making sure that you’re doing it right.

He’s the one who helps her get all set to go with a business structure, quarterly tax payments and a banking set-up that works for Margo.

And he’s the one who helps her find the right lawyer when that time comes.

If you have someone in your life who can help with this, FABULOUS!

If not, you can do your own research to a point and when you hit the end of your resources, you’ll want to engage someone to help you figure out the right path.

This could be an accountant or a lawyer, but purchasing an hour of their time often can save you money in the long run.

Buddies & A Persona

Throughout the whole time, Margo continues to figure out this new business.

What does it take to break through?

How can she get the attention that she needs?

She needs buddies!

Again, Jinx spouts the wisdom of the wrestling ring and declares that Margo needs buddies.

Finding allies to help you get more attention by elevating your profile, by collaborating on projects, by sharing their wisdom so you can avoid breaking the unwritten rules that others have discovered before you.

Margo’s allies aggravate her and push her to create work that takes new bigger leaps.

They help her gain thousands of followers and share wisdom like “no nudity on TikTok.”

While there are points when you wish they would shut up and take responsibility for themselves, you can’t deny that their almost-constructive criticism pushes Margo to create work that pushes her boundaries.

Plus, creating an online persona feels very relevant to the current conversations.

Described in the book as “turning yourself into a cartoon,” creating this persona who is you but is not you, a choreographed version of yourself, a performance that is authentic but also fake.

This becomes something necessary to protect yourself (as the character is you but not you as well), and to give people a solid version of who you are.

This isn’t to say you can’t change, but it’s important to know how people see you so you know what they are seeing.

This is another place where your allies help.

For instance, in the scene where Jinx, Suzie, and Margo discuss her qualities, Margo discovers that, while she thinks of herself as goofy, Suzie actually sees her as a little scary.

That helps Margo further develop her OnlyFans character to become more of a scary character.

People know who you are to them.

To create the cartoon, consider getting others opinions and figure out how that can work in your favor.

Buddies who collaborate also help sell this new version of you by being your opposite.

“Are you the heel or the face?” as Jinx continues to say, the good guy or the bad guy.

There’s no moral stance here as you consider this.

“A face needs a heel and a heel needs a face,” as Margo remarks.

When Margo writes her new scary description, these words encapsulate the character that she’s creating.

By choosing to be a heel, she’s creating something unique and new, an alien that inhabits her body when she’s on the screen.

“The moment I turned Ghost heel, I had almost fifteen ideas in less than twenty-four hours,” says Margo.

Consider, when you write out your description or bio, what character are you taking on?

What persona do you want to put forward?

How can choosing something that seems negative or the opposite of you actually open the floodgates of your creativity?

Final Thoughts and Invitation

As you read the book, what strategies or inspirations resonated with you?

Do tell! Leave a comment and let’s chat about it!

If you haven’t read Margo’s Got Money Troubles, pick up a copy at your favorite online platform, local indie bookshop, or at the library and join us in the conversation!

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Next Month’s Read: The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard

Our next Book for Thriving Creatives is The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard: 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration, Fourth Edition by Jill Badonsky.

This book introduces you to ten powerful creativity principles in the guise of wise and witty Muses.

Designed to bust through blocks that stand in the way of creative fulfillment in all aspects of your life, these playful guides help you move through procrastination, overwhelm, perfectionism, self-sabotage, and lack of focus to the joy of the creative process and its validation of your unique spirit.

Plus, this is the style of creativity coaching I practice so it’s a great way to test the waters!

Grab a copy at your local bookshop, at the library, or online and join us to read The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard!

Are you enjoying the Books for Thriving Creatives series?

Yes & I’ve read at least one of the booksYes, but I just read the reviewsNope!

Please respond in the comments.

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ABOUT LA BOURGEOIS

LA (as in tra-la-la) Bourgeois is a Kaizen-Muse Certified Creativity Coach and author who helps clients embrace the joy of their creative work and thrive while doing it.

Get more of her creativity ideas and techniques by subscribing to her newsletter at https://subscribepage.io/unlockyourcreativity.

The post How Margo’s Money Troubles Teach Us All About Building a Creative Business by LA Bourgeois appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on August 29, 2025 03:00

August 26, 2025

Q&A with Lisa Towles, Thriller Author

Please welcome Lisa Towles to our Featured Author Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. Enjoy!

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If you’d like to be considered for an interview, check out our guidelines here.

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About Lisa Towles

Lisa Towles is an award-winning crime novelist from the Bay Area.

Her 14th thriller, Switch, will be published by Indies United Publishing on September 30, 2025.

Switch is the 3rd and final book of her E&A Investigations thriller series about former CIA operative Mari Ellwyn and her partner Derek Abernathy.

Hot House is a psychological thriller, Salt Island is an Eco-Thriller, and Switch is a Techno Thriller.

For follow up questions, feel free to email Lisa at lisamarietowles@gmail.com.

On to Our Interview!

Q. Tell us who you are and what inspires you to write.

A. I’m a crime novelist and a communications leader for tech companies.

I’m also a mentor and creativity coach for novice writers.

I write mostly standalone crime thrillers, and I’m inspired by complex crimes and the complex personalities that commit them.

Q. How did you get to this place in your life? Share your story!

A. I’m from New England and I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 2007.

I’ve always held a full time corporate day while also writing full time, and my career in communications is complementary to my writing journey using most of the same skills and talents.

Q. What are you most passionate about?

A. I’m passionate about technology — and my latest book Switch is about quantum computing, which is another area of interest for me.

I’m passionate about the concept of secrets, because I think what we hide from the world (and ourselves) has power.

So my interest in human behavior and psychology draws me repeatedly to that dark side and how we’re impacted emotionally by what happens in our world, in our relationships, and the need to reconcile things and go deep inside.

I’m also passionate about supporting other authors, and one of the ways I do that is through my Story Impact author interview series on YouTube.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process, routine, and/or rituals around your writing?

A. My standard practice is to write a little bit every day, and to try to hold myself to schedules (finishing a first draft by September 1st or something.).

Sometimes I’m just thinking about writing, or plotting, or organizing my files, and that counts!

And other times I just need a day off because my brain needs a rest.

And marketing and promotion is separate from that. That’s the “business of writing” and requires a different set of skills, discipline, and energy.

Q. What are a few challenges you faced in creating, marketing, or publishing your creative work? And your solutions to them.

A. Whether you have a traditional publisher, are self published or working with a smaller press, marketing and promotion is a continuous requirement of this path.

One of the hardest parts is deciding how much you’re going to do yourself and what parts you’ll sub out to consultants.

I think I have a good mix now, but for a long time I was doing everything (and working full time) and I was constantly burned out.

Q. What do you wish you had known before you started writing fiction?

A. Well, I think I was lucky in a way, because I’m a lifelong musician and I had private music lessons on piano and flute from very early childhood.

So my musical training helped me develop discipline early on, and as a creative person that was very beneficial.

But I wish I had found writing mentors along the way, especially early on.

That’s why I’m so passionate about helping novice writers to help them have a better launch on this journey than I did.

Q. What’s next for you in your creative work?

A. I have another standalone thriller coming out in 2026, called The Weight of Cold Things.

It’s a dark thriller, sort of like “Yellowstone” meets “The X-Files”.

It will be released next August.

Q. Is there anything else you wished I’d asked? Please share!

A. What keeps me going on the often challenging writing journey?

Wonderful writing friends who give me support, inspiration, and companionship along the way.

Writing is a team sport so let’s help each other!

Switch (E&A Investigations Thriller Series Book 3) by Lisa Towles

Following Hot House and Salt Island, Mari Ellwyn and Derek Abernathy return to track a string of unsettling bank robberies, the disappearance of a body from the local morgue, and a missing Medical Examiner — all of which lead them to a corrupt organization using fringe technology to manipulate global levers of power.

For Mari, the case forces her to reconcile the truth about her missing father and finally come face-to-face with her nemesis, international crime boss Jacquel Martel, before she becomes another victim in his deadly game.

Connect with Lisa Towles

Website: http://lisatowles.com

Facebook: @authortowles

Twitter: @writertowles

Instagram: @authorlisatowles

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisatowles

Pinterest: @lisatowlesauthor

The post Q&A with Lisa Towles, Thriller Author appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on August 26, 2025 03:00

August 25, 2025

You’re invited to the Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany

You’re invited to the Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 167

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”I believe that your unique vision that you are sharing in your stories can impact the readers in unknown and amazing ways.” – Beth Barany

How To Write the Future podcast host, Beth Barany, invites listeners to sign up for a free Story Success Clinic session. In these sessions, Beth will coach you and give you feedback on a short piece of your writing. You’ll gain insights into how to enhance scenes in your world-building and brainstorm ideas to bring your story world to life. The Story Success Clinic is designed to leave you confident and ready to take the next step in your writing. All recorded sessions get featured as an episode on the podcast.

Sign up for a 30 minute Free Story Success Clinic Session

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

Platforms the podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify| YouTube

RESOURCES

Sign up for a 30 minute Free Story Success Clinic Session

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

Previous Story Success Clinics on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFt3x70-_d9Iy7lB-H35UnEYLrqJ2JRQj

FOR CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSIONALS – BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SERVING WRITERS

https://bethbarany.com/apprenticeship/

Support our work for creatives!

Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCAST

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

GET SUPPORT FOR YOUR FICTION WRITING BY A NOVELIST AND WRITING TEACHER AND COACH

Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

– How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?

– How do I figure out what’s not working if my story feels flat?

– How do I make my story more interesting and alive?

This podcast is for readers, too, if you’re at all curious about the future of humanity.

Transcript for episode 167: You’re invited to the Story Success Clinic with Beth BaranyIntroduction to Story Success Clinic

Hey science fiction and fantasy authors, would you like to get more exposure for your books, and get some support to uncover story ideas, enhance story cohesion, and get some ideas for marketing?

Then sign up for my 30-minute Story Success Clinic interview on my podcast, How To Write The Future.

Every 30-minute story success clinic is recorded and gets aired as an episode of the How To Write The Future podcast.

So sign up today. The link is in the show notes. And now let’s get on with the show.

[00:44] Meet Your Host: Beth Barany

Hi everyone. This is Beth Barany with How To Write The Future podcast. This podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures.

Because when we vision what is possible, we help make it so.

In this week’s episode, I want to share about why I decided to launch the Story Success Clinic.

I am a writing coach and have been one for over 16 years, and actually started helping writers years before that. I taught English to non-native speakers when I was 30, did it here in the United States, as well as abroad in Paris, France.

I have been a writing teacher since, gosh, since about over, over 20 years now. I actually started teaching short story writing when I was teaching English to non-native speakers.

All that to say, I am passionate about storytelling, passionate about helping writers.

[01:47] The Power of Storytelling

And I believe that your unique vision, that you are sharing in your stories, can impact the readers in unknown and amazing ways.

Stories shape how we see ourselves. Stories shape how we see the world. In fact, I would say that everything is a story — our belief systems, our organizations, the way we do things. Culture. Even science is a story.

Being human means being story makers, and this applies whether you are a writer or a creative, or an artist of any kind. We are all looking through the lens of stories to see the world. Another way of talking about this is mental maps. We all see the world through our own particular lenses.

If all we know is maybe a hundred-miles radius from where we live, then our sense of self and our sense of the world is entirely shaped by that.

On the other hand, if we could travel to a space station in high Earth orbit and turn around and see the Earth, from that vantage point, How would our sense of self and the world change?

Over the last three years of running How to Write the Future Podcast, I have done several story success clinics, and I’ve answered questions like, How do I not overload background into my stories? Also, how do I do collaborative writing? Everyone’s always asking me how to handle backstory. We did that with Amy Johnson.

Uh, in episode 21, we did a story success clinic with Melissa Green, who’s a sci-fi writer, and one of my clients also, we did a story success clinic with Hugh Tipping, also one of my clients, and discussing his questions about deep point of view. We did one on tropes and niching, and this was with Fantasy novelist, Katie Willem, also one of my clients.

And then I spoke with Ann Burack, who’s an educator and a writer. And we spoke to her about her writing, and I took her questions. So you can see I have helped different writers with their issues

The kinds of questions that I have been asked in the Story Success Clinic range from editorial craft questions to story structure and marketing.

[04:33] Understanding the Story Success Clinic

I started off this podcast sharing with you about my Story Success Clinic and why I’m offering this service. It is a way that I can help writers do a few things. Get more exposure for your books. Brainstorm ideas to make your story world come alive, and also brainstorm ideas around marketing.

[04:56] Marketing and Exposure for Authors

So I will cover those topics in our discussions and help you gain clarity and inspiration, and motivation. Because by the time you’re done with our chat, I want you to leave with your next step. We’re not trying to solve all the world’s problems in 30 minutes. We’re just going to help bring some clarity and get you inspired and motivated for the next step. And of course, this is my way to showcase my skills as a coach.

So, if you want to work with me further, you are invited to have that conversation with me. That’s a separate conversation. This is not a selling conversation. This is a conversation, me being helpful to you. Also, me giving you the opportunity to get some exposure as an author. Learning how to market your books and yourself as an author is such a key skill.

I look forward to speaking with you. If you have any questions about the Story Success Clinic, contact me through email or LinkedIn. Those details are in the show notes.

[06:02] Final Thoughts and Contact Information

All right, everyone. Have a wonderful writing day, and I look forward to speaking with you in our 30-minute Story Success Clinic.

Write long and prosper.

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061

Need instructions on how to leave a review? Go here.

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Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

***

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:

Author site / Coaching site / School of Fiction / Writer’s Fun Zone blog

CONNECT

Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580

Email: beth@bethbarany.com

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/bethbarany/

TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@bethbarany/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/bethbarany

X: https://twitter.com/BethBarany

CREDITSEDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA (Refer-a-Friend link)MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/fuzz-buzz License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. “Fuzz buzz” by Soundroll. Commercial license: https://musicvine.com/track/soundroll/fuzz-buzz.DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465 (Refer-a-Friend link)SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade

c 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

For more “How To Write the Future” episodes, go here.

If you’d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note here.

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Published on August 25, 2025 09:37