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Published on July 11, 2025 03:00

July 7, 2025

What is Creative Entrepreneurship?

What is Creative Entrepreneurship? – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 160

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“First principles are really: know how to be creative and know how to get into your creativity.” – Beth Barany

In this How To Write the Future episode, called “What is Creative Entrepreneurship?,” host Beth Barany gets interviewed about defining creative entrepreneurship and explains the importance of prioritizing creativity over business and why she believes being a creative comes first. Plus, she goes in depth on how we can make it work for us as creative individuals.

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

RESOURCES

FOR CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSIONALS – BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SERVING WRITERS

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.

Transcript for episode 160 Writer Business without the OverwhelmIntroduction to Creative Entrepreneurship

EZRA BARANY: So Beth,tell us what is creative entrepreneurship?

BETH BARANY: So yeah, creative entrepreneurship. What is it?

[00:09] Defining Creative Entrepreneurship

BETH BARANY: So a lot of people define creative entrepreneurship in different ways. I guess what’s important here is the way I define it, so I see being a creative entrepreneur is about being a creative first and an entrepreneur second, which is very unusual.

A lot of people don’t think of it that way, and I break it down that way because when we create something like the actual zone of creating, yes, it may have marketing considerations, but the zone, what do people call it? They call it the zone, right? They call it the flow, being in the flow.

And I think when you’re in the flow, you’re not thinking about the past, you’re not thinking about the future. You’re just in the flow.

When you think about marketing your stuff and reaching the marketplace and reaching your fans and reaching new readers as authors, then now you’re starting to think about marketing considerations and it takes you outta the flow.

[00:58] First Principles of Creativity and Entrepreneurship

BETH BARANY: Let’s break it down. I like first principles.

EZRA BARANY: So first principles. Where are the first principles?

BETH BARANY: Yeah. First principles are really, know how to be creative and know how to get into your creativity.

And then when you’re in the entrepreneurship space, now think about, How do you talk about what you’re making? How do you clarify who your audience is? How do you reach your audience? And how do you create a place for them to purchase your material or enjoy your material?

And all of those considerations seem to use a different part of our brain than the creative part. Now, that’s not to say you can’t apply your creativity to all those things.

In fact, that’s what I advocate for. Like the same energy that we use to come up with story ideas and create things, let’s apply that generative and like juicy energy, and focus, often when we’re in creative space, we’re super focused. Let’s apply that to entrepreneurship. I think of being a creative entrepreneur, as being creative first and an entrepreneur second.

So.

EZRA BARANY: Great.

[02:06] Importance of Creative Entrepreneurship

EZRA BARANY: What is the importance for becoming a creative entrepreneur?

BETH BARANY: Sure. It’s definitely an elective choice. For a lot of writers, and I’m gonna just speak of writers ’cause that’s what I know the most. We write to be read. I haven’t met a single writer who writes novels and other short fiction and all those things because they just wanna keep it to themselves. They want someone to read it, even if it’s an intimate group of fellow writers or their family, or a thousand of their closest friends.

You agree with me, you’re a writer.

EZRA BARANY: Yes.

BETH BARANY: You’ve always been driven by having other people appreciate what you’ve created, right? What you’ve written.

EZRA BARANY: Yeah. In fact it’s what keeps me writing is picturing them reading this moment I’m writing about.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. But a lot of people are stopped from getting their work into the marketplace for fear of criticism, for fear of, even I was super afraid when I was publishing my first book, but I also was driven just like you by that desire to be read.

Because I also remembered being a reader, and I’ve been an avid reader since I was a child.

So why is this important? We tend to think that we have to enter the marketplace a certain way. And there’s all these rules and there’s all these ways things have been done. Just like we write stories within a structure of what a story is and within that structure there’s so much freedom. Even within storytelling. So why can’t we enter the marketplace in a way that works for us?

So I think by talking more about creative entrepreneurship, we can talk about how do we make it work for us?

The principles I’m talking about actually doesn’t apply just to being creative people, it applies to anybody. ‘Cause I think, if you wanna be in business and you wanna do it your own way, now you’re applying your creativity, you’re applying choice and decisions, I kind of see it like an alchemy.

You’re basically saying, here’s how I want it to be. Here’s my ingredients. Now how do I cook this up in the way that would fit my taste buds? To just use a cooking metaphor, veering a little away from alchemy. Does that answer the question about why I care about this issue?

Okay, here’s the big soapbox thing.

I believe that the ability to be creative is a human right and something we’re all born with. And bringing our creativity, our wild imaginations into doing business is going to serve not only us as authors, and it maybe you’re a creative writing professional. It’s gonna serve everybody because there’s so many different ways to do it. There’s not one way. So let’s bring the conversation out. Let’s be creative, let’s be playful. I believe we need more examples of that.

There’s not one way to sell your services or sell your books. So let’s play in that space of what else could it be?

Just like we play in the storytelling space of the kinds of characters and the kinds of stories that we wanna write. That’s why.

EZRA BARANY: So let me ask you this.

[05:05] Steps to Become a Creative Entrepreneur

EZRA BARANY: What would be the next steps or the first steps for someone to take to become a creative entrepreneur?

BETH BARANY: Yes, very good question. When I work with creative entrepreneurs, and I do, I work with people who wanna be, they wanna be a creative writing professional, like editorial assistant or a virtual assistant to an author or a book coach. Or an editor.

The very first thing that you need to focus on is your skill set in the chosen field, in the way you wanna help people. You need to get good at that. You need to get specialized training or get lots of experience and do everything you can to get lots of, have your training wheels on for a while and then take off your training wheels. And, there are lots of training, different kinds of training programs for these things.

Specifically I know in editing, and being a virtual assistant, and then meet people who are doing what you wanna do or are adjacent to what you wanna do. Like maybe you only know book designers or cover designers. Hang out with them, find out how they do things and just start to network.

So I first get professional training, and or lots of experience, network with people in your adjacent fields.

And then number three is learn some business skills. Learn how to talk about what you do in the marketplace. Learn how to write a short blurb about what you do, and have a professional bio and decide how you wanna market. Build a mailing list. As you get more refined in what your offer is, offer a freebie. And then look for ways to do a one to many. You show up in front of a group of people, whether you do it online, or in person .

And lastly, or also in conjunction, these are all together, there are some order of this, but also not, it depends on your personality. And in fact, entirely depends on your personality, but you wanna learn how to have some kind of offer, whether you wanna offer small group classes or coaching one-on-one or editing one-on-one or working with a lot of clients or maybe just a few clients.

That’s the business model. Who do you serve and how will you earn your money? And at what price point?

So there’s professional development that you need to learn in your skills, but then there’s also business development. I have been doing one form or another of business development training ever since I started my business 19 years ago.

So it really never stops in my opinion, and neither does the skillset training in like being a better writer, being a better editor, better teacher, better coach. Those are the things I mostly focus on.

EZRA BARANY: Let me ask you this.

[07:50] Overcoming Marketing Fears

EZRA BARANY: What can you say to creatives, who, when they hear that they need to market and focus on the business aspect of their creativity, and they just want to shut down, what advice would you give those folks?

BETH BARANY: That’s a big one. I would be very, very delicate, or I would say sensitive, to that when people just wanna shut down. It often has nothing to do with their lived experience, although it might have something to do with their upbringing, but it also might have something to do with their ancestry because it has been very difficult, if not impossible, to be an entrepreneur before the 20th century.

Before the 20th century, you had to have some kind of moxie. The economies weren’t there, there was no social systems. There was no network that supported it unless you were in a guild. And if you’re in a guild, then you’re an apprentice and you become a master. And the pathway is very direct or you do what your parents did. Historically and genetically, humans have not been entrepreneurs in the way we can now. So it’s very scary. So there’s a lot of fear around that, around being an entrepreneur that we inherit from our families.

And, marketing is, often got a bad rap because there’s a lot of negative stereotypes around it. We haven’t seen any good examples and we have all experienced, we’ve all had bad experiences of being marketed to or sold to, or people trying to be in our face. But the really interesting thing is we all love buying things.

How is that? How is that we love buying things? So in those cases and all those cases where we had a good experience buying something, that was because of marketing. Nine times outta 10, that was because of marketing. Yes, maybe we went out of our way. Oh, I need this thing, I’m gonna go buy this thing. But then we look at the packaging and we look at the ingredients and we look at the reviews, right? All of that is marketing. So I think it’s a lack of education, but it’s also an instinctive thing that we inherit.

So it does require us to say, I am very scared about marketing and sales, but I wanna learn how to do it. So it’s just shifting the mindset from yes, I recognize I have all this fear, and maybe you don’t even know where your fear comes from. Maybe you don’t even know why you shut down, but if there’s another part of you that is curious…

I’m like, I’m curious.

I’m curious why I react this way. I really wish I didn’t. I really wish I had comfort here. I had ease here. I really wish I could have the same feeling of creative flow I have in creating my stories in marketing and sales.

And my challenge is yes, we can, we don’t necessarily know the pathway, and that’s the challenge of being a creative who wants to be selling their creative stuff or selling their services that relate to being creative. Is finding a way that’s in alignment with us and maybe it’s small. Maybe we start really small and we start to get comfortable with all the bits and pieces and parts and ways of doing things.

So yeah, start small. Be gentle with yourself and be curious.

EZRA BARANY: I love that. And so it sounds like you’re saying that, and would you agree with this?

[11:02] Finding Enjoyable Marketing Strategies

EZRA BARANY: That there are multiple ways of marketing and some of which creatives might actually enjoy.

BETH BARANY: Absolutely. When I’ve taught writers marketing tools often related to social media, people would cringe around the social media. And then I would say, What do you like to do? And this one author said to me, I love going to bookstores and doing book talks, and going to schools and doing my talks there.

I’m like, that’s great. Forget the social media, go and do those things. And as soon as I said that, her whole demeanor changed. She got super excited. She’s like, Ooh, I know what to do and who to call and who to talk to and how to prepare. She knew, it was all natural. So do what’s natural to you. Do what you love.

Like you, Ezra, you love making videos, the idea of making images you love, and I just see you light up with that and it’s so wonderful.

And then, here’s the other secret. You don’t have to do everything. You can delegate. You can ask for help. You could do a trade, you could get a group of buddies and do things together.

It’s really important that we come from our strengths and stay in there, stay in our strengths. And actually, I heard someone today say it’s not just your strengths. No, be in your zone of genius.

And I believe there is genius even in how we can market. We may think we have no genius there, but actually we do. It’s just a matter of skills.

[12:26] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

EZRA BARANY: Thank you for sharing with us your wisdom.

BETH BARANY: Thank you. And that’s a wrap.

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

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

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

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

The post What is Creative Entrepreneurship? appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on July 07, 2025 01:45

July 4, 2025

The Critic by Catharine Bramkamp

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

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Encountering the Critic

We have all encountered the Critic.

Of course, good criticism is very beneficial. We need to know how to improve our work and understand if it’s working for the reader.

But it’s too easy for criticism to descend into toxicity.

For the truth is: writers are timid — Critics are confident. Artists are built from doubt — Critics are certain.

Critics love nothing better than to inform you of a typo in your handout or errors in your published book. (In a client’s book set in 1876, a critic pointed out that barbed wire wasn’t invented until 1879.)

The Sensitivity of Creators

Critics can be so righteous and terrifying that sensitive artists will simply stop making anything just to avoid confronting the self-satisfied censor and his negative comments.

We will work over an essay or a painting until holes are worn in the canvas and book chapters lose all color and light because we are so afraid of the Critic, of making a mistake.

That protection comes at a high cost. Our art is at stake, but how can artists cope when the entire internet is crawling with critics? Or Trolls.

My Encounter With the Critic

I was asked to create a class with very little turnaround time. At the class, one of the students arrived and the first thing she announced was she found a typo in the handout, the winner in a contest I didn’t know I had entered.

I thanked her for her effort and asked her to send me a list of the mistakes so I could correct them.

She replied, “Oh, there were just too many to count.”

In other words, she had no intention to help, her goal was to publicly announce that she was right, and I was wrong.

I would like to say that this woman came to some appropriately poetic bad end, but I never saw her after that class.

She was left to her fate, and I to mine.

The Difference Between Doing and Judging

I believe that:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better . . . credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. . .”
[Editor’s note: Quote from Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt]

What I have found is that those who sail, face storms, and risk wrecking their boats on a rocky shore are kinder to their fellow sailors than those who never wiggled their toes in the tide.

When you understand the effort, know what it takes to create, and appreciate how much nerve you need to present your art or speak to a group, you are far more likely to support rather than criticize.

What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be?

And if you are critical just to be right, here is your chance to change.

Do you want to criticize, or do you want to dare greatly?Do you want to find fault or discover marvelous things?Do you want to demoralize, or do you want to inspire?Do you want to experience “the triumph of high achievement? . .”

And if not triumph, would you rather fail big “while daring greatly?”

Daring to Create

When you write, you are daring greatly.

You are doing, not watching.

You are beginning something that no one else has ever dared begin, let alone see through to the end.

Know that often the Critic is more timid and unempowered than we imagine.

They lash out at us because they aren’t doing anything themselves.

The only sure way to avoid mistakes is to stand still and touch nothing, and they know it.

Question the Critic

My upbringing by cautious, fearful people instilled in me a mindset of “don’t dare,” “don’t overdo,” and “don’t make mistakes.”

The worst messages to burden a creative with.

It took me years to overcome all that discouragement.

But I did.

Most days.

We all make mistakes.

I routinely abuse my friends by asking them to volunteer as beta readers for my books.

They always confirm that I want them to circle any typos, grammar, or historical errors. (Or cooking, a friend pointed out a cooking error, no surprise.)

I ‌confirm, hell yes, and thank you.

Once those mistakes are discovered, I turn the entire work over to my brilliant copy editor, who finds more mistakes.

We try, we make mistakes. We hire editors.

When faced with a scary critic (and they have learned to be scary, many are bullies as well), question their legitimacy.

Is the critic a fellow sailor?Has this critic done what you’ve done?Has he or she written a book?Submitted poems?Daily bled onto the page?

Because if not, well. . . .

You Have Already Won

If you create, you have already won.

Your daring and effort guarantee that your “place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

When a person is busy finding your mistakes, they don’t leave time to make their own. That is a terribly cold place to live.

The Man in the Arena – delivered by Theodore Roosevelt

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;
who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails,
at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who neither know victory nor defeat.
— Theodore Roosevelt – The Man in the Arena

Get Involved

I need your help! I’m writing a book on creativity, and I need your input. Please take this short survey, and your story may be featured! Thanks! Due September 1, 2025.

***

Want to read more articles like this one Writer’s Fun Zone? Subscribe here.

***

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.

The post The Critic by Catharine Bramkamp appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on July 04, 2025 03:00

June 30, 2025

Quick Tips for Writing Your Character’s Identity

Quick Tips for Writing Your Character’s Identity – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 159

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“Get to know the people, read the history, talk to the people as people. But not as subjects. You’re not a scientist, you’re a novelist. And being a novelist means getting into the heart and mind of your character and their body too.” – Beth Barany

In this How To Write the Future episode, titled “Quick Tips for Writing Your Character’s Identity,” host Beth Barany invites listeners to watch a quirky and interesting intro about the infinite possibilities you can give to your character’s identity. She emphasizes the importance of understanding diverse perspectives, incorporating personal experiences, and using sensory details to create authentic and relatable characters in fiction.

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

RESOURCES

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/

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 159 Quick Tips for Writing Your Character’s Identity Introduction and Hosts

BETH BARANY: Hey space and Dragon fans. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future Podcast. This is a bit of an unusual podcast where I talk about quick tips for writing your character’s identity.

To get the full benefit, watch this podcast on YouTube. And if you enjoy it, please like and subscribe, and share it with a friend or two who would enjoy this wonderful trippy world of being a creative writer.

Enjoy.

Infinite possibilities.

BETH BARANY: When I was a freshman in college, I could stand in my dorm room and look at the mirror on one wall, and behind me was the mirror on the other wall, and this is what I essentially saw. But with my face, of course.

So, yeah, I was, um, staring into the abyss, and honestly, it felt like my first psychedelic experience, even though I have never taken drugs.

BETH BARANY 2: Wait a minute, didn’t you like take a puff of pot once?

BETH BARANY: Uh, barely.

BETH BARANY 2: Yeah. So tell me more about this mirror experience.

BETH BARANY: Um, well, I was 18 years old, you know, freshman at college, away from home. And some kind of understanding happened. It was like I looked into some kind of crazy, some kind of loss of self, loss of identity, loss of everything I understood.

BETH BARANY 2: Wow, that must’ve been disorienting.

BETH BARANY: Yeah, totally, totally disorienting. Totally. Don’t look at me like that.

BETH BARANY 2: Like what?

BETH BARANY: Um, like, like, you get me, like you understand.

BETH BARANY 2: You know what? I, I totally understand. I mean, come on. I’m, I’m a novelist. We novelists, we go all kinds of places.

BETH BARANY: Oh, thanks for understanding. So, what is this podcast really about? Uh, let’s see.

Yeah. Hey, everyone. What is this podcast really about? I think it’s about identity.

Being a writer allows us to go into all kinds of identities, all kinds. What does this mean?

In the age of cultural sensitivity, this means if you are writing from another culture’s perspective, really get to know it. Get to know the people, read the history, talk to the people as people. But not as subjects. You’re not a scientist, you’re a novelist. And being a novelist means getting into the heart and mind of your character and their body too, but I dunno what to say here.

BETH BARANY 2: That’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.

[03:19] Setting the Scene

BETH BARANY: Switching gears now. Coming to you from a local wine bar.

It reminds me of Paris.

[03:25] Personal Connection to Paris and French Language

I lived in Paris twice and I learned French when I was 16. French is a more emotional language than English in my opinion. Therefore, speaking French brings out this more emotional part of me. And maybe that’s why I also include lots of, allusions to French language in my fiction because it allows me to connect to that more emotional part of me.

[03:52] Incorporating Personal Experiences into Fiction

Now, when you think of different locations that you loved and you bring them into your fiction, you are bringing those parts of you, you could say those parts of your identity, into your fiction.

Have you ever had the experience of watching a TV show or a film or reading a book where you feel completely like you’re the other person?

It’s hard to say exactly what caused that in you, but as a writer, you can learn how to be more intentional and help your readers step into that other identity.

[04:27] Understanding and Creating Character Identities

And part of that comes from you creating the associations that go along with your character, how they feel about their setting, how they feel about the people around them, their attitudes, their beliefs.

All these things go to form our identities.

Now, do we have multiple identities? We probably have a core identity that is steady throughout our lives, but that evolves and changes and grows. But you might be able to find threads of it or like the core of it from when you were a child.

And now, as you write that part of you that is indelibly you is probably throughout all the stories that you write, but the characters that you create can reflect different beliefs and worldviews that are going to convey a completely different identity.

What’s amazing about being human is we actually can sense into this, into other people, and this allows us to convey it in our art.

[05:32] Invitation to Explore Different Identities

So here’s my invitation to you. Go ahead and pretend to be somebody else. Oh, wait, you probably already do that as a novelist.

But really puts some attention on what is their attitude and belief and worldview, and how can you convey that through how they talk and move about their environment, how they think about their environment.

[05:57] Sensory Details and Their Impact on Writing

I’m gonna be in Paris by the time you listen to this episode, and when I’m there I notice I am more into the sensory details of life, more sensual, just in the basic food and drink way. French love their food and drink, so when I’m there, I get to really enjoy it, maybe even more than I do when I’m back home in the United States.

So all that to say, where do you feel the most alive?

What sensory details can you bring into your character’s perspective that really bring their worldview, their attitude, and beliefs alive?

[06:35] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Alright, that’s it for this week, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this different episode.

Let me know in the comments what you think of it, and 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

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

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 June 30, 2025 06:32

June 27, 2025

Tiny Experiments: A Review and Interview with Anne-Laure Le Cunff by LA Bourgeois

Let’s welcome back LA Bourgeois as she shares with us “Tiny Experiments: A Review and Interview with Anne-Laure Le Cunff.” Enjoy!

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Books for Thriving Creatives in 2025

During 2025, we’re reading Books for Thriving Creatives , and LA Bourgeois reviews them for us! Chosen texts covered integrating humor into your writing , reframing your money mindset , choosing your life purpose , and the writing business . Have a suggestion for a book to read or want to go deeper? Join her at The Thriving Creative for bonus content!

Meet Anne-Laure Le Cunff: Author and Founder of Ness Labs

As a child, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, author of Tiny Experiments and founder of Ness Labs, dreamed of a life filled with curiosity and adventure.

“I wanted to be so many things: a paleontologist, a fantasy writer, a veterinarian, a politician,” she said. “I even imagined doing steeplechase.”

Tiny Experiments: What it is

That theme carries through Tiny Experiments as Le Cunff encourages the reader to set aside the idea of linear goals and instead focus on growth loops, creating experiments from our curiosities whose results can be tracked and used to form the next steps.

As she says, “We don’t go in circles; we grow in circles.”

Creating Your Pact With Small Stakes

Experiments begin with creating a pact, a simple phrase that states “I will [action] for [duration].”

By keeping the stakes small, a person frees themselves to learn more about their project and make progress toward a finish.

Le Cunff says, “It’s almost impossible to fail when you see everything as an experiment.”

Reframing Progress and Decisions

The evaluation process is as important as the pact itself.

Le Cunff reframes many of the usual tools to track progress as useless and suggests alternatives.

For example, she reveals the fallacy of the pros-and-cons list in a surprising way, saying, “Such lists can provide plausible-sounding but hollow reasons to pursue choices that do not reflect your authentic needs and desires.”

Instead, she recommends practicing decision framing, a technique that expands your view to include both external information and internal instincts to inform the final choice.

As an example, in deciding to write your next story, you would consider not just the external possibilities of saleability and technique improvement, but also the pleasure of writing a story that speaks to your heart.

Practical Tools for Result Tracking

This book describes a process that is easy to follow with tools that make your experiments repeatable.

For instance, during your experiments, she encourages you to take “Field Notes,” quick notations of reactions or ideas, to track the results of the current project.

Outcome is Not Important: Focus on Action

And the best part is that your focus remains on your actions instead of outside metrics to evaluate, ie. choose to say “I will write for fifteen minutes every day-ish” rather than “I will publish my book this year.”

This one change releases you from the tyranny of external “success.” Rather, every completed tiny experiment is a closed loop, a project that you can point to and say, “Finished! Success!”

As Le Cunff says, “Success is the lifelong experiment of discovering what makes you feel most alive.”

By following the techniques and tools described in Tiny Experiments, you may find yourself surprised at exactly what that thing that makes you feel the most alive turns out to be.

A Conversation with Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Le Cunff’s curiosity and playfulness shone through every interaction I had with her.

Enjoy our short interview where she shared her inspiration for Tiny Experiments, the most effective tool in the book, and what being a thriving creative means to her.

What specific event prompted you to begin Ness Labs?

I hit a point in my career where I felt completely lost. So I went back to the drawing board and asked myself: What am I genuinely curious about? I had always been fascinated by the brain and how we think, feel, and experience the world, so I decided to retrain as a neuroscientist.

To make sense of what I was learning, I started a weekly newsletter. That newsletter became the seed that grew into Ness Labs: a learning community, a series of courses, and a book.

How did you decide to focus on tiny experiments for this book?

As I reflected on all the research, writing, and teaching I’d done, I noticed a unifying thread: the value of trying things out and learning from them.

The idea of experimentation kept surfacing.

Tiny experiments take the pressure off while encouraging sense-making.

That’s how the concept emerged as the heart of the book: a more liberating approach to ambition and personal growth.

Many of my readers struggle with uncertainty. What do you consider the magic of the liminal space?

Liminal spaces are deeply uncomfortable, so we normally want out as fast as possible.

But they’re also where the most profound growth can happen. If we can resist the urge to escape and instead stay with the uncertainty, we open ourselves to transformation.

These in-between moments, though unclear, can become powerful turning points if we let them.

Which tool from Tiny Experiments do you consider the most powerful, and why?

The most powerful tool is the Plus Minus Next review.

It’s simple, but transformative. You look at what worked (+), what didn’t (–), and what you want to try next (→).

It helps you celebrate wins, face failures with self-compassion, and maintain momentum, creating ongoing cycles of learning and iteration, which I call growth loops.

How do you define a Thriving Creative?

Someone who’s always willing to experiment, learn from each trial, and iterate.

Not with the certainty of knowing what success will look like, but with the confidence that they’ll figure out their version of success.

Grab a copy of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World by Anne-Laure Le Cunff at your favorite indie bookshop, library, or online .

Our next Book for Thriving Creatives is perfect for the height of the summer heat! How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell encourages and teaches us how to reframe our lives to drop out of the cycle of 24/7 productivity and the trap of addictive technology designed to obtain and sell our attention. Join me for what I hope is a freeling meditation on our real value in this world. You can pick up this book online , at your favorite bookstore or at the library.

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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.

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Published on June 27, 2025 03:00

June 24, 2025

3 Copyright Myths by Kelley Way

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Kelley Way as she shares with us “3 Copyright Myths.” Enjoy!

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There are many misconceptions about copyright law, and there are a lot of copyright myths out there about how they work. Here are just a few that have been floating around for a while:

1. I can get a copyright by mailing a copy of my work to myself

This is one of the copyright myths I hear a lot about, and it is referred to as “the poor man’s copyright.”

This myth has been floating around for quite some time. But there is no basis to it under copyright law.

Under the current Copyright Act, you have a copyright as soon as your work is down on paper (or typed up, or otherwise “fixed” so other people can look at it).

Registration is beneficial, but it’s not required to actually have a copyright (another commonly held myth). So, the myth is busted — mailing a copy to yourself does not provide any legal benefit.

That said, if you need to prove that your work existed at a certain time in a specific format (e.g. you’re being sued for infringement and need to show your work predated the one you’re accused of infringing), then an unopened, mailed envelope containing your manuscript can prove useful.

2. It’s okay to use someone else’s work as long as I give credit

This one comes up frequently when I give presentations on copyright law.

People think that, as long as they cite their source, they don’t have to get permission.

Unfortunately, that’s not true.

They are confusing copyright infringement with plagiarism.

Plagiarism is taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as your own. Plagiarism is not punishable by law, though it can hurt your reputation and have serious repercussions if you’re in academia.

Copyright infringement is using someone’s work without permission — whether or not credit was given is irrelevant.

So, does that mean you shouldn’t cite your sources?

There are pros and cons either way, but I believe citing your sources is the better way to go from an ethical perspective.

Just bear in mind that you still need permission or a good fair-use argument to proceed.

3. I can revoke a license or terminate a contract anytime I want

It would be nice if this were true, but unfortunately, it is not.

If you signed a formal contract, you are bound by the terms of that contract, and you can only terminate it if the contract says you can.

If the license was not part of a formal contract, you have a bit more leeway, but you are still limited by laws regarding licenses and contracts, and the licensee also has some rights if they started using the copyright before you terminated the license.

I always recommend putting an agreement in writing, and making sure there’s an “out” clause if you become unhappy with the arrangement down the road.

Conclusion and About the Author

These are just a few of the copyright myths floating around. If you have questions about copyright law, or just want to make sure you understand it enough to stay out of trouble, you are welcome to email me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English, followed by a Juris Doctorate. Kelley is a member of the California Bar, and an aspiring writer of young adult fantasy novels. More information at kawaylaw.com.

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Published on June 24, 2025 03:00

June 23, 2025

Writing Science Fiction for Social Impact

Quote from Beth Barany from Writing Science Fiction for Social Impact

Writing Science Fiction for Social Impact – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 158

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“What would it look like if we did take care of everyone?” – Beth Barany

In this episode of “How To Write the Future” podcast, authors and writing teachers, Beth Barany and her husband Ezra Barany, explore how speculative fiction can highlight social issues. They discuss strategies for crafting compelling stories that inspire social change without being preachy, while emphasizing the importance of world-building and creating positive narratives.

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

RESOURCES

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/

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

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 EZRA BARANY

Ezra Barany loves riveting readers with thrillers, but by order of the Department of Motor Vehicles he must place a warning on every book cover, “Do not read while driving.” His first two books in The Torah Codes series were award-winning international bestsellers. The second two books in the 4-book series wowed readers too! In his free time, he has eye-opening discussions on the art of writing novels with his wife and book coach Beth Barany. A high school physics teacher, Ezra lives in Oakland with his beloved wife and two cats working on the next book in The Torah Codes series. Ezra, not the cats. For a free short story in The Torah Codes series, “The Mourner’s Kaddish,” do please go to http://www.thetorahcodes.com/.

Transcript for episode 158 Writing Science Fiction for Social Impact Introduction and Hosts

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone. Beth Barany here for How to Write The Future Podcast. I am your host, and today with me I have my husband, Ezra Barany. We are both writers. I am a creativity coach for writers and an award-winning novelist in science fiction and fantasy. And I help writers go from seedling of an idea all the way to publication and my specialty is science fiction and fantasy.

[00:25] The Power of Speculative Fiction

BETH BARANY: Today we’re gonna talk about writing speculative fiction for social change. Ezra’s got some great questions for me, and if you have a question, be sure to ask it in the comments at how to write the future.com or tag me on social media.

If you would like more support around your world building for your science fiction or fantasy novel, be sure to stay to the end and I’ll tell you how to get some more help.

All right. That’s it. Yeah. Take it away Ezra.

EZRA BARANY: Great. So you know how like most politicians, they get up out of bed and they say, today, I want to emulate Wally because that’s, that’s who they want to be.

[01:09] Influence of Science Fiction on Society

EZRA BARANY: How can these science fiction and fantasy narratives rewrite, effectively influence policy makers and social movements?

BETH BARANY: Like Wally? like Wally? Uh, I, I don’t, I don’t know if the message got across exactly. I honestly don’t know except only in retrospect do we see science fiction and fantasy stories, especially science fiction, having an impact. And Star Trek. Star Trek’s the best example.

EZRA BARANY: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: People who watch Star Trek as children and then later on became scientists and tech folks. And, they talk about how, what was shown on the screen there drove them. They’re like, ah, I wanna make a tri-quarter. Oh my gosh, transporter. How could that work? Warp speed. How could that work? We don’t know when we create it.

When they were creating the show, they were saying, let’s change society. Let’s make a Western in space. Yeah.

EZRA BARANY: Great. That actually does lead into the next question.

[02:08] Using Speculative Fiction to Address Social Issues

EZRA BARANY: How can writers effectively use speculative fiction to highlight current social issues?

BETH BARANY: Yes.

EZRA BARANY: Because what you were talking about was more tech stuff.

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

EZRA BARANY: But now talking about social issues.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. Oh my gosh.

EZRA BARANY: Current ones.

BETH BARANY: Current. Yeah. Science fiction is great for this. In fact, I would say that science fiction is a wonderful lens to use to highlight social issues.

And coming back to Star Trek, just ’cause it’s so handy, you know there’s an interracial kiss in the story. We have a black woman played by Nichelle, Nichelle Nichols. She is not a maid or a singer or someone’s girlfriend. She has a full on role in the show.

So the values of the creator, Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek and many people have taken those ideas and brought them forward into the current franchise. So, he had values where all people are included, all people have value. Let’s put people of, all kinds of people, so you have characters who weren’t being portrayed in the media as having full roles with interesting things to do and say, and had an active role in the plot. And here Gene Roddenberry put them in these active roles.

That’s so awesome.

EZRA BARANY: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: So.

EZRA BARANY: Well there was one episode where there are two people, so there’s one whose on right side of their face was white, their left side of the face was black and they were calling the other people lower class or not worthy because they were black on the right hand side and white on the left hand side.

And it really brought out the social justice issue of the time.

BETH BARANY: Yeah, absolutely. And, one of Elizabeth Moon’s books has the technology of longevity, and I’m actually playing with this as well, in my upcoming story. But what happens when you have a society where people can live longer and longer, and so people are staying in power who are older and older. That creates a problem for the younger generation. When do they get to take the reins of power? And now you’ve got some older ideas, enmeshed ideas that don’t get to cycle out and no room for new ideas, new people, and new ideas. Elizabeth Moon is a contemporary writer and she’s been writing about these, one of those, that issue, I think those books came out in the eighties.

We still have that problem, right? Of older leaders in the world not making room for new, younger generation. And I know you wrote a story about a society where everyone was expected to wear beige clothing and then one woman wanted to express her individuality by painting and bringing in bright colors and how that was…

EZRA BARANY: Taboo.

BETH BARANY: That was taboo. So that’s a great commentary. If everyone is only supposed to be dressing the same, acting the same, then where’s the room for individuality?

[05:01] World Building for Social Change

EZRA BARANY: And that kinda leads into the next question, which is how does world building contribute to drive social change?

BETH BARANY: Huge. There’s a famous book called Utopia, written back in the 16th century, and that really started the movement around people thinking about utopias and writing about them and trying to create them in real life. And this is also a theme that I realized I’m trying to build a utopia on one of my space stations in my current work in progress, the next Janey novel.

And knowing that, it was like, oh, okay, I’m gonna have a builder who had this aspiration, and then we get to see how it plays out. By the time my main character’s there, it’ll be 70 years plus from the origin of that station. So she gets to see, oh, this was built with all these values to have kind of a utopia, but here’s what’s actually working or not working.

So knowing the broader, I guess, worldview of the people who create the societies that you’re building for your story is gonna help you understand, knowing why was a community created and then how, what are the consequences of that in real time for your main character.

EZRA BARANY: Going back to my story, it was all about gender neutrality, and so there were colors that were too feminine and colors that were too masculine. And so they said, you know what? Let’s just everyone wear beige so that everyone’s equal. And this woman just wanted to express herself in her femininity and used colors in her paintings and the like. So that defined the direction of what this character was going through, and the results and challenges of such a world.

BETH BARANY: And that also brought up the social issue of conformity versus non-conformity. Group versus individual. Yeah. Really great topics, and I just wanna say, science fiction is a great place to explore the social issues and to push the boundaries of what we could be.

And I know a lot of people write dystopia. And a lot of people wanna watch dystopia, but my premise is: why don’t we also use our imagination to imagine the better parts of humanity? What would it look like if we did take care of everyone? What would it look like if instead of gender neutrality, what if all flavors could exist? What if,simply put, what if male and female colors, well, that didn’t exist? And people are people.

What are the ramifications and how do people handle that? And of course, you’re gonna still have conflict because I think conflict is just part of life. But science fiction allows us to, especially science fiction, but fantasy can do this too, to explore different dynamics, different power dynamics, different group dynamics, and different ways of parceling out the goods that we all need to survive.

EZRA BARANY: Nice. Last question.

[07:49] Strategies for Non-Preachy Social Messages

EZRA BARANY: So what strategies can writers use to make their social messages resonate without being preachy?

BETH BARANY: Yes. So this is something that you and I have talked about this great technique of thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Maybe in your story you wanna bring in this idea of gender equality.

Let’s just pull something outta the air that is also happening around us. So maybe your main character thinks that the way the genders are treated is just fine, but maybe you have another character in your story who’s advocating for gender equality, that doesn’t quite exist in your story world.

Now you put these two characters together, one who thinks it’s just fine, and the other who’s like advocating for change. You put them together, and you create a reason why they have to be together. Yes. I am thinking of romance. Because this is often done in romance where you create a way that the two love interests have to be together. They have to solve an external problem and in the process learn each other’s perspective, and by the end, maybe they come to a nuanced understanding.

It’s not all black or it’s not all white, but there’s actually a nuanced understanding and that’s what the synthesis is.

You want to give your character a point of view and you want to give characters around them other points of view. And it might not just be two, it might be three or four or five different points of view on the topic. And then you want to make your central challenge in the story deal with that issue so that everyone gets to chime in.

And it’s not a simple issue that’s being dealt with in the story. And that by the end, you have your protagonist, ideally who has gone through some kind of transformation, and also the secondary character, if you are doing a romance, it’s great if both characters get to have a transformation.

So now you’ve taken this idea of the way things should be, and now it’s not the way things should be, it’s a lived experience for your character from A to Z and same for your secondary characters and tertiary characters even. And maybe the society or environment or town. Everybody gets an opportunity to shift and grow and transform in some way.

And now it’s not an idea. It’s a lived experience that has real consequences for your characters and for their surrounds and their environment.

EZRA BARANY: There was one book I wrote that was asking the question that perhaps the main character was wondering, he might have asked himself: What do women want?

And throughout the book there were women of different wants and different goals and different desires. And so at the end he has this conclusion. And originally I had three pages where he reflects on everything he experienced and learned from it, and I realized that was preachy, so I cut it down to just two sentences or three sentences, something like that.

And, I remember getting a review saying, oh, thank goodness you came to this conclusion without just shoving it down readers’ throats. And it just said it simply. yeah, it’s good to..

BETH BARANY: That’s great.

EZRA BARANY: Do it that way.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. So one or two sentences where they realize, oh, I used to think this but now I realize that.Or even just the realization and if it comes out as very natural and in their natural thoughts or in dialogue is actually better, that, that’s so powerful.

EZRA BARANY: That’s great.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. Good, good.

[11:01] Conclusion and Call to Action

BETH BARANY: If you would like more support around writing your speculative fiction, science fiction, or fantasy, or some wonderful mashup of that, and especially help with your world building, then be sure to check out our World Building Workbook for fiction writers. It’s a PDF that will help you work through, it’s a workbook, all the different aspects of your story world. And if you have any questions, be sure to contact me at Beth Barany on any of the social channels or you can write me at how to write the future.com.

You can even leave me a voicemail. Which no one has done yet, so be the first.

EZRA BARANY: This is the finger wagging moment.

BETH BARANY: The finger wagging moment. This is episode 158 and no one has left me a 30 to 60 second voice message. You could be the first.

EZRA BARANY: Yay.

BETH BARANY: Yay. Alright. This has been fun. We’ve done three episodes in this little series. Ezra and I. I’ll have to have him back for another series at some later date, or if you have a special topic for him, we can put him in the hot seat and have him do an episode.

EZRA BARANY: Let me just..

BETH BARANY: Yes.

EZRA BARANY: What can people get? The first person who sends a voice message what’s, what will you commit to right now as a free gift?

BETH BARANY: You can get if you leave me, oh, that’s really great, incentive.

Incentive. If you leave me a voice message through how to write the future.com and you’re the first person you get to have any book of your choice from my catalog.

EZRA BARANY: Sweet

BETH BARANY: Or Ezra’s catalog. And either digital or signed, we will ship it to you ’cause I love to do that.

EZRA BARANY: That’s fun.

BETH BARANY: With a bookmark, ’cause we have bookmarks first.

EZRA BARANY: You’re welcome.

BETH BARANY: You’re welcome. Ezra, oh my God, oh my God. Alright, this episode is long enough. Do you wanna say our line that we say at the end?

EZRA BARANY: Happy birthday.

BETH BARANY: That’s not it.

EZRA BARANY: That’s, that’s, no, you do it because you’re the best.

BETH BARANY: Oh, okay. I’m the best. All right. In honor of Star Trek and something that I say at the end of every episode. 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

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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

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

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 June 23, 2025 05:09

June 20, 2025

A Novice Writer’s Battle: Why Writing Isn’t Meant to Be Easy by Iman Llompart

Let’s welcome back Iman Llompart as she shares with us “A Novice Writer’s Battle: Why Writing Isn’t Meant to Be Easy” Enjoy!

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Drowning in Knowledge, Yet Still Anxious

I’ve attended and watched countless writing workshops and classes: Show vs. Tell, How to Get Out of Your Own Way, 5 Steps to Edit Your Book, 5 Ways to Create a Unique and Compelling Backstory; the list goes on. You’d think that after absorbing all this knowledge, I wouldn’t feel a surge of anxiety every time the blinking cursor stares back at me.

The Overthinker’s Trap

There’s so much information out there that it can feel limitless. And when you’re a natural overthinker, it’s hard to figure out how to apply analytical solutions to something as fluid and intuitive as creativity. Like trying to force opposite magnets together, it just doesn’t connect.

Yes, analytical thinking has its place, especially in editing, but when there’s no clear blueprint for getting from point A to point Z, it’s easy to lose your inner voice. The one that instinctively knows what needs to come next.

The Relief of Realization

Then, one day while sifting through the internet, I stumbled across something that made me pause, and exhale.

Writing isn’t meant to be easy.

I’d suspected that. It never felt easy for me. But another quote popped up that really hit me: “If you’re having fun while writing, you’re doing it wrong.”

Isn’t Writing Supposed to Be Fun?

I always thought it was supposed to be fun. I’ve heard bestselling authors talk about how much they enjoy the process, so I just assumed that would be the case for me too.

Hard? Sure. But fun, wasn’t that the reward?

Reading that line gave me unexpected relief. Because honestly? I wasn’t having fun. Not all the time. Yes, there are moments of excitement, joy, even thrill, but a lot of it is uncomfortable. And now I understood why.

Complexity Is the Goal

Writing isn’t meant to be easy because it’s full of contradictions. It forces you to think, to examine, to wrestle with ideas that don’t always want to cooperate. That kind of mental and emotional effort reveals complexity, and with complexity comes challenge.

The Emotional Toll of Honesty

If you want to write something honest, something that resonates, you have to dig deep. Into your characters, yes, but especially into yourself. That kind of vulnerability isn’t just risky. It can be painful. Cathartic later, sure,but in the moment? It can feel like exposing wounds you didn’t know were still open.

But here’s the beautiful part: as your characters grow, you grow with them. If you’re not evolving through the writing process, maybe you’re not doing it right.

Effort Doesn’t Equal Failure

We tend to believe that if something is easy, it means we’re doing well. That we’re on the right path. But with writing, it’s the opposite. The effort is what makes it meaningful. The struggle is what creates depth.

Let It Simmer

You can’t rush a book. You can’t force connections that aren’t there yet. It has to marinate in your mind, slowly, and intentionally, until all the pieces come together. When you rush it, you end up with scattered moments instead of a cohesive story.

The Shift from Fun to Fulfillment

When you first thought of your book idea, did you think: This will be fun to write?
That’s how I started, too.

But now, I’m more intentional.

I begin with the understanding that this will take time. That the flow won’t always be there. That effort will be required.

Because nothing worth having is meant to be easy.
And this? This is worth it.

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About The Author

Iman Llompart is a Spanish American writer based in Dubai, raised in Mexico, and currently navigating the final stages of the rough draft of an epic fantasy romance novel. Passionate about storytelling and the writing process, Iman understands the struggles that many novice writers face—the self-doubt, the isolation, and the challenge of completing a book. Through blog posts, insights, and personal experiences, Iman seeks to remind fellow writers that they are not alone on this journey.

When not writing, Iman enjoys reading, deep-diving into writing sessions and lessons, and watching book-based shows and movies. Occasionally, she also braves the unpredictable world of dating—an adventure that sometimes feels more daunting than crafting an entire novel. With a love for words and a mission to inspire, Iman hopes to one day share her finished manuscript and continue helping others through the power of storytelling.

Instagram @imanllompart • Instagram photos and videos

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Published on June 20, 2025 03:00

June 17, 2025

Habits of Mind Overview by Bailey Lang

Today we welcome a new guest writer to Writer’s Fun Zone, Bailey Lang who is stopping by to chat with us about “Habits of Mind Overview.” Enjoy!

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By now, we’ve all heard enough about writing habits that we could probably recite the advice in our sleep — write every day, build a consistent schedule, and free-write if we’re feeling stuck.

A lot of it is good advice, but a lot of it also tends to miss a crucial component.

We’re going to talk about that component over the next few months. We’re going to talk about habits of mind.

When we think of a writing habit, we typically think of an external activity, like sitting down to write in the morning.

We might experience an internal cue (or a phone alarm with a reminder) and the glow of having completed a habit loop, but most of our attention is on the star of the show: the habit.

Habits of mind are different, but they are crucially important for building and maintaining a writing practice. I should know: I wrote my whole dissertation on habits of mind, and there’s an extensive body of research demonstrating their importance to writing.

What is a Habit of Mind?

Before we get into all that, though, what exactly is a “habit of mind”?

Unlike what we typically think of when we think about habits — external activities — a habit of mind is a thinking practice.

Habits of mind are a way of engaging with a pursuit (like writing!) that blends the intellectual and the practical.

You can think of the habits of mind as both foundation and scaffolding for the writing practice you’re trying to build.

All the writing activities you do will be shaped, first and foremost, by what’s going on with your mental habits.

How you think determines what you do and how well it goes.

As writers, we benefit from attending to our habits of mind as much as our external writing habits.

Focusing on the habits of mind enables us to:Improve our craftStrengthen our critical thinking skillsAssess and improve our writing practicesEnhance our ability to analyze writing (our own and others’)Deepen our knowledge of genre conventions and other features of writing

That’s not too shabby!

Plus, in an era where research into generative AI is already showing detrimental effects on users’ critical thinking skills, fortifying our habits of mind is one way to fight over-reliance on machine-based writing practices.

We’ll return to this theme throughout the series as we explore how our habits of mind can keep us rooted in and creating from uniquely human perspectives.

What are the Best Habits of Mind for Writers?

With writing, we can get granular about what habits of mind to focus on. Research produced by the Council of Writing Program Administrators, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Writing Project identified eight core habits of mind that are central to successful writing.

Although these organizations focus primarily on college writing, habits of mind matter far beyond the classroom.

My research into habits of mind — an archival study of women’s non-academic writing practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — bears this out, as traces of these mental habits appear in their diaries, letters, and other documents.

Our habits of mind show up at school, at work, in our creative practices, and throughout our lives.

Whether you’re a first-year college student writing an essay or a seasoned novelist working on an epic fantasy series, your habits of mind are part of the picture.

What habits of mind should writers focus on?Curiosity — The desire to know more about the world.Openness — The willingness to consider new ways of being and thinking in the world.Engagement — A sense of investment and involvement in learning.Creativity — The ability to use novel approaches for generating, investigating, and representing ideas.Persistence — The ability to sustain interest in and attention to short- and long-term projects.Responsibility — The ability to take ownership of one’s actions and understand the consequences of those actions for oneself and others.Flexibility — The ability to adapt to situations, expectations, or demands.Metacognition — The ability to reflect on one’s thinking as well as on the individual and cultural processes used to structure knowledge.Coming up

These definitions come from the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing, and they’ll guide the upcoming posts, where we’ll dig into each habit of mind in turn.

In each post, we’ll explore one habit of mind in depth — what it means for writers, how it might show up in your writing practice, why it matters, and a practical exercise or two to kick-start your new habits.

I’ll also include reading recommendations, links to resources, and more.

Reading RecommendationsThe Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing — Learn about the habits of mind we’ll discuss over the next eight posts.Nowhere is Straight Work More Effective: Women’s Participation in Self-Culture — If you really want to earn your nerd bona fides, you can read my dissertation! Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg and Atomic Habits by James Clear — Two books to read for when your external habits need a bit of a boost. (Affiliate links)AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking — Research into how reliance on generative AI is affecting critical thinking has already begun, and the picture isn’t pretty.

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About the Author

Dr. Bailey Lang is a book coach, writer, and editor. At The Writing Desk, they help 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.

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Published on June 17, 2025 03:00

June 16, 2025

How to Craft AI and Robot Characters in Your Fiction

How to Craft AI and Robot Characters in Your Fiction – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 157

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“So I haven’t yet pulled in any ethical or moral dilemmas that would be interesting, maybe in a future story.” – Beth Barany

In “How to Craft AI and Robot Characters in Your Fiction,” Beth Barany discusses how to create compelling AI and robot characters with unique traits to engage readers. She is joined by her husband, Ezra Barany, also an author and writing teacher, and together they share the benefits of joining their mastermind program for science fiction and fantasy writers.

Content Warning: brief mention of suicide

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

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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 EZRA BARANY

Transcript for episode 157 – AI and Robot Characters in FictionIntroduction and Hosts

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone. Welcome back to, or welcome to How to Write the Future. I’m your host Beth Barany, and next to me.

EZRA BARANY: I am Ezra Barany

BETH BARANY: Is my husband, Ezra Barany. We are both writers. I’m a creativity coach for writers and editor, and Ezra and I teach science fiction and fantasy writers how to take their manuscript to publication. I’ll tell you a little bit more about that later.

[00:25] Today’s Topic: AI and Robot Characters

BETH BARANY: Today, we have a special topic for you on AI and robot characters in fiction. We did a poll recently, and this was one of the most favorite topics chosen. So Ezra’s gonna ask me questions, I’m gonna answer them, and stay tuned to a little bit more about how we work with writers.

We’ll talk to you about that at the end. All right, Ezra, take it away.

[00:46] Creating Compelling Robot Characters

EZRA BARANY: Great, so the first question is you know how you wake up and you find out you’re a robot, and then you’re like, I really want to tell my story as a robot. How can you, now that you’re a robot, convey that experience in a compelling way?

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

EZRA BARANY: Are robots compelling? Are AI characters compelling? How can you do that?

BETH BARANY: Yeah, what a great question. So I read a novel recently that did this beautifully. It’s called Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter. Oh my God. It was so amazing. So the main character is a robot. The entire story is told from this automaton, this robot’s perspective. And what she did so beautifully is she gave this robot character feelings, a goal, a very clear goal, very clear conflicts impeding that goal, the ability to learn, and the ability to notice how they were different from the other robots around them.

And so their goal competed, their personal goal, like they had a programming that seemed to compete with some stuff happening around them, which created the amazing conflicts in the story. And because they also had the ability to learn when they got new information that contradicted the old information,then the character had room to grow and make choices and change.

The robot had many of the characteristics that we humans have -to learn, grow, and change, and to have a goal and to have agency to deal with the conflicts. Designing a robot character is no different than designing a human character, in my opinion.

Except with a robot, you’re gonna have probably very strict programming that is gonna be explicit usually to, to the robot themselves.

So that’s my guess. And that seems to be how this author did it.

EZRA BARANY: Very cool.

BETH BARANY: I also wanna bring up another example, which is in, they did it in the Han Solo movie in, Star Wars.

EZRA BARANY: Uhhuh.

BETH BARANY: And it’s also in the Andor series as well where the robots get to have more of a voice. They want things, and that puts them in conflict with other people. Uh, and, and now we have a character who may be very good, like way better than a human ever could be at certain things, but they still have individual agency and individual desires.

And I think that’s what makes these robots really interesting.

EZRA BARANY: Hmm, That’s wonderful.

[03:11] Unique Traits of AI Characters

EZRA BARANY: What makes an AI character feel more authentic instead of like just a human shaped being with mechanical parts? Unique traits and contradictions?

BETH BARANY: Yeah. Oh, okay. I didn’t really talk about the unique traits. So yeah. One of the things that makes an AI character, which we can differentiate from a robot, I’d like to talk about AI versus robot in a second.

EZRA BARANY: mmm, okay.

BETH BARANY: But having unique traits. I’m thinking of this robot in Han Solo. She wanted her individual rights and she did some things that made her stand out oh, there’s some robots in The Clone wars.

Roger, Roger.

EZRA BARANY: mm-hmm.

BETH BARANY: And say, right, and, and like, they all seem the same, but what makes the robot I’m thinking of, and I wish I could remember her name in Han Solo, is that she has a unique voice. She speaks differently than, she’s not just saying, being a robot, we call it, you know, think of C3PO.

And C3POs had a personality. Now we didn’t get to know other droids, like C3PO in Star Wars, but C3PO had such a certain kind of humanity, a certain attitude.

So what is gonna make your robot unique is gonna be attitude, the way they respond and interact. Maybe they do some things that humans find unusual.

Maybe they have a certain programming, certain protocols that are going to surprise the humans, and so surprise us. That’s one of the things that also make us remember these creatures, these creatures, these robots.

EZRA BARANY: Yeah. That’s really good. And I love that advice of surprise. ‘Cause I, I did write up a, an AI robot character in one of my stories and she was just supposed to do the chores and do all the household tasks. But she became so sad with the way she was treated, that she wrote a poem about her sadness expressing herself, and she took her own life, so to speak, and that shocked the owner, if we can call him that, ’cause he was completely oblivious to what she was feeling.

BETH BARANY: So she had feelings and she had yearnings then that, that were in addition to her programming.

EZRA BARANY: Mm-hmm.

BETH BARANY: So whoever created the robot must have put in the ability for her to evolve in that way. If she wasn’t already programmed in that way. I don’t know how you did that.

EZRA BARANY: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: How you decided that.

EZRA BARANY: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: What happens if you give a robot the ability to have feelings? I know some people have written stories like that and then what? There’s a lot of unpredictability about that, just like in humans.

So what if the robot’s feelings goes against their initial programming then what? Actually I read a fabulous series. You’re told that the main character is a robot. But she is way more complex than that. It’s like she doesn’t really know who she is. Except she knows that she is not alive. Okay, here we go.

EZRA BARANY: Astra

BETH BARANY: Astra Idari. This is one of the books, Beyond the Reach. I think this is the latest book and the author is Darby Harn. And what’s so wonderful about this series is the character starts off thinking that she is a robot and, but one of the biggest challenges that she’s facing is that her memory is somehow full. So every night she gets downloaded into the ship, she’s part of the ship, or she’s in communication with the ship. And so she doesn’t know what she’s forgotten and she doesn’t know how many times she’s learned something and it causes all kinds of interesting problems for her.

And that’s just one of the many intriguing things about this character

EZRA BARANY: That’s very cool

BETH BARANY: Very, yeah.

[07:03] Ethical Implications of AI Consciousness

EZRA BARANY: That kind of goes into how can you explore the ethical implications of AI consciousness.

BETH BARANY: Yeah, that’s a huge conversation because we have to, we’re making some assumptions about what are ethics and what are the morals of your story world and how does the culture view the robot? And so like in your story where the robot was so sad, it’s as if maybe it was a culture where robots having feelings, and having any other desires beyond doing their job, were like maybe not acknowledged, so I think dealing with ethical and moral considerations, you have to establish what those are in your story world.

And then you need to give your robot reason to question that or be in conflict with that, maybe if you, if that’s something you wanna explore in your stories. Whatever implications are gonna be are gonna be dependent on the morals and ethics of your story world. So establish that first, and then decide how is your AI or robot going to conflict or enhance, or be on one side or the other of that dilemma, whatever the dilemma is.

EZRA BARANY: That’s great.

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

[08:11] AI in the Janey McCallister Mystery Series

BETH BARANY: Let’s talk real briefly about AI. I wanna talk about AI in a character, ‘ cause I have that in my Janey McCallister mystery series. I have four books out currently on Janey, and her solving mysteries, and she has an AI in her head. I’ve made the decision way back in 2016 when I first started developing this series, is that this AI would be like an assistant and wouldn’t have any, wouldn’t go against, its programming, her programming. But she has a personality. She helps Janey speed up her job but she doesn’t always work as intended, and of course that can cause some problems.

So I haven’t yet pulled in any ethical or moral dilemmas that would be interesting, maybe in a future story. So thanks for that idea. Uh. Awesome.

[08:57] Conclusion and Contact Information

BETH BARANY: That’s it today on AI and robot characters and fiction. If you have any other questions, let me know. You can contact me through how to write the future.com or tag me at Beth Barany on the socials or leave a comment on YouTube where you found this episode or on the blog post.

[09:15] Mastermind Program for Writers

BETH BARANY: Today I wanna share if you are interested in working with Ezra and I, we have a group mastermind program for science fiction and fantasy writers. We meet twice a month. Ezra and I teach with them. We help people become better writers, we help you with craft, we help you with marketing. We help you with get ready for the beta readers, get ready to publish. We talk about: how do you design a cover? How do you write a marketing blurb? And what is a really good scene?

EZRA BARANY: It’s so awesome.

BETH BARANY: It’s so fun. It’s an intimate group. We have room for one or two more people. If this is for you, check it out at coaching.BethBarany.com. Reach out if you’d like to chat with me and see if that’s a good fit for you. We are only taking a few writers in this coming season, and you do have to have finished your first draft, so get writing.

So that’s it everyone, write long and prosper.

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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

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

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