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Published on August 19, 2025 03:00

August 18, 2025

Next Step Critique Group: Your Publication Journey Starts Here

Are you ready to take your writing to the next level?

Are you ready to commit to your dream of becoming a published author?

Then apply for the Fall 2025 Session of the Next Level Writing Group here: https://bethbarany.com/next-step-writers-group/

This workshop-based critique group will help you take your writing to the next level. Only 12 spots available. Apply by Aug. 22.

Transcript

Next Step Critique Group: Publication FocusIntroduction to the Podcast

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future Podcast. This is a podcast where I offer tips for writers, specifically science fiction and fantasy writers, but all writers. And it’s also a podcast for anyone who wants to create positive, optimistic futures. Because I believe when you imagine what is possible, you help make it.

[00:25] Introducing the Next Step Writers Group

so this week I’m gonna talk about critique groups.

So this, critique group that starts really soon, September 8th, uh, is called Next Step Writers Group. And it’s gonna be, it’s not an ordinary writers group of peers. It’s actually gonna be moderated and led by Julia. So Julia is a science fiction writer, also a literary writer and instructional designer.
And she came to me because she wanted to have a critique group and she is really passionate about, having regular. structured writing and editing practice, and this critique group is in support of that. It’s for writers who really want to be publication focused. You’re all moving towards publication, which is awesome.

[01:10] Benefits of Critique Groups

And I don’t know about you, but I have learned a tremendous amount by being in critique groups. If you’re stalled out on your writing, one of the biggest things I see in over 20 years of helping writers is that you’re often writers are afraid to share their work for feedback. And getting feedback from an editor can be really scary, but getting feedback from your peers can be a lot easier, especially if they are in your, if they’re in a similar stage as you are.

[01:40] Constructive Feedback in Peer Groups

Also, peer groups, peer critique groups work really well when they have constructive, compassionate feedback. That’s really important. You wanna be around other writers who can point out what isn’t working in your writing and what is working in your writing, but they are not making it personal. They’re not saying you this and you did this wrong.

No. They’re just saying, oh, I like it when you did this with your character. But over here I was confused, uh, what about this? Or what about that?Also, critique groups are great when you’re with dedicated committed writers.

[02:12] Dedicated Writers and Genre Focus

I highly recommend finding other writers who are dedicated and committed, and that’s what we’re offering in this group.

Also, this group is for genre fiction and literary writers. You could be writing any kind of science fiction or fantasy, any kind of speculative fiction, romance, mystery. If you’re interested in writing stories, this group is for you. It is for people writing novelists or short stories because both those forms Julia can help you with.

[02:41] Learning by Doing

We also believe here that writing is a learned skill. If you wanna learn how to write, you can. When I started out as a fiction writer, I didn’t know how to be a fiction writer. I learned by doing so, we both Julie and I, come from that. School of thought where we learn by doing. So the best way to learn how to be a better writer is to write, get feedback, write some more, get feedback, and learn how to integrate the feedback.

[03:07] Persistence and Improvement

And lastly, a good critique group believes that no one is a hopeless case. You can continually learn and continually approve, uh, improve. It can feel devastating to receive feedback, but then you can pick yourself off the floor and go, oh, huh, how could I incorporate that feedback? Or do I even want to incorporate that feedback?

[03:30]Workshop Details

So both Julia and I know that persistence is the name of the game now, Julia is gonna lead this, workshop and I’m hosting it.

[03:39] Introduction to the Critique Group

This critique group is gonna be for the fall and winter months of 2025.

[03:44] Application Details and Requirements

It’s gonna go from, uh, the beginning of September into mid-December, and it is by application only.
So you can see the link in the show notes. I’ll also put it up on the screen and you can apply.
There are some requirements because we wanna make sure that you are a good fit and we’re a good fit for you. And we do ask you to submit a piece of writing, for this, to be considered.

[04:10] Meeting Schedule and Costs

Basically you’re gonna meet twice monthly for four months, and there is a cost. So be sure that that works for you.
And we’re charging $250 for this, uh, which is a very, uh, which is comparable to what other groups charge. So if you have any questions about it, let me know.

[04:28] Additional Information and Deadlines

And if you are, curious about all the details, be sure to check out, the website, link that we have here in the show notes. All the dates are on the page and all the requirements and how to apply and everything. There is a deadline for application.

[04:43] Future Opportunities and Conclusion

And if you are listening to this recording, after the deadline has passed, be sure to sign up for our newsletter list because you will be able to hear about the next one. We plan to run them, hopefully, um, once or twice a year.

All right. This is a special episode of How to Write the Future ’cause I wanna get it out before the deadline, for, uh, this critique group, which is August 22nd. Alright, Write long and prosper.

The post Next Step Critique Group: Your Publication Journey Starts Here appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on August 18, 2025 20:13

Emily Golden and Rachel May on Story Theme, World Building, and Conflict

Emily Golden and Rachel May on Story Theme, World Building, and Conflict – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 166

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“The message of the story is the thing that they need to learn, which means that they have opposite beliefs that are preventing them, you know, flawed beliefs that are preventing them from learning the story message.” – Emily Golden

In this special episode of How To Write the Future, host Beth Barany chats with Emily Golden and Rachel May about story theme, world building, and conflict. They share their collaboration journey and touch on diving into character arcs and the messages that drive stories. Plus, they explore why asking “why” is so crucial to helping writers develop their unique character arcs for their stories.

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

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 EMILY GOLDEN AND RACHEL MAY, BOOK COACHES

Emily Golden and Rachel May are the founders of Golden May. Their joint love of amazing stories and mutual fascination with writing craft evolved into a book coaching business devoted to helping tenacious writers develop the unique writing craft, process, and mindset that works for them—because every writer is different. If you’re ready to stop fighting what your writing life ‘should’ look like and start dreaming about what’s possible for you, they’re the coaches for you!

Get the goodie: THE MAGIC OF CHARACTER ARCS: A free email course to craft the backbone of your story. https://goldenmayediting.com/arcsmagic

Site: https://goldenmayediting.com

Community program: https://www.tenaciouswriting.com/

INSTAGRAM:

https://instagram.com/bookcoachrachel

https://instagram.com/tenaciouswriting

SUBSTACK:

https://ebgolden.substack.com/

Transcript for episode 166 Emily Golden and Rachel May on Story Theme, World Building, and ConflictIntroduction and Guest Welcome

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone. Welcome back to How To Write the Future Podcast. I’m your host, Beth Barany. I’m a writing teacher, coach, editor, and also science fiction and fantasy writer. I’m excited to bring two people who together make one unit. They told me they’re one brain. I’m so excited to bring you both in.

[00:18] Meet Emily Golden and Rachel May

BETH BARANY: We have Emily Golden and Rachel May. Welcome.

EMILY GOLDEN: Hi. Thanks so much for having us.

BETH BARANY: Yeah. I’m so excited. Let me read your bio so everyone can know who you are.

Emily Golden and Rachel May are the founders of Golden May. Their joint love of amazing stories and mutual fascination with writing craft evolved into a book coaching business devoted to helping tenacious writers develop the unique writing craft process and mindset that works for them. Because every writer is different. If you’re ready to stop fighting what your writing life should look like and start dreaming about what’s possible for you. They’re the coaches for you.

I love your bio so much. I am totally in line with your philosophy.

RACHEL MAY: Welcome to Golden May.

BETH BARANY: Thank you.

RACHEL MAY: Pleasure to have you. Take you in. Come on in. We are now. Golden May Barany. We edit, we coach, we write.

EMILY GOLDEN: We have a community.

BETH BARANY:That’s so wonderful. It’s so so wonderful.

[01:16] Discussing Theme and Message in Writing

BETH BARANY: Well let me put myself on the spotlight here and ask you, the first question and, and this will be free flow, free flowing.

Since I help primarily science fiction and fantasy writers, but also character driven writers, something that people struggle with and also I never come up with until I’m in editing toward final edits and sometimes not even then, which is theme. Some people get a little angsty about themes.

Some people are really good at deciding what is their story theme, but some people really do have a message also.

So how would you distinguish theme versus message and how do you define theme? And I guess my big question is also: Why theme? How is it important?

RACHEL MAY: Do you wanna start, Emily?

EMILY GOLDEN: Sure. Yeah. I can take it.

RACHEL MAY: Great.

EMILY GOLDEN: Yeah. So theme is one of those things that I always struggle with ’cause it’s so amorphous, right? It’s just this: what are your themes? And so we often talk about what Lisa Cron calls the story point.

Where it’s the message of your story essentially, right?

That’s how Lisa defines a story point, is, you have something that you’re trying to teach your reader, or through your characters, right? Your character learns a lesson and therefore your reader learns the lesson through their experience.

And so it’s this takeaway from your story. It’s what your story is about at its core. And then I like to think of theme as sort of the pieces of the story point.

So, I wrote down some examples ’cause I feel like it’s, the definition’s hard. So let’s say, if we take the first Game of Thrones novel, for instance, right?

We have that story point of that book is that there’s no room for honor in the game for power.

And so the themes that are kind of baked into that story point are themes of power. We’re gonna explore, like what is power, what is honor? How are those things related, themes of politics and the games that are played in politics.

And so I like to think of, your story doesn’t usually have one theme. It’s usually looking at the intersections of different themes, right?

The intersection of family and love, or the intersection of perfection and belonging, right? And exploring how those themes work together.

And so I think often times when folks try to start with theme it feels a little bit too amorphous, but if you can start to think through what is the actual takeaway that I want my book to have, then you get to explore what are the themes that are baked into that, and are those the themes that I wanna explore. Anything to add, Rachel?

RACHEL MAY: I remember learning about theme in like eighth grade, right? Where your English teacher asks you to read a novel and tell me what are the themes of this book? And you’re like, I have no clue. I think that carries into this process of like, I wish I could tell you what they are.

And I know when I first started writing, I remember very distinctly filling out like a character interview sheet or like a novel planning sheet. And one of the questions was what are the themes of this book? And being like, hell if I know, I don’t know. I haven’t written it yet.

So I really align with what you were saying, Beth, of sometimes I don’t think you can truly see what this book is about until you’ve read it. I remember feeling like, if I don’t know what it’s about, how am I ever gonna write it? But I think the difference of what, when I learned what the story point was when I went into Lisa Cron’s teachings and understood that is a specific message that you aim towards, that gives your story cohesiveness.

Then I started to understand okay, so if the point of my story is that Love heals all wounds, and I want my reader to learn that, and I want my characters to learn that. Then I have something to aim towards with my story choices. But if I just say, this story’s about love. Okay, what about love?

How, why? Like, where are we going?

So I think getting more specific with a story point or with a message of your story just helps you focus, it gives you some focus, and it gets refined over time. I don’t think I ever truly know what the themes of my story are, or even what the message of my story is until after the second, or like the first draft. The second draft. I think I usually go into it with like, I’m aiming for something like this. Let’s see what happens.

Because it, it changes, it shifts, especially for me, when my characters take on life and a journey of their own and their flaws come to light. So it’s very impactful to give your story cohesiveness, but there’s not any one right place where you need to know what it is.

I think discover these things and they firm up the further you get into the process.

BETH BARANY: Yeah, that’s great.

I really appreciate what you’re all saying here about theme and message because I too, I have clients who angst about this, who worry about this.

And I co-teach with my husband and he usually decides on theme as he’s planning. ’cause he is more of a plotter, whereas I discover it toward the end of revisions and then again, also sometimes, not even until the book is published and people are like, oh, you’re writing about this.

I just wanna shout out to Lisa Cron. I have her books. I met her. I love Wired for Story. I have two of her other books, which I haven’t yet read, but I am often referring to things that she said as well. And so it’s really wonderful that you’re both using her material. I think it’s so rich.

RACHEL MAY: Yeah, the story point, we learned a lot from Story Genius, so I totally recommend that book. Wired for Story is incredible, but I think all of the tools that she has for baking into story is just all about there, there are parts of the whole, so it’s about strengthening the whole by understanding what are you doing with this story?

Why are we here? Why do we care?

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

RACHEL MAY: And then, when you tighten all those pieces up, which world building is one of those pieces that we’re gonna talk about today?

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

RACHEL MAY: You end up getting a really powerful and meaningful and like resonant, memorable, memorable story.

BETH BARANY: Absolutely. Yeah. I love that so much.

[06:50] Exploring World Building

BETH BARANY: So yeah, let’s move a little bit more into world building. This is definitely my domain. I’m teaching a class on setting. I talk a lot about world building in this podcast. And obviously as a science fiction and fantasy writer, this consumes me because I’m in love with thinking about these things.

Why should writers tie the cultures in, in your world, in your story world, even if it’s contemporary, to your themes? Let’s talk about the importance of WHY.

RACHEL MAY: Yeah, I think why goes back to similar why vein of theme in general, which is just to have a message, to have a point gives us cohesiveness, it gives a story direction.

And tying the world building back to that can really aid you in number one, enforcing that message. Like making it clear on the page, helping your characters learn it, but also, um, it helps it stay on track.

So if we have like a culture that feels really beautifully built out. We put so much effort into building it, but it has nothing to do with the point of what you’re trying to say, there’s going to be friction there, there’s going to be confusion points.

So what does it look like? How? We’ll get into that. But to give you like an example, if I’m telling a story about empowering women to stand up and claim their space in their world and to do that, they need to have power.

Then I might have a world that systemically takes away from women’s power. I might have a world that’s built around maybe a magic system that’s built around women’s pain. Or maybe like a magic, a, a cultural system that puts women lower in the social strata. And that’s, that’s not like unheard of, like that’s a, I feel like a pretty common world building structure.

But that’s a world building that ends up getting tied to story’s themes, because the whole world is about women being told they’re less than. And our journey of change is about breaking that system apart, you know? And making a new system where women are not less than.

But if I had this women learning about women empowerment and going on this journey of change, but then their world is women are at the top and yay, nothing about that would be wonderful. Yay utopia. But women are at the top. Or like our magic system maybe has to do with water. Okay, that’s cool.

But like why? What’s the meaning behind that and how does this tie to the point? If it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world, but if it does, you’re creating a cohesive experience where all these different Par, Peets, parses. All these different parts or pieces working together.

EMILY GOLDEN: The parses

RACHEL MAY: The parses are working together.

EMILY GOLDEN: I love it.

BETH BARANY: Just came up with a new concept. Yeah. I love that. I love that. It’s got my wheels turning. How about you, Emily? Do you have anything to add about why we need to–

EMILY GOLDEN: Yeah, I think so much of it comes down to character, right?

Because the message of your story is usually something that your character needs to learn whether they have a positive or negative arc, right? The message of the story is the thing that they need to learn, which means that they have opposite beliefs that are preventing them, you know, flawed beliefs that are preventing them from learning the story message.

And so for them to have flawed beliefs that are the opposite of the story point. And for them to go on this journey and need to have to learn the story point, then you almost have to bake in the themes into the world anyway, because the world is where they get their beliefs from, if that makes sense.

So if you have a character who believes that they have to be perfect in order to be loved, right? It’s a basic thing, right? Who’s teaching them that? Probably their culture, their society. And they have to learn the opposite of that, right? Some story point about how striving for perfection or something prevents love or, that might be the message of the story.

I think a lot of people accidentally, quote unquote, nothing’s an accident in writing. But I do think this is why often times a pantser will reach the end of their novel and be like, oh, there actually are themes in here, right? Because everything is connected, right?

Your character believes certain things ’cause the world has taught ’em those things. And so you end up with more in your novel, even when you’re not intending, plotting everything out. Because all those things are tied together.

BETH BARANY: Oh, yeah. So I agree with you so much, and I can see as I’m in the middle like a “plotser”, do some planning and then a lot of follow my nose, follow my characters, follow my heart, that it’s a struggle in edits, in revisions to go, okay, I’m really in my intuition is saying create the world like this. My character is in this frame of mind at the beginning of the story. I know roughly her character arc from here to there. I’m in this place right now, in revisions, this setting needs to be acting a bit more upon my character.

The world, she’s in a new location, a new space station, so she’s a stranger in this place. And it’s impacting her, and it’s starting to shift her, change her in ways that she does not understand. And me, as the writer in revisions, I’m like, okay, I haven’t nailed it yet. I haven’t made this setting specific enough and I haven’t made what’s going on with her a little clear enough there.

Some of my beta readers are like, wait, what? What’s going on? It seems like it feels like you’re spending too much time on her interior life. I know that the reason they’re saying that is because I don’t, we don’t know where she’s going.

The reader is lost. And if the reader is lost, that means I haven’t made the connections because I haven’t quite decided on what they are yet. I’m just feeling my way through it still, to help writers bring it more explicit. And obviously I’m chewing on this right now.

[12:14] Interplay Between World Building and Character Arc

BETH BARANY: How can world building be used to amplify your character’s change arc? And how can we more specifically tie it to theme also?

And I just also wanna underscore, I totally love what you said about how the character’s problem, the character’s limited belief and, it is baked right into their environment.

It’s from their culture, their upbringing, all the things, right?

The mix of nature, nurture the mix of received and perceived beliefs from everything around them and the people around them and the history and everything that came into the moment where they get to experience their life.

I try to write character change stories, transformation stories. I’m writing mysteries so often in those stories, the main character doesn’t change a lot. But this book is actually meant to be like a big pivot, big pivot book from the previous four books that are published into kind of a new orientation for my character, but not totally new, but new enough.

Anyway, I’m talking a lot. Um, I’m curious. As you can see, I’m, I’m always working on my story. Um, yeah, so that interplay, I guess we’re talking about: How can the world building of the science fiction and fantasy world be used more specifically for character change? What in the environment is impacting on the character and how they can change and then connecting that back to theme?

EMILY GOLDEN: I think there’s a lot of different ways to do it. There’s a lot of entry points, so what we’ve talked about a lot is figuring out what your story point is, whether that’s you do it now or you do it after your first or second draft whenever.

But having that story point message, however refined, gives you a center point for this, for an interconnected web right? Of how you’re going to tie all these things together. And so I think if you’re starting with a brand new idea, I would ask: What is the thing that is exciting you about the story?

And so for some people, that’s the character and the wound that they have for other people, it’s a cool part of the world and that’s awesome, right? If you know, this is not how it worked for me, or my series that’s out, Behind The Crimson Curtain, my main character can change her face.

That’s the only magic that’s in the world is face changing. I actually didn’t start with the face changing. That came in my second draft of the first act. But my point is I didn’t start there, but I could have started there, and if I had started there, right? Oh, I have this idea for a story where I want my main characters, I want her to be able to change her face.

It’s okay, that’s cool. What themes are baked into that magic, right? Well, you’ve got themes of deception, you have themes of truth, like who is she really? And you can start to follow that path to like, okay, what kind of journey? Like what kind of change, arc of change could I send that character who can do that magic on, right?

And you can enter that way through the world if that’s where your interest starts, or as actually happened with me, I had a character who I knew I wanted to be a con artist. She came to me as a con artist, and I knew she wanted to be someone who lies to everybody about who she is.

And so then I was able to be like, okay, what magic could she have? She could change her face, right? And so there’s just like a lot of ways that you can enter the web, but making sure that every, all of your choices are connected and thematically intersect, I think is the way to build a cohesive story.

BETH BARANY: I love that. Yeah. It makes me think about how the whole reason I built this space station is that I wanted people to come together with an idealistic vision, and so my attention goes, okay, I need to go back to that backstory. I have, I’ve come up with the character who’s the builder, who she is, where she comes from, and then how she makes it happen and why she makes it happen.

It predates my story by 80, 90 years, something like that. But it is baked into the physical environment that my main character’s walking around in. And it is a part of the story that is still not completely locked in, which is my critique partners are like, Where are we? Do you have a map of this place?

By their questions, I can tell there’s a big hole here that I need to design so that even though my main character doesn’t know where she is and is discovering the location as she travels and meets people, et cetera, that me as the world builder, I know what it is.

And so to do that, I have to go and create a little better the, the whole origin story of the place, which is in, in like broad brush strokes right now. So I know as soon as I, once I lock that in and it’s not just how it was built and it’s also with what was it built, so, uh, ’cause I have this whole plant thing going on, and it impacts the present of the story.

That’s where I need to go.This is my revision process.

Thank you for letting me share.

And Rachel, did you have anything to add to this idea? The interplay between world and character arc and theme?

RACHEL MAY: I 100% agree and what I would add is probably like a 201. Okay, what’s next?

We feel interconnected and I think in speculative worlds there, a lot of times there’s more than one culture. So how do we play with that?

[16:58] Exploring Multiple Cultures in Writing

RACHEL MAY: How do we build multiple cultures? How are all of these different cultures staying in conversation with our message or our point? How are we gonna connect them all?

[17:07] The Power of Asking “Why”

RACHEL MAY: And I think one of the biggest questions that helped me, especially my early days, but even now and in the way that I coach writers, is a simple little why. Why are we doing that? I hate it. I hate it. Being asked why? Because you’re telling me I have to explain myself? But I do think that asking that question why is very helpful and very impactful.

[17:28] Critique Partners and Evolution of Stories

RACHEL MAY: When I first met Emily, we met as critique partners and we met on Twitter, and that’s how we grew a relationship. And then we decided, oh, we should become coaches after a while. But, we met as critique partners and one of the first things that she asked me, why? And I was like, because.

And like, unfortunately, because isn’t a great response.

BETH BARANY: No.

RACHEL MAY: So like I had a world where there was a nuclear war and then in the fallout of that, people gained magic abilities. And then my whole, that was the whole backdrop of the world. And then, Emily would be like, why? And I’m like, because that’s just what happened, sorry.

But the reason that question existed was because it had nothing to do with my character’s journey. That was an interesting thing about the world, was that there was nuclear war, then suddenly people could use magic. But what did that have to do with the characters in my world?

So WHY is a really good one.

[18:26] Conflict and Culture in Storytelling

RACHEL MAY: And I think asking that question to multiple different cultures can introduce a lot of really interesting conflict. I think conflict is also part of culture, and conflict is part of journeys of change. So they work really well together. So if you have multiple cultures, how are they different?

Why, or even within a culture, is there conflict? What’s it like? Are there multiple factions? How has that conflict shaped your characters and how do they live within that conflict?

And it doesn’t have to be huge. There’s so many different kinds of conflict. There’s oppression and then there’s also conflict where you’re taught that if you express yourself, you get in trouble.

There’s so many different kinds of conflict, which can create really interesting cultures. So, however many you feel like you have, we’re still asking that question: Why? How did this happen? How did this create our characters? How does this tie into the journey that we’re going on?

BETH BARANY: That’s great.

This is so fascinating. I think our, our listeners are gonna get a lot out of this, especially writers out there. If you are a total pantser or somewhere in between, or even someone who tends to plan ahead of time, but then your story gets away from you. I think if you can hear from what Rachel and Emily are saying about the interplay, it keeps shifting and changing as we work on our revisions.

I hope writers, you’ll take away from it that you know, revisions its process and uh, and I love, back to your original message in your bio, like there isn’t one right way to go about writing a book. I tell my clients this all the time and my students. It’s really, our job is to learn our own process and to really embrace what’s working and come from strengths. My perspective anyway, and so a lot of the work I do as a coach is helping people excavate their own like interests and that thread, that kind of like magical fizzy, electric, passionate golden thread that is their guide and helping them find their own, to use another metaphor as some north star, you know, and help them really trust themself.

And so I really feel like you both are coming from that perspective as well. It’s so beautiful.

[20:28] Writing the Future: Perspectives and Hopes

BETH BARANY: So I have a little lightning round question then, um, I would love to find out from each of you: When you hear How to write the future, what does that mean to you?

RACHEL MAY: I think to me it, it means like, um, I mean obviously there’s, there’s looking ahead, but there’s looking ahead with hope or trepidation or concern or fear and I, I think there’s a lot of different ways to look at the future and whatever we’re saying with our stories, we’re like exploring those emotions.

Just like what will it be like and how do I feel about that? Do I want it to be that way, a different way? What can I picture?

So I hope I am always going to be a glass half full kind of person. So even though there are more than likely going to be big problems in the future, I also think that there still will be humans with big hearts and big hope. And so I, that’s what I think about when writing the future. I would want my stories to speak to that.

EMILY GOLDEN: Yeah, it makes me think of, I feel like all science fiction and fantasy in some way, shape, or form, right? Because we’re re-imagining the world in some way, shape, or form. And I think there are all exercises in what could the world look like, even with magic and all that stuff, right? It’s really about the people. It’s about the relationships, the connections, like who’s in power, what does that look like? Who has power? How is it used? And so I feel like those are the big questions that, that this genre, these genres specifically look at.

And I think there’s a lot of imagination that can be used to kind of project, right? We’re exploring, what could happen? What do we want to happen? And I think that’s important. I think it’s really important, especially as things fall apart, we have to put them back together somehow.

BETH BARANY: Yes. Oh, I love that so much. And I love what you both said there, so thought provoking. I really do believe fiction is where we get to explore and we get to play and we get to ask what if. And we also get to try it on like children who do dress up. Stories are a way for us as writers, but obviously also for the readers to go, oh, yeah, I want to explore. What could I do in that situation? Or how? How could I be and what could I learn? And thank you character for going through that hardship.

EMILY GOLDEN: Yeah.

BETH BARANY: So I don’t have to.

EMILY GOLDEN: Yeah. It’s a safe place to explore those what ifs. Yeah.

BETH BARANY: Yeah.

[22:47] Concluding Thoughts and Future Plans

BETH BARANY: I have enjoyed this conversation so much with you both and I look forward to continuing more conversations.

I’m gonna be on your podcast right at some point?

EMILY GOLDEN: Yeah. Sometime here soon.

RACHEL MAY: Tabling stories. We can talk about writing. Yeah. World building. Anything .

BETH BARANY: That’s so great. I’d love it. Okay. I’m gonna just say, thank you so much both for coming on How To Write The Future, and I’m gonna do my typical sign off for everyone. Write long and prosper. 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 Emily Golden and Rachel May on Story Theme, World Building, and Conflict appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on August 18, 2025 08:00

August 15, 2025

The Why Behind the Making of Beyond the Rough Draft by Iman Llompart

Let’s welcome back Iman Llompart as she shares with us “The Why Behind the Making of Beyond the Rough Draft.” Enjoy!

***

The Struggle All Writers Face

We all struggle.

It’s what makes us human, and as writers, we want our characters to struggle on the page.

That’s what makes them relatable.

It helps readers connect on a deeper level.

It makes them care.

Worry for them.

Crave more.

This is all gold for a writer, unless we’re the ones struggling.

Struggling to connect with our characters, our story, the plot, the theme or, most commonly, wrestling with that voice in our head that says, This isn’t good enough.

Feeling Alone in the Process

Writing can be so isolating that we start to believe our struggles are unique, when most of us in this industry feel the exact same way.

Right now, I’m struggling to finish my romantasy manuscript.

Facing Genre Challenges

At first, it was the genre itself.

I never pictured myself writing romance.

I’ve always read it, yes, but the overt emotion and vulnerability often found in the genre have always made me uncomfortable.

Finding My Own Way to Write Romance

Eventually, I decided to tackle romance in a way that felt authentic to me.

Once I did that, the anxiety began to ease.

Overcoming Intimate Scene Anxiety

Then came the intimate scenes.

For the longest time, I tried to dance around them.

But once I permitted myself to write for me, without worrying about anyone else’s judgment, I dove in, and it started to flow.

My mentor even told me I had a knack for writing those scenes… and the underwater ones, too.

(Still not sure what to make of that.)

Hitting the Rough Draft Wall

Now, I’m only a few chapters away from finishing the rough draft, and yet, something is holding me back.

I’m not surging forward the way I have in the past.

That frustration led me to a realization: I can’t be the only one feeling this way.

Why Sharing Struggles Matters

Talking about our creative struggles, blocks, and doubts can actually help motivate others who are in the same place.

It opens up a community of writers, new and experienced, and offers a peek into their processes, their rituals, and their mantras.

Learning from Other Writers

And when you hear how others push through their blocks or self-doubt, it reminds you that you’re not alone.

It shows you what’s possible.

You’re allowed to borrow those tools, try them on, and use what works for you.

Normalizing Insecurity

By being part of this series, you’ll see that we’re all insecure sometimes, even published authors.

So, if you’re struggling, it’s normal.

It’s part of the process.

An Invitation to Join the Conversation

But if you need a pick-me-up, tune in.

Add your voice to the conversation.

And if you have mantras or rituals that help you break through obstacles, don’t be afraid to share them.

Vulnerability helps others who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or alone.

You never know who needs to hear what you’ve learned.

Introducing Beyond the Rough Draft

Writers Fun Zone is launching Beyond the Rough Draft, which is currently in the interviewing and editing stages.

So if you’re a fiction or creative nonfiction writer, whether you’re working on your first draft or have several books under your belt, I’d love to hear your story.

Share your challenges, breakthroughs, and wisdom to inspire fellow writers by signing up here: Guest Sign-Up Form

***

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

The post The Why Behind the Making of Beyond the Rough Draft by Iman Llompart appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2022/11/07/18-what-if-and-your-brain/

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Published on August 15, 2025 03:00

August 11, 2025

Woo-Woo and Fiction Writing

Woo-Woo and Fiction Writing – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 165

***

“Do you like to daydream? I love to daydream. I’ve always loved to daydream ever since I was a child and when I was a child, I wished I was magic.” – Beth Barany

In this episode of How To Write the Future, host Beth Barany discusses “Woo-Woo and Fiction Writing” by sharing her “woo-woo” interests, her backstory from pre-med to fiction, and the magic of writing. Beth also shares the resources she uses to inspire the characters in her stories, and one of her own resources, the World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers, which is available for listeners to download.

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

RESOURCES

Related Episode: What if… and Your Brain

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

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 165 Woo-Woo and Fiction WritingIntroduction and Childhood Daydreams

Do you like to daydream? I love to daydream. I’ve always loved to daydream ever since I was a child and when I was a child, I wished I was magic. That was my ardent wish.

How about you? What did you wish for when you were a child?

[00:18] Meet Beth Barany

Hi everyone. I’m Beth Barany. I run How to Write The Future Podcast. I am a science fiction and fantasy novelist.

You can see some of the books behind me. Also a writing teacher and a creativity coach with a specialty in and all things woo-woo.

Woo-woo!

[00:41] Growing Up in a Commune

I am from Northern California. I am the child of hippies. I grew up in what you would call a commune, but really also a cult. I’m no longer part of that.

I left, I wasn’t, the children weren’t really a part of it. They never got to elect to be in it, all the adults, all the parents were in it. But what that gave me was, hearing the adults talk about humans, psychology, philosophy, religion. Both of my parents were very interested in these things, cross-cultural ideas from other cultures, ideas from other times and places, fairytales, folklore, mythology.

All these things were around me when I was a child. And I was deeply interested in folklore and fairytales and read a ton of them. So, yeah, I really wished to be magic.

[01:30] Exploring Woo-Woo Interests

Okay, so today I wanted to do an episode about all things woo-woo, all things woo-woo. I dunno how to say that. All things woo-woo. No. All the things that used to be called New Age, I’m not sure what they’re called now, a little bit about my interests, how I use them as a writer, how I’ve seen others use these tools as writers, and a few tips for you.

[01:54] Astrology, Tarot, and NLP

Now, I feel like I need to address the fact that dichotomy, on the one hand, I’ve been very interested in things and let’s be specific, astrology, tarot, numerology, oracle cards, human design, and some other things.

To me, they felt like ways to get to know myself. And I started getting into astrology and tarot when I was about 20 and started learning how to read tarot cards at age 22. I studied at the Berkeley Psychic Institute for a year, did their clairvoyant training program.

I wanted to understand how I was wired and how I operated, but also how other people were wired and how they operate. And to that end, I went and studied NLP at NLP Marin and learned a lot of great tools for helping me understand how to get onto your map, how to see through the words you say and how you move and the expression on your face, what might be going on inside. And then to ask questions.

I was always very good at asking questions, but then this gave me some more entry points into how to ask more questions, to try and understand how the person in front of me is wired.

And this is great. This comes in handy as a writing teacher and a coach really helps me do what I love to do, what I was already inclined to do because of my own makeup, which is really get to understand and get to know another person, and help them be a better writer. And help them really dive deep into their creative writing practice and really harness your innate strengths and skills and interests and passions, and turn that into a writing practice.

It’s what I did for myself. It’s what I’ve done for hundreds of writers and what I could do for you.

[03:39] From Pre-Med to Writing

I know there’s that side of me, and then there’s this other side of me that wanted to be a doctor since I was a very little girl. Actually, my mom says I wanted to be a nurse, but she’s like, you know, girls can be doctors too. And I was probably six years old and I’m like, okay, I’ll be a doctor. I think that stems from two things.

One, I was very familiar with the hospital setting, having been born premature, been an incubator the first two months of my life, born with fingers that are different that you might see flying around, and also curious.

Oh, there’s a third element.

So very familiar and comfortable with the hospital setting, deeply curious about how the human body works. And number three, wanting to help people.

Fast forward to today, I’m not a doctor, obviously. I decided not to be a doctor when I turned 19. I dropped outta pre-med at U.C. Berkeley.

I’m like, ah, this isn’t for me, pivoted into the social sciences. But I’ve always retained my interest in science and now I write science fiction and fantasy.

And to me, being curious about the world and having wonderment, and also being in awe about the world, to me is connected to science, but it’s also connected to this desire to be magical.

And when I started keying into, learning a whole bunch of things about being psychic, which was, we can talk about what I really think that is later. And also learning about NLP and also learning about other modalities, like other healing modalities in other cultures, that I studied in college, through a beautiful class, called Medical Anthropology offered by Nancy Scheper-Hughes. Just fabulous class.

And also learning about family systems, family constellations, and having all kinds of experiences. I did do a shamanic journey when I was 19. That was amazing. No drugs, just drumming. It was fabulous.

All that to say, as I grew older, I started to realize that magic is all around us.

[05:44] The Magic of Writing

And it’s in how, it’s in how you perceive, it’s in how you think. And I’ve learned, the more I gained in strength and confidence and skill and practice as a novelist, the more I realized that art is magic.

Like the ability to sit down and create sentences, put ’em together, and make a story and hand it to someone else, and they get to go there in their imagination. That’s incredible. That’s magic.

It’s also practical. It’s also technique. It’s also skill. It’s also practice.

And anyone who wants to learn how to be a novelist, I believe can be. Doesn’t mean it’s easy. Believe me. Doesn’t mean it’s easy.

[06:22] Using Oracle Cards for Writing

And I use oracle cards, a kind of oracle cards when I am stuck with my fiction. I’m gonna show you. I know, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned these in a previous episode.

This is the Mythulu deck and I bought all these cards. So wonderful. They’re all different colors. We’ve got, so here’s just one of ’em, there’s all these different sets and they’re all just incredible art. Just beautiful art. Ooh, speaking of magic. So black is element. Say you wanna brainstorm an element for your story, and you can pick one of the element section.

So I picked magic. There’s art and words. It’s just beautiful.

So a word about oracle cards.

When we’re stuck in our writing or revisions, we might look out the window and something we see or hear might trigger something inside of us. And then we get an idea. This is one reason why writers love to write at cafes. I do. I love to write and work at cafes ’cause if I’m stuck I can look up, look around, hear something, notice something, and it gives me an idea. That is the same function of this Mythulu deck.

You can use any deck. You can use any system. You don’t even have to use cards, right? You could just look up and look around you. Or you could even go to the bookshelf pointing over there ’cause here’s my bookshelf, one of many in this apartment. And open up, read a line and be inspired.

[07:54] Creative Tools and Resources

Alright, so this is a bit about how the woo-woo can help you as a novelist.

And even as I was sharing this with my husband today and talking about astrology in brief, he’s like, ooh, I could design an astrology system for my story world, for a story world. And then the characters could talk about it and say, oh, he’s the justinian type, or he’s the gabbigaba type, and that’s what it means to me.

So you could come up with your own astrology typing system and use it within your story world.

Archetype systems, they use the Greek and Roman gods. Yeah, there’s so many options and I know people who’ve created their own archetype systems.

All that to say, yeah, I am deeply into using these as tools. I don’t use them as belief systems. I use them as tools.

[08:45] What do I believe?

What do I believe? Ultimately, I believe in creativity. I believe in the power of creativity and what that means is, I’m curious, I’m wondering, I’m asking questions and I’m asking what if and including the question What if it was another way? What way would that be?

Questions are so powerful.

Alright, that’s some food for thought for you this week. I hope that it inspires you to play around with divination systems and other astrology, human design.

What kind of system do you use to, to help you build characters, build your story worlds?

It’d be so great to hear. Let me know. And if you have any questions about how to use these tools in more depth, there’s lots of resources out there.

[09:28] Conclusion and Call to Action

Oh, call to action for you all this week. I want to encourage you to sign up for the World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers.

If you need help with your world building, if you wanna create your own divinity system or astrology, or typing or numerology. I encourage you to do so, and this guidebook can get you started. So sign up for that. The link is in the show notes. Check out the World Building Guide for Fiction Writers.

All right, everyone. That’s it for this week, Write long and Prosper. 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

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

The post Woo-Woo and Fiction Writing appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on August 11, 2025 09:04

August 5, 2025

Habits of Mind: Openness by Bailey Lang

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

***

As writers, habits of mind — our thought patterns and orientation to learning — shape our external activities, like our writing practices.

In this series, we’re talking about eight crucial habits of mind for writers.

Curiosity, which we talked about last time, Habits of Mind: Curiosity by Bailey Lang · Writer’s Fun Zone is a drive to learn more about the world.

Today, we’re talking about openness.

What is Openness?

The framework for this series describes openness as “The willingness to consider new ways of being and thinking in the world.”

It’s easy to see why this habit of mind is important for writers, especially (though not exclusively!) novelists.

Unless you want every character you write to be a thinly veiled version of you (bo-ring — not that you’re not lovely, of course!), you need to be able to “consider new ways of being and thinking” and figure out how to represent them as authentically as possible on the page.

Openness will help you get inside your characters’ heads and make them feel like real, flawed, interesting people.

It’s a lot harder to write compelling villains if you’re not willing to consider why those villains think they’re doing the right thing, for example.

However, I want to be clear that openness doesn’t mean it’s okay to write caricatures as a way of representing difference, or that deeply considering other ways of being excuses stereotypes or cultural appropriation.

We’ll come back to these ideas in the article on responsibility.

Openness also keeps us from intellectual stagnation.

The online world, in particular, is algorithmically driven to corral us within ever-tightening spirals of stuff we probably already like (or stuff that makes us angry enough that we can’t walk away from our screens.)

The more time we spend in those loops, the more closed-off we become.

We become less open to new ideas, perspectives, and ways of being in the world.

We see our own interests reflected back to us again and again, as if they’re the whole of the human experience.

Cultivating openness as a habit of mind is a way to challenge the ways social media algorithms try to box us in while also becoming better, more interesting writers.

Openness and curiosity go hand in hand in this pursuit.

Curiosity encourages us to ask questions and seek information — openness encourages us to engage with the answers without rushing to judgment.

As a habit of mind, openness encourages writers to:

Thoughtfully consider multiple perspectives (including our own)Embrace learning without defaulting to making snap judgmentsExperiment with different research and writing practicesHow do Writers Cultivate Openness?

Embracing openness doesn’t mean you have to seek out someone whose political beliefs are the polar opposite of yours.

This is often the first thing many of us think of when we’re encouraged to practice a habit of mind like openness.

You can certainly try it, but it’s a bit like jumping into the deep end of the pool when you haven’t graduated from wearing inflatable arm floaties.

Don’t set yourself up for failure!

Developing openness as a habit of mind starts with noticing your own judgments, opinions, and preferences.

What are your strongly held beliefs? Why do you hold them?What are your biggest pet peeves? Where did they come from?What are your cultural practices around events like marriage, death, and holidays?How might any of the above be different if you had been born in another country or a different century?

Pairing openness with curiosity gives you a double-whammy of helpful habits of mind.

When you notice yourself feeling judgmental or getting caught up in disagreement, see if you can pause, ask questions, and spend some time considering the answers you find.

Cultivating openness requires becoming more aware of what we’re open to, what shuts us down, and how we balance considering new perspectives with our own discernment.

Openness Activities for Writers

Practicing openness is about reorienting our thinking away from judgment and toward thoughtful interest.

Being open doesn’t require us to agree with everything we learn — but not leaping to agreement vs. disagreement is a good sign that you’re becoming more open!

Here are two activities that support writers in practicing openness:

Be a Time Traveler or Space Alien

Re-examining the practices, activities, and traditions we take for granted is a great way to cultivate openness.

This is a quick, fun exercise to help you get into a more open mindset.

Choose a specific memory you have of a tradition (blowing out candles on a cake, marking a holiday with gift-giving, or a unique family celebration).

Then, pretend you’re an alien visiting Earth for the first time or a time traveler from the distant past or future.

Spend five minutes writing about the memory as if you’re witnessing it for the first time from the alien or time traveler’s perspective.

What do you notice?What seems important?What seems strange?

Get Outside Your Comfort Zone

Read a book, watch a documentary, or listen to a podcast about a culture, practice, or way of life that’s different from yours.

Find a novel in a genre or format you wouldn’t normally pick up.

Choose something you find interesting and different — and maybe a little challenging — and learn everything you can about it.

Focus on staying open to the experience and see what happens.

Where do you start to feel closed-off? Why?What sparks your curiosity?How might you incorporate what you’re learning into your writing?

This is a great activity to pair with the library visit I recommended in the curiosity article!

Let us know in the comments how the openness experiments go!

Reading RecommendationsOpen: Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World (Affiliate link)You’re Probably Not as Open-Minded as You Think. Here’s How to Practice.How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic (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

The post Habits of Mind: Openness by Bailey Lang appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

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Published on August 05, 2025 03:00

August 4, 2025

Human Design and Fiction Writers

Human Design and Fiction Writers – How to Write the Future podcast, episode 164

***

“Human Design is really helping you work with your energy rather than against it. There is no reason why you have to fight against yourself. It makes it very hard to be a creative person.” – Beth Barany

In the latest How To Write the Future podcast episode, host Beth Barany discusses how to use Human Design as a fiction author to your advantage, how to understand your results, and how this understanding can enhance your creativity, so you can work with it and not against it. From sharing the five types of Human Design to practical tools for writers, this episode will help unlock your creative potential.

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

RESOURCES

GET YOUR OWN HUMAN DESIGN CHART

https://www.mybodygraph.com/ (make a free account and chart)

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

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 164 Human Design and Fiction Writers Introduction

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future podcast. I would like today to talk to you about one of the topics that I’m fascinated about: Human Design for Fiction Writers. In a moment, I’ll tell you what is Human Design and why I think it’s so interesting and useful for fiction writers. It’s something that I have been diving deep into for the last five or ten years.

[00:26] Purpose and Focus of the Podcast

This is a podcast to help writers, specifically science fiction and fantasy writers. And really, my focus is on how to help you with your creative process, how to help you with craft, and how to help you create positive, optimistic futures.

And part of that is how do we as human beings really orient towards positivity and optimism, and what could be for the better?

Not because I am ignoring all the problems in the world. I am not. It’s just that dwelling on things that I cannot impact directly is very frustrating.

So what do I do instead?

Where do I have power? I have power as a creative, as I have power as a teacher. And I have power– I have power to create.

And so I’m always curious on how can I get into the flow. Some of you may have heard about the flow. It’s this idea that when we’re creating or surfing or doing anything that we love –dancing, even cooking, washing dishes, kissing, right?

There’s gonna be moments where it feels like we are no longer feeling grumpy about what’s going on. But instead, we’re totally in it. We’re in the moment. There’s no separation between what we’re doing and us the doer and the thing we’re doing, and it’s just this beautiful experience. I don’t know about you, but when I’m writing, sometimes when I’m in the flow, I feel like I am in the story, nine times outta ten, that’s where I wanna go.

And nine times outta ten I get there. And one of the ways that I have found that really helps me as a writer, there are many things, but one of them is understanding myself better. Actually, I would say that was, that would be the top thing, and this is something that I’ve cared about my whole life, is how to know myself better. And I encourage that for you as well.

[02:23] Understanding Human Design

Let’s dive right into the topic, which is Human Design for fiction writers. So I really love human design because it is a system that this guy designed, like channeled, that really is an interesting way to help us get to know ourselves better.

Now, if you don’t believe in this stuff, hey, I totally understand. That’s fine. It’s not for you, but this is for the people who are curious about Human Design. Or maybe you already know a lot or some about human design.

Human Design is like astrology cubed. So if you know your birth date, your birth time, and where you’re born, you can have a Human Design chart made for you.

There’s so many places you can get a chart made and you can get one done for free online I’m gonna recommend to you, mybodygraph.com

It is the official website that originated from the designer’s idea of Human Design. So you make a free account. You put in your birth date, birth time, and location, and it will churn out a chart for you that looks like this.

All that to say, don’t get lost in the weeds just yet. What I really want you to focus on is once you do your chart, you are gonna be one of five types. And how can that help you?

[03:45] How can Human Design help you better?

So you’ll read your chart and you’ll read up about it and you’ll go, oh yeah, that sounds like me. Or, oh, huh, I don’t quite relate to that, but nine times outta ten, I have seen people when I tell them– I do their chart for them. And I tell them what this says about you, there’s something about them that like relaxes. It’s just oh, I don’t have to fight against myself anymore. You still can if you want, but isn’t it nice not to fight against yourself?

Human Design is really helping you work with your energy rather than against it. There is no reason why you have to fight against yourself. It makes it very hard to be a creative person.

So once you understand more of who you are, then you can work with who you are instead of against it. You can really unlock your creative potential, really find your flow, really perfect your writing process, so that you know you have created habits and processes, so that when you sit down to write, they entirely work for you. That way you can get work done, you can write, you can be in the writing space that you love so much.

One of the reasons I think writers complain about not liking to write is because they’re disconnected with their flow. They’re disconnected with their energetic truth.

They’re operating off of what they think it should be versus what it really is for themselves. Because your way of going about being a creative is not my way.

So let’s do a quick rundown. And I say quick because we could spend hours on this, honestly.

[05:16] The Five Types of Human Design

So there’s five types. And do your chart and then come back and listen to the rest of this episode.

So this will make some more sense for you. These types are Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, and Reflectors.

[05:33] Manifestor

Now for Manifestors, I have met a few Manifestors and I have one, at least one I know of in my family. If you’re a Manifestor, you’re probably gonna write best in short bursts of inspiration, you’re probably best suited for writing sprints, working on independent projects and like absolute flexibility in your schedule.

You want total freedom to operate when you’re creative and when you’re not creative not to write. So really for you, the watchword is freedom and that is how you’re gonna dive into being consistent over time.

[06:07] Generators

For Generators and I am a Generator, we excel with sustainable energy on projects that we care about. So we really thrive on regular routines. We work well responding to prompts, or I prefer like external, like their stimuli from the outside and that will prompt me. And it’s really important that you work on topics that really excite you to keep your writing vibrant. No operating from the should or supposed to, or “other people do it like this.”

No. It really has to come from you and you have to be deeply excited about it, and find a regular routine that works for you.

[06:44] Manifesting Generators

Manifesting Generators. You are multitaskers. Embrace the multitasking. I have seen this with my friends who are multitaskers, and who are Manifesting Generator. They would think there was something wrong with them, that they were bouncing around all these different creative writing projects until they realized, no, that’s their happy place. And I encourage you to embrace the fact that it is your happy place. If it is your happy place, then you’re probably a Manifesting Generator.

So you might have three or four projects on the go at different stages. You also might not be writing in any particular order. Other people are like, how come you’re not doing this A, B, C, D, and you might be doing Z to A to F, so you’re not necessarily gonna do your projects in any, discernible order, and, and that is fun for you.

Multitasker, multitasking and doing things in all different kinds of order, I would say your watchword is embrace the multitasking.

[07:39] Projectors

Next is Projectors. I have had clients who are Projectors and I notice sometimes get really stuck also in how things should be done.

And they burn out because what they need is to work in short, deep sessions and then have downtime and creative space. So you’re not a generator. You actually, really work best with lots of open, relaxing time. Also, I find that projectors are really great teachers, writing teachers, because you’re natural guides and you’re very insightful on the creative writing process and how to do things.

So you excel at creating systems. So if you’re stuck with your own work, create a system for yourself, and you may need a lot of support and, external recognition, and invitation from other people, like a teacher or a guide, a coach or peers to help you really dive deep into your writing, and that’s totally fine.

So you need that kind of support. So for you, it’s about having the support, and the invitation to do short, deep writing sessions with a lot of downtime.

[08:41] Reflectors

And lastly, Reflectors. I have one family member who’s a Reflector and who’s highly creative and, generally, Reflectors are really sensitive, very attuned to their environment, and they really need a lot of time and space.

A lot of time and space to process their ideas and they really need a very inspiring workspace and really allow themself to follow the lunar cycle to make big choices, big decisions on important projects. So for you, for Reflectors, it’s about really honoring the full lunar cycle.

I wanna just now speak about another important part of your Human Design chart and that’s the authority. So here’s some practical tools.

[09:28] Practical Tools for Writers

Structure your writing session based on your type. So for example, Manifestors write in bursts. Generators like myself, we use scheduled blocks. Projectors work, focus best with short impactful sessions and Manifesting Generators really need the freedom to hop around from project to project.

You really need to create rituals in your environment that work for you and really understand that your own creative energy, your Human Design, your type, your authority can really help you dissolve your self judgment and comparison with other writers. And that in itself will reduce a tremendous amount of your creative blocks.

[10:11] Conclusion and Call to Action

So let me know if you have any questions about this. Write in and tell me your Human Design. What have you noticed? If you’re new to Human Design, let me know your questions as they relate to the creative writing process. If you’ve been playing around with Human Design, tell me what you observe. I’ve worked with writers and analyzed their charts and helped them design their creative writing processes.

If this is something that you would like, reach out to me and we could do a coaching session, a coaching consulting session, and people hire me for that. Alright, 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.

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Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: [bold] 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 August 04, 2025 05:52

August 1, 2025

Books as Oracles by Catharine Bramkamp

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

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The Power of Bookstores

I wrote a blog about finding your next career or even passion by visiting a book store.

I considered this as I was prepping for a trip to Moe’s Books in Berkeley.

A four story treasure house of used and new books.

I can spend three hours in this store and feel I only scratched the surface.

I love huge used bookstores.

You probably do too.

Entering with a Plan

And I also guess that like me you don’t walk into a book store unarmed with no battle plan.

And if you avoid bookstores because they are overwhelming, what you need is to be armed.

With a plan.

At least a list.

My Amazon Wish List Strategy

My list is kept by Amazon.

Whatever and whenever a book captures my eye, I find it on Amazon and add it to my wish list.

I love my Amazon wish list.

Every time I see an interesting book — referenced in a newsletter, a review, an article, a book club recommendation, I toss the book into the Amazon wish list — free, organized, TBR (To Be Read) without the cost.

From Digital to Analog

When I travel to a marvelous book store, or just want to support our Indie bookstores in town, I pull about 10 to 15 books from the list and create a hard copy list of what I want to find in the bookstore.

That’s the plan.

Tracking Past Reads

I also carry the history of past battles.

I don’t enter a library or a marvelous used bookstore, without my history of read books (on Notes in my phone).

This helps in a used bookstore, and it is critical at Friends of the Library sales.

I started the reading book list ever since the afternoon I pulled a book from the crowded sales shelf and thought, wow, this looks great!

It was.

I’d donated it last year.

Wish List

I love books so much that I consistently overestimate the time I have to read versus the wealth of published books.

The Amazon book list holds all my scattered enthusiasm and ideas about what I probably, likely, very soon, will read.

The list holds every book that catches my eye (I’m like a magpie) and stands at about 250 books ready to be purchased.

Why so many?

Sometimes the interest is brief and on further inspection, the book is deleted from the list.

Sometimes I realize the book is exactly what I need and it is promoted to the shopping cart.

And sometimes it serves as the indie bookstore search engine.

A Reflection on Reading Focus

Prior to the drive to Berkeley, I skimmed down the 200 or so books on the wish list and pulled out 13 to focus my Saturday search.

Out of thirteen books:

6 books were on art and artists — specifically the Hudson River School and Impressionism.2 books on creativity3 bio’s of poets and artists.and a couple of novels.

What does that say?

Interestingly, my spontaneous book choices directly reflected the theme of my next book Take Up Space, Art and Creativity in the Second Half of Life.

Surprises from the Subconscious

The books I chose followed along with my current passion.

Which is very affirming.

And so easy, you may think I made it up just to create a great example.

Yes, the list reflected the current project, which is great.

But I also loved to be surprised, from another book list I have to consider what exactly Laura Ingalls Wilder has in common with John Ashbery?

I’ll get back to you on that.

The list doesn’t always make sense, but since it comes from your subconscious, there is something there worth exploring.

Reading Habits and Hidden Desires

If you have a book wish list, take a look.

Do you like to collect all the books of a specific author? (A list of read fiction is critical, kindle helps by informing me I already have a book that I wanted to upload because it sounded good).

But while standing in the basement of an old library where the community cast-offs lurk?

I’m on my own, and there is no cell signal.

So it’s hard to remember if I read this Terry Pratchett or that Anne Perry.

But for a dollar, I’m willing to take the risk.

Do you choose fiction based on place or time?

On this list, do you choose books related to the same subject?

Your List, Your Self

How often does this happen?

If you are choosing reading material for pleasure, what books surface?

Are you an engineer but keep adding books on the Great War to the list and to the pile of To Be Read?

Are you a baker but love to read the biographies of Roman Emperors?

Are you a librarian but collect cookbooks?

From the list –– imagine you can buy any ten books.

What do those ten choices reveal?

Let Books Inspire New Paths

Or how do those ten choices inspire you?

Would you take a cooking class?

Travel to Rome?

Write an article about the Battle of the Somme for a newsletter?

Can a simple trip to a bookstore spark a new creative pursuit?

Or do you just want to buy the next book club pick on sale and be done with it?

It’s a book.

I approve of it all.

For more on books, creativity and writing: Out Loud, An Adventure in Writing for Women

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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 August 01, 2025 03:00

July 28, 2025

Learn How to Craft Settings that Hook Readers

Learn How to Craft Settings that Hook Readers – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 163

***

“This class is really for those who care about tone, character, genre, and the emotional resonance of your story.”

In this How To Write the Future episode, titled “Learn How to Craft Settings that Hook Readers,” host Beth Barany shares about the upcoming exciting class she’s teaching as part of Sue Brown Moore’s HEA Sessions called “Settings That Hook Your Readers” where she’ll dive into teaching a 90-minute hands-on training for character driven fiction writers.

Beth will provide you with the tools you need to help revise with clarity, find the value of setting in your story, and use it with intention. Register by July 31, 2025, 10pm Pacific here: https://bethbarany.com/heasetting2025/ [Affiliate link]

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

RESOURCES

Settings that Hook Readers: An HEA Sessions August Workshop

https://bethbarany.com/heasetting2025/ [AFF Link]

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GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

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GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCAST

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

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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.

Transcript for episode 163 Learn How to Craft Settings that Hook ReadersIntroduction and Podcast Milestone

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future Podcast.

[00:04] Exciting New Class Announcement

I’m feeling all interior introverted today because I am deep in the final stages of putting together a class I am really excited to tell you all about. If you’ve been a listener of this podcast, and it’s been three years now, so shout out to doing three years of this podcast, then you know I am passionate about world-building. And one of the most tangible forms of world-building is putting attention on your story’s setting. So science fiction and fantasy authors, this is for you especially, and it’s for all fiction writers. If you are writing a character-driven story, then your setting is viewed from the point of view of your character.

[00:50] Class Details and Enrollment Information

So I have been deep in putting the final touches on this class that I’ll be teaching in about a week or so at this recording. And I am making an episode because there’s just a few more days that you can sign up for this class, and then after that, it goes into an evergreen mode.

So hopefully the links that are related to this podcast episode, you’ll be able to find it even if it’s after a few weeks after release date. So this should be going up on July 28th, and the closing date for this course that I’ll be offering on setting is July 31st.

So I wanna tell you a little bit about it because I’m really excited about it, and I wanna get back to it and putting the finishing touches on this course.

I’m not doing this course alone. I actually was invited as a writing teacher to teach this in Sue Brown Moore’s world. She is a writing teacher and a writing coach, and a fabulous editor. And now she primarily teaches and coaches writers. And so she invited me and another writing teacher to come teach this summer in her HEA sessions.

That’s HEA, stands for Happily Ever After because her primary audience is romance authors. And it’s also anyone who writes a character-driven story, and that’s my audience as well. I primarily focus on science fiction and fantasy, especially character-driven stories.

[02:17] Teaching Approach and Class Benefits

So I wanna tell you a little bit about this class: Settings That Hook Your Readers. Now, this is a 90-minute hands-on training for character-driven fiction writers. It’s not really meant for beginners, really, for intermediate and advanced writers.

So, beginners, don’t worry. I have a resource for you at the end of today’s episode. So I just wanna let you know that when I work with writers, and I am a developmental editor slash teacher and coach. So I only edit people’s work, who I also coach and do teaching with.

I know that working with these writers, they want their stories to feel really vivid and immersive, but often, settings get brushed aside. People just do placeholders for their settings. And I’m often saying to my clients, ah, please, more specifics, more sensory details. I want this to feel alive. I want it to feel connected to the story.

A lot of advice out there will say, just like that, add more sensory detail. But what I do with my clients and what I’m gonna do in this class is show you how to make it really relevant and connected to your story, to your characters, to the point of view character, and to, to your plot as well.

[03:32] Hands-On Workshop and Practical Techniques

So I’m gonna be doing a deep dive, a practical dive into your setting where we are going to connect craft with the emotional heart of your story and the experience of your reader.

So, I really recommend this class. If you wanna create a rich, immersive world without writing paragraphs upon paragraphs of description. We don’t want that. I don’t teach that. Nobody wants to read that. We want to imbue setting into our story as everything is happening, as the plot is happening. This class is really for those who care about tone, character, genre, and the emotional resonance of your story.

You want tools to help you revise with clarity, not so you have to guess. And you already understand that setting is more than scenery.

So if you are that kind of writer and you wanna create rich, immersive worlds, then this is what we’re gonna do.

We’re gonna explore: What is the value of setting in your story? And how do you use it with intention? And there’s multiple layers of that we’ll go over.

We’re gonna talk about, here’s the thing. You’re gonna bring to class the opening paragraph, like four to six sentences of the opening of your story, and we’re gonna use that to work with during the workshop. This is my favorite way of teaching, is to have you invite you, the writer, to work on your own material as we work through the class ’cause I believe, and this is just my life experience, is I have a hard time learning from books.

But if you take my manuscript and you point out to me how it can improve, and you rewrite some of my sentences. Wow, all of a sudden it makes so much more sense because I’m emotionally connected to the my own story and watching how other people view my story and might rewrite bits of it, taught me so much over the years, helped me see that there’s other ways that I could approach things, and it allowed me to create just a huge, huge palette of options.

And this is what I’m gonna do for you.

So we’re gonna evaluate the opening of your story through the lens of time, place, genre, and character, your character.

In fact, we’re gonna go into your character’s worldview and emotional filter and notice how that will affect how they view and take in the setting.

Plus, I’m gonna talk about some practical framing techniques that come from cinema, from movie making, the wide, the medium, and the closeup, to control pacing and mood. And then we’re gonna do some guided exercises to help you specifically revise and enhance your opening scenes, and hopefully you’ll walk away from the class having real skills that you can apply to the rest of your book.

This is a hands-on class. It’s really for people in revisions. So if you’re working on your first draft, awesome, please keep working on your first draft. Do not stop to revise. That’s my opinion. It’s hard to revise something that is half done, so keep going. Keep daydreaming, keep writing, and keep going.

This material and a lot of the things that I do are for writers who are ready to revise. And maybe you’ve even done some revisions. So you’re gonna have time in this class to apply what you’ve learned, to think, to chat, to share, to work.

[06:58] Registration and Additional Resources

Now registration is still open. Hopefully there’s still some spots left. Sue, who’s my host for this class, told me there are still some spots. Be sure to check out the link on the screen, in the show notes, or on the blog post, and register for this class. And there is a wonderful upgrade. If you want in-depth help, we have a three-week cohort upgrade. And you will see that information when you register.

And just so you know, there’s a two-step registration process if you want to come into the cohort. First, you register for the 90-minute class on setting. Then, you register for the cohort. I’m really excited to see you in class.

[07:39] World-Building Workbook

And for those of you who are still in the early stages of your novel and you want help with the basics of world-building and you’re writing your first draft and maybe you’re brainstorming or you just started revisions and you’re still trying to get the lay of the land, then I highly recommend that you check out my World-Building Workbook for Fiction Writers. This will give you some starting points to envision your story world. And it’s a workbook, a digital workbook. You can download it, and I really designed it to give you a guideline, a roadmap to get you started on your world-building.

[08:14] Personal Coaching and Final Thoughts

And lastly, if you want customized, individualized support from me that is really designed for you and your book and where you are in your process, I coach writers, and I have a few openings right now. You are welcome to come in for a discovery call, and let’s talk. I’d love to talk to you if what you see on my podcast and hear is right for you and you think I would be a good fit. Please come and talk to me. I love working with writers. This is my life passion.

[08:44] Celebrating Milestones and Conclusion

It is three three-year anniversary of my podcast, How to Write the Future, Tips for Writers. I’m still very passionate about the podcast, and it’s also the 19th anniversary of my business. I’ve been running this business for 19 years, helping writers. I’m still super passionate about it, and gosh, it’s amazing.

It’s just amazing to me. I am not only a podcaster, teacher, coach, nonfiction writer. I’m a novelist. I’m a working novelist, y’all. And, I’m deep in it. I love it. And I’m a filmmaker too. Woo-hoo. Which is a whole other story that I’ve talked about in some previous podcasts, and I’m sure I will talk about in future podcasts.

That’s it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper. 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: [bold] 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

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 July 28, 2025 10:39

July 25, 2025

How Can Writers Resist the Attention Economy? Learn How to Do Nothing by LA Bourgeois

Let’s welcome back LA Bourgeois as she shares with us “How Can Writers Resist the Attention Economy? Learn How to Do Nothing.” Enjoy!

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The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media for Writers

As writers, we use social media to grow our audience and sell our books, but also procrastinate by scrolling through memes for hours without realizing it.

Social media provides valuable communication between us and our readers (and relatives) while also distracting us with notifications when Great Aunt Mildred uploads yet another picture of her cat, Rufus.

What Is the Attention Economy?

In How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell argues that disengaging from social media helps us to live fuller, more creative lives.

So how do we disengage from the evils of social media without losing what makes it helpful?

When Odell references the attention economy, she’s talking about the way that social media demands our attention and then sells it to the highest bidder.

To keep our attention, these social media corporations like Meta, YouTube and TikTok use algorithms to predict what we might like to see next and serve that up to us.

The Emotional Toll of Doomscrolling

But does that make us happier? Well, when was the last time you finished doomscrolling and thought, “Oh yeah! That made my life better?”

If your answer was “never,” then you might be considering why that is.

Odell proposes that when we get trapped in a space that doesn’t challenge our identities, ideas and abilities, we begin to descend into a spiral of boredom and anxiety.

We need the challenge and the inspiration of the unusual and the new to keep us interested.

The Power of Stillness

And, interestingly enough, that can come from simply sitting still and doing nothing but observing the actual analog world that surrounds us.

Talking to someone face-to-face.

Sitting in the park and watching the birds.

Getting curious about something and going to the library to research it rather than just doing a quick Google search.

The Need for Context

In order to keep us scrolling, social media attempts to keep us attached to a “fearful present” by requiring public knee-jerk reactions rather than allowing the time to find and engage with context around different issues.

And we seem to crave context as we move through this time, as seen by the rise of the historian Heather Cox Richardson and her Substack, Letter from an American, right after the publication of this book.

This newsletter grew to over one million subscribers within a year, and all that it does is give historical context for the current political situation.

That kind of reaction definitely gives weight to the position that the attention economy has left many folks starving for deeper meaning.

How to Break the Social Media Habit

So, how do we break the social media habit?

Or how can we engage with social media in healthier ways?

Odell suggests that to get out of a bad habit, we need to replace the behavior with something else.

Artists and Writers as Guides

“To me, the only habit worth ‘designing for’ is the habit of questioning one’s habitual ways of seeing, and that is what artists, writers, and musicians help us to do,” she says. “It’s in the realm of poetics that we learn how to encounter. Significantly, these encounters are not optimized to ‘empower’ us by making us happier or more productive. In fact, they may actually completely unsettle the priorities of the productive self and even the boundaries between self and other. Rather than providing us with drop-down menus, they confront us with serious questions, the answering of which may change us irreversibly.”

The “Third Space”

Odell suggests that one way of breaking out of this space is to start answering “yes or no” questions in a creative way as Diogenes, the great Greek curmudgeon, would.

For example, if someone asks “Do you want to go see the new Superman movie?” you might respond with “Yes, but not at that cinema,” or “No, but I’d like to see a different film” or even “Yes, but I’m going to make fun of it the whole time.”

Reframing your response in this way leads to more interesting conversations with surprising outcomes.

Very different than what happens on social media as it tries to please you in order to keep your eyeballs locked on the screen.

This “third space” of refusing to answer a question as asked represents a liminal space filled with the potential of creativity.

However, because of the focus on productivity within our capitalist economy, will, desire, and training are necessary to find, inhabit and remain in this “third space” within our lives.

But we can do it!

The Practice of Attention and Meditation

The practice of redirecting our attention from social media to something else is similar to the practice of meditation.

If you’ve ever tried meditating, you know that despite your best efforts, thoughts will arise and drift through your mind.

The trick is that, when you become aware of the thought, you clear your mind again.

By doing this over and over, you train your mind to meditate.

The same thing happens with redirecting and sustaining that attention.

We realize that we are not unwavering but rather that, in the inevitable drift of our attention, we are able to continually pull it back to the thing we want to be focusing on.

Do not judge yourself for failing.

Rather, feel the success and empowerment that comes from returning to the task again and again.

You are strong in your resilience.

The practice of paying attention to something new is a practice, not a single task to be completed.

Mindful Attention Over Mindless Distraction

So, after finishing How to Do Nothing, do I have the answer for how to balance out those two edges of the social media sword?

Well, this is what emerged for me after reading Odell’s manifesto.

My new intent is to engage with social media with as much attention as I need and, when I find myself mindlessly scrolling, to stop myself, put down the phone and instead interact with the people, plants and wildlife in my region.

I’ve turned off the notifications so I can interact with the apps as I wish.

Basically, I’m opting for a mindful attention rather than a mindless distraction.

What has worked for you to balance social media’s persistent call and the needs of your real life?

What thoughts arise as you consider working with social media mindfully?

After all, there are many, many ways to do nothing.

Next Month’s Read: Margo’s Got Money Troubles

If you’d like to read How to Do Nothing; Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell, pick up a copy at your local library, indie bookshop, or online.

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Our next Book for Thriving Creatives is Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe.

This hilarious and heartwarming novel takes you on a journey with Margo Millet, a new single mother whose father moves in with her as she teeters on the verge of eviction. Her solution? Start an OnlyFans.

What no one else will tell you about this book is that this trip with Margo reveals the good advice and terrifying lessons of starting a creative internet business.

Read along with me at The Thriving Creative, and then comment on next month’s post where I’ll share my thoughts on this fun and instructive novel. Grab your copy online, at the library, or by dropping by your favorite indie bookstore.

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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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