Beth Barany's Blog, page 7

Can AI Content Be Copyrighted? by Kelley Way

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Kelley Way as she shares with us “Can AI Content Be Copyrighted?” Enjoy!

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On January 29, 2025, the Copyright Office released its report on whether and when AI-generated content can be copyrighted.

While the results were consistent with its previous holdings on the copyrightability of AI content, they did provide some clarity on their reasoning and when AI-generated content may be granted copyright protection.

The Verdict

As a general rule, content created by an AI program cannot be copyrighted.

The Copyright Office has a longstanding rule that only creative works authored by humans can get copyright protection – photographs taken by the Hubble telescope and paintings made by elephants are examples of other creations that fail to meet the human authorship requirement.

So when an AI program provides the creative elements, the Copyright Office will deny copyright protection.

Their Reasoning

As to their reasoning, most AI-generated works are created from prompts provided by humans.

The Copyright Office compares this to someone instructing an artist to create a painting and then trying to claim authorship or joint authorship with the painter.

In most cases, this won’t fly because the instructions are simply ideas, and the painter is the one who supplies the creative elements.

While it’s possible that the prompt is so detailed there are no creative elements left for the AI program to fill in, it’s unlikely a person would take the time and effort to create such a prompt — at that point, you may as well do it yourself.

In addition, the output from these AI programs is currently extremely unpredictable; the same prompt can generate different outputs every time it’s entered.

In the Copyright Office’s opinion, this shows the user lacks sufficient control to be considered an author of the resulting work.

The Gray Area

Of course, there is still a gray area where a work contains content from both a human and an AI program.

In this situation, the question is whether AI acts as a tool to assist the human, or whether it acts as a substitute for human creativity.

The Copyright Office says it will decide this question on a case by case basis.

For example, a human may feed an image into an AI program and tell the program to make certain modifications.

If the modifications are specific enough that the AI is not providing creative expression, the entire result could get copyright protection.

If the AI program does provide creative expression, then the AI program’s contribution won’t get protection, but the human authored content will.

The same rule applies when a human modifies content generated by an AI program.

The selection and arrangement of the content can get copyright protection, as can any artistic modifications the human makes to the content.

Anything created by the AI program is still not protected.

The Copyright Office covered other related topics, such as how this question is being addressed in other countries, but the summary above is the information most relevant to American creatives. If you have questions or would like additional guidance, you can reach me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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

The post Can AI Content Be Copyrighted? by Kelley Way appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Balancing World Building Elements for the Reader Experience with Jasper Ezekiel

Balancing World Building Elements for the Reader Experience with Jasper Ezekiel – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 149

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“I’m always really fascinated by what gets trimmed off the edges. And because there’s gold in there sometimes. And why would a creative professional choose to include this, but not that?” – Jasper Ezekiel

In this How To Write the Future episode, host Beth Barany chats with speculative fiction writer Jasper Ezekiel, and talks about what parts of our story worlds we include in our fiction and what gets left out including balancing story elements for the reader experience. 

Platforms The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Amazon Music| YouTube

 

RESOURCES

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

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

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

Get support for your fiction writing by a novelist and writing teacher and coach. Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast 

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 Jasper Ezekiel 

Jasper Ezekiel is a queer author from the SF Bay Area. He’s a jack of all trades, writing poetry, non-fiction, fiction, and plays. He’s also a visual artist who specializes in illustration, a fiber artist with dreams of being a pattern creator, and a big ol’ goofball. His first book of poetry, Good, Clean Mania was published in 2023. You can find it on multiple platforms here: https://books2read.com/u/3Gp5gO

Social media links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s8nicangel/

My personal Substack: https://jasperezekiel.substack.com/

My writing Substack: https://jasperezekielk.substack.com/

 

Transcript for Balancing World Building Elements for the Reader Experience with Jasper Ezekiel 

Hi everyone. Welcome to How To Write the Future. I’m your host, Beth Barany, and I have a special episode for you today. My episodes are primarily for science fiction and fantasy writers, so today you’re gonna listen in on a conversation that I have with speculative fiction writer Jasper Ezekiel, and talking about what parts of our story worlds do we include in our fiction and what gets left out.

Enjoy. 

[00:26] Introduction to World Building Challenges 

I actually have another kind of concept I want to throw at you that has to do with world building, which is: How much work do we do on things that may or may not be included?

So one of the things I’ve always really struggled with world building is finding what is relevant to the world and what is just not because when building a world, it’s really easy to just go out and out and build these like complicated spider webs basically. 

How do you make the decision on what to choose to build for your world? 

That’s a great question. 

[01:04] Incorporating Feedback and Intuition in Writing

I have thoughts. I’m a very intuitive writer. So in my early drafts, I’m just putting in whatever occurs to me. When I’m editing and I have no answer to the question that critique partners and beta readers ask me, I write backstory. Then I come back into the manuscript and I try something.

I wrote some backstory. And then I ask that very same question: What is relevant to the story right now?

And then I make a guess and I put something in that feels right. Feelings, very intuitive. Then I put it in and then I send it back out to the beta readers and critique partners and see how they respond.

[01:43] Balancing Story Elements and Reader Engagement

And it is also like: What is going to move the story forward? So I can talk more about that and, if you have any specifics that you want to share or I can just use examples from my own writing. Because I can tell you, I have 50,000 words worth of backstory on a book that’s 150,000 words that isn’t in the book. 

Yeah. That’s one of the things that’s always really fascinated me about the creative process is like deleted scenes in movies. I’ve been watching a lot of Will Ferrell movies, and in the end they always show the bloopers and when they’re riffing on jokes, how they do the joke over and over in different ways.

And so it’s here’s the versions of the joke that didn’t make it in the movie. I’m always really fascinated by what gets trimmed off the edges. And because there’s gold in there sometimes. And why would a creative professional choose to include this, but not that? 

Is it their decision? Is it their audience’s decision? Is it in a movie’s case, the director or the producer’s decision? It’s really interesting to me. 

Yeah, that is fascinating. 

[02:46] The Editing Process and Reader Experience

I think we start to get into the real nitty gritty as someone who’s edited a ton of other people’s work as well as my own work, it’s again, I come back to this kinesthetic sense of is the energy going upward or is the energy like plunk?

Does it just stop, ’cause the reader experience, we want it to have this forward movement. And I even noticed it when as I start to give direction on editing my short film. I can feel oh, we’re moving, and then things stop. Oh, we’re moving things. So we don’t ever want a stop in our story.

We want it always to be feeling like things are moving forward, even in quiet moments, even when there’s no action or no dialogue. So that’s my barometer, personal barometer. And I also have readers here for X experience. Does what I have on the page match that experience?

So I’ve made a decision about what that X experience is, and it, again, it’s a feeling.

I’ll often say in the past, a compelling read. I’m like, wow. It’s always a compelling read, no matter the book. And in this book it’s often: How do I keep people engaged, moving forward and invested, emotionally caring? So anything that hinders that, stops that, interrupts that, gets cut.

Even if I’ve labored over it for hours and days and years. Cause at the end of the day, it’s this overall experience we’re creating. 

[04:06] Finalizing the Manuscript and Testing 

And then I test it. That’s what the beta readers are for, and the critique partners. And then I do another read, have people, hopefully strangers who haven’t yet read the book, also read the book toward the end before I publish to make sure everything is happy. Like the only critique they might have is, I am so angry at your villain. I’m like– 

Yeah,That’s a good one to get. I would feel really pleased if somebody said that to me.

Or, oh, I was so rooting for her and, Ooh, I really love your secondary character. Can she have her own story? 

And I’m like-

Yes. 

Now they’re invested. Now there’s nothing about the craft. No spelling errors, no egregious typos stopping them and. Yeah. And I also am measuring that as I, in this stage with the beta readers, ’cause I’m in final phase now and I’m paying attention to what my beta readers go, oh, I think you need a glossary.

Or, I didn’t know what these Spanish words meant. And I’m like, okay, yeah I am presupposing people have some Spanish under their belt. 

Yeah.

I need to deal with that somehow. And It’s a lot of testing. A lot of testing. Yeah. I know they do that with film. And I’ll be doing that with my film and with TV. They probably have a lot of experienced cooks in the kitchen helping with the same thing. 

[05:15] Invitation and Closing 

That’s it for this week everyone. If you have any questions or you would like to get your question answered live in an episode, be sure to check out our Story Success Clinic where you can sign up and we can have a conversation that we share with the world and you can get some live coaching.

So be sure to contact me through the podcast, how to write the future.com.

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.

***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

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

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

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

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

X: https://twitter.com/BethBarany

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

C 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

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

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

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

The post Balancing World Building Elements for the Reader Experience with Jasper Ezekiel appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Literary Tropes Are Like French Fries by Laurel Osterkamp

Let’s welcome back Laurel Osterkamp as she shares with us “Literary Tropes Are Like French Fries.” Enjoy!

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Literary tropes. 

We know they are recurring patterns or themes in literature, serving as a shorthand for certain ideas or emotions.

But how do we use them to our advantage?

Think of it like this: literary tropes are like eating at McDonald’s.

You know exactly what you’re going to get.

Should you eat there everyday? Hell, no!

But sometimes it’s alright, especially if you’re in the mood for greasy, salty french fries.

Literary tropes are like McDonald’s french fries.

Readers will look at your novel and decide, “Yes, I know what I’m getting here and it’s exactly what I want.”

But, it’s easy to eat too many french fries and feel disgusting.

Am I right?

The trick is to use tropes as a vehicle to enhance your story.

Just make sure the tropes aren’t the story itself.

And if that’s unclear, here are some examples…

1. Use Tropes to Create Dynamic Characters

Tropes such as “the hero’s journey” or “the chosen one” can give readers a sense of familiarity and help them connect with the protagonist on a deeper level.

For example, I’m in the middle of Sunshine on the Reaping, so I’ve got the Hunger Games books on my mind.

Suzanne Collins uses the hero’s journey and the idea of a “chosen one” with Katniss, and again in the prequel with Haymitch.

We know ahead of time that he’ll prevail in the games, that it’s his destiny to play a major part in the revolution.

Thus, his heroic character arc becomes more about the journey and less about the destination.

This adds complexity to his character, creating a sense of destiny and purpose for the reader to root for.

Similarly, the “anti-hero” trope, where the protagonist has questionable morals or motivations, can add depth and intrigue to a character.

In Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley series, Tom Ripley is a smooth, easy-going psychopath.

Nothing, not even murder, will stop Tom from getting what he wants.

And yet, there’s something likeable about Tom.

He has an underdog quality that causes the reader to root for him.

By using the anti-hero trope, Highsmith allows readers to see Tom’s journey from a different perspective, making him layered and complex.

2. Use Tropes to Add Twists

While tropes can be used to create familiarity and engage readers, they can also be subverted to add surprises and twists to the story.

Subverting tropes means taking a familiar pattern or theme and turning it on its head.

For example, many argue that Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice, invented the “enemies to lovers” trope and established the model for a perfect Regency romance.

But those tropes are subverted in Seth Grahame Smith’s Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, when he combines a rom-com of manners with a blood-soaked zombie tale.

The result was a fresh and unique twist to a familiar story.

3. Use Tropes for World-Building

Tropes can also be used to enhance the setting and world-building in a novel.

The “dystopian society” trope has been used in many popular books.

One not-so-recent example is Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

Atwood’s dystopian novel takes place in the Republic of Gilead, formerly the U.S.

There, a woman’s worth is determined by her baby-making abilities.

Atwood’s dystopia is set in the near-future, contrasting present-day with a horrific future nightmare.

4. Adding Humor and Satire

Tropes can also be used to add humor and satire to a novel. The “fish out of water” trope, where a character is placed in a situation or setting they are unfamiliar with, can create comical situations and add levity to a story.

In Allison Espach’s The Wedding People, the protagonist, Phoebe Stone shows up at a classy hotel intending to kill herself.

However, when it turns out that she’s the only guest who isn’t part of a week-long wedding, Phoebe is sucked into the events and bonds with the bride.

Her unfamiliarity turns what would be a depressing story into something both funny and uplifting.

Literary tropes can be powerful writing tools if you use them correctly.

Whether used to create dynamic characters, subvert expectations, build a world, or add humor, tropes can elevate a story and engage readers on a deeper level.

Just use them sparingly, and with intention.

Like a box of french fries from McDonald’s, tropes can be an incredibly appetizing treat.

As long as they’re not your main nutrition source, you’re doing great!

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About the Author 

Laurel Osterkamp is from Minneapolis, where she teaches and writes like it’s going out of style. Her short fiction has been featured in Abandon Journal, Idle Ink, Tangled Locks Literary Journal, Bright Flash Literary Journal, and The Metawoker, among other places. Her new novel, The Side Project, was released on November 13th by The Wild Rose Press.

 

Follow her on Social Media:

Website – https://laurellit.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorlaurelosterkamp
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/laurel-osterkamp
Instagram: Laurel Osterkamp (@laurel_osterkamp) • Instagram photos and videos

The post Literary Tropes Are Like French Fries by Laurel Osterkamp appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Author Interview with Matt Posner, The School of Fiction

Enjoy this author interview I did with Matt Posner on his YouTube channel, The School of Fiction.

There’s loads of book marketing advice and good silliness.

Enjoy!

Resources mentioned in this interviewHeart-Centered Marketing for Fiction WritersWrite for Writers Fun ZoneDraft your Author Branding StatementABOUT MATT POSNER – THE SCHOOL OF FICTION

On his voice:

Beginners and intermediate writers of fiction — I’m Matt, and I’m here to share my knowledge with you after more than forty years of studying and practicing the craft of fiction writing. Let’s work together to make you the fiction writer you want to be!

I’ll talk about all aspects of fiction writing, from plot to dialogue to characterization, setting to mood and tone to pacing, drafting to proofreading to editing, and yes, even ethical uses of AI language models. Ask me questions in the comments below.

Besides being a writer, I’m a teacher with more than twenty years of experience, a world traveler, a photographer, and a performer. I like museums, botanical gardens, comics, and nearly all genres of fiction, drama, and poetry.

Please like and subscribe.

The post Author Interview with Matt Posner, The School of Fiction appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Collaborative Writing: Three Ways to Do It by Jasper Ezekiel

This week’s featured article is “Collaborative Writing: Three Ways to Do It by Jasper Ezekiel.” Enjoy!

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My husband and I write together more often than we go on dates.

Almost every day has a portion of it dedicated to working on our current stories.

This relationship model has helped us stay together through 2 years of East Coast-West Coast long distance, serious health issues (on both our part’s and the dogs’..)

Our collaborative writing is done in the style of 2000’s forums roleplays, something we both grew up doing, where I write a paragraph, then he writes a paragraph, but there are plenty of ways to write collaboratively. Here are a couple of ways that you can do it.

1. Paragraph Roleplays

Paragraph roleplays are an excellent way to collaborate.

The process is pretty straightforward, in my opinion.

After talking as much or as little about the plot as you want, one of you writes a paragraph starting the story.

Each one of you “controls” one (or more) characters of your choosing and you keep your writing to the actions and inner thoughts of that character.

This works great for character driven stories, where the character gets to make all of the decisions and that’s how the plot is moved forward.

One thing to keep in mind about this style of collaborative writing is to be respectful of the other person’s character, to not overstep your power over them. In the forum world, this is called “godmodding,” referring to the term “mod” or short for moderator, the name of the writer behind the character.

On roleplay forums, the character you’re writing is called your “muse.”

For example, my muse is a character named Briar, who is an evil dictator of a fantasy world. My husband’s muse is Patrick, his right hand man. (We love to write dark stories about villains.)

2. Back and Forth Chapters

Another way to collaboratively write is for one writer to write a chapter, then the next person to write the next chapter.

This style works well for both discovery plotting and having a pre-established plot that you’ve agreed on.

In this style, each writer has a little more control over all of the characters because the assumption is that both writers are making more decisions for each character due to the drawn out style of writing chapters rather than snappier paragraphs.

There are actually entire published novels in this style. One that I can think of is will grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

Both authors write about two different young boys, both named Will Greyson, and about how their lives parallel and overlap as they go to the same high school.

This book was a great inspiration for me and my adventures in collaborative writing and when I was younger I wrote a book in this style with my best friend at the time.

3. The Consultant

The final form of collaborative writing that I’d like to share works when your creative partner may have ideas but may not be a writer.

While my husband may be an avid roleplayer, he rarely writes in his own time, so when there’s a story I want to write with him, sometimes we work together on the backend and I draft it myself.

Our process generally goes like this:

We discuss the concept and the plot together. He gives me a bunch of ideas of scenes and dialogue and things his characters might do that I can write about.I write the first draft of the story on my own based on the notes I took from our discussion.I read it to him and we edit it together.I go over everything with a fine toothed comb for the final draft.

Ta-dah!

Another collaborative project finished. 

While he may not have been involved in the drafting process, his contributions to the important, nitty-gritty pieces of plot are vital to the success of our collaborative project.

I wrote an entire novel this way with him (still in the editing process, though!)

Which is Best?

It’s hard to say which style of collaborative process is going to be best for you.

If you have a writing friend you’d like to try this out with, just send them a text asking!

While everyone says writing is a lonely process meant to be done hunched over a desk late at night with a pot of coffee, my best work has been done in the company and with the help of my friends and lovers.

Happy writing!

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About The Author

Jasper Ezekiel is a poet and all around writer from the San Francisco Bay Area. He’s also an illustrator, a photographer, a fiber artist, a jokester and a huge dork. His book of poetry is called Good, Clean Mania and is available on several digital platforms, as well as in print through Amazon.

You can find him on Instagram @s8nicangel on substack

Good, Clean Mania is a collection of three zines that Jasper Ezekiel put together over the years of 2020-2022. These zines have been further edited into completion to be the book you hold in your hands today. Topics of Jasper’s poetry spans from things like God and love to a bad day at the hardware store to a connection with his cat right before she passed away.

https://books2read.com/u/mlxZ6A

The post Collaborative Writing: Three Ways to Do It by Jasper Ezekiel appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Fantasy Character Groups Made Simple with Ezra Barany

Fantasy Character Groups Made Simple with Ezra Barany – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 148

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“The really cool thing about character groups is if you’re making worlds, let’s talk about the situations where worlds are in demand in genre, and that would be fantasy. If you’re making a world like that, it’s good to get a whole bunch of different character groups.” – Ezra Barany

In this episode of How To Write the Future podcast, titled “Fantasy Character Groups Made Simple with Ezra Barany” host Beth Barany hands the mic over to her husband and fellow author Ezra Barany where he shares an introduction to creating character groups in fantasy words, exploring creating a religion and politics, giving you creative freedom in your story world. Beth Barany also shares a few of the ways she can help you with your world building from taking part in a free story success clinic to appearing on the show.

Platforms The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Amazon Music| YouTube

RESOURCES 

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

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

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

Get support for your fiction writing by a novelist and writing teacher and coach. Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast 

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 EZRA BARANY 

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

Transcript for Fantasy Character Groups Made Simple with Ezra Barany

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write The Future Podcast. I am a science fiction and fantasy writer, writing teacher, creativity coach, podcaster, obviously, and filmmaker. I’m also married to another writer. so I have a special episode for you today. My husband, Ezra Barany, is going to talk to you about character groups.

All right. Take it away, Ez.

[00:27] Introduction to Character Groups 

And action. 

Hi, I am Ezra Barany. I’ve been Ezra Barany all my life. I’m going to talk to you about character groups, which is a whole group of characters. 

[00:41] Creating Worlds with Character Groups 

The really cool thing about character groups is if you’re making worlds, let’s talk about the situations where worlds are in demand in genre, and that would be fantasy.

If you’re making a world like that, it’s good to get a whole bunch of different character groups. 

On our planet Earth, we have the different religious groups, the different political groups, the different trades. So by making a new world, you can make your new religions, you can make your new political groups. And then the fun part is knowing who your protagonist belongs to and is most affiliated with, and what character group they feel affiliated with and are most against. 

[01:29] Book Recommendations for Character Development

So there’s a book somewhere around here. It’s on your left. On my left. Ah. There’s a book called Elmhurst. It’s got milk, but there’s also a book called You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Story. 

And from this book, I found a way to come up with all these different character groups for my story. 

For example, he suggests nine, I believe. It’s been a while since I read the book. I created a nine. And I divided each set of three into three different categories. 

[02:07] Categories of Character Groups

Three is a very big thing for me at least. 

So one category of three groups is those groups that honor the soul and spirit. 

Another category of my three groups is those that honor a good lifestyle.

And the last category of three groups is those that honor physical needs. 

[02:29] Character Groups Honoring Soul and Spirit 

Looking at the first character group, those that honor the soul and spirit, I created the Knights of Sulva and I thought of the Templars. So these are people who are knights. They wield swords and shields, and they will kill anyone who doesn’t believe in the same thing they believe in. Alright.

And then I have the order of the Andle Amulet, and their only job is to protect this amulet that keeps their planet whole, complete. And then I have the Catalox and I was inspired by the Catholics, and they believe in one God, one Lord.

Those are the three who are focused on their spirituality, their connection to the soul and spirit. 

[03:18] Character Groups Honoring a Good Lifestyle 

The next are those that honor a good lifestyle. I have the Interdicts, those who worship the Sucubi and incubi and are just focused on their dreams, making their lives happy.

And then we have the Clan of the Shapeshifters, those who are just werewolves wanting to live their lives and not be disturbed by those who hate them for who they are. 

Then we have the craft guilds and shopkeepers. This includes the blacksmiths, the alchemists, the doctors. Those were the ones who honor a good lifestyle.

[03:58] Character Groups Honoring Physical Needs 

And the last was those who honor physical needs. So these I had bunched up into the Soleililists, those who honor the urges that has been granted to them. So they, they see eating and sleeping as not sins, but as a gift provided by the universe or their almighty. So they celebrate that. 

And then you have the Guild of Thieves and their motto is “Together for ourselves.” Their goal is to just steal and practice hedonism, drink, and wear jewelry. 

And then we have the Fantasy Fellowship, and their goal is to explore all their physical needs, as taboo as that might be.

[04:45] Dividing Character Groups into Subcategories

After having divided up these three categories into three different groups each, 

I then look at each group, and I won’t go into each one, but in each group, I divide them up intostatus kind of thing. 

So the Knights of Silva– in other situations you have the ranks of Grand Commander, commander Officer Chevalier, and here I’ve divided them up into the Rain Squadron, the Sun Squadron, the Earth Squadron, the Moon Squadron.

And then for the order of the Andel Amulet, I’ve divided them up into Warrior, Archer, Scout, Cavalry. 

And then for the Catalox, divided them up into the pope- like leader. And then we have the cardinal, the archbishop, the bishop and priest, and the followers. But I’ve named them differently based off of chess. So we have the Rook, the Arch castle, the castle, and then you have the followers who are called pawns. 

[05:47] Assigning Colors and Symbols to Groups 

After dividing each group into these different statuses and squadrons or whatever classes you want to put them in, I give them a different color and a different symbol. 

For example, in the Knights of Sulva, the Rain Squadron, their color is dark blue and their symbol is a raindrop.

The Sun Squadron, their color is yellow and their symbol is a sun. For the Order of the Amulet, their color is a light blue wool clothing, and they have a sword on each shoulder. That’s their symbol of their light blue cape. The archer, their color is green and their symbol is a bow and arrow on each shoulder.

[06:30] Conclusion and World-Building Tips

So these are ways that you can intricately create different groups, get a feel for what each group’s mission statement is, and what their goals and dreams are. And once you have that, you can divvy up within the category the different classes or organizations, or status or ranks within the group and find those connections. Maybe there’s trouble within the ranks of one specific group. Play with that. And it’s a great way to build your world.

[07:07] Want more world building help?

So that’s it for this week on How to Write the Future Podcast. 

If you have questions about your world building, then I wanna let you know of a few ways that you could get help.

One of them is you can check out our World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers. It’s a free guide that you can download and answer the questions and work through it to think through your story’s world.

Now another way that you can get support is you can be a guest on my podcast in my Story Success Clinic. I will coach you and help you on air. We record it and then I put it onto the podcast and we take some time and look at your work together and I give you some coaching. So that is another way that you could get help with your world building.

A third way is if you have your manuscript finished. If your first draft is completely done, then you can check out our group coaching program for genre novelists, specifically science fiction and fantasy novelists. 

Now I also want to point out another resource that includes world building questions as well as a whole bunch of other things to help you write your story.

And that’s called Plan Your Novel Like a Pro. This is a book that I co-wrote with Ezra, and it has everything that you need to help you think through your story idea so that you end up with a plan or an outline so you can write your book. Be sure to check out the link for this book in our show description or show notes and everything I’ve mentioned here, you can also find all the links for those in our show notes. 

Now, for any reason, if you have any other questions, just go ahead and email me. It’s very easy to do. You can see the contact information on the socials and if you’re very adventurous, you know what? You could even leave me a voicemail. That would be awesome.

Alright, 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.

***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

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

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

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

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

X: https://twitter.com/BethBarany

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

C 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

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

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

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

The post Fantasy Character Groups Made Simple with Ezra Barany appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

Q&A with Paper Lantern Writers

Please welcome Paper Lantern Writers to our Featured Author Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. Enjoy!

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

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About Paper Lantern Writers

We are the Paper Lantern Writers, an author collective focused on historical fiction of all eras. From the medieval world to WWII (and beyond), in locales around the world, from romantic to tragic, and back again, our books will take you on the journeys of a lifetime.

There’s a story to be told everywhere you look and we’d love to be your tour guides.

Paper Lantern Writers include: Ana Brazil, Edie Cay, C.V. Lee, Kathryn Pritchett, Linda Ulleseit, Anne M. Beggs, Mari Christie, Rebecca D’Harlingue, Jillianne Hamilton, Jonathan Posner, Alina Rubin, Vanitha Sankaran

On to Our Interview!Q. Tell us who you are and what inspires you to write.

A. We’re the Paper Lantern Writers (PLW), a dozen award-winning historical fiction writers banding together to cross-promote our books and short stories.

Writing and promoting historical fiction is an exhilarating, maddening, terrifying, mysterious, wretched, and miraculous experience, but it’s much easier when you have a fellow writer to help you out.

We’re inspired to write because the past intrigues us, and we enjoy making sense out of it by crafting emotionally-rich, adventurous, fascinating characters and stories.

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

A. At the 2019 Historical Novel Society Conference, Linda Ulleseit, Ana Brazil, and Kathryn Pritchett attended a panel about the challenges of promotion, and quickly realized that working as a group to promote each others’ books made a lot of sense.

Paper Lantern Writers started with five Northern California authors and expanded internationally. We published a historical fiction anthology–UNLOCKED–in 2022, and enjoyed it so much that we published two more: BENEATH A MIDWINTER MOON (2023) and DESTINY COMES DUE (2024). We decided to share our hard-earned writing knowledge with CRAFTING STORIES FROM THE PAST: A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION.

Q. What are you most passionate about?

A. Each of us are passionate about telling stories set in the past, but after that, our passions vary.

Our writing dips into so many historical genres: mystery and romance; family heritage stories; women’s fiction; adventure, and generational saga.

It’s a lot of fun to read the variety within our group!

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

A. Although we created PLW to promote our historical fiction–and decidedly not to critique each other’s writing–over the years we do discuss our latest works, cheer each other on, and celebrate each win.

Every month we host a write-in for our members to share space via Zoom. It’s a great way for us to announce intentions and projects, and get the job done!

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

A. All of our members are self, hybrid, or indie published, and–as every writer learns–the biggest challenge to finding readers is being seen.

There are a lot of great books coming out every week, and to keep our books from getting lost, we work together to cross-promote our fiction.

We’ve got our own Paper Lantern Writers website where we blog twice-a-week about reading and writing historical fiction. We host a Facebook Group–Paper Lantern Readers–that brings together readers and writers from around the world, and we have a monthly newsletter to share our personal stories with readers.

We’re also active on Instagram, have spoken at numerous historical fiction events, and love to share our books at book festivals.

We celebrate each other’s publications through our individual newsletters, substacks, and social media accounts.

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

A. You’ll have to read our CRAFTING STORIES FROM THE PAST: A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION to find that out!

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

A. Our weekly blogs are highly creative and each month we explore a topic we’re curious about.

In addition to our non-fiction craft book, we are publishing another anthology in November 2025.

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

A. All our information is on our website and social media. Join us there!

 

Crafting Stories From the Past by Paper Lantern Writers

Are you fascinated by writing in the past? Do you wonder how to bring antiquity to life? To meet the weighty challenge of writing historical fiction and enliven your plot, characters, setting, and story, pick up Crafting Stories from the Past from the Paper Lantern Writers. No matter how, when, or where in the historical world your imagination takes you, this guide can help.

Paper Lantern Writers, an award-winning international collective of historical fiction novelists, developed and curated this compendium of insightful how-to articles from genre experts, twenty-four chapters of hard-earned wisdom from working authors. From deciding when and what to research to building a historical world, we bring you practical advice, authorial insights, and helpful guidance to make your writing process easier, start to finish.

These incisive how-tos are followed by research and writing resources culled from the authors’ own shelves: the places these professionals go to research and write their own books. Whether you are just starting your path into the past or are a seasoned multi-book author, we have tips, tricks, ideas, and resources you can use at every stage of your writing journey.

Connect with Paper Lantern Writers

Site Link www.PaperLanternWriters.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PaperLanternWriters

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

The post Q&A with Paper Lantern Writers appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

4 Steps for Avoiding the Writing Research Rabbit Hole by Kirsten McNeill

Let’s welcome back Kirsten McNeill as she shares with us “4 Steps for Avoiding the Writing Research Rabbit Hole.” Enjoy!

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How many writers out there love to learn? 

Love to research?

You love to spend hours immersing yourself in a topic whether to include the information in a new book or for your own enjoyment.

Maybe you’re looking to learn a new writing technique and want to know as much as possible to succeed in this new skill.

The pitfall we face when researching and learning is knowing how much is enough.

It can be easy to fall down the rabbit hole and get overwhelmed by all this information.

You question how much of an expert you need to be so that the elements of your story are believable and that you feel confident in your knowledge.

When these overwhelmed feelings are dragging you down, here are four steps to set yourself up for success:

Step 1: Ask One Question

As a writer, it may feel like you have to be an expert in every career your character has or every marketing strategy out there to promote your book.

The truth is that you just have to know what specific details are going to work for you and your story.

Ask yourself: what type of information am I looking for?

What’s ONE specific question that I want answered?

When you narrow it down to one specific area, you limit how many resources you need to get the answers you’re looking for.

Plus, it gives you a deadline, so you can avoid a research rabbit hole.

Once you have the answer to your question, you can move on to something new.

Some questions you may want answered include:

What does a typical day look like for my character in their career?

What’s ONE strategy to market myself on Instagram?

How do I be productive when I only have five minutes to write?

Though these are just a few topics you can explore, the possibilities are endless!

Step 2: Connect the Information

Make a list of the resource titles (with links so you can easily find it again).

You’re not diving deep into these resources yet, you’re just compiling a list of potential options.

Each time you find a resource, ask yourself: will it give me the information I need?

While deciding which resources to use, it’s important to understand if this resource (i.e. blog post, book, writing course) directly relates to the questions you’re trying to answer.

If all you need to know is how a doctor preps for surgery, you don’t have to research every single thing about performing surgery.

If your marketing strategy is focused on Instagram, you wouldn’t look at articles about Facebook.

Focus on what’s most relevant to you and the current topic you’re researching.

Before diving deep into a podcast episode or website blog, read the title and description–if there is one.

That way you’ll know if it’ll be worth your time to explore, or if you can move on to the next resource.

It’s a BIG time saver when you narrow your search.

Step 3: Choose 3 Resources

Once you have your list of potential resources (aim for about ten total), choose THREE from the list.

This helps you avoid the overwhelm of trying to consume every possible piece of information.

Look at the titles of the resources.

Which items directly relate to the question you want answered?

For example, if you want to know more about reels on Instagram and the title of a resource is about understanding post analytics, you can skip that resource for now.

Choose three of the most relevant resources as your starting point.

Don’t delete your list yet, as you might need to come back to it later.

It may not be useful for the current topic, but it might come in handy for something else and save you time searching for the same things.

Depending on how much detail you need, you may not require more than three resources.

If your topic is common, you’ll find a lot of repeat information anyway.

It’s better to find the information you need and move forward, than to feed the fear that you’re missing something.

Step 4: Consume the Information

Now that you’ve chosen your three relevant resources, it’s time to do the deep dive.

Read or listen to it in its entirety, noting the most relevant information to your question.

Once you’ve collected all the important information, review it to see if you have answered your question.

If yes, perfect!

Nothing more to research.

If not, ask yourself: what am I missing?

Is what I’m missing directly related to the question I’m asking, or will it take me down another research rabbit hole?

Understanding that distinction can help you decide if you’re ready to stop researching or you really do need more information.

Go back through your resource list and choose ONE more.

After you’ve collected the information from that research, ask yourself: what am I missing?

Is what I’m missing directly related to the question I’m asking, or will it take me down another research rabbit hole?

Repeat this process until you have everything you need to answer that ONE specific question.

Step 5: Avoid the Research Rabbit Hole

It’s easy to feel like you need to know every single thing on a topic before you can move forward, but that holds back your momentum. It keeps you stuck in one stage of the writing process.

You only need a few key resources to help you answer your question.

Focus on the key themes and keep your progress going.

Over the last decade in my business Worthy Writers, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from countless writers and coaches.

I’ve learned skills on how to improve my writing, editing, and marketing.

I’ve created workbooks and courses, and interviewed industry professionals for my podcast.

My research on how to be a successful writer, and to help others achieve their goals, is an ongoing process.

Can anyone ever truly become an expert if there’s always something more to learn?

To make the process easier for writers to learn, grow, and connect with others, I’ve created the Worthy Writers Resource Membership.

A self-guided learning platform that contains videos, workbooks, and mini courses to help new writers, and those reconnecting to their passion for the craft, become confident and empowered on their writing journey.

Join my membership platform today, and receive a FREE 1-hr coaching call!

Use what you’ve learned through this blog to pick out the most relevant resources, which help you answer important questions and create stories with the utmost passion and confidence.

There are countless resources out there, and it would be impossible to consume everything in a lifetime.

Focus on yourself and what you want to learn.

And, as always, never forget that you are WORTHY.

***

ABOUT KIRSTEN MCNEILL

Kirsten McNeill is a Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach, Blogger, and Self-Published Writer. Her mission with Worthy Writers Coaching is to align you with your creative side through practical writing schedules and exploring your identity. Connect to your sunflower confidence to publish and share your stories with an empowered mindset.

Download the FREE workbook Feed Your Horses Confidence Thought Exercise when you subscribe to the Worthy Writers Confidence Newsletter.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/confident.kirsten

Worthy Writers Resource Membership ($15 CAD/month)

The post 4 Steps for Avoiding the Writing Research Rabbit Hole by Kirsten McNeill appeared first on Writer's Fun Zone.

How to Ask Powerful Questions to Unlock Your Creativity (and Your Life)

How to Ask Powerful Questions to Unlock Your Creativity (and Your Life) – How To Write the Future podcast, episode 147

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“As a storyteller, WHAT IF is fabulous. What if it was like this? What if it was like that? What if I did this? What if I put it this way?“

In “How to Ask Powerful Questions to Unlock Your Creativity (and Your Life)” podcast host Beth Barany, explains the power of asking questions that include Effective Questions for Creativity and how they can help with the worldbuilding for your story. She also shares her current and upcoming projects and the specialized coaching support she offers to writers.

Platforms The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts | Buzzsprout | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Amazon Music| YouTube

RESOURCES

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING – START HERE

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

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

Get support for your fiction writing by a novelist and writing teacher and coach. Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

About the How To Write the Future podcast

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

This podcast is for you if you have questions like:

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

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

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

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

Transcript for How to Ask Powerful Questions to Unlock Your Creativity (and Your Life) [00:00] Introduction and Host Background

Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future Podcast. I’m a science fiction and fantasy writer and writing teacher, coach, editor, and filmmaker. 

[00:12] The Power of Asking Questions 

Today I want to talk to you about a superpower, one of my superpowers, and that’s asking questions. 

Questions are amazing and they can also be a– I don’t wanna say crutch, I wanna say a black hole, a downward spiral into nothingness. 

So there are really powerful questions you can ask that will help you move forward in your creative work and in your life. And there’s also some questions that you can ask that won’t help you in most situations.

It’s good to know what they are, right? It’s good to know what both are. 

I have met lots and lots of people, who will say: Why me? 

It’s hard to answer that question. I’ll also say there are a lot of people, including myself, who will ask the question: Why? And there’s not always an answer to WHY?

[01:01] Effective Questions for Creativity

But there are some other powerful questions that you can ask, and the most powerful question, in my opinion, that you can ask, and I’m gonna tell you right up front is: How? 

And the second most powerful or maybe right on par with how– how do I do this? How can I get from here to there? How does this work?

The second most powerful question I would say is: what if?

As a storyteller, WHAT IF is fabulous? What if it was like this? What if it was like that? What if I did this? What if I put it this way? So HOW. And WHAT IF.

[01:35] Real-Life Applications of Powerful Questions

So just a real life example, I’m raising money for my film and I am asking. How do I do that?

And I ask other people, how do I do that? And then I ask, what if I did this? Or what if I did that? What if I throw a party? What if I do a Kickstarter? Both of which I’ve done.

What if I did these Zoom things? What if I created this kind of offer, these kind of gifts? And then I start testing that with people.

And when it comes to HOW, I use this question all throughout learning how to write fiction. How do I tell a story? How do I understand conflict? 

[02:11] Another powerful question: What? 

And I wanna say that another powerful question is WHAT.

What is this? What is conflict? What is story development? 

These questions, HOW, WHAT IF, and WHAT can, or I should say, these question words, can really help you.

[02:27] Current Projects and Updates 

Now as a second part to this episode, I wanna share with you a little bit about what I am up to. 

So a little update on, as I was talking about, film. I have my short film in in post-production, Henrietta the Dragon Slayer. And I’ve decided that this film, it’s not just a short film that’s gonna live by itself and maybe do the festival circuit.

The short film is actually a proof of concept that I want to turn into a TV series, a limited TV series, maybe eight episodes, maybe 10. I haven’t decided. 

So what I filmed is a proof of concept, meaning we’re going to take it all the way to make a beautiful little short, it’s gonna be about five to seven minutes long, and it’s going to be the opening of our TV show.

So that is one of the projects that I have in the works right now. It’s very exciting. I’m working with a small team and I am raising money for it. So you can find out about how to support this or learn more about it. Follow us on the socials, et cetera, in the link in the show description.

Okay, now the next project that I’m working on is book five in my Janey McCallister mystery series.

I am in the finishing phase of this book. I’ve been working on it for three years. It’s a big book. It follows in the life of Janey McCallister Space Station investigator on a new mission to a new location and it’s 500 pages right now, and, maybe it will come out at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026, but I’m finishing it right now and I may do a Kickstarter for it for the fans.

So stay tuned for news on that.

What else is going on? 

[04:09] Writing and Teaching Endeavors

I am a writing teacher and coach, so on the writing teacher side, I teach online and in person, and I’ve done several in-person, workshops. In the last, Hmm. Gosh, I. How long has it been in the last while? I can’t count while I’m talking. Sorry guys.

And I have some upcoming. I love teaching in person live workshops. I’ve even been flown to other parts of the world to teach my material and, and yeah, so I love doing that. If you want me to come and speak in person or even online, let me know. I’ve done tons of different workshops and you can go check out all the different workshops I’ve done, and the topics I cover at the speaking page on my website. 

What else is going on besides running my business as a creative entrepreneur? Oh, yeah. 

[04:55] Coaching Creative Entrepreneurs

I have been coaching people to develop their own creative entrepreneur business. That’s still in the beginning phase. I have several clients who I help with, that one person who wants to be a book coach, another person who’s An editorial assistant and a third person who wants to be a VA, a virtual assistant. So I’m helping them with the nuts and bolts and the mindset and the steps that they can take. It’s not a training program where you just read material about how to do something. I actually coach people who are ready to go and do that thing, and I help them with making connections, getting speaking gigs, putting on workshops, finding clients, getting work.

In fact, I hired one of the people I trained to do some work for me as an editorial assistant, and he’s training and working for me and it’s a really nice synergy. 

Now it’s a very specialized type of work. If you wanna be a creative entrepreneur, where do you go? Who do you talk to? I know a lot of creative entrepreneurs and I love, love helping people figure out how to turn their creative passion into a business that works for them. So if you’re interested in that, just DM me or drop me an email or connect with me through the podcast contact page. 

[06:05] Specialized Support for Writers

And then lastly, I help writers who have finished their first draft of their science fiction and fantasy novel in a small group mastermind program that meets twice a month. If this is the right fit for you, please do check out the material. I have a lovely page that explains all that I do.

If you’re not sure if this is a program for you, please contact me. It’s really for people who have finished that first draft, not 50 pages, not halfway, but finished and they want to learn how to edit and get it ready for publication and get it ready for beta readers and get it ready to bring it out into the world.

It’s not a easy process, nor is it a short process. So my program is a 12 month commitment and I have people in the program who’ve been there for a while. ’cause people all have lives. None of these people are full-time writers. And neither am I. I’m not a full-time writer. I actually don’t want to be a full-time writer.

I wanna be a writer and a teacher, and a coach, and a filmmaker and all the things. So that is what I am up to. 

Also, I have a few openings for people who don’t really fit in any kind of writing program, and they want highly customized support from me. It’s not a program. It’s not regimented. It’s highly tailored, and I only have a few spots for people who want coaching, and I will also look at work. 

You can be at any stage. You can have an idea. You can be halfway through, you could have started, but if you’re deeply committed to that, 

There’s a highly customized support coaching package, I guess I could say, that we highly customize to you. So I have a few spots for that if you’re interested and just reach out to me and we’ll get on a Zoom call or a phone call, or if you’re local to me in the San Francisco Bay Area, we can actually sit down and have a cafe meeting, which would be amazing.

I specialize in helping writers who don’t know where they fit. specifically science fiction and fantasy writers. They’re somewhere in there and they’re like, I’m not sure. And maybe they’re doing a mashup. I do mashups. 

So I took the mystery genre and I took the science fiction genre and I put them together and I’m doing that on purpose.

And I’ve thrown in some romance as well. So I have actually three genres there. I make my own secret sauce, my own kind of story, and it works. I’m well reviewed. I’ve won an award, actually a few awards and it’s really fun, but it’s not easy to do. 

So if you’re an author like that and you’re wondering, how does this story fit? How do I sell something like this? How does it work in the marketplace? and you’re not sure and you want support, highly customized, specialized support that’s unique to you, Then come talk to me. I would love to talk with you. 

[08:45] Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes

Now, just to point out, I’m gonna circle back to How I started today’s episode, which is asking powerful questions to unlock your creativity and your life.

Ask the question: HOW? How do I do this? How do I create a story with these disparate pieces and I put them together and it’s something I’m super passionate to tell? How do I do that? How do I make it work?

For example. Ask the question. WHAT IF? What if I got support? What if I got help? What if I did a search? What if I asked my friends? What if I asked people if they knew other people who could help me? 

That’s a question I often ask myself, especially as I venture into this new realm of filmmaking. 

So that’s my episode for today, everyone. 

[00:09:29] Stay Tuned – Great Episodes Coming!

Stay tuned for some great episodes coming.

We’re gonna have some interviews coming. I have an interview with a historian coming up to talk about women warriors. I have some story success clinics coming, and there’s some openings there if you wanna be a part of the podcast and come on and talk about your writing problem. And I will coach you on air live, and also I have some fun episodes coming about world building, about magic systems, about creating your own religion.

So that’s some of the episodes that are coming in the next few months, All right, 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.

***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

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A Room Of Your Own by Catharine Bramkamp

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “A Room Of Your Own.” Enjoy!

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During a writing retreat, one of the participants commented it was difficult to work because her neck is cramped from peering down at her laptop screen.

It seemed that in their new house while waiting for his office to be built, her husband had appropriated the only office in the house.

She was left to work with her clientele over her laptop and now just added more discomfort while working in the same cramped position to create her new writing projects. None of which was going particularly well.

Where do you work?

Are you so accustomed to hunching over a laptop propped up on the kitchen counter surrounded by dirty dishes and crumbs that you only manage to type out about six words before the dust on the baseboards becomes intolerable?

For millennia, the default space for women was the kitchen.

Before that, the kitchen was a closed environment for the hired help.

Before that, the kitchen was detached from the main house (because of frequent stove fires) and was exclusive to slaves.

The only progress we made was, in the absence of hired help, to take over the whole house as our domain.

Which did not mean creative work, it meant more baseboards to dust.

The head of the household escaped the house every day to work.

Women stayed home and managed everything else. And everything else marched continually and loudly through her rooms, there was no real place to think or work.

You are likely familiar with the story of how Jane Austen courageously wrote all her books in the main family living area, constantly interrupted by both that loving family and benign visitors.

Louise May Alcott couldn’t stand to be in the main house to work, and her feckless father Bronson, commandeered the only private room. So she escaped to the freezing attic to write the books that supported the family.

The trope is the women sitting in the receiving room – ready to receive while their husbands hide in the privacy of the library or study.

He closes the door and demands privacy, she is available twenty-four/seven and if she can, works in-between interruptions.

We do not need to do that anymore.

We, like Virginia Woolf, can demand and create a room of our own. Uninterrupted time is precious and we deserve it.

A writer needs her own space. 

She needs her own computer (do not share the computer, what are you thinking?)

She needs a pretty desk, a live plant, and a desk light.

She needs the security and trust that no one will ever touch, let alone read, any of her work or ideas without her permission.

She needs to be able to close the door, leave papers all over the floor, and find no footprints.

You ask, like my client, where can I find that perfect private space?

Surprisingly, it’s difficult to find the perfect space even in a very large home.

In some new re-models, a small desk is built into the kitchen to accommodate a laptop and corkboard, all the better for parents to keep track of the family schedule.

But again, not necessarily better for creative work.

Although it is cookie-adjacent.

To risk sounding woo-woo, spend time in each room of your home (we are assuming our writing is very work from home).

Is the room oriented east or west?

Is there a north-facing window or a south-facing window? 

I worked in every room in my new house and discovered that it was best to face East to watch the sunrise as I worked.

A north-facing space did not work at all.

Experiment in spaces.

Once you find the best feeling space, now can you re-purpose it to your own uses?

A closet?

A deep window seat?

A separate she-shed?

The conversion may not happen quickly but it’s worth the search and later, a remodel.

Where is the desk in the room?

Many writers are more comfortable facing the door than working with their backs to the door.

Facing the door prevents anyone from sneaking up on you.  

Not that a family member would do that on purpose but it’s better to see who and what is coming at you.

Do you want to gaze out the window?

And of course, for all of us, what is the Zoom background?

In this new, small house, my best space ended up being the landing to the second floor.

Here we installed a skylight, large windows facing east, and a built-in bookshelf deep enough for a small file box.

The beauty is we don’t need the space we used to.

Books can live all over the house.

Physical files don’t need to be at our fingertips, they can live in the garage or basement.

My desk is just large enough for a larger monitor and a separate keyboard.

Two feet behind me is a green wall.

I upload library backgrounds for my Zoom calls.

I follow Instagram feeds of spectacular libraries and studies because I still love them.

But working in my tiny loft suits me and keeps me away from the bustle and work of my husband who had no problem working in a north-facing office (ahem, surrounded by my book collection).

Perhaps the best writing space is one room away from the center of the house, a physical reminder that we have a life and interests that are not central to the family.

From the workshop, we encourage our friend and fellow writer to make her own space again. She did.

She immediately called her husband and asked him to order (because he loves to do that kind of work) a large monitor and keyboard.

He moved to the half-built space that is to be his eventual office and she moved back to her office space.

She is delighted, glowing, creating new work, and her neck has much improved.

You can do the same.

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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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