The Confident Fiction Author
Episodes
#52: Do It Scared: The Secret to Growing as a Fiction Author
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For me, courage rarely feels bold in the moment—it usually feels terrifying.Butterflies in my stomach. Second-guessing. The temptation to wait until...
#51: Author Maturity: The Art of Letting Go
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s face it: growth doesn’t always feel exciting—it often feels like letting go.Maybe it’s a tool you once loved, a routine that used to wor...
#50: [ENCORE EPISODE] Never Give Up
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I’m bringing back an encore episode of one of the most practical and encouraging topics we’ve covered: Never Give Up—Why Your Writing...
#49: Managing Your Energy: A New Year Habit for Authors
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We hear a lot about time management… but for fiction writers especially, the real game-changer is energy management. If you’ve ever had the time ...
#48: How to Outline Your Fiction Writing Year Like a Week
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re anything like me, you may be coming out of the holiday fog still asking, “Wait, what day is it again?” January can feel like a groggy ...
#47: Writing Through the Holidays: Low-Stress Strategies
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The holidays are here—twinkling lights, Christmas cookies, shopping lists, and parties galore.“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” righ...
#46: Permission to Pause: How to enjoy the holidays without writing guilt
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I love this time of year—Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve; all the lights and cozy gatherings. But, being honest: for many of us, the holi...
#45: Exploring Another Culture — Research Tips to Get Started and to Avoid Pitfalls
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As fiction authors, we’re natural explorers—we chase stories into new eras, new worlds, and yes, new cultures. But when you’re researching a cul...
#44: Writing Beyond Your Own Experience — Respectfully Portraying the “Other”
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever had a story idea that included a character or culture outside of your own—and then hesitated?You wondered, What if I get it wrong? Wha...
#43: How to Win Arguments with Your Writing Brain
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wanted to do something simple—like leave a book review, reply to a reader email, or edit a single chapter—yet it suddenly felt impos...
#42: Why You Should Stop Fearing the Dictation Mess
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s be honest: dictated drafts can look messy.I still remember the first full scene I dictated—nearly 1,500 words while doing dishes. When I had...
#41: How to Start Dictating Your Novel Today (No Fancy Gear Required)
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does the thought of dictating your novel bring up images of expensive microphones, digital recorders, and pricey software?That’s exactly what kept m...
#40: From Epic Failure to Fiction Freedom: My Journey With Dictation
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you hear the word dictation, you might picture speed—writers rattling off 10,000 words a day and hitting sky-high word counts.But here’s the ...
#39: [ENCORE EPISODE] Rethink Your Mornings
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I’m bringing back an encore episode of one of the most practical and encouraging topics we’ve covered: my morning routine.Now, let me s...
#38: Never Give Up: Why Your Writing Dream Is Worth Holding On
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever felt like maybe it’s just not working?Like you’ve been trying, learning, starting over… and still haven’t “arrived” where yo...
#37: Too young? Too old? What is the ideal age to become a fiction author?
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is there such a thing as the ideal age to become a fiction author?You might think it’s in your twenties or thirties when energy is high and dreams a...
#36: Writing Seasons: How to Balance the Page and the Pile-Up
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever hit a stretch where the to-do list takes over, and your writing feels like a distant dream?Or maybe you’ve been deep in a fiction writ...
#35: Why Doing “Nothing” is Productive for Your Fiction Writing
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When was the last time you did nothing?I’m not talking about scrolling your phone or checking emails while waiting in line. I mean really doing noth...
#34: How to Build Self-Trust as a Fiction Author
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever feel like your writing goals slip through your fingers—not because you're not capable, but because deep down, you didn’t trust yourself ...
#33: From the Vault - The 5-Minute Fiction Habit
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 2024, I developed a habit I'm still using called "5-minute fiction." I did a podcast episode on this powerful writing hack, and I&ap...
#32: The Broken Emoji: Writing Through the Mess of Being Human
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know that weird thing your phone does—when you write a word and it offers you an emoji instead? That happened once when I wrote the word broken....
#31: Managing Reader Expectations: What Every Author Should Know
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever met a fan of your work and walked away wondering… Was I a letdown?I’ve been there (more than once). It’s a weird space to navigate...
#30: How to Become a Reader Again
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re a fiction author who hasn’t felt like a reader in a while… you’re not alone.Between writing deadlines, life demands, and constant di...
#29: How to Make Mental Adjustments in a Crisis to Keep Writing (Part 2)
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s face it: crisis doesn’t knock—it crashes in.Maybe it's a family emergency, a health scare, or some other chaos that pulls you away fr...
#28: Should You Hire a Sensitivity Reader?
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most authors are concerned about getting it wrong when writing about other cultures or anything they've not personally experienced, including dis...
#27: Burn the Candle: A Gentle Nudge Toward an Abundant Writing Life
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a candle on my stove that I once treated like treasure. I’d light it only on “special” days—afraid that once I'd burned it down...
#26: How to Dictate Your Next Novel
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you're a regular listener of my podcast, you know I love to dictate my fiction, and you know I love to teach my fellow authors how.And that&ap...
#25: 4 Ways You Can Borrow a Skilled Author's Confidence
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In January of this year, I flew an airplane. As in, a real airplane.How?Because I was able to borrow a skilled pilot’s confidence.And I needed to bo...
#24: Healthy Living, Healthy Writing: 3 Ways to Take Care of Yourself as an Author
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are health issues holding you back from living your best creative lifestyle?When I first started teaching authors how to dictate their novels, I thoug...
#23: Take a Break: How to Rest as an Author
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Remember the days when places of business were closed on Sundays? That was in my lifetime. In the days before pay at the pump when you had better make...
#22: From Camera-Shy to Confident: Planning an Author Photoshoot Session
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Be honest—when was the last time you updated your author headshot? If the answer is “I don’t remember” or “I had bangs back then,” it’s ...
#21: Can Fiction Writing Be Effortless?
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve spent any time writing fiction, you might be laughing at the idea of it being effortless. After all, there is: Writer’s block.The stru...
#20: How Your Morning Routine Could Make You a Better Writer
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I want to start off with acknowledging that you may not be a morning person. That's okay! When I read the book, "Miracle Morning" by Ha...
#19. How (Not) To Quit Writing - Preventing or Recovering from Burnout
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Time for a deep breath. Then come in close, my friend. The past few weeks on The Confident Fiction Author podcast, we've talked a lot about decl...
#18: How to Know What to Quit, When, and How
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you heard the saying, "Mama didn't raise no quitter?" I think we all grow up hearing, “Don’t be a quitter!” But what if the...
#17: How to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Your Author Career
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a world of information overload and analysis paralysis, what if I told you there was a formula to help you decide which things were most worth your...
#16: The Art of Downtime - Three Rs for the Author Life
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week's podcast episode is a deep dive into three Rs of the author life.Because living a confident fiction author lifestyle is not just about...
#15: Decluttering Your Author Life to Make Room for Creativity
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if I told you the key to doing more is actually doing less? You may be struggling to find time to sit down and write… or you may feel scattere...
#14: Break Free from Overwhelm: Mastering Essentialism for Your Author Life
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You’re likely familiar with the concept of "minimalism." While I’m not a die-hard minimalist myself, I am working to pare down my posses...
#13: Get it Together by Getting it Going
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if I told you there’s one method you can use to overcome any obstacle? Since you listen to this podcast, you’re probably at least a little b...
#12: Is Dictation Considered AI-Assisted Writing?
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to technology, we always tend to feel a little behind. But with the advent of generative AI, discussions within the author community are...
#11: Revising Your Author Mindset – Eliminate Limiting Beliefs, Embrace Liberating Truths
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The first few weeks of a new year can be tough, especially for authors. We're feeling the creative slump after the holidays, and we feel our goal...
#10: 5-Minute Fiction: New Habit for the New Year
29 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As an inconsistent writer, I've still managed to publish 19 books, but I've never been satisfied with my lack of daily fiction writing. My 5...
#9: Increase your reading speed by 40% with this one method (without speed reading)
22 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The holidays are a great chance to do mega tons of reading, and you most likely have books on your Christmas wish list!But what if there was a way to ...
#8: Lessons for Authors from Holiday Cooking
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Big projects, such as cooking a holiday meal, can be pretty overwhelming. Today, I'm sharing my experiences with big projects like getting Thanks...
#7: Clarity is Confidence - How to Confidently Set Your 2025 Author Goals
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you feel overwhelmed when thinking about your future as an author? Maybe you want to set goals, but aren’t even sure what those goals should be? ...
#6: Building (and Maintaining) Your Fiction Writing Muscles Through Habits and Habit Stacking
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is one of the roadblocks to your writing career a lack of consistency? Do you feel ready to conquer your writing goals in 2025, or already overwhelmed...
#5: Why I Switched to a 4-Day Work Week in 2024 (And How it Boosted My Writing Life and Career)
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Years ago, I Iearned about the 4-day work week. While I wanted to do it, I didn’t truly believe I could get as much done and that my income would su...
#4: Five Lessons from Pickleball to Help You Become a Confident Author
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The sport of pickleball pulled together years of writing lessons for Sarah, and in this episode, she shares 5 of them:1. Keep your eye on the ball (pl...
#3: How to Make Mental Adjustments in a Crisis to Keep Writing
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Intense seasons of life can make it hard to keep your writing going. If you’re a caregiver or that 911 for your family during a crisis, Sarah knows ...
#2: Three Hacks to Stay on Track as a Fiction Author and Experience More Peace
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Sarah shares three of her hacks to staying on track as a fiction author and feeling at peace while doing it. These are what help allo...
#1: What is a Confident Fiction Author and How Do You Become One?
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this inaugural episode, Sarah covers the dictionary definition of confidence, what that word means for authors, and what it means for you. She wrap...