Hello Writers and Crafters! I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 171 of the podcast and it's November 20, 2024 as we record this. Main Topic: PATREON: Thank you to new patron Elizabeth Amber from Anchorage, Alaska. THANKS! I appreciate you. Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre. Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates): (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out) Print out NOW! On Amazon. https://wordcrafters.org/unlock-the-heart-of-your-memoir/ (Valerie's teaching a class in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, December 7, 2024; 10am-5pm.) EMBODY (fit and intuitive) on Patreon. (Valerie) writing new short stories from Ghost Story Weekend inspiration (Erick) (got feedback from the participants; all loved it.) tying up loose endings (finishing energy at the end of the year); clean slate for my birthday. (Erick) re-thinking Patreon (Erick) What are you reading? Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz); A Happy Pocketful of Money (David Cameron Gikandi) Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury)(Shout out to local bookstore: Parallel Worlds; NE Portland, OR); Flight of Icarus (Stranger Things prequel book)(Caitlin Schneiderhan) Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits): Tidbit #1: Jane Friedman's newsletter The Hot Sheet, amazing information (fundamental) Tidbit #2: Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check): Segment 4 (Main Topic): Start with a character, What's your story? (Valerie) archetypes intrigue/attrack me and do something different than before. (Erick) theme early on (V); why this character, why now (E); element of surprise makes it interesting (E); be open to surprise; fully plot out after the brainstorming. Create a structure and continue to pants through it. Invent a thing on the way to something else. Plotting isn't boring. Defy the plot points. If char reacts to a stale moments, it's because you are stale and bored. When stuck (process changes), a day-to-day thing: toss it out if you are rewriting it too much. What are the necessary elements? Straight-forward way. "The scene actually begins here." If it's content and not story, it has to go. Keep changing the container as you right. Know the beats before you sit down. (Erick) Next episode: Find Us: Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor Patreons: https://patreon.com/valerieihsan https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries Tools: Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184 ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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