by Nanci | Oct 6, 2025 | Craft, Podcast
You know you need to structure your story. You’re not one of those writers who thinks you can just wing it and hope for the best. You understand that readers expect certain things from a story, that there are patterns that work and patterns that don’t. But...
by Nanci | Sep 29, 2025 | Craft, Podcast
If you’ve ever hit that point in your draft where the words feel heavy, the story starts to wander, and your momentum disappears—you’ve landed in the messy middle. Every writer faces it. The difference is, some know how to push through. In today’s episode, I’m...
by Nanci | Sep 15, 2025 | Character, Craft, Podcast
Every story depends on how you introduce your protagonist. That first impression matters. If it falls flat or doesn’t provoke curiosity, your reader might not even make it to chapter two. In this episode, we’ll talk about the most common mistakes writers...
by Nanci | Aug 4, 2025 | Craft, Podcast
Backstory often gets blamed for slowing a novel down. Writers are told to cut it, sprinkle it lightly, or avoid it altogether. But here’s the truth: the wrong backstory, delivered the wrong way, at the wrong time is the problem. Used with intention, backstory can...
by Nanci | Jul 28, 2025 | Craft, Podcast
Your opening line is your reader’s first invitation into your story, so it has to do more than just start the book. It has to hook. In this episode of Writer Unleashed, I’m sharing 3 powerful strategies to craft an opening sentence that grabs attention and keeps...
by Nanci | Jul 21, 2025 | Character, Craft, Podcast
We don’t just read stories to find out what happens. We read to witness who a character becomes. So how do you show that change? Not by stating it outright, or having another character comment on it, but through behavior, inner voice, and choices that reveal an...
