How Writers Write by HappyWriter

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Episode 59 - How Darby Kane Writes Dec 31, 2020

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Welcome to Episode 59 - How Darby Kane writes

This episode with Darby Kane is more or less exactly what this podcast is all about. Darby's spirit, openness, and vulnerability touched me. I walked around on a cloud for like three days after this interview.

Darby is a fantastic author and I cannot recommend Pretty Little Wife enough. Having gotten an advance copy and burning through it in a weekend, I can attest that it is fantastic.

I want to thank Darby one more time for her interview. And now, without any further ado, here is the interview with Darby Kane.

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Episode 58 - How KJ Dell'Antonia Writes Dec 24, 2020

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Welcome to Episode 58 - How KJ Dell’Antonia Writes

This is a special episode with KJ Dell'Antonia. KJ is a faculty for HappyWriter, a podcaster herself, a friend of the show, and I think we share a bunch of personality traits. This was a fun episode for me. KJ and I discuss some of the lessons she's learned in 2020, how to manage guilt and writing, and so much more.

Make sure you check out KJs debut novel, The Chicken Sisters, which was a Reese's Bookclub Pick.

I want to take a second to thank KJ for her time. And now, without any furher ado, here is the interview with KJ Dell’Antonia.

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Monday Motivation - Thank you Dec 21, 2020

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This week's episode is a simple thank you.

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Episode 57 - How Sabaa Tahir Writes Dec 17, 2020

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Welcome to Episode 57 - How Sabaa Tahir Writes

Sabaa Tahir is a #1 NYT bestselling author and a wonderful person to interview. In this episode, Sabaa and I really dig down deep into the writing life, talking about the role of hope, some thoughts on world-building, and some lessons learned on writing a series. I loved this interview and I think I could have just keep talking and talking with Sabaa, but at last, time intervened.

I want to say a special thank you to Sabaa for her time and graciousness.

And now, without any further ado, here is the interview with Sabaa Tahir!

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Monday Motivation - Your Inner Writer Dec 14, 2020

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Welcome to Monday Motivation - Your Inner Writer

By far, the most common question I am asked when I am working one-on-one with writer, is "how do I know if I am even a writer?" And, it is so common because anyone who has ever tried to write has asked themselves this question.

So let me dive right in and answer you.

If you have a burning desire to tell stories, you are a writer. Full stop.

I believe stories don't just come from anywhere, they come from the true writer that lives inside of you. This writer is a version of you. A small slice of your entirety. In fact, you have many different versions of you. You might be a friend, a parent, a worker of some kind, a spouse, an athlete, a writer.

And think about it, you move between these versions of you when you need them. Especially now... you might be on a Zoom call as the "professional" version of you, and then gets stuck in the bathroom and all of a sudden you switch into parent version.

The point here is that you daren't one thing. You are a zillion different things.

The thing is, for many people, the writer is buried under a mound of limiting beliefs, uninspiring goals, poor time management, and misaligned values. The writer is inside of you. You are a writer, it's just that you might lack the strategies you need to bring your writer to the surface.

And so you can put the question to rest, and instead of spending your precious life energy on asking this question, and looking for some kind of external validation, instead invest that energy into building the strategies you need to live as your true, wild, resourceful and whole inner writer.

So much of the writing life is learning to become a writer from the inside-out, not just learning how to write.

This idea is the entire reason behind this podcast and HappyWriter. If you want to go deep on this and learn how to unleash your inner writer and rebuild those beliefs and goals and time management strategies, I'd invite you to check us out at HowWritersWrite.com.

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Episode 56 - How A.R. Torre Writes Dec 10, 2020

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Welcome to Episode 56- How A.R. Torre Writes

Today's interview is with best-selling author, entrepreneur, and all-around powerhouse A.R. (or Alessandra) Torre. In this interview we talk about Alessandra's new writing startup, Authors.AI which is a company that uses artificial intelligence to help authors with their development and editing process, the writing life, and so much more.

This interview is a standout because Alessandra knows story. She studies it and thinks about it. And the result is someone who has just so much amazing writing wisdom to share.

I want to say a special thank you to Alessandra for his time and graciousness.

And now, without any futher ado, here is the interview with A.R. Torre!

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Monday Motivation - Say Yes, Part Two Dec 07, 2020

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Welcome to Monday Motivation- Say Yes, Part two

After last week's episode titled "Say Yes," I had a bunch of people reach out on Instagram and email. And I gotta say, I absolutely love it when I hear from the listeners of this podcast. Sometimes I hear such kind words, sometimes people say that something I've said didn't sit well with them, and I appreciate the opportunity to broaden my perspectives.

But, regardless, I had a bunch of people reach out saying that the episode really landed with them. And so I want to take this concept of Say Yes a step further with you because I really only scratched the surface of the power in those two little words.

It turns out "Say Yes" is also a great way to build that elusive "discipline." I can go on and on and on about how most people's concept of discipline is completely off, but I won't—maybe in some other podcast—but, if you define discipline roughly as "enforcing a desired behavior," it turns out "Say Yes" accomplishes the task, with only a slight tweak.

Let me set up the scenario. Your writing time is at 5 am and you just sucked into a new show on Netflix and the pilot episode is INSANELY good, as the first episode of Westworld or Lost or Homeland. Right as that second episode starts to load the little voice in your head says, "Dear Future author, you really should go to bed right now so you can wake up early and get your pages in."

And this is when we think about discipline. We try to call upon some kind of hidden force of will that will just propel us into taking the right action, getting to bed, and waking up refreshed and ready to write. We essentially try to "say no" to episode two of that new show.

I've yet to meet a single person who can keep up that kind of "say no" discipline and 1) move towards their goal and 2) be happy about it. We, humans, are hard-wired for pleasure, which is why we want to watch that Netflix episode. It feels fun and good. We are excited and want to see what happens.

Now, let's replay this scenario. You've just watched the first pilot episode of that amazing show and as the two-second episode is loading, you check the time and ask yourself, "what do I want to 'Say Yes' to? Do I want to say yes to watching this episode, which will be available for all time? Or, do I want to Say Yes to writing in the morning?

Can you feel the shift? Now you have a decision to make, but not a negative one. You aren't eliminating anything, you are deciding to "say yes" to the thing that holds a higher value in your life. If you can master this inner dialogue in the writing life, you'll never another ounce of discipline, because another truth of humanity is that choice trumps force.

Learn to Say Yes, and you can move in the direction you want because you'll be choosing to step into it. You'll have no need for discipline because you'll be actively deciding what you do with your life.

Thank you so much for listening, and I hope you have a wonderful week of writing.

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Episode 55 - How Christine Feehan Writes Dec 03, 2020

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Welcome to Episode 55 - How Christine Feehan Writes

Here is another interview with a prolific author. Christine Feehan has published over 80 books. 80! This interview has so much for series writers, and people who find themselves able to just work and work and work.

As I was interviewing Christine, I was again reminded of how each and every writer has to find the way in which they produce books. Christine has her way, which is to work and work work, but I've interviewed other authors who write for just a few hours. Either way is fine, as long as you are getting good words on the page.

Thank you again to Christine for her time. And now, without any further ado, here is the interview with Christine Feehan.

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Monday Motivation - Say Yes Nov 30, 2020

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Welcome to Monday Motivation - Say Yes

Each year around this time I become extremely reflective. There is just something about the shortened days and the cold and the coming of the New Year that makes me go into this like cocoon of thoughts. I go over the past year in my mind and celebrate my wins and examine my losses. I try really, really hard not to judge myself. It is so easy to judge and then fall into the trap of believing I should have done something different.

Judgment is not the point. The point is to learn something and reset my sights on where I am directing my ship. I've found unless I really set clear goals each year and then keep them in front of me daily, I wander. I'll get distracted and wind up chasing a new project. It winds up that I don't really get anything done, just a ton of half-finished projects.

And so this season—really it is the entire month of December—has become a kind of ritual for me to clarify and focus on what I want to set my aim on in the coming year.

This year, though, is different. I suspect there is not a single person on the planet who could say "I saw 2020 coming." On top of a global pandemic, I launched a start-up and moved across the country, and so this year I am bringing a new lens that I learned from my wonderful coaching training.

In coaching, we use the term "say yes" a lot to reaffirm a positive decision a person is making to accomplish a big goal. For example, if you have a goal of finishing a novel in 2021, that is a HUGE goal. To accomplish that goal, what are the things you need to "say yes" to? Do you need to say yes to going to bed early so you can wake up? Do you need to say yes to developing a writing routine? Do you need to say yes to stick with and finishing a book? Do you need to say yes to getting started?

Do that now. Think of your writing goal. The thing you are really after in this game. As long as you aren't driving, it's okay to close your eyes and really sink into this visualization. I try to feel what it would be like to have the dream. How would you look at yourself? How would it feel to hold that book in your hand? Or to finally lose that weight or rebuild that relationship you know is strained?

Once you have that visualization, take out a piece of paper and just write down ALL Of the things you would need to say yes in order to accomplish that goal. Don't slow down. Don't think about it. Don't judge yourself, just write and write and write and write.

Now you have the choice. You can say yes to those things, or you can choose to say yes to another set of options that will lead to a different outcome.

As we come into 2021, if you want to make a big change in your life, focus on the yesses. Let your daily actions be in response to your yesses, and while I can't promise that you'll always accomplish your goals, you'll give them a damn good run, and you just might find you have so much more potential and capability than what you imaged. And it all starts with saying yes.

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Episode 54 - How Mark McGuinness Writes Nov 26, 2020

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Welcome to Episode 54 - How Mark McGuinness Writes

So before we kick off this week's episode, I want to give a quick update on HappyWriter. This last week, if you attended my live workshop on how to 3x your writing output in 2021, you'll know I introduced the evolution of HappyWriter. Like any new project, we've been building and listening and seeing what works and what needs to be tweaked. So, I have a couple changes that I want to quickly announce.

First one is that HappyWriter is now entirely focused on helping fiction writers get their book finished. Everything we build and offer is in the service of that goal. To do that, we are launching our core curriculum, which is a nine-part class on how to build a monster writing process to guarantee you get your book done. The second big change is we now have writing workshops for every single member to exchange work with similar genre and experience level writers. You can get feedback on your work, make some writing friends, and build accountability. The last change is that we are only offering membership to HappyWriter on a yearly-basis. Why? We want to build a community of writers who are obsessed with getting books finished and published, and knowing we'll all be able to learn and grow together for a year is awesome. It builds community and relationships, and in a way, signing up for a year is a commitment to getting your book done.

Of course, we still have all of the online courses and live events and author masterclasses and community and live coaching calls. I am so insanely proud. HappyWriter is what I wish I had as I learned to write and before I went to get my MFA.

So, if you want to get a book done, HappyWriter is the place for you. Full stop. To join, head on over to HowWritersWrite.com.

Okay, episode 54 with Mark McGuinness. Interviewing Mark felt like interviewing a creative sage. Mark is a creativity coach for artists and performers, but he is also a poet. This is a guy who really understands what it takes to use our creativity, and I think you'll find Mark answers my questions is such unpredictable and powerful ways. Mark is a gracious guest and I kid you not this interview went by in a snap for me. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well.

Thank you again to Mark for his time. And now, without any further ado, here is the interview with Mark McGuinness.
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Mark McGuinness Creative Coach Website: https://lateralaction.com/articles/21-years-creative-coach/
Mark McGuinness Podcast: https://lateralaction.com/21stcenturycreative

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