Welcome to the Resilient Writers Radio Show! This is the podcast for writers who want to create and sustain a writing life they love. It's for writers who love books, and everything that goes into the making of them. For writers who wanna learn and grow in their craft, and improve their writing skills. Writers who want to finish their books, and get them out into the world so their ideal readers can enjoy them, writers who wanna spend more time in that flow state, writers who want to connect ...
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How to Choose a Writing Project and Stick With It
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In this last episode of Season 4 of the podcast, I am doing a solo show talking about how to choose a writing project, as well as the mindset shifts we need to make in order to stick with the project we've chosen. Let's banish Shiny New Idea Syndrome once and for all! Here's a link to where you can find the Essential Book Outline resource I mention…
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Your Heart Knows the Way, with Meredith Heller
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22:10
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This week on the podcast, I'm speaking with a poet and that always means opening our heart, doesn't it? Join us as we explore the heart-centred, authentic and more vulnerable sides of this art of writing -- and enjoy a little poetry break as well! Meredith Heller is the author of Writing by Heart, Write a Poem, Save Your Life, and several poetry co…
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Sell Your Book Without Selling Your Soul, with Emily Enger
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Writing the book is one thing, but many authors cringe when it comes to put ourselves "out there" and ask people to buy the book. Today I'm speaking with book marketing expert Emily Enger, who advocates for "good enough" book marketing so that you don't have to sell your soul while selling your book. Listen in as we dive into how to do just that! Y…
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Let It Go: Creating a Sustainable Writing Life, with Chelene Knight
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In this episode of the Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m speaking with Chelene Knight, an acclaimed author known for her novel "Junie" and memoir "Dear Current Occupant." Chelene is also the founder of Breathing Space Creative, a literary studio focused on creative sustainability and coaching for writers. In this episode, we’re talking about Chelen…
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How to Format Books for Self-Publishing, with Monique from Atticus.io
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This is a special episode because I am sharing a replay from my First Book Finish program when we had Monique from Atticus.io come into to speak with us about how to use their easy software to format your books for self-publishing. During the episode, Monique offers a special deal for listeners of The Resilient Writers Radio Show. Sign up for Attic…
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Maintaining Control Over Your Story, with Lynne Golodner
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28:03
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This week on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I'm speaking with author and publisher Lynne Golodner. Lynne is the author of nine books, as well as many articles, and host of the Make Meaning podcast. Our discussion focuses on Lynne's writing journey, her latest novel "Woman of Valor," and her experiences within and outside the Orthodox Jewish comm…
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Staying True to the Story, with Sara Power
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This week on the podcast, I am delighted to be speaking with my friend Sara Power. We're talking about short stories! Sara has just published her first collection of stories, to much acclaim. We talk about the story as an offering and staying true to the story. If you're a lover of short stories, you don't want to miss this episode! Sara Power’s st…
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From Notes to Novel -- 5 Key Steps, with Savannah Gilbo
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31:18
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This week on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I'm chatting with Savannah Gilbo. Savannah Gilbo is a certified developmental editor and book coach who helps fiction authors write, edit, and publish stories that work. She’s also the host of the top-rated Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast, where she delivers weekly episodes full of simple, actionable…
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Writing a Romance Readers Love, with Danika Bloom
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This week on The Resilient Writers Radio Show, I’m chatting with my friend Danika Bloom. Danika is a USA Today bestselling romance author and the lead cheerleader at AuthorEverAfter.com where she mentors and supports pre-published romance writers to finish and indie publish their first books. Her most recent book is The Billionaire's Shrubbery. We …
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Finding the Shape for Memoir, with Beth Kaplan
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This week, I'm speaking with Beth Kaplan -- a fellow Canadian author -- about writing non-fiction. We get into finding the right shape for memoir, finding the thematic "hot moments" for your story, and the true nature of drafts. Beth is a former actrress and the author of a biography and two memoirs -- All My Loving and Loose Woman. The latter was …
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This week on the podcast I'm speaking with Beth Barany, and we get into story structure, play and experimenting -- especially for Science Fiction and Fantasy. Beth is an award-winning novelist, master neurolinguistic programming practitioner, and certified creativity coach for writers. She's also an experienced international speaker and podcaster. …
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This week, I'm chatting with Karen Lea Armstrong, about her novel DROWNPROOFING, which is set in Northern Ontario. We talk about what it means to write a so-called "regional novel" -- one with such a strong sense of place. And we talk about Karen's publishing journey. Karen was in my First Book Finish program, so it's such a delight to see this boo…
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How to Finish a Book...Even When Life Gets Hard
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36:17
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In this week’s episode, I’m speaking with Elizabeth Chatsworth, who is the author of the steampunk fantasy series, The Brass Queen. She’s also been in my First Book Finish program. We talk about how she wrote the sequel to The Brass Queen – Grand Tour: Brass Queen II – while facing some challenging life circumstances, and the roller coaster ride of…
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Writing can be challenging at times, even more so when we’re tired. The problem nowadays is that it seems like we’re all always tired. Doesn't it feel that way to you? If we want to write for the rest of our lives and finish our books, we need to make sure we’re getting enough rest so we have the energy to write. But don’t fret—there are lots of li…
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In this final episode of Season 3, I'm going back to interviews with writers who answered my final question: "What does it mean to you to be a resilient writer?" Listen to see if their answers match up with your understanding of what it means.By Rhonda Douglas Resilient Writers
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8 Lessons I've Learned from Helping Almost 200 Writers Finish their Books
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In this final episode of this Finishers mini-series, I am sharing some of the lessons I've learned in the past four years from helping nearly 200 writers to finish their books -- finish drafts, revise, edit and get their books out into the worldBy Rhonda Douglas Resilient Writers
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There are times when we wonder if it's all worth it, if our intention to finish a book and get it out into the world really matters. Join me for the first episode in a series dedicated to all the writers intending to finish their books in 2024.By Rhonda Douglas Resilient Writers
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Finishers Series: How to Manage a Book-Length Project
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As we start work on our book and the idea starts to take shape, the amount of work a book-length project takes can feel overwhelming. You’re left paralyzed and with a half-done draft—so now what? You have to change the way you view your book so you can turn it into a manageable project. Don’t let fear hold you back. It’s time for you to finish! Tod…
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Finishers Series: How to Fit Finishing Into Your Busy Life
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Here's a truth: no one really has time to write a book, especially a first book. Yet we can still manage to get them written and out into the world. In today's episode I'll walk through how you can fit finishing your book into an already busy life. And here's a free resource for you as well -- my guide called 30 New Ways to Find More Time to Write.…
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Finishers Series: The 6 Phases of Finishing a Book
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In today’s episode, I’ll walk you through the six phases of writing a book, which will not only make the overall book-writing process easier, but will help you defeat your self-doubt and get your book out into the world.By Rhonda Douglas Resilient Writers
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Writing a book and getting it published is a wonderful, fulfilling process… and it’s also very intimidating, especially for first-time authors and beginning writers. But don’t worry, writer - there’s a lot you can learn to make these processes easier, and Ellen Baker knows all about them. As she’ll tell you, some things take a lot of trial and erro…
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Doing research may be the highlight of the writing process for you, or it might be the part you put off as long as possible. Either way, research is critical—but it doesn't have to involve sitting at the computer for hours. Instead, author Mary Carroll Moore used the people around her as resources. Their insight helped make Mary’s writing accurate …
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Writer, have you ever been afraid of sharing your work? Finding the courage to do so can set you down a new path in your writing life, perhaps one you never thought was possible. Author Esther Schultz has been writing her whole life, but she never shared her work with anybody until her mother-in-law moved in. But after receiving encouragement from …
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Life has a wonderful habit of getting in the way of our writing time. But if we want to finish our books, we can't stand by and let it happen. We need strategies to make time to get to the page. Author Debra Martens developed her own while constantly moving between countries and dealing with recurring illness, and even uses a lesson from time spent…
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As writers, we may sometimes write myths - but we can also be affected by them. I’m not talking about fantastical stories in this case, though. I’m talking about myths about writing, which harm us and can keep us from making progress, or keep us from writing, period. This week, we'll explore three myths that impact writers and how, once we know how…
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As writers, we can be avoidant when it comes to sharing our writing. It can be an uncomfortable experience, especially with something as intimate and close to our lives as a memoir. Author Stephanie Kain faced this dilemma when writing her memoir, and it left her wondering how she could get past her discomfort, especially when living in a small tow…
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Kimberly Ward knew she wanted to write a book about her experience taking her family sailing around the Caribbean. She came to my Book Finishers Bootcamp and took what she learned there to finally FINISH the book that had been years in the making. In this episode, Kimberly shares her experience as a new Indie writer. Listen for tips on finishing a …
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Achieving a state of flow in your writing life may sound difficult, or even like an impossible dream. But there are concrete ways that you can cultivate more flow in your life, and you don’t need anything special to get started. Insights from the field of positive psychology can have a huge impact on us as writers, and by learning a little more abo…
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A Long and Satisfying Journey to Publication
29:24
29:24
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I'm so pleased to welcome my friend Mari Ruddy to the show today. Mari is an alumna of my First Book Finish program, and her new book is just being released. Mari leaves nothing out in sharing her long and satisfying book completion journey with us, including lessons about self-publishing a quality book and how she raised the necessary funds to get…
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Welcome Resilient Writer! We're here for you with another Season of The Resilient Writers Radio Show. Inspired by your feedback and the thousands of downloads so far, here's what you can expect from Season 3.By Rhonda Douglas Resilient Writers
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Simple Rules for Writing, with Gary Barwin
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Our identities, experiences, and connections all play into our writing. They’re convenient sources of inspiration, and they allow us to write confidently. But does writing our own experience let us connect with others? Author Gary Barwin says yes, as he believes that if we analyze how our own lives are interesting and why we write from them, we can…
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Keep Coming Back! Thoughts on Persistence
12:39
12:39
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This is it, writer: we’ve reached the end of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, Season 2. Tune in to this episode for a brief recap of what’s been covered in this Season, as well as a quick look into what you can expect in Season 3. We’ll also talk about persistence, which is key for us as resilient writers, and the upcoming Book Finishers Bootcamp.…
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As writers, we have a lot of feelings about finishing our books. But whether we feel excited or apprehensive at the idea, we can’t finish our books unless we’re ready. Now, being ready doesn’t mean having a completed draft. It certainly helps, but getting to the point of being ready to finish can come much, much earlier in the process than that. In…
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The Path Through Biography, with Merilyn Simonds
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38:20
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When Merilyn Simonds was asked by a friend to be the author of her biography, Merilyn agreed. The problem Merilyn then ran into was that she didn’t like or read biographies, but couldn’t abandon her promise. It wasn’t until Merilyn made an observation, one deeply connected to her friend’s life story, that the biography began to flow. And from the b…
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But what about Second Book? With Jane Baird Warren
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Part of the writing process is learning, though that may mean learning things besides new skills. This was the case for author Jane Baird Warren when she was in her MFA program and discovered the perfect genre for her was one she originally didn’t want to write in. Along the way, Jane also learned that writing one book doesn’t necessarily mean you …
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A long writing session may sound tantalising, like the “perfect” time for writing. But there is no perfect time to write, and the very idea keeps us from making progress. In fact, it can even send us down the rabbit hole of creative anxiety. But Short Time writing sessions are our friend—they allow us to stay consistent and connected to our work. A…
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Writing a Memoir in Essays, with Rona Maynard
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When we’re looking for a new writing project, it might crop up in an unexpected place. At least, that’s what Rona Maynard discovered. She needed a new writing project after leaving behind her role as an editor with a major women's magazine, and she found her inspiration through fresh eyes after adopting her dog, Casey. But Rona didn’t realize she'd…
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You might want an MFA, but is attending an MFA program right for you? They aren’t for everyone, and for some, programs aren’t even accessible with barriers like location, cost, and regular life responsibilities getting in the way. But Gabriela Pereira has the solution. She’s the founder of DIY MFA—born from her love of attending an MFA program hers…
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The Writer as Collaborator, with Anita Lahey
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Inspiration can come from many places, but what really matters is how we writers choose to use it. Take Anita Lahey, poet and nonfiction writer, who let her inspiration drive her poetry to new heights. And this led her to co-create a new project, FIRE MONSTER, one unlike anything she’d previously done: a graphic novel in verse, created in collabora…
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Some stories come along and take us over. It feels like we're compelled to write them, almost as if we had no choice. Historical fiction can have that sense of urgency for some writers, and because the historical reality comes with such high stakes -- as in the case of the Second World War, for example -- these stories also make for fabulous novels…
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How to Get Useful Feedback on Your Writing
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Feedback is a great writing tool—if you get it at the right time. Writers have a bad habit of asking for feedback way too early in the first draft process, when often they’re not really looking for feedback, but something else entirely... But this is something we can avoid, as Rhonda Douglas tells us in this Episode of The Resilient Writers Radio S…
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Book Marketing Secrets, with Shelby Leigh
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Self-publishing gives us a lot of freedom, but it also means we have a lot of learning to do. Especially when it comes to marketing our own books. In today’s internet age, we can reach countless people. But how do we reach the ones who want to buy our books? Shelby Leigh, book marketing strategist, has the answer, and all the tips you need to use T…
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Your Writing Routine and Your Personality
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If you knew your writing personality, it would make developing a writing routine a lot easier. And thanks to Brooke Adams Law of We Are Writing Brave, you can learn your writing personality through a simple quiz. Besides writing routine know-how, Brooke also has a wealth of knowledge on hybrid publishing. As a book coach, Brooke was introduced to t…
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How to Write a Book that Works: Revisiting the Classic 3-Act Structure
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Tempted as you may be to break the mould, sometimes sticking with the classics is the way to go. Specifically in today’s episode of The Resilient Writers Radio Show, we’re talking about a classic story structure—the essential three act structure. In this first episode of Season 2, Rhonda Douglas explains in some detail how the three act structure w…
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Thanks for being with us for Season 1 of The Resilient Writers Radio Show! We've loved being on this journey with you and hope you have enjoyed it too. We're now preparing Season 2 for you which will air in early July 2023. So stay tuned! And if you haven't yet written a review, would you take a second and do that now? Thank you! And we'll talk aga…
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For writers, creative anxiety is almost unavoidable. It can make us doubt ourselves, our work, and whether we should continue—which makes it critical that we learn how to manage it. There are plenty of different techniques out there, and in this week's episode, host Rhonda Douglas share techniques she finds make a big difference, and walks us throu…
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Playing, Plotting, and Pantsing with Gail Anderson-Dargatz
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Writers, do you make sure you take time to play? No? Well today’s guest, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, is here to tell us why we should. In fact, she’ll tell us about four Ps that are very important—play (of course), passive protags, planning, and pantsing. With the right know-how, we can make our stories stronger, and shorten our writing time. As Gail sa…
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He Doesn't Know Anything: Interview with Michael Blouin
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Don’t let the title mislead you—author Michael Blouin knows a lot. Specifically, he knows a lot about persistence, and how it can impact your writing life forever. Michael’s learned firsthand how almost giving up could have cost him big, and how we can’t let rejection bog us down. After all, sometimes all it takes to change everything is one accept…
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Behind the Scenes of a Small Literary Press
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In the world of publishing, small and independent presses don’t get nearly enough love. Large publishing houses may have all the metaphorical glitz and glamour, but working with an independent press has its own advantages. Aimée Parent Dunn, owner of Palimpsest Press, tells us what working with an independent press is like, from manuscript selectio…
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As writers, we have tons of tools at our disposal. Strategies, motivation, beloved writing utensils or software… But many writers are missing an incredibly valuable tool—self-compassion. In this solo episode, host Rhonda Douglas shares how we as writers can use just a little bit of grace and self-compassion to create a writing life we love. We need…
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