I was, in fact, thinking about it a great deal, while deadline after deadline landed on my head like a series of dead fish, all of which smelled horrible and had to be gotten out of the house as quickly as possible.

Now, I'm only doing one book, and while I'd hoped to have a new microphone so the sound quality would be wonderful, my budget has every penny accounted for, and new mics are pricey.

I'll get the next podcast out by the 15th, and I am very sorry that everyone has had to wait so long.

In This Episode:

• Originality vs. Uniqueness
  Why originality is not necessarily good, and why uniqueness is critical ... plus how to be unique in your writing (it's easier than you think.)
  1. How to Write Suckitudinous Fiction
  2. Holly Lisle's Create A Character Clinic
• How Many Characters Is Too Many
• Working With Created Languages: Routes to shorter words
• Questions From A Young Writer
  1. Is writing multiple books at the same time productive?
  2. Will my agent submit my works, or will I?
  3. Are agents and publishers young-author friendly?

Music from GarageBand loops.

The One On Deadline answers three questions:
How do I make my story interesting?
Should I create a language for my fantasy novel?
How should I write the backstory for my characters?

The first Holly Lisle On Writing Promo.

This episode is dedicated entirely to listener questions.

In This Episode:

• How do I find a publisher?
• How much do I pay to get published?
• How do I collaborate with another writer?
• What do you think of my book?
• How do I create good names for my characters?
• Will you be doing any more manuscript crits?
• Where do I find those cool Work-In-Progress bars?
• Related site: Forward Motion Writers' Community
• What do you think about prologues?
• A Thank-You
• How do you do worldbuilding notes?
• Related material: My online worldbuilding notes
• Listener story -- Learning outlining from role playing
• How do I get the theme into the story?
• Related article: Finding Your Themes
• Contact Information
• Find my nonfiction books
• Find my fiction books
• Closing remarks

Bumper Music

Everything this time was straight from the royalty-free collection in GarageBand.

With apologies for the delay on the next podcast, real life has intruded, and I'm in the midst of a deadline crunch. 

The next podcast will be a Readers' Questions episode -- nothing but your questions and my answers.  And it will be available ...

... er ...

... soon.

In This Episode

Getting Stuck in Revisions
One-Pass Revision Workshop -- Getting Unstuck

Plotting and Writing Trilogies, Part I
Which Sort of Trilogy?
The Simple Trilogy
The Complex Trilogy: Introducing a Linking Character

Bumper Music
Where the Roads Cross -- Anne Davis
Holly Ridge -- Jim Suhler

I apologize for the sound quality in this episode.  Ran out of time -- deadlines caught me.

The next episode of Holly Lisle on Writing will post on Tuesday, April 4th (with apologies that it won't debut on the first. Tax math is kicking my butt.) Due to a great reader question, I'll be starting a limited series on planning and writing trilogies. Also have some other wonderful questions I'll be discussing.

In This Episode

• Introduction: Episode 1
• Beating the Publishing Odds
• Writing Tip: Where to Start Your Story
• Example Excerpt from Hunting the Corrigan's Blood
• Worldbuilding Tip: Being the Character -- Getting Accents Right
• Listeners' Writing Questions: Music While Writing?
• Listeners' Writing Questions: What to Do With Too Many Ideas
• Contact Information
• HollyLisle.com
• PodShow Podsafe Music Network

Bumper Music For This Episode

• Intro Music: There Ain't No Words, Harrison Kennedy -- Black & Tan
• Exit Music: Movin In the Right Direction, Tracy Jane Comer

Podcast Release Schedule

My goal is to release a new episode on the first and the fifteenth of each month. I'm a working writer, deadlines clobber me on a regular basis, and I may come in a little early, or a little late. But I'll do my best to present two episodes a month for the rest of the year. We'll see where it goes from there.

In This Episode

• Introduction
• Purpose of the Show
• Contact Information
• Writing Tip, Weather Openings
• Snippet from Gods Old and Dark
• Conclusion of Weather Openings
• Closing Notes
  • PodShow Podsafe Music Network
  • HollyLisle.com

Bumper Music For This Episode

• Intro Music: Movin In the Right Direction, Tracy Jane Comer
• Exit music: Acoustic Sunrise, GarageBand loop

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Let me tell quickly tell you what the show is about, and the rules for calling in with your questions. In Holly Lisle On Writing, I want to build a resource of information to help writers improve their writing and reach their writing goals, up to and including professional publication with top publishers.

 

WHAT I'M DOING HERE

I'll offer spots on worldbuilding, dialogue, pacing, plotting, description, action, professional presentation, and more. I'll also take questions from listeners. If you're uncomfortable with having your voice on the air, you can send me an e-mail. If you have a setup on your computer to create voice MP3s, you can send me your recording of your question.

 

HOW TO SEND IN YOUR AUDIO QUESTION

If you send a recording, here are the rules. First name only, no profanity, MP3 format at 64bits with a runtime of no more than two minutes (which is a long question). The e-mail address for sending your questions will be in each episode of the show, and will not be reproduced here because I'd rather save my space for my listeners, and not for folks trying to sell me male enhancement products and other thrilling crap.

 

SHOW LENGTHS AND AIRINGS

The show will run about twenty minutes, and I'll do my best to have a new one up every other week. Because that is a relatively short show and a relatively infrequent post rate, I'm not likely to be able to answer all the questions I receive. I'll answer the best and most interesting ones, or ones I think will be relevant to the majority of listeners.

 

PROFANITY

My goal with this show is to reach the following specific audience: Writers Online. Since writers come in all ages, and some of those ages are younger than eighteen, or even thirteen, the show will veer no farther into the realm of profanity than the occasional "Damn". Please understand that I'm in favor of profanity, both in general and personally. I think expletives are a great addition to the language, and in the right circumstances, I swear like a sailor. Profanity is not, however, appropriate in all circumstances, and this is one where it is not. I'll be reading clips from some of my books as examples of writing techniques we're discussing. I'll stick to the clean parts (though these might include mild -- the racy bits will have to appear in a more limited-audience podcast, if at all. If you're looking for the racy bits specifically, the easy suggestion here is 'Read the book'. But I'm guessing you're not just here in search of hot scenes. So pick an episode, or subscribe to the podcast, and let's talk about writing.