The Writer's Lens

The Writer's Lens - E10: How Story Affects Us - Part 1

Stories offer us an escape from our daily lives. And stories are a good way to educate others too. When we tell a story, we are hoping to communicate information to our listener. But, how - or what - our listener derives from that story can be varied. In this episode, I start looking at how we are affected by the stories we hear. What do we take from them? What are the ways in which we are most affected? And is there a narrative behind everything we hear? 

Oh, and a little bit of talk about why guys are constantly quoting movies. You know, because we do that a lot. 

 

The Writer's Lens - Interview 02: Darrick Dean, fantasy author

When fantasy meets science fiction. 

In this episode, I interview Darrick Dean, author of Among the Shadows: Watchers of the Light, and a fellow writing enthusiast. Darrick's mantra of "Find your purpose. Find your story" reflects his desire to engage readers and fellow writers by fostering their imaginations and taking them to new and exciting places. 

Darrick and I will also discuss the differences between fantasy and sci-fi, the challenges of standing out in a sea of voices, and how imperative it is for authors to find communities they can share their stories with. 

For more on Darrick and what he shares with other creatives, you can visit his website here. And for the full video interview, be sure to check out my YouTube page for this (and other interviews too!). 

 

The Writer's Lens - E9: Storytelling

As human beings, we love telling stories. And we love hearing stories too. As a writer, I'm in the business of telling engaging and exciting tales. But, I've also often wondered: why do we tell stories at all? Is there some value in it? How long have humans been telling stories? n this episode, I take a look at this question and how we stack up against the rest of the animal kingdom as it pertains to storytelling and passing information. 

In this episode, I take a look at this question and how we stack up against the rest of the animal kingdom. I'll look at what a story arc is and why it's important to follow this basic structure when writing stories of our own.  

Obviously, there's a lot to unpack here. But, I'll be taking an even closer look at storytelling in subsequent episodes. Until then, enjoy! 

The Writer's Lens - E8: Amazon, Big Brother, and Fake Reviews

As a bonus this week, I decided to talk briefly about the recent issue with Amazon and its dealings with fake book reviewers. Is it wrong to suddenly erase hundreds of reviews for a product? Or is it like Big Brother telling us what to think and how to act?

Certainly, there are arguments for and against this kind of thing. But, I will attempt to look at all sides of the issue. Because hey, I'm a writer. Reviews are important to me. As are the policies of one of the mega-giants of online shopping.  

The Writer's Lens - E7: Trials and Takeaways

After my interview with Willie and Rachel Scott, co-authors of Better Than Blended, I had some time to digest and decompress many of the takeaways from our discussion. 

In this episode, I talk about the top 3 things I learned from my conversation with Willie and Rachel: how we pace ourselves as creatives, having a journey worth speaking to others about, and the trials and tribulations of finding someone who's walked where you have yet to.

And of course, none of which are all that easy to come by. 

The Writer's Lens - Interview 01: Willie and Rachel Scott, authors of "Better Than Blended"

In this episode, I take a break from talking to myself as I bring two special guests to the Writer's Lens: Willie and Rachel Scott, co-founders of the Better Than Blended ministry and co-authors of "Better Than Blended: Taking Your Family From Surviving to Thriving".

 

During the interview, I ask Willie and Rachel how they manage running a business as husband and wife, what inspired them to write a book, and who mentored them in their efforts (or rather, who didn't!). You can find more about Willie and Rachel at www.betterthanblended.com

 

Enjoy!

 

 

The Writer's Lens - E6: You Wrote a Book, Now What?

Writing a book is hard. Telling people about your story can be even harder. In today's ever-changing and ever-shifting social media environment, aspiring authors - like myself - must be aware of what's available to them: blogging, vlogs, podcasts, to name a few.

For once the book is done, how does one go about telling others? What follows the completion of any story can feel just as daunting as what it did in its infant stages. 

But, if we are invested in what we've done, then we shouldn't be afraid to experiment and try something new. Set another goal; gather your resources; set a metric for what success will look like once you're done - these steps will help the aspiring author get past those tough times after the book is finished. 

And hopefully into the hands of an eager reader. 

The Writer's Lens - E5: Progress Update

A short break in the norm this week. 

As much as I enjoy doing this podcast, it's important to take a moment and remember where I've come from. And where I want to be going. In this very short episode, I talk about some things I have going on as well as something I didn't think I'd actually get around to doing: this very podcast. 

Enjoy! 

The Writer's Lens - E4: Rejection...Ugh

Rejection, rejection, rejection...

This week's episode deals with that very thing. And I'll be the first to say how difficult it is to just get through it. As an author, you find rejection all around you. Whether it be agents, publishers, friends - even family members - there are numerous times one finds himself in the position of being rejected. But, that's not the end of the story! 

With some persistence and perseverance, it's possible to keep moving forward. And in this episode I talk about my own personal revelation about pushing through all the potential pitfalls so many young creatives and aspiring authors face. 

The Writer's Lens - E3: Working "Really Hard"

We've all heard that phrase at least one time in our life: "you just have to work really hard at what you're doing." It's a phrase that can send people off on long excursions only to return to where they started. 

As a writer, it's easy to think of "working hard" as simply putting the time in. Make my outline. Do my edits. Make sure you're writing 30 minutes a day. That all sounds well and good. But, what about our approach to these things? What are our expectations?

In this episode, I'll be tackling this topic as well as how my own sense of entitlement led me off the rails financially. And gave me a rather large wakeup call in the process.