I am so excited to share this week's episode as each of these conversations was so much fun to record. Edan has been on the show before, but I wanted to have her back to talk about her love of writing difficult characters within the framework of her latest novel, Woman No. 17. Edan delights in creating tension by revealing her character's flaws for the reader's view and puts these characters in situations sure to highlight these flaws and bring them to a head. So many books create tension through plot and action, but the suspense in Edan's books is just as much about pushing flawed characters to their edge, all the while leaving us asking "Oh my god, what will they do now??"
Jim Butcher has written so many novels that I wouldn't be shocked to learn that he doesn't sleep at all. He admitted that he has trouble keeping track of the exact details of former books after having revised them numerous times, so he relies on his fanbase Wiki to keep track, a detail I found both charming and extremely practical. In addition, we dove into the beauty of throwing your characters into sticky situations and the necessity to write scenes so things go from bad to worse. This chat helped me feel much braver about putting my character into tough spots to see how she will navigate rocky territory.
I hope both these conversations inspire you to investigate the less savory corners of your story and take your books into riskier places. May we all send our characters down a dark alley, metaphorically, after taking both of these writers' advice!
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#57 Wesley Brown on Dialogue, Fiction, and Jazz
#56 Doree Shafrir on Startup and Satire
#55 Autumn Witt Boyd Demystifies Book Contracts
#54 Manjula Martin on Getting Paid as a Writer
#53 Jade Chang on Where Fiction and Real Life Collide
#52 Bari Tessler on the Price of Publishing
#51 Ruby Warrington on Material Girl Mystical World
#50 Natalie Obando and the Mysteries of Good PR
#49 Rob Cohen & Christine Roth Revolutionize Publishing
#48 Madelyn Kent Unlocks Writers Block with the Body
#47 Cory Doctorow on Walkaway and the Future of Publishing
#46 Guinevere de la Mare and The Silent Book Club
#45 Katie Dalebout on After the Book Deal
#44 Susan Orlean on Making Writing Your Career
#43 Ben Winters takes on Trump with Fiction
#42 Ezzie Spencer on Writing by the Light of the Moon
#41 Elizabeth Hess on Writing About Animals
#40 Paul Scheuring goes from Screenwriter to Novelist
#39 Tasha Harrison on how to write a sex scene
#38 V.E. Schwab on Writing Through Fear
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