Author Alchemist Podcast

Too often, well meaning people discourage writers from "thinking big," or getting too big for our britches. They want to protect us from disappointment, but what they are really doing is crushing our inspiration and motivation.  I want writers to get clear on what...

What happens when you get in a fix and a story stalls out on you? Or runs away from you? Or forgets to that that left turn at Albuquerque?  In this episode I talk about the metamorphosis of my in-progress novel, The Bones & Brews Café, which was originally envisioned...

A deep look at outlining from the perspective of whether it is actually helping you or not, and why it is helping you (if it is!). Links discussed in this episode: 10 Different Outlining Techniques Brian Sanderson's BYU 2020 class lectures

Inspired by part of a graduation ceremony speech Neil Gaiman gave wayyyyy back in 1997, this episodes starts from there and spirals out into talking about the value of your obsessions to you as a writer, not just as "things that you can talk about in a story" but as...

1 Million Words! Have you written that many? Do you know, or are you guessing? Thanks to the stats page for my first fandom account at AO3, I knew pretty close to the day when I went over the 1 million word mark officially. However, I'm fairly certain I had hit that...

Prompts often get a bad rep in writing circles, considered as nothing more than teaching tools at best. In the fanfiction community, though, prompts are often tools of inspiration, motivation, and community building. In this episode, I dive into the value of prompts...

This episode discusses the importance of self-awareness and vulnerability for writers. I share my experiences giving up on my dreams of publication in the 1990s due to a perceived lack of interest from agent and publishers, and how I later found joy in writing through...

"If you want to be a Real Writer you need to toughen up!" ...that's what we are told, anyway. But do we? Do we really? I argue that no, that's not what we need to do, and in fact, "toughening up" makes us worse off as writers and as people. We're a sensitive bunch,...

In this episode, I discuss fighting insecurity by building self-confidence and a growth mindset. I explain that mastering skills alone don't lead to self-trust! We must take chances, fail, and keep trying new things because true confidence comes from challenging...

Why aren't you writing what you love to write? Is it insecurity? Fear that no one will read it? A belief that you need to "write to market"? In this episode KimBoo talks you through the hurdles you put in your own way so you can sit down and write what the stories you...