About the show

Welcome! If you want to hear writing tips from the big names, the medium names, and everyone else, look no further.

As a blogger, vlogger, and actively querying fantasy author, I am addicted to attending all the writing panels a person could possibly attend at a convention. We're talking about attending upwards of 25 hours of panels in 3 days.

Fortunately for you? I love sharing my copious notes.

But, I also get real. I share my writerly musings: my struggles, my failures, and... hopefully, my writing successes.

Thanks for listening.

  • Morgan Hazelwood

Writing Tips and Writerly Musings on social media

Episodes

  • We're #2, So We Try Harder

    August 3rd, 2026  |  Season 10  |  7 mins 1 sec
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Heroes and villains step aside: We're here to talk about your lieutenants, your seconds in command, your BFF, your life partners. What is the purpose of these characters? What are their demographics and what are the characteristics of the best ones?

  •

    Family Structures in Science Fiction and Fantasy

    July 27th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  8 mins 46 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    From werewolf clans to alien hives, authors shared the most imaginative and thought-provoking examples of family structures in genre works.

  •

    Writing the Sex Scene in Non-Erotic Works

    July 20th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  9 mins 5 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    The good, the bad, and the bumping uglies. Writing a compelling sex scene that moves the plot forward without turning your work into erotica is a balancing act. Where you fade to black depends on your audience and your own writing style. Authors share how to depict "the act" in your writing.

  •

    Building a SubPlot

    July 13th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  3 mins 56 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    The more issues the characters face in a novel, the bigger the story feels. Yet the subplot can’t take over the book. Here are 5 tips for writing better subplots.

  •

    Balancing Story and Scientific Authenticity

    July 6th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  4 mins 48 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    How getting the science right improves a story, types of science you can use, and aiming your story for the right audience.

  •

    Reluctant Heroes

    June 29th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  6 mins 2 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    The reluctant hero: Not every protagonist wants to be the hero of the story. How do doubt and hesitation develop heroic characters, and how does reluctance change over the course of a narrative?

    Here are tips on:

    • motivations to demur
    • ways they're relatable
    • favorite tropes
  •

    Giving Your Work Away For Fun and Profit

    June 22nd, 2026  |  Season 10  |  7 mins 7 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, marketing, writers, writing, writing tips

    Everyone loves free stuff, but authors need to pay the bills. Can you make money by giving your work away, and if so, how do you choose what to distribute for free? What tools and metrics can you use to show a publisher or business partner that the work that you give away for free is driving sales?

  •

    A Trick for Editing Multiple Points-Of-View

    June 15th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  2 mins 40 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, editing, writers, writing, writing tips

    I'm still going to push forward with this trick, but it's less effective at times.

    How do you do it?

  •

    Writing the Alien

    June 8th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  5 mins 32 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

  • You Get Agency, and You Get Agency – EVERYBODY Gets Agency!

    June 1st, 2026  |  Season 10  |  4 mins 1 sec
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    In Western culture, we expect our characters to make decisions that have consequences, not just have things happen to them. How do you write a character with realistic agency?

  •

    But I Don't Want To Be a Hero: Writing the Reluctant Hero

    May 25th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  6 mins 25 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    The reluctant hero is a solid staple of fiction and comic books. How do you write the heroes who never wanted to be, what motivates them, how to maintain their reluctance throughout a whole series, and how to make them relatable to readers.

  •

    Pacing the Novel

    May 18th, 2026  |  Season 10  |  3 mins 5 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    One of the main things that can make or break a novel is it's pacing. How can you get it right?