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

  • Coming Of Age vs YA

    June 6th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  8 mins 8 secs
    beta-reading, books, coming of age, critique, writers, writing, writing tips, ya

    Coming of age stories have always been a large part of the fantasy genre in particular, but now, it can be hard to know where to draw the line between YA and Adult novels.

  • Youtube Survival Guide

    May 30th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  19 mins 38 secs
    books, critique, podcast, writers, writing, writing tips, youtube

    Where do you get started and tell me more about this whole monetization thing -- or at least the rules that existed last week. They're always changing.

  • Advancing Your Story... Without Traumatizing Your Characters (or Readers)

    May 23rd, 2022  |  Season 4  |  14 mins 52 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    You know stories need stakes. You know you need to get your readers to care. So? You try to make the stakes big enough and scary enough to drive the story forward. But you don’t HAVE to traumatize characters — or readers — to advance your story.

  • Pitching Agents -- And Readers

    May 16th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  7 mins 54 secs
    books, writers, writing, writing tips

    I talk a lot about pitching agents via the query process, but that’s not the only way to pitch. There are verbal pitches to agents. And? There’s the pitching you need to do to the READERS!

  • Dynamic Voice Acting

    May 9th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  10 mins 26 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    If you find yourself behind the microphone, sharing a story of your own, be prepared to pull in your audience with Dynamic Voice Acting.

  • "But I'm Not A YA Writer": Gender Biases In The Book World

    May 2nd, 2022  |  Season 4  |  11 mins 21 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Women writers of speculative fiction are often getting shelved with the YA books -- even when they're clearly not intended for teens. Unfortunately, getting misclassified has dire consequences for the novel. How is this happening and how can we stop this trend?

  • Writing Motivation For Doomsday Cults

    April 25th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  7 mins 55 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Doomsday cults have been around for a long time, probably since the dawn of civilization. Writers and readers alike have found them endlessly fascinating. But, what motivates someone to start a doomsday cult? And why do people join?

  • CSI: Fantasy Edition

    April 18th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  7 mins 26 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    When you're writing a story, there's usually SOMETHING the main character doesn't know and has to figure out. Sometimes, it's what someone else is thinking. It could be, where to find the McGuffin? But often? There's a whole mystery to solve! With a body growing cold.

  • Logistics and Tactics: Writing Military Campaigns

    April 11th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  8 mins 50 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Most writers end up writing fight scenes -- be they verbal or physical. But some writers, especially if they're writing historical novels, epic fantasy, or military fiction are going to be in the fight for the long haul. They're going to writing a Military Campaign. Here are mistakes to avoid.

  • Yes, You Can Be a Writer, Even WITHOUT A Visual Imagination

    April 4th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  5 mins 8 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Not everyone has a visual imagination. While some of you are out there taking dictation from the movies in your heads. That's not how it works for me.

  • Dealing the With Emotional Roller Coaster That Is Writing

    March 28th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  10 mins 33 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Being a writer requires: 1. Resilience, 2. Persistence, and 3. Perseverance. How do you handle setbacks?

  • Making Endings Ring True

    March 21st, 2022  |  Season 4  |  6 mins 59 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    One of the hardest things to do as a writer is to make the ending work for your readers. To tie everything together, in a way that the readers feel satisfied.