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

  • Creating Rules Of Enchantment

    September 28th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  5 mins 20 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    When creating magic -- you can start with the characters, the world, or the magic -- but if you don't make the rules internally consistent, your magic system breaks down. In this episode, I'll be sharing tips on how to make your magic work.

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    PitchWars versus The Publishing Industry

    September 25th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  6 mins 43 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, pitchwars, writers, writing, writing tips

    The PitchWars mentorship competition has a lot in common with the publishing industry as a whole. In this episode, I compare and contrast the two.

  •

    Just Send It! When To Stop (Re)Writing

    September 21st, 2020  |  Season 1  |  4 mins 36 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    When writing, it's hard to know when you've reached that finish line. That point where it's not going to get any better and you're just rearranging chairs on the deck of a ship. Today, I'm sharing tips on knowing when you need to stop editing and just submit your story.

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    A Message To My Fellow #PitchWars Hopefuls

    September 18th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  5 mins 44 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, pitchwars, writers, writing, writing tips

    There is a writing mentorship opportunity called "#PitchWars", that lets writers with polished manuscripts who just aren't getting traction -- or who want another set of eyes before they start querying -- query for a mentorship opportunity. Here is my message to all of you who are waiting and hoping with me.

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    Writing Fight Scenes That Work

    September 14th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  10 mins 32 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    When writing a fight scene, it can be easy to turn the entire fight into a series of stage directions -- but that's not going to engage your readers. Today, I'm sharing notes on how to start a fight, what are the rules, and how to make the point-of-view work for you.

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    10 Questions To Ask Your Beta-Readers

    September 7th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  7 mins 53 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    If you're writing, you're probably going to ask someone to read your work and give you feedback, at some stage. And? The best way to get feedback you can use? Is to ask for it. Today, I'm sharing the 10 questions I ask my beta-readers -- plus a few bonus questions.

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    3 Things That Make A Great First Line

    August 31st, 2020  |  Season 1  |  11 mins 32 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    The first line of your novel has to do one thing and one thing only -- make your reader want to read the second sentence. Today, I'm talking about the 3 things that can make that first line GREAT.

  •

    Who Else? Writing Secondary and Minor Characters

    August 24th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  5 mins 45 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    You can have the best protagonist in the world, but if your world isn't populated with three-dimensional secondary and background characters, your world is going to seem mighty empty. In this episode, I share notes on how to flesh out those background characters.

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    5 Tips For Pacing Your Novel

    August 24th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  4 mins 21 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    When you're writing, you want to keep the reader interested -- without overwhelming them. Getting the pacing right can be tricky. In this episode, I discuss five tips for fixing your pacing.

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    4 Tips For Finding The Right Editor

    August 24th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  8 mins 29 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    Every writer needs an editor at some point in their process. But, getting the most out of an editor requires picking the right type of editor. In this episode, I discuss the types of editors and things to watch out for.

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    What Lies Beneath: Adding Subtext To Your Story

    August 24th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  9 mins 46 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    You're a clever reader, you don't need everything spelled out for you. Neither do your readers. In this episode, I talk about how you can add subtext to your stories.

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    10 Tips To Fix Your Query Letter

    August 24th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  17 mins 41 secs
    beta-reading, books, critique, writers, writing, writing tips

    When you're looking to be traditionally published, step one is to write a book.
    Step two? That's to query a literary agent. Here are 10 steps to take your first attempt and make sure you get that second look from an agent.