Podcast Episodes

Dear Christian Indies,

Coming off our St. Patrick’s Day episode and all the conversation about the “lore” surrounding St. Patrick, we started considering how the term does not necessarily have to center on fantastical events or creatures, made-up “fairy tale” sounding stories, but that “lore” can also just mean the foundations of a family or a community. We discussed how each of us, when we think about it, has our own family “lore”. Some of us, like co-host Christina Cattane, have a more complicated history, and pieces of the past come together for us later in life, providing answers to some long-asked questions. Some of us are more steeped in tradition, with very firm ideas about who we are and how we live.

It made us wonder, dear Indie, how lore affects the characters we write, and the communities in which they live. How big of a role does lore play in our novels? Are there genres which have a greater expectation of lore? 

Tune in this week as we discover how lore impacts your characters and your writing—and perhaps explore/discover, along with us, times when it absolutely shouldn’t.

See you there,

Jamie

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net

Dear Christian Indies,

In case you weren’t aware, we have a facebook group!* And a couple of weeks ago, a listener posted in that group a very big question. How, she wondered, does someone write a “great” book? And she was super clear; she was looking for advice as to how to write a book that was “GREAT”, as opposed to a book that was “meh”.

The other hosts and I pondered how best to answer this question, and I think we were not the only ones who were stymied by it, as the post got very little traction and not a lot of responses. Honestly, it’s a great question! The issue is, it’s also a really BIG question. And, at least for me, it raises a ton of associated questions, such as, “how does one measure the “greatness” of a book?”

Well, the co-hosts and I decided this question would be an excellent foundation for a podcast episode, and that is what we’re bringing to you this week; each of the hosts will have for you their one big tip for writing a book that will be GREAT, and not just, “meh.”

It’s bound to be a great episode. See you there!
-Jamie

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net

Dear Christian Indies,

There will come a time when you have done it—written an entire novel with a beginning, a middle and an end. And if you’ve been listening to the podcast long enough, you know we always tell you to be careful with your first draft and to whom you give access to it. So let’s say you’ve followed this advice, and you’ve done a self edit. You may also have hired a professional editor. You may have also followed several other steps to get your book what you believe is “publication ready.” And yet…you still don’t feel ready to publish. This week we’re discussing when is it time to finally pull the trigger on your work, and ask the question, “What are YOU waiting for?”
It’s an episode you won’t want to miss.

See you there,
Jamie 

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net

Dear Christian Indie,

Burnout is real.

Guilt is real.

Guilt resulting from burnout is real.

This week, we’re on a mission to save you from both.

“But how?” You may ask.

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net

Dear Christian Indies,

This week we are returning to our Writing Craft series with an episode focused on curing the dreaded tendency to info dump in your work.

If you’ve ever attempted to read a book that is full of the infamous info dump, you’ll certainly understand why this particular writer faux pas causes books to end up on my “Did Not Finish” (DNF) pile. 

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net

Dear Christian Indies,

We are always so excited to hear from a listener, so it was quite a treat to receive a message from listener Jessica Glidden, who reached out to us with a topic idea for an upcoming episode. Her suggestion that we go “back to basics” was a good one, we thought, and when we asked her for clarification, she did not disappoint!

Jessica asked, “why not dig in and re-discover the joy of writing, the reason you write in the first place?”

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net

Dear Christian Indie,

If you tuned in to the podcast last week, you heard from the hosts about what they hoped to get out of the year 2023. 

I am writing this in the moments following that episode, and I’ll be honest, in the days leading up to planning today’s episode, I experienced more anxiety than I have in a long time. Why? Because, dear Indie, I had no idea what I was going to say.

It was difficult for me to think about going into the new year without goals to crush, without a mission to accomplish, without the next step forward clear. 

Jamie Hershberger

writingshorts.net