The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

storycraftcafe
  • 4.7 (3)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

Story Crafters talking about the magic of storytelling and giving you the tools to craft your story. We’re launching a new kind of online writing community. One where we can all find support, encouragement, ideas, and inspiration. A place where we can all write together. A place where we can celebrate failures and successes, find mentors, and work together to get published.

  1. 1d ago

    First Novel Problems Episodes 0 and 1 | SCC 271

    Welcome to First Novel Problems, a brand-new YouTube series from Dabble Writer for anyone who's ever wanted to write a novel and didn't know where to start (or got stuck partway through and gave up). In this introduction episode, meet your hosts: Abby Mathews: Community Manager at Dabble, published middle-grade author, and someone who tried (and failed) to write a novel three times before finally figuring it out Brooke: brand-new to Dabble, brand-new to writing, and signing up to learn the whole process from scratch, on camera, so you don't have to do it alone Here's the idea: every week, Abby teaches Brooke something real about writing a novel, and you get to learn right alongside her. We'll cover plotting, getting unstuck, picking a genre, the "rules" of writing (and when to break them), and all the roadblocks that stop first-time novelists from finishing. It's genre-agnostic (although Brooke will have to pick one!). It's beginner-friendly. And it's built on the idea that if you want to write a book, you ARE a writer—you just need someone to walk you through it! Got a writing roadblock you want us to tackle? Drop it in the comments. Brooke is officially on the hook to ask the embarrassing questions for you. SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss Episode 1, where we get into the real stuff. Try Dabble free: https://www.dabblewriter.com/ Free writing resources at DabbleU: https://www.dabblewriter.com/dabble-u

    31 min

  2. May 29

    Fireside Chat with Hank and Abby: Characters, the People in Your Head | SCC 270

    Plot gets a lot of attention, but characters are what make people fall in love with your story. Want to write a memorable book? Create characters that your readers want to invite to Thanksgiving, or run from! Join Hank and Abby as they discuss the most important element in your writing, CHARACTERS.

    1h 1m

  3. May 22

    Brainstorming A New Novel: How To Write A Book with Hank Garner | SCC 269

    You have a story in you, I know you do. But where do you start? Does the thought of writing a whole novel give you anxiety and keep you from starting at all? Join published author Hank Garner from Dabble for a live brainstorming workshop on how to write a book when all you've got is a spark. We'll break down how to mine your creative well for character, setting, and plot ideas that will help you start your first novel (or your fifty-first). Whether you're staring at a blank page or sitting on a pile of half-baked ideas, this workshop will help you figure out what you actually have — and how to turn it into a book. WHAT WE'LL COVER -How to brainstorm character, setting, and plot from scratch -How to mine your own life, obsessions, and what-ifs for story fuel -How to tell if your idea is a novel, a short story, or something else -Hank's method for moving from spark to first chapter -Brainstorming for plotters, pantsers, and the "I don't know yet" crowd Download the Brainstorming Dabble template here: https://app.dabblewriter.com/?importTemplate=uFwqT2KkgZrcma8t&_gl=1*j974m6*_gcl_au*MTU0MzUyMDM5MS4xNzc1NTc0NjY2LjE2ODM5NTU0MDMuMTc3NTU3NDY2OC4xNzc1NTc0NjY3*_ga*MTI4MTEwMzkzNy4xNzc1NTc0NjY2*_ga_09N6VRHLQG*czE3Nzc5MDk0NzYkbzYyJGcwJHQxNzc3OTA5NDc2JGo2MCRsMCRoMTAyMjk1MjU1 ABOUT HANK Hank is a published author with one foot in traditional publishing and one in indie publishing. Between his name and his pen name, he's written over fifty books. (Mostly fiction, some non-fiction too.) He has also spent the last ten years hosting thousands of podcasts on writing, which means he's talked craft with more working authors than most people have read. ABOUT DABBLE WRITER Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Try Dabble free for 14 days. No credit card required. www.dabblewriter.com SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE Subscribe for more live events like author interviews, free writing workshops, and Fireside Chats. We're all about helping writers hone their craft with content that's actually useful. JOIN THE COMMUNITY Did you know Dabble Writer also sponsors the DabbleU Campus, our free online writing community? It's our hub for 2x weekly writing sprints, coffee hours, craft talk, and more. https://www.dabbleu.com Happy writing!

    1h 3m

  4. May 20

    Bonus Episode: Outlining For Non-Outliners | SCC 268

    Get your copy of the workbook and slides here: https://www.dabbleu.com/c/upcoming-events-e63100/outlining-for-non-outliners Are you the kind of writer that needs a little extra freedom in your process? Are you frustrated by people that tell you that you need to outline more, but that just makes you feel stifled? This workshop is for you.  Try out Dabble free for 14 days and see why it’s the best writing tool on the planet—no credit card required! Visit our website at www.dabblewriter.com to get started. Subscribe to our channel for more live events like author interviews, Writing Sprint Wednesdays, Feedback Fridays, and Fireside Chats. We're all about helping authors hone their craft with engaging, fun, and educational content. On top of all that, Dabble Premium members get access to exclusive content like Craft Q&A Office Hours, Wordsmith Workshops, Deep Dive articles, bonus resources, and guest speaker workshops. Happy writing!

    44 min

  5. May 15

    How to Start Writing a Novel — Live Fireside Chat for Plotters & Pantsers | SCC 267

    So, you want to write a novel. The question is, where on earth do you start? Come hang out for a live Dabble Writer Fireside Chat about what to think about BEFORE you start writing that book. We're taking your questions in real time. Plotter, pantser, or anywhere in the middle. Everyone's welcome! Hi, I'm Abby. I'm a middle-grade author, and I run the writing community at Dabble, the novel-writing software built for real writers. And my partner in crime is Hank, who's done this whole book-writing thing more than 20 times, now.   We'll be talking through the stuff no one tells first-time novelists. The pre-writing questions that actually matter, and the traps we wish we'd avoided.  Bring your questions. No question is too basic! That's the whole point. WHAT WE'LL COVER -Premise vs. idea. Do you actually have a book yet? -Plotter or pantser (and why "a little of both" is a perfectly real answer) -What pre-writing actually means, and what you can skip -How to tell if your idea wants to be a novel (or something else) -The stuff that stops first-time writers before Chapter 1 ABOUT DABBLE WRITER Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Try it free for 14 days: https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing JOIN THE COMMUNITY Weekly pep talks and writing sprints, craft breakdowns, and the occasional reminder to just write the ding dong book already! Join us here: https://www.dabbleu.com/feed #howtowriteanovel #writingcommunity #amwriting #firstnovel #plotterorpantser #writingtips #novelwritingtips #writingabook #writingadvice #fictionwriting #dabblewriter #prewriting #writerslife

    1h 3m

  6. May 8

    Get A Story Checkup With The Dialogue Doctor Jeff Elkins | SCC 266

    Does your dialogue feel flat? Do all your characters sound a little too much alike? Bring it to the Dialogue Doctor. Join Jeff Elkins (author, editor, and host of the Dialogue Doctor Podcast) for a live craft session on dialogue. We're talking how to make every conversation pull its weight, how to build character voices readers can tell apart on the page, and how to turn a scene of people talking into a scene readers can't stop reading. Bring the dialogue scene that's been giving you trouble. Bring the character whose voice won't stick. Bring your questions. WHAT WE'LL LIKELY COVER -How to structure dialogue so it moves the scene forward -How to build character voices that don't blur together -How to show emotion through dialogue without going purple -How to hook readers from the first line of a conversation -Audience questions and story-specific checkups ABOUT JEFF Jeff is the founder of the Dialogue Doctor and host of the Dialogue Doctor Podcast. He's the author of 11 novels, 2 works of nonfiction, and more than 100 short stories. He's worked with hundreds of authors online and edited more than ten full manuscripts. When Jeff talks dialogue, working writers listen. ABOUT DABBLE WRITER Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Try Dabble free for 14 days. No credit card required. www.dabblewriter.com SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE More live events like author interviews, workshops, and Fireside Chats. Happy writing! #writingdialogue #howtowritedialogue #dialoguedoctor #jeffelkins #charactervoice #writingworkshop #writingcraft #writingcommunity #amwriting #novelwriting #fictionwriting #dabblewriter #dialogueinfiction

    1 hr

  7. May 1

    Bringing Your Series To The Point of 'All Is Lost' with Jim Butcher | SCC 265

    Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and the Cinder Spires, joins us live on Story Craft Cafe to talk about the hardest moment in any series. The "All Is Lost" beat. The point where everything your protagonist has built comes apart, right before the climax. We're asking Jim how he lands this beat across a long-running series (one that started over 20 years ago and is still going). How does "All Is Lost" work in book 4 vs. book 14? When do you hold back, and when do you scorch the earth? And how do you keep raising the stakes without breaking the story you've built? Grab coffee. Bring your craft questions. This is a live recording of the Story Craft Cafe podcast. WHAT WE'LL COVER -What the "All Is Lost" moment is, and why you can't skip it -How to build to it in a single novel vs. across a full series -Jim's approach to plotting the Dresden Files across 17+ books -How to raise series stakes without breaking the story you've built -Writing from deep inside a long-running world GUEST BIO Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado. Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990's when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist. All the same, he refuses to change his nickname. ABOUT STORY CRAFT CAFE Story Craft Cafe is Dabble's podcast for writers who take their craft seriously and their vibes casually. We bring in working authors, editors, and industry pros to get into the stuff that makes stories work. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. ABOUT DABBLE WRITER Dabble is novel-writing software built by writers, for writers. Outline, draft, revise, and track your whole story in one place. Perfect for series writers juggling multiple books, timelines, and character arcs. Try it free for 14 days: https://www.dabblewriter.com/ FOLLOW ALONG Subscribe to this channel for more author interviews and live craft conversations.

    52 min

  8. Apr 24

    Fireside Chat: Celebrating Four Years of DabbleU Campus! | SCC 264

    Come join Hank and Abby for this walk down DabbleU memory lane, as they talk about finding your people in this crazy, noisy online world! https://dabbleu.com

    1h 2m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Story Crafters talking about the magic of storytelling and giving you the tools to craft your story. We’re launching a new kind of online writing community. One where we can all find support, encouragement, ideas, and inspiration. A place where we can all write together. A place where we can celebrate failures and successes, find mentors, and work together to get published.

Information

  • Creator
    storycraftcafe
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    272
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

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