The Write Inspiration Podcast
Cultivate a healthier relationship with your craft and learn how to write unputdownable fiction
** This is a single-season podcast of 13 Episodes**
Listen below!
Listen up, writer
Welcome to The Write Inspiration, the podcast designed to motivate, educate, and empower fiction authors of all skill levels. I’m your host, Nicole Persun — I’m an award-winning and internationally bestselling author with a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and Instruction. I’ve been writing professionally and publishing in multiple genres for a decade, so from procrastination to imposter syndrome, I’ve been through it all.
There is a lot of writing advice in the world, and I am not here to reinvent the wheel. Rather, I’m hoping to add perspective. Not only will I offer practical tips for various elements of craft, my hope is to also provide you with a more philosophical benefit as well—namely, a healthier relationship to your writing. Because writing should be a joyful practice, not a struggle.
Whether you’re looking for motivation, tools to sharpen your writing and editing skills, or seeking publishing and marketing tips in an ever-changing business—you’re in the right place. This podcast is like an MFA in 15-minute increments.
To succeed as a career author, you need both a strong mindset and practical knowledge. I’m here to offer support, encouragement, and up-to-date tried-and-true tips to help you achieve your writing career goals.
Thank you so much for tuning in!
Keep Writing.
– Nicole
Pinto Portrait
It’s nice to meet you.
Thanks for stopping by. I’m Nicole J. Persun, the host of The Write Inspiration Podcast, which seeks to educate and empower fiction writers of all skill levels.
Why should you trust my advice?
Simply put, I have a decade of professional writing and teaching experience. But more importantly, I get it—because I’ve been in your shoes.
On motivation: I write regularly and rarely get writer’s block. How do I do it? Through this podcast, you’ll learn my philosophy behind getting motivated and staying motivated through the ups and downs of life and writing.
On healthy habits: In addition to an active writing career, I have two day jobs (plus this new podcast!), so I know what it’s like to be pressed for time. Over the years, I’ve developed practical methods for writing regularly and making progress—without setting unrealistic expectations or getting burned out.
On publishing: I’ve self-published, worked with small presses, and currently publish through a major publisher. As a board member of the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association, I’ve gotten to know countless industry professionals. I know their likes and dislikes, author dos and don’ts, and what makes them tick.
On marketing: I’ve sold tens of thousands of books and work in digital marketing. When it comes to branding, social media, newsletter creation, and connecting with fans—well, I’m your gal.
On experience: I have a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and Instruction. I’ve taught in all settings, from keynote speeches to intensive workshops to one-on-one coaching. I’m a digital marketing and content production coordinator, too. Long story short: I have traditional training and direct experience working in many areas of the writing biz.
On staying up-to-date: As an active career author, I’m up to date on trends, methods, and industry changes. I’m always reading the latest kick-ass craft book and I keep my finger on the pulse of the business.
On my attitude: I’m an optimist, a romantic, and a lifelong learner. While I won’t bullshit you about the facts, I know what it’s like to be a sensitive artist trying to improve and sell a project I’m passionate about. My aim is to encourage and inspire.
At the end of the day: I love writing. I love this business. And I love sharing methods for improvement. I want my listeners to learn from my successes and failures alike. And most importantly, I want you to come away inspired to go after your writing dreams—because your words matter.
More stats: I’m an award-winning and internationally bestselling career author in multiple genres. You can learn more about me at nicolejpersun.com. To read my latest fiction, visit my pseudonym Jennifer Gold’s website at jennifergoldauthor.com.
Episodes
Episodes were published in 2021 and are no longer hosted on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc. Tune in below! This Podcast no longer has a Patreon.
Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Write Inspiration! I thought we’d kick off the brand-new podcast by talking about I N S P I R A T I O N — and more importantly, the secret to maintaining inspiration long term. This episode is meant to set the tone for your whole year, so buckle up!
PS. Special audio-appearance from my cat, Emmie, who will likely interrupt many more podcasts to come.
Starting a new project can be daunting. I’ve developed a handful of tools to help set you up for success, from minimizing distractions to measuring your story’s viability before you start writing.
We all know the feeling: the words have stopped flowing, the character has stopped talking, and you can’t “see” the setting anymore. What’s a writer to do? In this episode, we’ll discuss 4 ways to get un-stuck during the writing process.
Hey first-draft perfectionists! This one is for you. If you love to start projects only to get caught up in polishing that first chapter over and over and over again—you might find my Writing Forward philosophy helpful. This is a tried-and-true technique for finishing projects.
If you’d like to learn more about Kate Sweeney’s psychological study mentioned in this podcast, the paper is called “Flow in the Time of Covid-19: Findings from China” and was published in March of 2020.
What makes a character memorable? What makes a character compelling? What makes a character three-dimensional? Most importantly, how does an author achieve these qualities on the page?
Character development is a well-covered topic, filled with formulas, character sheets, questionnaires, and personality tests. Yet even the most well-planned characters can fall flat on the page. In this episode, we explore the four pillars of what makes a character memorable—and the one thing that novice authors overlook when developing their characters.
We’ve all heard the familiar writing rule: Show, Don’t Tell. As a concept, it has great intentions, but in practice, it’s vague at best. Today we’re going to explore the many meanings of Show, Don’t Tell—and introduce a much more intuitive alternative.
Stakes are the basis of reader investment. You can have a strong character and clever plot, but without something at stake, readers won’t care about the outcome of the story. Stakes are about tension, conflict, risk, emotion, and so much more—long story short, they’re the backbone of your story. In today’s episode, we define story stakes and discuss how to raise the stakes to keep readers hooked.
When it comes to streamlining your writing process, a basic knowledge of structure is essential. In today’s episode, I wanted to go over some basics of structure — but not like you’ve heard them before. We’ll touch on plotting versus writing by the seat of your pants (aka “pantsing”), the hero’s journey, the three-act structure, and more — but the heart of this episode is all about trusting your instincts and your characters.
By request, we are jumping into the overwhelming world of editing — and hopefully dispelling some of your anxiety toward the process. This episode focuses on the fundamentals: how to get started, how to stay organized, and how to not lose your mind. Plus, an introduction of my favorite method: The Focused Draft Approach.
A story isn’t a story without conflict and tension. Today, let’s delve into the world of conflict and tension to learn what they are, how they differ, and how to use both to make your story strong and engaging.
(Technical difficulties abound, so thank you for bearing with me as I continue to sort out my sound/mic issues. I am a writer, not a sound engineer, so thanks for understanding!)
Whether you write women’s fiction or science fiction, thrillers or high fantasy, world building is an essential aspect of creating a full, rich story. But setting is nothing without someone to experience it, and setting cannot be adequately rendered without considering the people who inhabit it. On today’s episode, we’ll discuss the 5 major elements of world building and how character and setting intersect on the page.
Great dialogue is about power struggles, emotions, back story, tension, subtext, and so much more. Adapted from my popular class, “Blah, Blah, Blah: When Dialogue Falls Flat (And How to Fix It!),” today’s episode is the first of two episodes dedicated to all the stuff your characters say out loud. Part 1 focuses on your character’s linguistic fingerprint and how to develop their lexicon.
Great dialogue is about power struggles, emotions, back story, tension, subtext, and so much more. Adapted from my popular class, “Blah, Blah, Blah: When Dialogue Falls Flat (And How to Fix It!),” today’s episode is the second of two episodes dedicated to all the stuff your characters say out loud. For Part 2, we’re going to dig into how your character’s intentions alter what they say, how they say it, and what they choose to keep to themselves.
“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner—continually and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you—is a fine art, in and of itself.”