Lit Service

The Lit Service Crew chats with Literary Agent Ben Grange about what goes into a fabulous first chapter and how to approach getting yours into that fabulous category, red flags and things that make B…

The Lit Service Crew chats with Karen M. McManus, author of NYT Bestselling One of Us is Lying, about the rise of the YA thriller and the elements that go into writing a good thriller (and thriller e…

This week the Lit Service crew chats with literary agent Ben Grange about brainstorming techniques.

Some things we mention:

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Struck By Lightning ht…

The Lit Service crew chats about subplots, what they are, how to use them, and when you don't need them. Some of the books and movies we talk about are:

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Mistborn by Brandon…

This week we chat with Rosalyn Eves about rhetorical devices and how to go about learning and using them (and maybe when not to use them). Some of the things we mention in the podcast worth checking …

Ben Grange and the Lit Service Crew chat about what it means to "hang lanterns" in your writing, and how to go about doing it.

Some books we mention: The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater

The Office (t…

Caitlin chats with Charlie Holmberg (who is published through Amazon's traditional publishing arm, 47 North as well as indie published), Jolene Perry (who has worked with Simon Pulse, Albert Whitman …

Ben Grange from L. Perkins agency joins the Caitlin, Cameron, and Aliah to discuss some things that authors ought to research and think about before they begin querying agents, including awareness of…

Guest Caitlyn McFarland shares her tips and tricks to making the romance in your writing crackle. There are several methods she uses that help authors to avoid romances that start too quickly, escala…

The Lit Service crew chats with Emily Suvada about science, technology, engineering, and math, it's importance in literature and how to write it through research, creating believable characters and c…

Literary Agent Ben Grange joins the podcast to tell us why plot twists will make or break your book...but not for every genre. We discuss how to go about setting up plot twists and some ideas as to w…

This week Kristen, Caitlin, and Cameron talk about rising tension and how to use it in your writing and announce our special publishing industry professional guest for April. Some books we mention: 

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Erin, Caitlin, Cameron, and Kristen chat about how character and plot fit together, and how, as you are engineering your character, to choose flaws and strengths that suit the sort of plot you want t…

In which Caitlin, Kristen, and Cameron examine the correct pronunciation of the words "latrine" and "Yosemite". We also talk about our own writing habits and how to cultivate the consistent sort of h…

The Lit Service crew chats about what makes a compelling antagonist or villain with Simon Pulse assistant editor Sarah McCabe.

We highlight some of our favorite examples of antagonists such as Mayor …

In this episode we talk about some changes to the podcast. We have a new website: litservicepodcast.wixsite.com/litnation where you can find our shiny new forum, a place you can chat about your own w…

Inciting incidents: what they are and how to effectively choose one. Kristen, Cameron, and Caitlin discuss their own writerly inciting incidents (how they started writing) and then talk about they wa…

Romantic Subplots! The best AND the worst! How do you keep your romantic subplot from feeling like...a plot point? We talk about building relationships in books and how to help your characters come t…

Want to know where your book fits on a bookshelf? We do too, and so do the agents and editors reviewing your query letters. With guest Kate Watson, we chat about why it's important to know where you …