The Truth About Storytelling

In this episode, I read Chapter 18 from Champion in the Darkness, discuss favorite characters, and creating depth in a secondary character and how that led to writing a new series.

I also ask a few q…

In this episode, I attempt to tackle two subjects: Technology Use in Worldbuilding and the IWSG discussion topic about AI use. IWSG is a monthly blog hop about writing for writers and the AI discussi…

In this episode, I dive into possible ways geography and landscape have affected our world’s cultures, trade, and worldviews, and how this can happen in our fiction world-building to affect our ficti…

In this episode, I read aloud chapter 17 from my novel Champion in the Darkness, and discuss the issues with writing scary scenes in young adult novels. How much is too much detail? How much is enoug…

In this episode, I discuss four reasons to create maps for fiction narratives, whether those fiction narratives are set in imagined worlds or our contemporary world. I give examples from several book…

In this episode, I read chapter 16 of Champion in the Darkness and make a few remarks about the characters and their roles in this book as well as their roles in the prequel trilogy. Thanks for liste…

Last week I had a bit of an “oops” with my podcast scheduling, plus I went to Realm Makers Writing Conference. This episode is all about those two bits of news.

If you are new to my newsletter, this i…

In this episode, I read chapter 16 of Champion in the Darkness and make a few remarks about the characters and their roles in this book as well as their roles in the prequel trilogy. Thanks for liste…

In this episode, I discuss the way character is revealed through setting, and how setting can be a source of obstacles our characters face, especially in the area of travel in fantasy, science fictio…

In this writing episode, I introduce why I believe understanding setting and world-building details is important for us as authors, where I begin with setting and world-building, and briefly mention …

In this episode, I talk about three different reactions I get when I tell people I am an author, how I handle those interactions - sometimes well and sometimes awkwardly, and why I tell people if it'…

In this episode, I read aloud Chapter 15 from Champion in the Darkness, my overtly Christian Fantasy novel I wrote over a decade ago, and I discuss what went into this chapter and the scenes within i…

In this episode, I give a brief discussion on Achievable Goals and Habits as an author.

Show Links:

Clear, James. “Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead.” Accessed 6/18/2024. https://james…

In this episode, I share a few events going on this week, read chapters 12-14 of Champion in the Darkness, and discuss the enjoyment of giving my characters troubles, and staying away from info dumps…

In this episode, I discuss the need for sustainable goals in my writing life, and how rewards (planned or happenstance) motivate and inspire me to keep going.

Mini Points in this episode

Introduction …

Buckle up! These chapters come with a minor content warning. These chapters contain some of the most open faith-based fiction I have ever written, so if you're worldview is not the same, please prepa…

In this episode, I finally share the reason behind the name of this podcast The Truth About Storytelling, how it came to be, why I think it's important, and how truth in our storytelling can affect o…

In this episode, I read out loud chapters 7 and 8 from Champion in the Darkness, and discuss projects I am currently working on, both one that relates to the Champion Trilogy and one that does not. I…

In this episode, I discuss character names and how they can have meaning in our writing. I did quite a bit of research for this episode, and I mention a number of links, which are listed here:

6 Creat…

In this episode, I read out loud chapter six from Champion in the Darkness. After that, I discuss what went into the chapter, including both interior and exterior conflict in each scene, and how I fe…