When we write memoir, there are a million things we have to think about. 

We have to know what story we want to tell, and we have to know how to tell it. 

We have to be ready to be vulnerable on the page. And then, we have to be ready to share our vulnerability with all of our readers!

Choosing to write a memoir can be a difficult choice, especially when dealing with serious subject matter as Stephanie Kain’s memoir does. 

Despite Stephanie’s initial hesitance at her agent’s suggestion of turning her journaling into a memoir, she went into it with an open mind and came out the other side of the publishing process with a wonderful experimental memoir. 

Listen to learn: 

• How to become comfortable with being vulnerable in your writing 
• How to choose what to include and exclude in your memoir 
• About the benefits of writing experimentally 
• The value of writing something even if you’re afraid of being judged 

Here’s a sneak peek:

[07:17] I think it's possible to improve y...

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Sometimes, being a writer can make us feel like we’re standing all on our own, especially if we don’t have a writing community around us. 

This can make it even more difficult for us to work on our writing, even if we feel that we have a book inside us that’s ready to be written. 

Kimberly J. Ward’s book writing journey started after she went on a real journey, spending two years at sea with her husband and daughter. 

But it was the writing community she found at her local library that helped her to write the basis of her book, and the help of others with book know-how that led her to finish and self-publish her book i...

If you’ve been following me at Resilient Writers for any length of time, then you’ve heard me say how important it is for us as writers to achieve a state of flow. 

Flow helps us have the kind of writing sessions that so many writers long for, where we lose all sense of time and anything that isn’t our characters or our narrative. 

But the flow state can seem unattainable if we don’t know how to reach it reliably, each and every time we sit down to write.

Luckily, there’s a dedicated field of scientific study called Positive Psychology that can teach us the concrete conditions that need to be met to reach a state of flow.

How to Get Into Flow

Listen to learn:

• How you can achieve a state of flow in your writing life 
• The power of psychology in our writing lives 
• Why it’s important to choose the right time for you to write 
• The benefits of living as a writer that’s always learning and growing

Here’s a sneak peek… 

[04:32] But we are writers and so we want to know: how...

When we write, whatever story we’re telling—whether it’s a literal, fictional story, or the driving force behind another genre of work—has to come from somewhere. 

Author Gary Barwin found his stories by looking into history, his memories, and his experiences. But it was learning more about a history he is connected with that made Gary decide to look inward, and write directly about himself.  

But this doesn’t mean Gary writes in a narrow scope for others who are just like himself. Rather, he thinks about how his writing can instead speak to the human experience of being in this world. 

This allows him to fulfil the role of a writer: bringing people back to their fundamental humanity, which to Gary means understanding how we are all connected. 

The path to publishing a book isn’t an easy one. 

That goes double when you’re learning about what you want to write, what kind of book you’re going to publish, trying to get your book selected by a publisher… 

A Long and Satisfying Path to Publication, with Mari Ruddy

The list of bumps in the road to publishing goes on and on, and author Mari Ruddy hit every single one. The entire process of writing her second book took Mari over ten years—but after all her hard work, patience, and perseverance, it’s finally here! 

And as you may have guessed, Mari didn’t get published by cutting any corners. 

Listen to learn: 

• The importance of knowing what kind of book you’re writing
• Why you should pay for an editor, especially as a self-published author
• How much it can cost to self-publish 
• The value of having a writing community 

Here’s a sneak peek:

[6:54] So I joined this co-working space and I'd go there and I'd go through my personal stories. And it was like, “oh my God, am...

Hey there writer, you’ve reached the end of The Resilient Writers Radio Show Season 2! 

Today I have a special closing episode for you, where I’ll discuss what you can expect to hear in the next Season, and I’ll also tell you a bit more about our upcoming Book Finishers Bootcamp!

Keep Coming Back! Thoughts on Persistence

Listen to learn:

• What’s coming in The Resilient Writers Radio Show Season 3
• All about the next Book Finishers Bootcamp 
• How to tell me if there’s something specific you’d like to hear in Season 3
• Why persistence is key for us as resilient writers

Thank you for sticking with us to the end of two whole Seasons!

Here’s a sneak peek of today’s episode… 

[2:14] To me, that's what it means to be a resilient writer, that despite all the ups and the downs and the emotional rollercoaster of this writing life, we're still doing it.

[5:21] And I think sometimes when we are watching other writers, be it on Instagram or TikTok or whatever, it seems like their bo...