Forcing yourself to "just write every day" can make writer's block worse. Author Sylvia Liu shares the sideways fixes that actually get you unstuck.

Writer's block isn't one problem. It's too many ideas, no ideas, a muddy middle, a deadline that's choking you, or a world that feels too loud to write in. Use the wrong fix and you stay stuck for months. Sylvia is a former environmental attorney turned middle grade and dystopian sci-fi author, and her toolkit covers all of those. Lisa got unstuck on her own manuscript live, mid-recording.

In this episode:

• Why "writer's block" is really an umbrella term, and how to tell which kind you have
• The list-and-mash-up exercise that sparks story ideas (and the summer camp ghost story with horseshoe crabs)
• What to do when the news and the scroll are eating your creative energy
• Two plot fixes for pantsers: "stakes and agency" and the midpoint swap
• Mind maps, chapter thumbnails with emoji, and reverse outlining
• How the Beat Sheet Calculator can help with pacing, and why middle grade word counts keep shrinking
• Why walking without your AirPods may beat staring at your laptop
• The worst writer's block advice Sylvia has heard
• Why a throwaway secondary character may be the answer you already planted

Resources and mentions:

• Sylvia Liu's website: enjoyingplanetearth.com
• Sylvia's newest book, Now That We Don't Talk, released October 6
• KidLit411, a resource website and Facebook community for children's writers and illustrators (co-founded by Sylvia and Elaine Kiley Kearns in 2013)
• Beat Sheet Calculator, which maps Save the Cat beats to your word count
• TBR Live on Instagram, a weekly 30-minute group quiet-reading session

If you're stuck on chapter three, or stuck in your life, hit play. You may walk away with the one tool that gets you writing again.

More on our blog at writerswithwrinkles.net.

Looking to self publish? Let's chat. Writers With Wrinkles Press now open!

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What do you do when the story you can't stop thinking about doesn't fit the genre you're known for? Thriller author Dina Marie (Dina Santorelli) took a ghost, a Salem mansion, and a big risk, and ended up with a paranormal cozy mystery series.

She started with zero readers, and her first draft took four weeks. The cost of not knowing how she did it is another year of sitting on an idea that won't leave you alone. Hit play to hear what she learned, and why one very popular ghost is about to get a lot more page time.

In this episode:

• The Salem vacation that was never supposed to be work, and the idea that followed
• Why her first plan (a paranormal romance) changed course
• The "rules" for how ghosts behave in her world
• What starting over with no readers looked like, and why she waited ten months to publish
• What readers told her about the character they wanted more of
• The perfect "if you like X, you'll like this" comparison
• A ghost story swap that went way off topic (in the best way)

Books mentioned:

• Going Ghost (Salem Spirits, Book 1)
• Ghost Rider (Book 2)
• Grateful Ghost (Book 8, released in August)

Find Dina's books: https://www.dinamariebooks.com/

More about this episode and the blog: writerswithwrinkles.net

This is the first Confetti Club, our new segment celebrating authors and their brand-new books. Hit play, follow the show, and grab a little confetti. Then tell us which ghost story of ours creeped you out most.

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Ready to turn your manuscript into a published book? Writers With Wrinkles Press handles editing, cover design, formatting, and distribution, and you keep 100% of your royalties. Visit WritersWithWrinklesPress.com and write CONFETTI on your submission to get $500 off your publishing package. Your book. Your moment. Let's make it a celebration.

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Visit the Website

Find Full Episodes on YouTube!

Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for socials and more!

We're back in Napa, where the Writers With Wrinkles podcast was born five years ago, with a new book and a new self-publishing press for writers.

Every self-published author we've talked to says the same thing: it was a lot more complicated than they expected. We spent the last year learning why, and we want your manuscript to get out of the drawer with fewer surprises along the way.

Hit play, then visit writerswithwrinklespress.com to send your questions or book a call with us.

In this episode

• Why we're celebrating in Napa, the spot where this podcast was hatched
• The book: Write, Revise, Publish: Essential Lessons from the Writers With Wrinkles Podcast, out now wherever you buy books
• Meet Writers With Wrinkles Press, and why we built it
• The one thing everyone says after they self-publish
• How to reach us, and what's next for Season 6

Links and next steps

• Writers With Wrinkles Press: writerswithwrinklespress.com (ask questions or book a phone call)
• Book: Write, Revise, Publish: Essential Lessons from the Writers With Wrinkles Podcast, available everywhere books are sold
• Add the book to your Goodreads shelf.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit the Website

Find Full Episodes on YouTube!

Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for socials and more!