The Story Craft Cafe Podcast

Combining Magic and Mystery With Susan Stokes-Chapman | SCC 184

Susan Stokes-Chapman is a writer based in North Wales. She grew up in the Georgian city of Lichfield, before spending four years in the town of Aberystwyth and graduating with a BA in Education and English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing. Her debut novel Pandora was an instant #1 bestseller in the UK, was shortlisted for the 2020 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award.

60-Day Novel Challenge Week Two: Crafting Characters | SCC 183

Welcome to Week Two of the 60-Day Novel Challenge! This week is all about Characters—building compelling protagonists, antagonists, and supporting cast members that will drive your story forward.
Each week we will be:- Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercises- Talking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!- Sharing personal insights from our own author journeys- Answering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Building out your character profiles, including their goals, motivations, and arcs.
We’ll walk through the exercises in the template, talk about key relationships, and offer advice on developing character dynamics.
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/

Romantasy And The Changing Fantasy Landscape With Penn Cole | SCC 182

HI! I’M PENN COLEI’M AN HYBRID FANTASY ROMANCE AUTHOR IN THE MIDST OF PUBLISHING MY DEBUT SERIES, THE KINDRED’S CURSE SAGA
While my life has taken me through a lot of ups and downs, my love for reading and writing has forever been my true north. I’ve been writing stories since my childhood, filling mountains of notebooks with wild worlds and angsty romances. I received my undergraduate degree in Creative Writing, hoping to write the Next Great American Novel, but... well… we plan, Fate laughs. After a detour as an attorney and small business owner, I am thrilled to finally be pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming an author.
I’m a regular participant in NaNoWriMo, and I love meeting and supporting other new authors, especially female authors and BIPOC/LGBTQ+ authors. When I’m not writing, I love reading fantasy, rom coms, and humorous non-fiction.
While I’m a Texas girl born and bred, I currently live in France with my husband, where I can usually be found drinking way too much wine and eating far too many pastries.

60-Day Novel Challenge Week One: The Big Picture

We're kicking off the 60-Day Novel Challenge by looking at the big picture of your novel! That means understanding your genre, nailing down the high-level plot points of your story, and getting started on worldbuilding (if you need to).
Each week we will be:Discussing our own work for week's activities and exercisesTalking about the wins and struggles of the week - ours and yours!Sharing personal insights from our own author journeysAnswering questions from viewers and participants
This week’s focus: Crafting a high-level outline of your story, identifying key plot beats, and getting clarity on your genre.
We’ll cover the exercises from the template, discuss common pitfalls, and share tips to help you start strong!
Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of these streams. We’re all in this together—let’s get writing!
🔗 Template Download: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVh🔗 Join the Challenge: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-th...

Comic Fantasy and Sci Fi With Scott Meyer | SCC 180

After an unsuccessful career in radio, and a middling-successful career as a stand-up comic, Scott Meyer found himself middle aged, working as a ride operator at Walt Disney World.
In his spare time, he produced the successful web comic Basic Instructions. He slowly built a following of fans all over the world, to whom he sold his first self-published novel, Off to Be the Wizard. The book’s success brought him a publishing deal. He has since gone on to write several bestselling novels.
Scott lives in Portugal with his wife and the prettiest two cats on earth.

Introducing the 60-Day Novel Challenge! | SCC 179

60-Day Challenge Dabble Template: https://bit.ly/3XBxdVhJoin the Challenge Community: https://www.storycraft.cafe/c/join-the-challenge/ 
Are you ready to turn your writing dreams into reality? We’re thrilled to announce our 60-Day Novel Challenge—an exciting, guided community challenge to take you from a blank page and an idea to a finished first draft in just two months!
Join us LIVE for the official announcement where we’ll unveil all the exciting details, including:
📖 Challenge Overview: How the 60-Day Novel Challenge works and what you’ll accomplish by the end.🛠 Tools & Resources: Learn about the curriculum, exercises, and resources we’ve prepared to guide you through each step, including a step-by-step Dabble template for you.🎯 Weekly Goals & Support: We’ll break down the weekly objectives and share tips for staying on track.💡 Writing Tips: Get expert advice on outlining, character development, overcoming writer's block, and hitting those word counts!🎁 Exclusive Offers: Find out how even non-Dabblers can use Dabble to write their novel in 60 Days.🌟 Q&A: Have questions about the challenge or your own writing journey? We’ll be answering them live!
This is the perfect opportunity to get a head start on your novel, connect with other writers, and stay accountable, whether you're participating in NaNoWriMo or not.
Don’t forget to hit the notification bell and subscribe so you won’t miss this exciting announcement. See you there!

Twisty Legal Thrillers With David Ellis | SCC 178

David Ellis is a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of ten novels of crime fiction, as well as eight bestselling books co-authored with James Patterson. His novels have been translated into more than ten languages worldwide. In December 2014, Dave was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. He lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children.

Twin Sister Thriller Writing Team Amber and Danielle Brown | SCC 177

Amber and Danielle Brown both graduated from Rider University where they studied Communications/Journalism and sat on the editorial staff for the On Fire!! literary journal. They then pursued a career in fashion and spent five years in NYC working their way up, eventually managing their own popular fashion and lifestyle blog. Amber is also a screenwriter, so they live in LA, which works out perfectly so Danielle can spoil her plant babies with copious amount of sunshine. Find them at https://www.amberanddanielle.com/

Rick Partlow Talks About The State Of Genre Publishing | SCC 176

Rick Partlow is that rarest of species, a native Floridian. Born in Tampa, he attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a degree in History and a commission in the US Army as an Infantry officer.
His lifelong love of science fiction began with Have Space Suit---Will Travel and the other Heinlein juveniles and traveled through Clifford Simak, Asimov, Clarke and on to William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams and Peter F Hamilton. And somewhere, submerged in the worlds of others, Rick began to create his own worlds.
He has written over 40 books in a dozen different series, and his short stories have been included in twelve different anthologies.
He lives in central Florida with his wife, two children and two lovable mutts. Besides writing and reading science fiction and fantasy, he enjoys outdoor photography, hiking and camping.

How Do Authors Deal with Burnout? (Fireside Chats with Hank and Doug) | SCC 175

Burnout among authors is not only real, it can affect you many times throughout your author journey. It's a sneaky little monster that can completely destroy your love and passion for your current story or writing in general.
In this Fireside Chat, Hank and Doug talk about what burnout is, when we've experienced it, and what you can do to prevent it or minimize its impact.