178 - How to be a Writer if You Hate Writing

Episode 178 - How to be a Writer if You Hate Writing with Shane Millar

March 21, 2023

Shane Millar talks about HOW TO BE A WRITER IF YOU HATE WRITING, including diagnosing a dislike of drafting; whether first drafting quickly is a problem; tips for fleshing out setting and characters, including getting to know your characters in your first book and the advantage of continuing characters in a series; the benefit of learning story structure; the danger of too much study and not enough practice; and the markers of a writer's true goals.

Shane Millar is a Fictionary Certified Story Coach and the author of the Write Better Fiction craft guides. He is also the author of the Myth & Magic urban fantasy thriller series (writing as S. W. Millar), and a co-host on the Storytellers Faceoff Podcast. Shane holds a BA in journalism and is a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). He lives in Buckinghamshire, England and is obsessed with the writing craft, mythology, personal development, food, and martial arts movies.

"There's definitely a kind of analysis by paralysis when I work with a lot of clients in that they've read or consumed so much writing advice that they're kind of stuck. They don't know which piece of advice to take. So the best thing to do is just keep it really simple. Have a few ideas, enough to start writing, and then if you do get stuck at any point, address that when it comes, rather than trying to do it all upfront in your head and think, oh, but I need to foreshadow this and I need to do that. Don't do that because you'll just get stuck and you'll never progress." —Shane Millar

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Links

Shane's Links:
Website: https://swmillar.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swmillarauthor/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@swmillarauthor

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I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Shane! What’s your favorite—and least favorite—parts of the writing process, and how do you pave the way for getting through your least favorite parts?

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