Show, don't Tell Writing with Suzy Vadori
If writing advice and the lingo used in the publishing industry usually sounds like gobbledygook to you, look no further than this Show, don’t Tell Writing podcast. I’m Author, Editor, and Book Coach Suzy Vadori, and I’m absolutely obsessed with helping writers get their ideas onto the page in a way that readers LOVE. If you think Show, don’t Tell is just tired writing advice, prepare to have your eyes opened as I break down the process of applying this key technique in both fiction and nonfiction books, sharing step-by-step actions each week you can take immediately to get closer each week to your wildest writing dreams, whether you’re writing your first book, or your tenth, all while making the process inspiring and fun. If you want your book to get published, read, loved, and shared with readers all over the world, I’ll address the questions that are sooo hard to find answers for. Is your writing good enough to be published in today’s market? What are the unwritten rules that can make agents, publishers, and readers give your book 5-star reviews? Do you have what it takes to make it as a writer? Hint: You definitely do, but nobody is born knowing how to write a terrific book, so join us to give yourself an advantage over all the other books out there by adding to your writing skills, and getting the straight goods on the industry. In this weekly show, I’ll bring you writing techniques, best practices, motivation, inspirational stories from real live authors out there making it in the world, and actionable advice that can help you turn that book you’re writing into the bestseller you know deep down that it can be. I’ll even share the tangible, step-by-step writing advice that I used to escape her daily grind of being a corporate executive to make a living doing all things writing, and living my best creative life. I’ll be interviewing top writing experts and authors who give you the straight goods on what it takes to make it as a writer. Knowing these writing truths has given me the opportunity to work with thousands of writers over the past decade who have seen their writing dreams come true, and doors open for them that they hadn’t even thought of when they started their journey. If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels on your book’s draft and get serious about making your writing the best it can be, don't miss an episode – subscribe or follow today, and visit my website at www.suzyvadori.com for more writing resources and updates.
Episodes
Suzy is back this week for part two of her interview with prolific author, Simon Rose. This week they chat about how to sustain a career in writing, and what that really looks like.
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Suzy chats this week with prolific author Simon Rose in the first of two episodes about writing time travel books for young audiences. They cover research, alternate histories, and time travel (in all directions!)
GUEST: Simon graduated from university with a degree in history and his first novel for middle grade readers, The Alchemist’s Portrait, was published in 2003. This was followed by The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, Th...
Mentioned in this Episode:
The Fantasy Writer's Toolshed Podcast
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Register Here for the Escape the Plot Forest Writer's Summit October 18th - 22nd
Daniel David Wallace's Website
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Preorder A Novel Approach HERE! (Releases on October 15th, 2025)
Suzy sits down with Author, Editor, and Book Coach, Nicole Bross to talk about her new book A Novel Approach: Strategies for ADHD Writers. They dive into what makes neurodivergent brains unique, and how you can harness the strengths of your brain function to finish your own book!
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Mentioned in the Episode:
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Suzy sits down with Becca Puglisi, one half of the team behind The Emotion Thesaurus series of reference books to talk all things Show, don't Tell! Learn about the Thesauruses and how they came to be, along with a variety of ways to use them to amp up your own writing. You aren't going to want to miss this episode!
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Join Suzy, and social media expert and author Melissa Pruitt as they talk about the best ways to build a social media presence for writers- and why you want to be doing this in the first place!
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In this week's episode we continue the conversation with short story author Liz J. Bradley about her writing process and experience with both short fiction and novel writing. Tune in for insight on how to apply what you learn in writing short stories to novels, and her #1 secret for figuring out how to juggle a plethora of writing projects.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Join Suzy as she chats this week with her Virtual Assistant, Liz J. Bradley, about her own writing journey. They discuss the milestone of receiving 100 short fiction and poetry rejections, and the systems and processes Liz put into place to get there.
Resources for Submitting and Tracking Short Fiction and Poetry:
In part two of this conversation with Author and Book Coach Lidija Hilje dives into how she structured her book to span 20 years using a dual timeline. She and Suzy talk about how to use sensory showing details in literary fiction in order ground readers when you need to 'tell'. Finally, a round of quickfire questions about her writing journey rounds out this riveting interview!
Join Suzy for an interview with Book Coach and Literary Fiction Author, Lidija Hilje. The two speak about the differences between genre and literary fiction, including the defining ideas, structures, and themes. They also discuss her debut novel, Slanting Towards the Sea, and her journey from being a lawyer to writing.
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In this page review episode, Suzy critiques a page from a Memoir with a twist- Marcel Charpentier is writing the story of his personal friend's childhood in collaboration with her. They discuss incorporating showing details and sense memory through the eyes of a child, and how to approach narrative distance.
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In this special bonus episode, Suzy continues her discussion with Epic Fantasy Author Katie Fitzgerald. They discuss Katie's journey to self-publishing, how she leverages author communities to reach readers, and next-level show, don't tell writing advice.
If you're ready to dive into the epic fantasy worlds of Katie Fitzgerald, you can find out more on her website at www.katiefitzgeraldauthor.com and gr...
Join Suzy as she chats with Epic Fantasy author Katie Fitzgerald to talk about setting the scene for the second book in a series. Learn about the different types of readers you need to think about, and how you can recap information without infodumping.
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In this episode, Suzy chats with author Liz Alterman about her page from her work in progress. They discuss the merits and pitfalls of various writing habits, and how to 'unstick' yourself when you can't seem to keep writing forward. You'll also learn about the unique style choices that can be made when writing a psychological thriller. Time to dive in!
In this episode, Suzy dives into how to use showing details to bring an introverted character to life, how to sprinkle fantasy details without info-dumping, and how to avoid point of view errors.
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In this episode, Suzy sits down with fellow book coach and author, Suzette Mullen to talk about Memoirs. Through the discussion of Suzette's Memoir, The Only Way Through Is Out, they discuss planning, structuring, and writing your memoir and the ways it is similar and different from fiction. Suzette shares her personal journey and how a major plot twist in her life changed everything.
In this week's episode, Suzy chats with fellow editor Michael, and they review opportunities to amp up the stakes in his Action Scene.
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On Friday, June 20th, 2025, Suzy held an Open House for her Inner Circle membership program. In addition to a workshop, there was an open Q&A session. Tune in for a frank discussion of writers' most burning questions, including:
- How do I structure my novel?
- How many POVs is too many?
- When do most writers fail?
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