The Novel Writers Podcast
This podcast is for writers and readers who want to take a deep dive into the craft of writing, to hear about how working writers navigate the publishing industry, and to get plenty of book recommendations to boot. Join your hosts Brianna Labuskes (USA Today best-selling author of historical fiction and psychological thrillers) and Meredith Hambrock (literary thriller writer, television writer, and small press editor) as they discuss their very different views and approaches to the craft of writing proving that there is no one right way to become a novelist.
Episodes
Did you know there’s only one county in America that calls the grass between the street and sidewalk the devil’s strip? Neither did Bri until she went down a research rabbit hole into forensic linguists for a thriller project. She and Mer discuss where to start with research; finding the right balance between authenticity and bogging down the plot; and how to know when to put down the book and pick up the pen. Come for ...
You know the famous first line, but did you also know Pride & Prejudice has a killer entire first chapter, which is almost entirely dialogue? Bri and Mer use Jane’s brilliance to chat about all the ways dialogue can be used to convey setting, stakes, personality and character dynamics when done well. They also give their hot take on eavesdropping at coffeeshops and dole out advice about when to use adverbs in dialogue tag...
Could these references be any more millennial? Bri and Mer chat about how to add stakes–low and high–to your manuscript, how to make zany set-ups feel important, and how knowing your characters makes it all so much easier. Come for the advice about creating ticking clocks in the plot and stay for us gushing over How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Books Discussed
Ravenous by Sara Cooper
The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by ...
Can you still get burnout when you’re doing your dream job? Join Bri and Mer as they chat about *gasp* ambition, tapped creative wells and figuring out how to push yourself just the right amount. Come for the commiserating over the fact that writing is really, freaking hard and stay for the ladies’ new dream job that’s everything the movies say it is.
Books Mentioned
Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray
Ravenous...
Will there be fisticuffs? Possibly! (Probably not). But join Bri and Mer anyway as they talk about conflict and how it goes far beyond the seven main categories you were taught in school.
They discuss how to create minor layers of conflict that amplify your book’s theme, how to make your audience care, and how stakes play a role in all of it. Come for the reasons why Bri thinks conflict makes everything easier, and stay for t...
Hey, agents are humans, too. And to prove that Bri and Mer bring on their brilliant, shared agent, Abby Saul of The Lark Group, to talk all things publishing. Abby spills the tea on queries, comps, the state of publishing, and more. Come for the tips on preventable query mistakes and stay for the burning question: what ever happened to that god-awfully named genre “chick lit”?
Episode Outline
00:00 - 22:00 - Intro
21:57 - ...
Is it editing or revisions? Either way, it’s really freaking hard. This is where the manuscript becomes a book and where you earn your paycheck. Bri and Mer discuss self-editing and dreaded blindspots, beta readers and feedback from friends, and the emotional stakes of being professionally edited.
Come for tips on how to find the message behind the editing note and stay to find out what 19th century viscounts have to do with ...
A book is so much more than just the spark of an idea. A ton of people have the spark of an idea—and now can plug it into a plagarism machine to spit out a story. But you become a writer in the millions of choices you make between the story idea and putting the words down on the page.
Bri and Mer both lay out their creative process, from where they come up with ideas to how they create their characters and plot beats, highlig...
Gatekeepers, cheerleaders, partners-in-crime, the person you call to talk you down from a panic attack, or the person standing in the way of your dream. Literary agents have been labeled many different things in the publishing industry, but mostly they’re just people who love books just as much as you do. Bri and Mer, who were signed a few months apart in 2016, discuss their journey to getting representation, offer advice on ...
It’s one of the most valuable tools in a writer’s kit, but what even is voice? And how does it differ from your characters’ voices? Bri and Mer chat about the way your whole life can shape your writing voice, discuss writing outside your own identity, and offer tips that include listening to curling podcasts and reading newspapers. They then realize they might be old.
Come for the tips about how to create unique c...
Two writers with slow-burn allegations spill everything they know about pacing--and they do promise it doesn’t lag in the middle. Mer and Bri discuss the somewhat nebulous concept of pace, while also offering tips—like using multiple POVs—to keep the narrative arc moving.
Their worldviews get slightly rocked when it’s revealed one of them likes writing toward the mid-point of the book instead of th...
You know when you go to a magic show, you’re going to be tricked… and you’re going to love it. But how does the magician get the audience to look the other way when everyone is just as eager to catch him in the misdirection as they are to be delighted?
Mer and Bri discuss the best way to write twists while at the same time solving a murder involving a greedy developer and some rat poison. Finally, they p...
She woke up, walked down the stairs, made herself some breakfast and then posted her podcast about how you decide the right place to start the story. Mer and Bri discuss the fine balance between hooking readers’ interest and forcing an inciting incident too early into the plot, and how just because TV executives want big action to come within the first thirty seconds—to keep audiences from changing the channel—tha...
With the pop culture spotlight on genre books such as Heated Rivalry and Project Hail Mary, there has been some heated discourse about what constitutes “good writing.”
Join Bri and Mer as they discuss genre expectations, why those don’t equate to low standards, and whether the current state of Capital L literary fiction is as dire as pearl-clutchers might have you believe.
Come for the dis...
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