Metaphors are amazing for lighting up your readers’ brains with imagery, to help them ‘see’ your story. But you have to use metaphors carefully. Johnny talks about metaphor usage and how NOT to sound pretentious and over the top.

One thing EVERYONE faces in the beginning of their authorpreneur journey is having no audience. It’s one of our most-asked questions. The answer is simple: build one. It’s easier said than done. Sean takes you through the strategy of building an audien...

Toy Story is one of Sean’s favorite movie franchises, and he’s got a passion for Pixar’s ability to tell stories. Today, he talks about how Pixar surged after years of work, how their sequels were better to the originals (in his opinion),

Writing what you like to read is non-negotiable. Sure, there are people who see a hot genre and attempt to write it despite their lack of passion or knowledge, but that doesn’t make it okay. Today, Johnny talks about the issues you will run into if you...

Ever heard of a ‘sideways story?’ Think Rogue One and how The Plans ended up in Princess Leia’s hands. Today, Sean talks about how to take your world and your characters and use them to answer questions raised in your story that weren’t answered there....

Relationships are complicated. You’re a living person in the real world, so you know this. But if your stories lack complicated relationships, if everyone has cookie-cutter lives, then your stories lack reality. Today,

Having trouble finishing the first draft of your novel or maybe just looking for a way to help you focus your writing? In this episode, guest host and speculative fiction author C.Steven Manley borrows a lesson from great screenwriters to suggest a fiv...

Luck is a word that’s tossed around without much consideration, but when you consider how devastating it can be to someone’s hopes and dreams, you might not be so quick to use it. Today, Audra talks about a far better way to achieve what you hope for i...

One of the aims of the Sterling and Stone Story Studio is to make stories that jump mediums, much like The Matrix did. There were the movies, of course, but there was an entire array of content that spanned video games, comics, and more,

It’s tough when you’re an authorpreneur to SLOW DOWN. We need to get in a different frame of mind to have the dreams and mental experimentation that it takes to create. Today, Johnny talks about some quick and easy ways you can clear your mind at your ...