Category Archives: Write Better

Advice for Writers – from Writers

Posted on by
Reply

Unless you belong to a writers group or are taking a class, you might be working on your craft all by yourself. Well, you’re not alone! Meet some members of your community who are at various places in their creative journey. Some are published authors with many books to their name, others playwrights who’ve seen their work produced onstage, and there are some who are still working toward completing that first project.

The voices you’ll hear in this episode belong to people who’ve been guests on the Write Like a Badass podcast. They share the wisdom they’ve gained from experience – no matter how much or how little writing experience they’ve had so far. I think we can learn from every fellow writer we encounter.

 In Open Mic Night at the Badass Writers Cafe, I read from a novel I just completed. Sort of. You’ll hear.

Want to learn more about the people featured in this episode? 

Connect with Don Davidson on Tiktok.

Find Ron Shaw at:

Trae Dorn is at:

  • www.trhonline.com
  • Trae’s Doks and comics & etc. include:
  • The Mia Graves Saga, a series of queer contemporary fantasy novels
  • The webcomic Peregrine Lake
  • The comic UnCONventional, a comic based off of their decades staffing conventions
  • Trae is also the creator of the Super Awesome Action Heroes Role Playing Game System

Barb Nessinger can be found on Facebook and on Instagram (Barb’s Instagram (Barbyness84).

Find out more about Dave Durham at: https://www.stagescreenandme.com/

Find out more about Tony Targan at: https://www.tonytargan.com/

hh rune is at:

Connect with Rebecca Wells Phillips:

The Write Like a Badass Podcast is by, about and for writers. Welcome to your tribe!

All About the Booktok Indie Author Awards

Posted on by
Reply

Ron Shaw writes dark fantasy / psychological fiction novels. He also puts a considerable amount of time and effort into the Booktok Indie Author Awards, which he founded. In this episode, Ron talks about why it’s importance to bring recognition to indie authors. He also discusses his own writing – and why readers are sometimes confused about the genre of his books (but they still read them and like them!).

Interested in entering your book or nominating someone else’s book for the 2026 BookTok Indie Author Awards? Go here: https://evocativeimpressions.com/booktok-indie-author-awards/. NOTE: The deadline for this year is August 31.

“There’s some pretty intimate stuff in here”

Posted on by
Reply

After turning 30, h.h. rune realized that she had allowed fear to shape much of her life. She resolved to lead an extraordinary life within the space of an ordinary one, and to urge others to do the same.

A lifelong creative, she used this realization to fuel a 25-year-long passion project, The Find Me- Extraordinary Life Seeker Series. (It’s not finished yet, by the way.)

Hear hh discuss her writing, her life and her unique distribution strategy for her books on the Write Like a Badass podcast episode: “There’s some pretty intimate stuff in here.” (Hint: like the characters in the books themselves, readers are encouraged to enter their names, locations, and date of reading in the backs, then pass the books on to others.

“You’ve got to learn to dance with fear”

Posted on by
Reply

Grief over her father’s death had Alexandra Chan writing down stories about him. She ultimately realized that she was writing a book, which turned into the hot-selling In the Garden Behind the Moon: A Memoir of Loss, Myth and Magic.

Writing that book had a transformational effect on Alexandra, and reading it is – based on reviews – causing people to connect with it on a deeply emotional level.

Listen to Alexandra’s episode on the Write Like a Badass podcast to hear how this left-brained scientist discovered a whole other side of herself – one that embraces the magic and mythos that are ingrained in her family history and Chinese culture.

Alexandra Chan’s website is:https://alexandra-chan.com/

In the Garden Behind the Moon: A Memoir of Loss, Myth, and Magic is available from Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/34dsjccd

Slavery in the Age of Reason: Archaeology at a New England Farm offers a rare look into the lives of enslaved peoples and slaveholders in early New England.

Sign up for The Glimmering, a once-a-season community and newsletter for curious minds, eye-twinklers, travelers, and seekers and seers of magic. Get inspired and stay informed about Alexandra’s books.

Connect with Alexandra on Tiktok (Alexandra Chan|Author and Facebook (Alexandra Chan).

From Journalist to Mystery Writer: How Neal Lipschutz Made the Leap

Posted on by
Reply

After retiring from a career that included being an editor at the Wall Street Journal, Neal Lipschutz embarked upon a new career: writing suspense fiction. Fans of his debut novel, No Write Way to Die, are eagerly awaiting his second (in a series), Long Arm of the Past, which will be published in August.

Listen to Neal’s episode on the Write Like a Badass podcast to hear how he develops stories and characters, what is was like to find a publisher and what he’s got coming up. You will also get a sneak preview of Long Arm of the Past, when Neal reads an excerpt from it for Open Mic Night at the Badass Writers Cafe.

Neal’s website is: https://neallipschutz.com/

Neal’s books can also be found at:

https://www.tuckerdspress.com/product-page/no-write-way-to-diehttps://www.tuckerdspress.com/product-page/long-arm-of-the-past

Connect with Neal on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-lipschutz-3119b743/
and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neal.lipschutz

How Self Doubt Derailed a Multi-Creative for 20 Years

Posted on by
Reply

Lylanne Musselman is a poet, an artist, a playwright and a play director who lives in Eaton, Indiana. She spreads her love of writing to other by teaching – at the University of Indianapolis and Ivy Tech Community College. She’s also a mother, a grandmother and a furbaby mother. (How many cats do you have?) Her work has been featured in many literary journals and anthologies. She’s had six chapbooks published – so far – And she’s co-authored two books.

But Lylanne wasn’t always this productive. Listen to the Write Like a Badass podcast episode entitled, How Self Doubt Derailed a Multi-Creative for 20 Years to hear how Lylanne stopped writing at 18 – because she thought she wasn’t good at it!

Lylanne’s return to what she loves doing: writing and art, will inspire you. You’ll also hear how writing poetry and creating art helped her deal with caregiving for her unsupportive mother when her mother had dementia.

Her published chapbooks are:

Prickly Beer and Purple Panties (Bacon Tree Press, 2007), A Charm Bracelet For Cruising (Winged City Press, 2009), Winged Graffiti (Finishing Line Press, 2011), Weathering Under the Cat, (Finishing Line Press, 2016) and Red Mare 16 (Pink House Literary Arts, 2018); and Staring Dementia in the Face (Finishing Line Press, 2023), Consider the Doves (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2020). She has a full-length poetry collection, In My Life: A Pop Culture Poetry Memoir, which will be published by Chatter House Press in Autumn, 2026.

She’s written It’s Not Love, Unfortunately (Chatter House Press, 2018), and co-authored Company of Women: New and Selected Poems (Chatter House Press, 2013), and Marriage Maps and Driven Destinies (Chatter House Press, 2023).

Lylanne’s website is: https://lylannemusselman.wordpress.com/about/

Connect with Lylanne on:

How Getting Into the Flow State Can Help Your Writing

Posted on by
Reply

As a studio exec at 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks, Steven Puri dealt with screenwriters who earned million dollar paydays for their scripts. Fascinated by these and other high performers, Steven set out to discover what gave them the ability to immerse themselves in their creative projects without letting distractions affect them.

The result: The Sukha Company, a website Steven created to help people tune out distractions and get into the “flow zone.” Listen to the episode of the Write Like a Badass podcast entitled, “How Getting Into the Flow Zone Can Help Your Writing.”

The Sukha Company focus app is at: https://www.thesukha.co/

Connect with Steven Puri on:

LinkedI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-puri/

The book Steven refers to: The Net and the Butterfly: https://www.amazon.com/Net-Butterfly-Practice-Breakthrough-Thinking/dp/1591847192

“It’s gotten very ambitious”

Posted on by
Reply

Teacher, pet lover, musician, and avid reader, Jessica Glass is fascinated by fairy tales. She’s writing a novel based on a reimagining of a Snow White story – but not the one we all know. Her work in progress has been three years in the making. In the episode of the Write Like a Badass podcast, Jessica talks about where her inspiration comes from, what keeps her going, and who her readers will be.

Connect with Jess:
Instagram: jgmaid https://www.instagram.com/jgmaid/ 
Tiktok: @jessicaglass577 https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicaglass577?lang=en
Twitter: @jess_glasses 

Buckle Up, Buttercup: This Writer Is In Her Crone Era – and Loving It!

Posted on by
Reply

Lydia M. Hawke has written and published 18 books! Several of her multi-book series feature heroines of a certain age who KNOW THEIR POWER.

She also writes a romance series, The Ever After Romance Collection, under the name Linda Poitevin.

On the podcast, episode 14, Lydia talks about reaching a crossroads in her life and suddenly finding a new direction for her writing, and how her books have found an enthusiastic array of readers. Getting older and fighting invisibility is just one of the many topics we cover.

Lydia is so enthused about her Crone Wars series (shown above) that she got a tattoo inspired by the stories.

Visit Lydia’s website: https://www.lydiahawkebooks.com/

Here’s where you’ll find that merch we talk about in the episode: https://www.lydiahawkebooks.com/shop/

Connect with Lydia socially: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaMHawke

You Wrote a Novel on Your Phone?! And Other Writing Strategies

Posted on by
Reply

Amina Mirza is getting ready to publish her first novel, The Mermaid and the Mini-Horse. She describes it as “a fishy fairy tale” – for adults.

Listen to episode 13 of the Write Like a Badass podcast, and hear about how Amina used “free writing” and wrote most of her novel on her phone!

You will also get to hear Amina read an excerpt from her book – and do character voices.

The Write Like a Badass podcast is available on all major podcast platforms.

You can find Amina Mirza on:

TikTok,  https://www.tiktok.com/@authoraminamirza, Twitter www.x.com/jaeswoon, and ko-fi, https://ko-fi.com/aminaamirza. She is also on Tumblr: https://jaehyofan.tumblr.com and posts in these writing communities on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/communities/writing-tea-tips and https://www.tumblr.com/communities/books-and-writing.

Books and authors that Amina recommends:

  • How to Write a Novel in 6 Months by Thomas Emson
  • Terry Pratchett
  • A.G. Slatter
  • T Kingfisher

The Write Like a Badass Podcast is by, about and for writers. Welcome to your tribe!

You can also find Write Like a Badass on:

Email recordings of:

Help me keep this podcast going and get bonus content by supporting me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/WriteLikeaBadass

Here is the link my video-and-download course, How to Self-Publish Your Badass Book on Amazon: https://writelikeabadass.teachable.com/p/how-to-self-publish-your-badass-book-on-amazon

Find Connor Fischetti’s music on Bandcamp. Download the free app or go to the website (https://bandcamp.com/) and look for the albums:

  • Connor Fischetti (Connor Fischetti Band), and
  • Cricket (Boiler Room Band)