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Published by Tim Kearney, Fiction Writer / Teacher
Fiction Writer's Toolshed: Practical Tools for Authors is a hands-on training podcast that helps fiction writers of all skill levels build a repeatable skill set for finishing their work and writing consistently. The show provides a clear, easy-to-use, proven roadmap for turning ideas into completed fiction. Whether you're drafting your first short piece, revising a work in progress, or struggling to finish what you start, we can help. Each episode breaks down the writing tools, story techniques, and writer's troubleshooting skills fiction authors need to improve their craft, solve story problems, and build the habits required to write consistently. The goal is simple: help writers like you become productive authors. Are you an aspiring fiction writer ready to learn how to translate the vision in your mind and heart clearly onto the page, again and again? Are you a creative writer ready to stop fantasizing about stories and start finishing them? This is your moment. It's time to learn the tools and skills to craft the stories you were destined to write, and become the author you dream of being. Welcome to the Writer's Toolshed. This show is for you if you find yourself asking questions such as: How do I actually start writing fiction? Is my story idea good/original enough to be worth writing? (and what if someone else already did it?) Do I really have to write every day to be a 'real' writer? What does 'write what you know' really mean for fantasy / sci-fi? What does 'show, don't tell' actually mean—and when is it okay to tell? What software or tools should I use to write my novel? (Scrivener vs Word vs Google Docs vs longhand) How do I beat writer's block instead of just staring at the cursor? How do I write an entire novel without getting lost or giving up? (outlining vs pantsing, second-draft fixes, etc.) How should I name my characters (and avoid cringey names)? I finished my first draft! Now what the hell do I do with it? (cool-down period, big-picture edits, line edits) How do I get useful feedback or beta reads—without getting shredded or ignored? How do I actually get better as a writer? (beyond "read and write a lot.") How do I stay organized—notes, timelines, worldbuilding, drafts, all of it? How long should my book/short story be, and how do I handle word-count expectations? How do I correctly format a manuscript so agents/editors don't bin it on sight? (Shunn format, fonts, margins, etc.) Should I self-publish or go the traditional route? How do I get an agent for my novel, step by step? Where and how can I sell my self-published ebooks and print books? (KDP, Kobo, D2D, etc.) Is it realistically possible to make a living as a fiction writer? (And what other writing jobs exist) How do I know if my writing is any good—or if my novel is worth finishing? (Or "I'm writing my first novel and now I hate it, help") What exactly is fiction writing, and how is it different from other kinds of writing? What makes a character compelling instead of flat or cliché? How important is setting, and how do I make my world feel real without drowning readers in description? How do I come up with a strong plot instead of a bunch of random scenes? What's the role of conflict in fiction, and how much conflict is enough? How do I create suspense and tension without resorting to cheap tricks? What is a plot twist, and how do I write one that feels surprising but not random? How do I write realistic, interesting dialogue instead of wooden talking heads? How do I end a story in a way that feels satisfying and earned? What's a subplot and how do I weave subplots into the main story without losing focus? What's the difference between literary and genre fiction in terms of how I actually write the book? How long does it usually take to write a novel or short story (really)? How do I build a writing habit and stay motivated when life is busy? How do I overcome perfectionism and fear of failure on the page? (often framed as writer's block, but really mindset) How do I revise efficiently without endlessly tinkering and never finishing? How do I research for my fiction without getting lost in a rabbit hole? (history, science, police procedure, etc.) How can I improve my writing style or voice? Can I even change my voice on purpose? What's the difference between a short story and a novel in terms of structure and focus? How do I decide between traditional publishing, small presses, and self-publishing? How much money can I realistically expect to make from one novel? How do royalties, advances, and rights actually work for fiction authors? What are the most effective ways for a new novelist to find readers (without being spammy)? (mailing lists, social media, ads, etc.) Do I need a platform or social media following before I publish my book? How do I handle criticism and rejection without giving up? How do I know when feedback is right vs when to trust my own instincts? How do I deal with impostor syndrome—am I a real writer if I'm not published? Is it ever too late to start writing fiction seriously? How do I keep going when my first (or second, or third) book doesn't sell? And many more.
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Every published chart this podcast appears in, in the snapshot behind this page. Each one links to the chart it came off.
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The latest episodes published to this podcast’s own RSS feed. Titles and descriptions are the publisher’s.
Robert E. Howard didn't tell Conan the Barbarian's life in chronological order. One story might find Conan as a young thief, another as an older adventurer, and another somewhere entirely different-- and somehow those gaps make his world feel bigger rather than incomplete. In this episode, I'm joined again by writer and editor Matt Click to talk about what Conan can teach fiction writers about writing stories and series out of order. We explore an approach I'm calling modular continuity: creating stories that work independently while still belonging to the same character, world, and larger continuity. Instead of filling in every step of a character's life, you can establish important anchors, leave open space between them, and write the adventures that interest you. Along the way, we talk about Robert E. Howard and pulp storytelling, why the Hyborian Age feels so enormous, Conan's surprising humanity and intelligence, The Tower of the Elephant, Savage Sword of Conan, Frank Frazetta-- and the extremely important question that started this entire conversation: Why does Conan rip so hard? Questions this episode explores : Can you write a fiction series out of chronological order-- and do it well ? How do you keep continuity while leaving gaps in a character's timeline? What is modular continuity? How can standalone stories still feel like part of a larger series? Can leaving parts of your fictional world unexplained actually make it feel bigger? Why has Conan the Barbarian remained such a compelling character? What can fiction writers learn from Robert E. Howard's approach to serialized storytelling?
What makes your writing original when your story idea isn't completely new? In this episode, I explore why 'original fiction' isn't about having an idea nobody has ever had. I'll use Pokémon to show how influences can pass through one creator and become something new. Then I give you a simple exercise for finding the fingerprints already present in your own fiction. Most importantly, I make the case for why the fiction only you can write is worth making and putting into the world. In this episode, I answer questions like : What makes your writing original if your story idea isn't new? How do I know if my story is original enough? What truly makes one writer's work different from another's? Do fiction writers need completely original story ideas? How do your influences and personal experiences shape your writing? How can you use creative influences without feeling like you're copying? How can you find what is uniquely yours in your own writing? Why can two writers start with similar ideas and create completely different stories? Why does your individual perspective matter as a fiction writer? Why is the fiction only you can write worth finishing and sharing? --- Fiction Writer's Toolshed -- Episode 26
How do you write a scene that actually earns its place in the story? A scene can be well "structured", full of dialogue, conflict, action, or exposition and still feel like nothing happened . In this episode, we talk about how a scene is a specific sort of container, and how to fill it. You'll learn how to separate activity in a scene from real change, choose a change target, and use a simple "dial" to track what changes and by how much. This approach works for outliners and discovery writers, and it leaves room for slow burns, fast changes and even intentional stillness. Along the way, we'll use Robert McKee's Story as a jumping-off point and adapt and simplify the idea for prose fiction, comics, screenplays, and other forms of fiction. The question to carry back to your manuscript: What will be different because you spent the reader's time here? Questions this episode helps answer: How do you write a scene that actually moves a story forward? What is the purpose of a scene in fiction? How do you know whether a scene is necessary or earning its place? Does something meaningful have to change in every scene? How can outliners and discovery writers use the same scene-writing tool?
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's famous South Park writing rule is deceptively simple: if the beats of your story are connected by "and then," you may have a problem. Instead, they recommend building stories with "but" and "therefore," so one event causes or complicates the next. It's great writing advice. But how do you actually use it to fix a story? What's the formal tool ? In this episode, I trace the idea from Parker and Stone's viral 2011 NYU writing lecture, to The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, all the way back to Aristotle's Poetics from 2000+ years ago. A chain to find a chain. Then we turn the principle into a practical fiction-writing tool: the Causal Chain Audit. If your novel, short story, or screenplay feels like a stack or 'gathering' of good scenes that somehow still isn't pulling you forward, this is a diagnostics tool you can use directly on your draft (and maybe even on your outline).
Links from Steven: https://www.thesukha.co/for/writers https://www.thesukha.co/post/the-magic-and-science-of-flow-states What actually happens when a writer enters a flow state? And can you learn to reach that true flow state more reliably? In this follow-up conversation with Steven Puri, founder of The Sukha Company, former vice president at Fox, and former executive vice president at DreamWorks, we dig into the origins, science, and practical experience of flow. Steven explains how psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (it took me forever to Google this name and actually find it) identified similar patterns among high-performing athletes, artists, musicians, scientists, and other creators. We talk about losing track of time, becoming less distracted, quieting self-judgment, and reaching that strange point where the work begins to feel... different in a way that only flow can feel. We also revisit my recent episode about writer's block. Steven challenges part of my original argument, and together we work toward a more complete explanation of what can stop writers from beginning-- or cause them to reach for a distraction halfway through the work. Let's get started.
Links from Steven: https://www.thesukha.co/for/writers https://www.thesukha.co/post/the-magic-and-science-of-flow-states How do you get into a flow state as a writer-- without needing the perfect morning routine, the perfect playlist, or some magical burst of inspiration? In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I'm joined by Steven Puri, founder of The Sukha Company and creator of the Sukha flow-state app, to talk about practical ways writers can focus more deeply and build conditions that make creative work easier to repeat. Steven brings a pretty unusual perspective to the conversation. He previously served as a vice president at Fox and an executive vice president at DreamWorks, worked alongside some of Hollywood's top screenwriters, and produced the digital effects for Independence Day, whose visual-effects team won the Academy Award. We talk about what Steven learned from watching elite writers work under real deadlines... and how much their productivity often depended on understanding themselves rather than following some universal creative routine. If you've ever wondered how to get into flow while writing-- or how to make focused creative work more repeatable-- this conversation gives you several things to experiment with immediately.
Ever sit down to write a scene you can already see perfectly in your head, and watch it go stiff and lifeless the moment your fingers hit the keys? In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, we look at the gap between the part of your brain that makes the story and the part of your body that has to get it onto the page-- and why, for a lot of writers, the bottleneck is the hands. You'll learn how to draft fiction by talking into the voice recorder already in your pocket, and why speaking a first draft isn't just three times faster than typing it. SPOILERS: It's that you can't revise while you're talking. There's no backspace on a mouth.
Ever feel like you're writing the kind of story you think you're supposed to write instead of the one you actually want to tell? In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed , we explore the hidden cost of filtering your creative instincts through trends, genre expectations, and the pressure to fit in. You'll learn why developing your unique creative voice isn't about inventing a style-- it's about removing the filters that keep your strongest-- and most intimate-- ideas from reaching the page. Along the way, we'll look at how Hellboy creator Mike Mignola found the work that made him unmistakably himself, and I'll walk you through a simple Creative Core Audit to help you uncover the recurring themes, questions, and ideas that make your writing uniquely yours. If you've ever struggled to sound like yourself, worried your ideas were "too weird," or felt torn between writing for the market and writing what genuinely excites you, this episode will give you a practical framework for finding your creative center—and the confidence to build stories that only you could write.
A multiverse isn't the only way to create different versions of the same characters, worlds, and stories. In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed , I'm joined by my longtime collaborator, editor, and Absolute Tabletop co-founder Matt Click to explore polycontinuity : a method for building multiple distinct continuities from the same fictional property. Matt and I discuss how to identify the core elements that make a fictional property recognizable, how new continuities can create more creative freedom, and how writers can reinvent familiar material without erasing or contradicting the original version. If your fictional universe has become crowded, restrictive, or trapped beneath the weight of its own canon, you may not need another timeline. You may need a new continuity... polycontinuity , that is. Is multiverse fiction overused? Is introducing a multiverse or time travel simply lazy writing when it is handled incorrectly? What makes a multiverse story feel fresh and unique instead of repetitive or confusing? And is there a better way for writers to create alternate universes, reboots, and new versions of familiar characters? This episode introduces an answer to all of that and more-- polycontinuity, a storytelling framework that helps writers build separate fictional continuities without connecting them through a traditional multiverse.
Is writer's block real? I make the case that it absolutely is-- but that almost everyone misunderstands what's actually happening when they experience it. This week I'll talk about writer's block in a new way, and I'll hand you a simple three-part equation for getting unstuck and moving again. If you've ever pushed all the way to the end of a project only to feel like the ending didn't quite it land , this one's for you. Come find me on Threads @makeexist-- I'd love to hear what you're working on.
This week's episode is my current best approach on getting into the water of writing, and a specific mentality while doing it. I'll also discuss a specific, sneaky kind of danger that catches-- and often KILLS-- more writers than the big scary projects ever do. There's a warning in here I really want you to hear, and some good old fashioned inspirational talk to get you writing. We need you. Ready to free dive?
This episode is for every writer who has ever stopped cold in the middle of a scene because they didn't know the perfect line, the perfect detail, the perfect plot turn, or the bravest thing the story was asking them to say. We're talking about what happens when a draft opens up a gap, and how writers can keep moving instead of freezing at the edge. If you've ever felt stuck because you didn't know enough yet, this one's for you. Learn the two keys on the keyboard that are a secret bridge.
Your favorite characters weren't born perfect-- and yours won't be either. In this diagnostic follow-up to "You're Strangling Link, Wolverine, and Mario," we look at the warning signs that you're trying to perfect your story before it has had a chance to exist. From getting stuck wit Name Lock to hiding in the Lore Panic Room , polishing endlessly on the Page-One Treadmill , this episode gives you practical tools to stop suffocating your ideas and start letting them grow. Make the 8-bit version first. The icon can come later.
Your favorite characters weren't born perfect. Wolverine, Mario, and Link all started as strange, rough, and surprisingly humble ideas before evolving into cultural icons over years-- sometimes decades. In this episode, we explore why modern creators often get trapped trying to perfect their work before anyone ever sees it, and how that fear can suffocate great ideas before they have the chance to grow. By looking at the fearless creative process behind classic comics and video games, we uncover an important truth: iconic things become iconic through evolution, experimentation, and time-- not perfection on day one.
Every writer knows the feeling: the cursor blinking, the page going nowhere, the project that started with such promise now collecting dust. In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed, I sit down with Ramona Ausubel-- award-winning author and longtime teacher-- to talk about her new book Unstuck: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page (a LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2026). Whether you're staring down a first draft, stalled in the middle, or trying to finish something you've been carrying for years, this conversation is a doorway of its own. We had a great conversation that will help any auther get Unstuck.
In this episode, we go to a quiet corner of the toolshed, where I sit down with author J.A. Merkel to talk worldbuilding, long-term creative projects, and the ideas behind The Fourth Portal (1 book released) and The Fall Gauntlet (3 books released, with 4 coming this summer). From early inspiration to publishing ambitious, interconnected stories-- this episode is all about what it really takes to bring big ideas to life. Get your ebook copy of The Fall Gauntlet, Book One here: https://jamerkel.com/newsletter-sign-up/ About The Fall Gauntlet: Seventeen-year-old Benji Calyx finally has a chance to save his mother from her off-world prison. All he has to do is win the Fall Gauntlet, an ancient, fight-to-the-death tournament designed to please the gods and goddesses, and keep them at bay. Benji has made it to the finals. He's trained for this moment for seven long years. There's just one problem. The hulking man behind the bear mask is his estranged younger brother, Soren. Things just got a lot more complicated.
You should try the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. You'll get simple, practical writing tools to stop overthinking and start finishing stories. Click here to try it: https://makeexist.beehiiv.com/ -=-=-=-=-=- You're probably not stuck-- you're just not aware of what part of the journey you're on. In Part 2 of The Creation Funnel , I'll give you a full diagnostic of the 8 stages of making anything, so you can figure out where you are and what to do next. Each stage comes with: Signs you're there Signs you're struggling What's really going on And one practical tool to move forward Because when you don't know where you are… every part of the process feels wrong. Clear the confusion. Stop spinning your wheels. Do the work that belongs to the stage you're in. Let's go.
You should try my Unstoppable Maker newsletter. You'll get simple, practical writing tools to stop overthinking and start finishing stories. Click here to try it (it's free): https://makeexist.beehiiv.com/ -=-=-=-=-=- There's a moment on a long road trip where it feels like you should already be there… but you're not even halfway. Most writers quit in that moment. Not because they're incapable-- but because they don't realize it's part of the journey. In this episode, I lay out The Creation Funnel : a practical framework for understanding exactly where you are in a creative project-- and why it feels the way it does. It's a map for your creative journey. If you've ever wondered: "Why is this so hard right now?" "Was this idea ever good?" "Why can't I finish anything?" This episode might change how you see your work entirely.
You should try the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. You'll get simple, practical writing tools to stop overthinking and start finishing stories. Click here to try it: https://makeexist.beehiiv.com/ -=-=-=-=-=- In this episode of Fiction Writer's Toolshed , we're talking about the moment before the work-- the hesitation, the resistance, and the quiet lie that you need to feel like it before you begin. And how a Blood Punch might set you free. This episode breaks down two core ideas that can radically change how you approach your writing practice. We also explore the trap of endless ideation: how keeping projects in your head feels safe but ultimately keeps them from ever existing, and why sometimes what you need isn't more planning, but a decisive, imperfect burst of action. If you've ever found yourself standing at the edge... knowing you should write, intending to write, but not starting... this episode is your push. And when I say go… go.
You should try the Unstoppable Maker newsletter. You'll get simple, practical writing tools to stop overthinking and start finishing stories. Click here to try it: https://makeexist.beehiiv.com/ -=-=-=-=-=- For a lot of writers, the novel has quietly become the default starting point. If you're serious about writing, the assumption often becomes: start planning your novel… or your trilogy… or your series. And if you're not doing that, it can start to feel like you're not quite doing the "real thing" yet. But in this episode, I want to suggest something that might sound uncomfortable at first: For many writers, you probably shouldn't be writing a novel right now. Not because novels are bad. Not because you shouldn't write one someday. Novels are incredible creative undertakings. But I bet you shouldn't be writing one right now. Join us inside the Fiction Writer's Toolshed to find out why.
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