The Author Alchemist

The Creative Gap (021)

What we imagine in our head as our masterpiece of art and storytelling sometimes doesn't appear on the page with all the full glory that we feel it is supposed to have.
Sometimes that inspires us to start over; a lot of the time, though, it is discouraging. We doubt and fret and even give up. Which of course is the worst "solution" (and I put that in quotes because it is not, in fact, a solution at all!)
This is what is known as the "Creative Gap", that space between what lives in our minds and what we actually create. It is so frustrating, but in this episode I talk about where this comes from, what audiences feel about it ("Holy shit! Two cakes!") and what we need to do to combat the emotions that come from realizing the gap exists. (I remember the days of my childhood when I didn't realizing it, when I just created whatever I wanted and though it was great. So great! ...but like opening Pandora's box, we can't shut the lid and go back to that magical time, alas).
I hope this episode gives you some inspiration to write and challenge the brain weasels!
Links:
Brainpickings Ira Glass quotes: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/ira-glass-success-daniel-sax/
[Note: Links to Chris Fox's work have been removed due to his far-right wing bigotry, which I refuse to help promote. At the time I recorded this episode, I was unaware of his fascist leanings.]

Happily Ever After is VALID (020)

I don't talk about this too much in this podcast but one the most important influences in my life for learning to love Happily Ever After (HEA) endings is fanfiction.
I know, not a surprise, yeah?
In one sense, I've always loved HEAs, from the time I was a child through college and up through my adult life. In the podcast I discuss the value of HEA stories but honestly I enjoyed them long before I understood WHY.
But fanfiction helped me accept that love. Fanfiction and the fanfic community gave me the confidence I needed to know that HEA stories also give readers something important emotionally and psychologically: hope, optimism, escapism, joy.
Too often, bad writing gets equated with a genre, but the truth is that terrible writing exists in all genres (even, if not especially, literary fiction), and so does fantastic writing. That was such an eye opening realization for me, and I hope this podcast resonates with you!
 

Growth Mindset for Writers (019)

Sometimes our greatest hurdle, as writers, is our own mindset.
HA HA NO actually ALL THE TIME our greatest hurdle is our mindset. Too bad, so sad!
There are a lot of factors that play into our mindset, some out of our control such as health issues, financial instability, family troubles, mental health, etc. and so on. But there is also a very large percentage of our mindset that literally comes from within, the part of our brain that is sending messages to us that we believe to be true.
Often, for writers, that comes in the form of believing we are not good enough or are unable to improve our craft. That "fixed" mindset tells us we are as good as we will ever be, that we've written as much as we can, or other lies.
Call it "resistance" or call it a "fixed mindset" or call it the devil on your shoulder, it can be a severe impediment to storytelling. In this episode I talk about psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck's work on developing and maintaining a growth mindset and apply those principles to writing!
Links
Brainpickings overview: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/
Dr. Carol Dweck's book at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345472322/braipick-20

Secrets of Alpha Readers! (018)

Do you even know what an alpha reader is? Those of you who are involved in fandom might have heard of it, or at least know about "beta readers", but I promise, this has NOTHING to do with Omega'verse plots! 😂
Alpha readers have always been here, writers just usually referred to them as "a good friend looked over my ideas and gave me some great feedback" or "my friend loves my first draft and really encouraged me to keep writing!" An alpha reader is all of these things and more! They are, above all other things, an unshakeable supporter of your work. Criticism is valuable, of course, and necessary, but only at the right stage. Alpha readers help you get to there.
In this episode I break down what an alpha reader is, why they are so valuable, and what to look for (and ask for!) when vetting friends for the position.

Character Growth! (017)

Welcome to the seventeenth episode of the Author Alchemist! In today's Alchemical Lesson, I explore the transformative power of allowing your characters to change. I hope I get you to trust your characters and show you how important it is to allow your imagination to roam free, for their sake as well as yours!
This discussion was sparked by a Tumblr post I wrote (under my Cooper West penname) that delves into the choices authors face when shaping their characters. Using the character Peter Hale from "Teen Wolf" as an example, I contemplate the dilemma of confining characters to static roles versus letting them evolve.
The 'easy way out' keeps characters one-dimensional in order to conform to genre expectations, while embracing character development can lead to richer, more engaging narratives. Characters like Peter Hale and Loki from Marvel have shown that even within familiar zones (good, bad, indifferent), growth is possible, often elevating them to fan-favorite status.
As a pantser, I admit it's not always easy to navigate these character shifts, as they can unexpectedly reshape plotlines. However, the key takeaway here is to embrace the challenge, trust your characters, and let their development guide your storytelling. So, fellow writers, lean into those character arcs, whether during outlining or writing – you might be surprised where they take you!

Welcome to 2020! here have a podcast :)

[Wow hindsight's a bitch. From the edge of 2022, this podcast just sounds so innocent and naïve ~ KCY, 11/6/2021]
Ayyyyye, this is an ad-hoc podcast I recorded on the fly to welcome everyone to 2020! It's short and sweet and missing all the bells and whistles, but please listen in to hear about the good news of my dog's recovery, my plans for my writing, and my goals for creating the future I want for myself AND FOR YOU! Thanks for listening!

The Writer’s Heroic Journey (016)

Everyone loves the "Hero's Journey" as a writing tool to map out epic stories. It is also used as a self-help guide for analyzing the story of our personal lives, allowing us to place our experiences into a map that lets us analyze what has happened to us, how it has all affected us, where we are now, and where we are going.
In this episode, I bridge the gap between storytelling and your personal life story. Here, I take the classic outline of the Heroic Journey and apply it to your journey as a writer. It is the kind of metaphor that works at both the macro and micro levels, so you can use it to map out your experiences in your writing career AND to look at your experiences writing a specific story.
I teach you how to embrace that journey at every level as a writer, and the strength it can bring to your voice as a storyteller. It's a long episode but I hope you find it enlightening!

My year of not writing (015)

Shit happens. It happens to the best of us. This episode is about what happened when my own personal shit hit the fan.
I spent a year not writing. That's right: not eking out even a word of fiction. Not original fiction, not fanfiction, not blogs, NADA. I did nothing. Why? I talk about that in depth but in short, it was a combination of anxiety, personal demons, and working through those personal demons. Don't discount how much headspace things like therapy and meds take up! It might seem scary when you are going through something like this, which is why I recorded this episode, to let you know that you aren't alone and that your creativity is always with you too! Even when it's not active at the moment! I promise!

Author Alchemist Origin Story! (014)

This episode is a little bit of history, specifically my history as a writer, alpha reader, and creativity coach. If you have been wondering why I started this podcast, then this is the episode you’ve been waiting for! Or not, but here we are.
I jump back and forth a little in my own timeline, and hopefully don’t bore you too much talking about 14 year old me writing fanfiction with my friends back in 1983 (yes, really!). The heart of this whole thing is that one of my joys as a writer is encouraging other writers. It’s really baked into my soul as something that is intrinsic to my identity as an author. I might be an introvert and a bit of a recluse (maybe more than “a bit”!) but even so, it’s my connections to other writers and the joy I get from seeing them create stories that helps keep me motivated!
Also, being an “alpha reader” has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do the A/B/O trope okay? Just...just listen to the podcast, ‘kay?

Know Your Writing Cycle (013)

Are you beholden to other people’s ideas about how fast/often you should write? Do you keep aiming for marks set by everyone but you and then miss them? Then this episode is for you. I look at the way writing ebbs and flows, how the advice “write every day” isn’t the last work in progressing your skills and output, and why looking at your overall health (mental AND physical) is just as important your writing goals.