Micro podcast by Robin Schadel, college professor of rhetoric and author. Episodes will be around 5-8 minutes in length and will focus on writing advice, discussions of genre and rhetoric in fiction, book reviews, and updates on my life and my own books.
Like the podcast? Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/robinschadel99736
Want to see how I put my advice into practice? Buy my books. Paperbacks are $2 off on my website! https://cursingravenbooks.com
From Merlin to Gandalf and from Harry Potter to Harry Dresden, fantasy worlds often shine or stumble by their magic systems. In this episode, I discuss three ways to link your magical system to your world, building from the ground up in ways that reflect culture and create and enhance the stakes for your characters!
14 Mar 2026
Foreshadowing
In this episode I talk about foreshadowing, the contract a writer makes with the reader's mind and emotions that certain events presented early on will pay off by the end of the story. We'll talk about what it is, why it matters, and how to keep it subtle and powerful.
11 Mar 2026
Dialogue that Sizzles
In this episode, I discuss three ways to take dialogue from bland to bomb by focusing on the moment of tension, keeping it flowing through the emotional subtext, and tailoring it to the character.
7 Mar 2026
Fantasy from the Ground Up
In this episode, I talk about how to build fantasy world without getting overwhelmed. How? Start from the ground up by thinking about the lived experiences and daily life of the people in your world, and then build everything from culture to cosmology up from that as expressions and explanations of their lives.
If found this helpful, drop me a follow or a comment. You can always support the show by buying a book!
4 Mar 2026
Small World Building
In this episode, I offer tips to speed up world building for writers of all types: keep it small, build only what you need, but hint at more being just off the page.
28 Feb 2026
Abandoning a Work in Progress
Today I tackle a question that worries ever writer with writer's block: when do I abandon a work in progress? In this video I go over things to consider as well as takeaways to help the process feel less like a loss and more like a learning experience. Why? I want to Reduce the guilt and stress associated with the writing process, teach you how to Reuse what you have learned from each project, and Recycle what is good and brings you joy to think about.
25 Feb 2026
Choosing Writing Software
How do you select writing software? This micro podcast episode tackles three major considerations: your needs, practical considerations and features, and budget. I then discuss what software I use and how I came to use it.
What software do you use to write?
21 Feb 2026
Why I No Longer Write Daily
In this episode, I talk about how writing daily, combined with my ADHD, led to burnout, and how changing my writing schedule to write on alternating days helped relieve the burnout, bring back the joy of writing, and sustain momentum over longer periods of time.
18 Feb 2026
Deconstructing Writing Advice
In this episode, we examine the meme-ified writing advice that pervades the internet, particularly the "write every day" and "you should always be writing" varieties.
Drawing on my experience as a writer and a professor who teaches writing, I deconstruct the problem with the advice as it is often presented and then extract the idea and present it in a more nuanced and beneficial way: find a sustainable, regular writing schedule that works with your life.
You can find longer form content as well as my books for sale ($2 off retail for paperbacks!) at my website, Cursing Raven Books (cursingravenbooks.com).
You can also buy me a coffee here! (https://ko-fi.com/robinschadel99736)
14 Feb 2026
Brainstorming: From Idea to Outline
So... this was longer than 6 minutes, but it's still only 8 minutes! In this episode, I discuss my process of generating ideas for writing stories and turning those ideas into outlines that I can use to help me draft.
I talk about three things here: mind mapping, creating a story bible, and outlining.
You can find longer form content as well as my books for sale ($2 off retail for paperbacks!) at my website, Cursing Raven Books (cursingravenbooks.com).
11 Feb 2026
Introduction and Welcome
Welcome to my micro-podcast where I, Robin Schadel, an author with sixteen books (gothic fantasy, southern gothic, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance) on her shelf and a professor of rhetoric, offers writing advice, discussions of literary/fiction conventions, and book reviews in short, six-minute chunks on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
If you'd like more, visit my website, Cursing Raven Books. (cursingravenbooks.com)
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