We’re BJ and Hillary— college friends turned writing pals. This podcast is our quest for the best writing tips and tools for our own projects, and yours too! Let’s get started.
Today we’ll discuss the novelist starter pack: five essential tools for your figurative writer’s knapsack as you make the journey from getting started with that novel to querying and hopefully publishing your work!
Picks of the Week:
BJ: Existence by David Brin (https://www.davidbrin.com/existence.html)
H: The New Diary by Tristine Rainer (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-new-diary-how-to-use-a-journal-for-self-guidance-and-expanded-creativity-tristine-rainer/11525428?ean=9780874771503&next=t)
Mentioned in the Episode:
Brandon Sanderson’s BYU Writing Course (https://www.youtube.com/@BrandSanderson/videos)
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (https://bookshop.org/p/books/save-the-cat-writes-a-novel-the-last-book-on-novel-writing-you-ll-ever-need-jessica-brody/11368239?ean=9780399579745&next=t)
S1E10: The Revision Spreadsheet (https://open.spotify.com/episode/3k5SGqxMHSSlOKsTZ0xot1?si=60540918cc824e4b)
S4E3 Fireside Chat: How Should I Use the Revision Spreadsheet? (https://open.spotify.com/episode/26mYKpKAGkV7cN8jDFLfbF?si=2d6201cbbe374c37)
S1E1: Writers Workshops and Text to Speech Tools (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0BpPLpECgLhAAdNJ0sIf77?si=1c93b6f78a5d4f80)
London Writers’ Salon Query with Confidence Course (https://courses.londonwriterssalon.com/)
28 Apr 2025
Fireside Chat: Our Writing Lives Lately
Today, we’ll be gathering around our metaphorical fireplace for a fireside chat– an honest conversation about our own writing practices that we hope you’ll find helpful for your writing life as well. In this episode, we’ll be talking about our writing lives lately– what’s going well, what’s not, and what we’re learning along the way.
Picks of the Week:
BJ: The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov by Isaac Asimov (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85509.The_Best_Science_Fiction_of_Isaac_Asimov)
H: The Service of the Dead by Candace Robb (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-service-of-the-dead-a-novel-candace-robb/605c08339bd7a7ea?ean=9781681771755&next=t)
Mentioned in the Episode:
Sarah Ruhl Quote on Life Intruding on Writing (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1417344-i-found-that-life-intruding-on-writing-was-in-fact)
21 Apr 2025
Pitfalls of the Debut Novel
We’ll be talking about the unique challenges of publishing a debut novel. Breaking into the literary world should be exciting and celebratory, and it definitely is! Still, there are a few considerations that debut authors should be aware of as they begin their publishing journeys, so we’re going to cover them here today!
Picks of the Week:
BJ: Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn (https://bookshop.org/p/books/star-wars-thrawn-ascendancy-book-i-chaos-rising-timothy-zahn/18409776?ean=9780593157701&next=t)
H: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (https://bookshop.org/p/books/we-solve-murders-richard-osman/20984760?ean=9780593653227&next=t)
Mentioned in the Episode:
Bonnie Garmus Interview (https://www.penguin.co.uk/discover/articles/bonnie-garmus-interview-lessons-in-chemistry)
Bonnie Garmus and Felicity Blunt Interview (https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/interview-bonnie-garmus-and-felicity-blunt-lessons-in-chemistry)
S5E9 What’s a Commercial Hook and How do I write one? (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gxo8xkcweqpa1g5hEw7G2?si=a8130528eb0e4b5e)
S6E2 Pacing the First Five Pages (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xsmBsAsPQEFGZtJ3FaQi3?si=b8d5615045024dc1)
Brandon Sanderson’s BYU Writing Course (https://www.youtube.com/@BrandSanderson/videos)
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
22
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
72
Social presence
0
YouTube
63
Engagement
60
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