The First Draft Club

S11 E09 6 Ways to Make Writing Easier and Less Painful

In this episode, I'm sharing six ways I've found to make my own writing more pleasurable—the actual habits that get me into the story faster and with less friction. Some

S11 E08 You Like Your Outline but Now You Don't Want to Write the Book

For years I've said the reason I'm not an outliner is that once I've outlined a story, I feel like I've already written it—and it stops being fun.  But a writer in the B

S11 E07 How to Fix a Character’s Arc Without Rewriting Your Whole Plot: A Revision Lesson from My General Contractor

I was talking recently with a writer in The Book Incubator who'd hit a very specific kind of revision fear, and that conversation (along with being mid-remodel and thinki

S11 E06 Beware of These Common Publishing Scams Everywhere Right Now

There's a scam going around publishing right now, and I couldn't stop thinking about it until I made an episode about it. A few months ago I got targeted. Then three diff

S11 E05 Rufi Thorpe and I Talk About How, Why, and What We Teach (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of Mary's conversation with Rufi Thorpe, where they finally try to take on the question everyone in this world pretends is already settled: can writing act

S11 E04 Rufi Thorpe and I Talk About How, Why, and What We Teach (Part 1)

If you've ever wondered whether creative writing can actually be taught—or felt discouraged by a workshop, MFA program, or critique group—this conversation is for you. I

S11 E03 Redefining “Success” as a Writer and Author: Interview with Crime Novelist & Fellow Texan Mary Lowry

Mary Pauline Lowry is a crime writer and fellow Texan who just published her debut novel LAST NIGHT WAS KILLER. In this interview, we talk about what success actually loo

S11 E02 Hey Plot-Haters! This Just In: People Only Change

I used to hold two competing ideas in my head. I believed "people don't change"—I sort of prided myself on this vaguely cynical outlook. But then I'd teach the definition

S11 E01 How I Deal with Rejection and Negative Feedback: Why “Thick Skin” Isn’t Realistic or Helpful

Let’s talk about what all of us face as writers, all the time: disappointing reactions to our work. I'm talking about more than just rejections from agents or publishers.

S10 E24 How to Write a Great Query Letter: Interview with Hannah Brattesani, our New In-House Literary Agent at The Book Incubator

This is the season finale of The First Draft Club—and we have huge news. The Book Incubator has a new in-house literary agent! Her name is Hannah Brattesani. She's work

S10 E23 Hearing “No” is Part of the Process: How 150+ Rejections Led to a "Big 5" Book Deal at Auction

Stephanie Webb, our marketing director at The Book Incubator, just got a dream book deal with Simon & Schuster. But it didn't come easily—or quickly. In this episode, we

S10 E22 When to Tell and When to Show: Lessons from Rufi Thorpe & Shel Silverstein

Of all the writing adages I tend to whine about, "show, don't tell" is probably at the top of the list—because it just isn't true. Good writing involves plenty of tellin

S10 E21 How to Write a Book During Summer

Book ideas have their own timeline. They can be persistent, demanding, and impatient—like a kid begging to go to Dave & Buster's. If you sit on an idea too long, it might

S10 E20 NEW TOOL: The Real-Time Outline, a.k.a. an Outline I Can Actually Stomach

A new outlining tool for writers who hate outlining. Outlining a novel feels to me like writing a novel by spreadsheet. I'm not an outliner. But I also learned early on

S10 E19 Hot Take on Book Marketing Advice that Makes Me Want to Claw Out My Eyes

If you've Googled "how to market my book," you've probably come across the same advice: show up on Instagram, film yourself, build a following, cultivate your author bran

S10 E18 The Small Thing You Can Ask Beta Readers That Makes All the Difference

There's a kind of feedback that fills you with relief and gratitude, and there's a kind that leaves you with low-grade anxiety—even when the feedback is good and you want

S10 E17 Why You're Burnt Out on Your Book (And How to Fix It)

Coming in with a hot take today: You're allowed to write what's fun. You're allowed to have a good time, to be silly, to write oddball, funny, quirky stuff that brings y

S10 E16 The Psychology Trick that Helps Writers Finish Their Books

You're allowed to bribe yourself to finish your book. In fact, you should. In this episode, I'm sharing the story of the Goal Reward—a surprisingly powerful tool I've us

S10 E15 How to Keep Writing When You Don’t Know What to Write Next

You're in the middle of writing a scene. Everything's flowing. Then suddenly—you stop. You don't know how your character is going to react to what someone just said. Or

S10 E14 What to Do with Scenes You Don’t Want to Write (but “Have to”)

You know those scenes you're dreading? The ones that feel like a slog, where you're just "filling in the blanks" between the parts you're actually excited about? Here's