PODCAST · education
Lit Service
by Caitlin Sangster, Kristen Evans, Cameron Harris, Aliah Eberting
Publishing pros give writing advice and first chapter critiques to aspiring writers.
Episodes
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Writing Disability From Experience with Crystal Seitz
Crystal joins Caitlin and Aliah to chat about her experience writing a main character that shares her own disability, and gives some thoughts that could help other authors attempting to do the same. Crystal mentioned another book in the podcast that features a protagonist with Crohn's disease,...
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How to Write a Good Haunting with Lily Anderson
Caitlin and Aliah chat with Printz Honor winning author Lily Anderson about how to write hauntings and horror, tempering scary stories with humor, and her newest book Killer House Party. Lily Anderson the author of several novels for young adults including The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, Not...
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Heists 101 with Caitlin Schneiderhan
What are the building blocks of a heist? Caitlin Schneiderhan chats with Caitlin (two of us! Correct spelling and everything!) to chat about her debut book Medici Heist and how she went about planning it. Caitlin Schneiderhan is a genre-loving writer on the hit Netflix show STRANGER THINGS....
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Seven Point Plot Structure: Romance Edition with Tricia Levenseller
Tricia Levenseller joins Caitlin to talk about how she plots romance, including a fun twist on Dan Wells' Seven Point Plot structure specifically for romance. (Here's Dan's original presentation, which is worth a watch and an easy-to-use template of the non-romance version) Tricia is the New York...
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Setting as Character with Daniel Kraus
Throwback to when Daniel Kraus came on our show to discuss Whalefall! DANIEL KRAUS is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His latest novel, Whalefall, received a front-cover review in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize…
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Writing Characters with Marie Lu
Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy (and lots of other fabulous books!). She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as a Flash artist....
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The Psychology of Characters with Eva Des Lauriers
EVA DES LAURIERS joins the Lit Service cast to chat about how she approaches writing characters based on her background in psychology and sociology and how authors can approach writing teen characters with authenticity. Eva is the author of YA Romance, I Wish You Would (Holt, BYR). She’s a…
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Character Building with Holly Black
Caitlin chats with Holly Black about building characters and her newest book The Prisoner's Throne. Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels, including the Novels of Elfhame, THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and her adult debut, BOOK OF...
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How to Start Writing a Second Draft
What do you do once you've finished your first draft? Immediately send it to every agent and publisher you can find contact info for? Put it in a drawer? Maybe something in between. Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat about how they approach a second draft. Don't forget to check out Caitlin's newest...
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How to Write a Killer Ending
Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat about how to approach writing a satisfying and exciting ending. Don't miss Caitlin's new release from Simon and Schuster, He Who Breaks the Earth
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Characters We’d Die For with Martha Wells
Martha Wells joins to podcast to chat about how to write characters your readers will love. Martha has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Necromancer, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, The...
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Raising the Action, Raising the Stakes with Margaret Owen
Margaret Owen joins Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen to chat about how to help your action to rise naturally and how to raise stakes. Margaret is the author of The Merciful Crow, The Faithless Hawk, Little Thieves, Painted Devils which releases May 16th, and A Grimoire of Grave Fates which releases in...
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What Needs to be in the Middle
Kristen, Caitlin, and Aliah chat about what goes into the middle of a book.
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How to Stay Excited About Your Writing
We all hit moments where a shiny new project suddenly feels more like work. Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss strategies that allow the slog to become a little easier.
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What to Do with Writer’s Block
Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss how to keep writing when the ideas aren't coming.
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What Needs to Be in a Beginning?
Aliah, Cameron, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss what is most important at the beginning of a book and how to go about approaching it in your own stories. Don't forget to check out our special edition books we've done for past guests!
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How to Start Writing a First Draft
Caitlin, Cameron, Kristen, and Aliah chat about how to begin writing and how to overcome some of the difficulties writers struggle with when starting a project. Don't forget to check out our special editions!
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Novel Worthy Ideas
Aliah, Kristen, Caitlin, and Cameron kick of season seven with a new series on how to write a novel from start to finish beginning with how to come up with a good idea. For updates and information on upcoming guests, subscribe to our newsletter! To check out our special editions, go to Caitlin's...
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Making Old Stories New with Marissa Meyer
Marissa Meyer joins Caitlin and Kristen to chat about how she approaches an adaptation, how to choose what to keep, what to get rid of, and where she gets inspiration for the unique new worlds and characters that go into her new story. Her newest book, CURSED, the second in the Gilded Duology…
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All the Ways Your Liver Will Betray You with Tamsyn Muir
Tamsyn Muir joins Kristen and Caitlin to chat about alternative POV choices, non-consecutive timelines, meme culture, Women Who Suck, and all the other fun things that went into the Locked Tomb series. TAMSYN MUIR is the bestselling author of the Locked Tomb Series. Her fiction has won the Locus...
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Spinoffs with Chloe Gong
Chloe Gong joins Aliah and Caitlin to discuss the anatomy of a spinoff, how to approach writing an extension of your own world and stories that still feels familiar while also being new. Chloe is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights, its sequel Our Violent Ends, and...
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Romantasy 101 with Stephanie Garber
Stephanie Garber joins Caitlin and Aliah to chat about "romantasy" and how to make it (or a developing romance in the book you are writing!) really sing. A resource Stephanie mentions, Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, can be found here. Stephanie is the #1 New York Times and internationally...
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Surrealism with Britney Lewis
Britney Lewis joins the cast to chat about adding surreal elements to our stories in order to better articulate things that words can't quite describe. Britney is the author of The Undead Truth of Us (which just came out!! Get it here!). She has a B.A. in corporate communications with an emphasis...
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Upping a Story’s IQ with Erin Beaty
Erin Beaty joins Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah to talk about how to write stories and characters that are smarter than we are. Erin was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, which means she can't drive a tractor but won't eat veggies that come from a can. She graduated from the U.S. Naval…
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Writing Different Voices with Jesse Q. Sutanto
Jesse Q. Sutanto joins the crew to chat about writing authentic voices for different age groups. Jesse is the author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. She has a master’s degree in creative writing from Oxford University, though she hasn't found a way of saying...
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Concise World Building with Holly Black
Lit Service was thrilled to chat with Holly Black about how to build a world, characters, and story in a more concise way. We have signed special editions of her adult debut Book of Night in our store. Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids...
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Suspension of Disbelief with Emily X.R. Pan
Caitlin, Aliah, and Kristen chat with Emily X.R. Pan about magic in contemporary books and suspension of disbelief (as well as throwing down a gauntlet in the never-ending prologue debate!). To find the signed and stenciled edge edition the podcast put together for her new book An Arrow to the...
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Building Characters with V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab joins the podcasters to chat about how to build a character who is instantly sympathetic and fits into your story. A big welcome to Victoria “V.E.” Schwab. Schwab is the #1 NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic…
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The Publishing Rollercoaster with Kristen Ciccarelli
Kristen Ciccarelli joins Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah to talk about how publishing journeys look from the inside and how to manage the rough moments and celebrate the good. Kristen was born and raised on her grandfather’s grape farm. She spent her childhood running amok through his vineyards and...
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Bonus Episode: A Baker’s Guide to Robber Pie with Liana Tan
Actress extraordinaire Liana Tan joins Caitlin for a special reading Caitlin's middle grade fantasy debut, A Baker's Guide to Robber Pie, which is out now! Liana has been involved in all sorts of fun acting projects and is a radio personality in Idaho. You can find her on instagram and follow her...
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Genre Bending with Tara Goedjen
Tara Goedjen joins the podcast to chat about the do's and don'ts of mixing genres. She's the author of The Breathless and No Beauties or Monsters which is a mystery/paranormal mash up that will make you not want to stop reading. You can find out more about Tara and her books here. To read the...
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Bonus Episode: A Deep Dive into Arcane
Join Caitlin, Kristen, and Aliah as they discuss some of the cool storytelling elements used in Netflix's new series, Arcane. If you want to read twelve pages of Caitlin and Kristen lauding/arguing/not understanding/beings stupid about some of the things the writers, animators, and others…
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Some News!
Hello out there to all you lovely podcast listeners! Thank you so much for your support and for listening during this exciting year! Hope you have lovely holidays and we'll be back in 2022!
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5.23 Magic as an Allegory with Adrienne Tooley
Adrienne Tooley joins the Lit Service cast to chat about why magic makes such a great tool for allegory in stories, especially when it comes to mental health. Adrienne Tooley grew up in Southern California, majored in musical theater in Pittsburgh, and now lives in Brooklyn with her wife, six...
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5.22 Working with a Publicist with Morgan Rath
Morgan Rath, senior publicist at Macmillan Children's publishing, joins Caitlin this week to talk about what a publicist actually does, what authors can expect while working with one, and things authors can do on their own or to help a publicist get the word out about your book. No first chapter...
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5.21 Fake Politics
Aliah, Caitlin, Cameron and Kristen talk about constructing fake political intrigue in stories and how to make it interesting and peak amounts of "intrigue-y". The chapter we critique is here. Find out how to support Lit Service on our Patreon.
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5.20 Intro to Gothic Romance with Lyndall Clipstone
Lyndall Clipstone joins the podcast to chat about what gothic romance is and how to write it. Lyndall writes YA Gothic romance about monsters and the girls who like to kiss them. A former youth librarian, she has a Bachelors in Creative Writing and a Graduate Diploma in Library and Information...
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5.19 Nailing Character Stakes with Margaret Owen
Margaret Owen joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about character stakes, both personal and existential, and how to build them up so your readers minds explode (but not because there are thousands of planet-killing weapons waiting to declare war.) Margaret is the author The Merciful Crow, The...
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5.18 How to Build a Scene with Ayana Gray
Ayana Gray joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about the nuts and bolts of building a scene, ways to ground your reader, how to balance different types of interaction on the page and how to know if your scene is interesting. Ayana is the author of (highly anticipated!) YA fantasy Beasts of Prey…
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Bonus Episode: A Special Preview
The Lit Service crew does a full cast reading of a chapter from Caitlin's upcoming book, SHE WHO RIDES THE STORM, out September 21, 2021. If you'd like to get a copy of the book, please consider supporting your local independent bookstores! For a signed copy, you can pre-order from The King's...
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5.17 Historical Fiction 101 with Bethany C. Morrow and CB Lee
Bethany C. Morrow and CB Lee join the cast to talk about how to approach writing historical fiction, problems that crop up when writers don't do proper research for the time period and society they are trying to represent and the peoples and cultures that are often left out of the narrative....
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5.16 How to be a Master of Betrayal
The Lit Service Crew chats about the role of betrayal between characters and how to accomplish it so your reader is both surprised and betrayed as well. If you'd like to see the video version of the episode (and a few other episodes that we've already recorded that aren't available on the feed...
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5.15 Poetry: the Hows and Whys with Jeff Zentner
Jeff Zentner joins the Lit Service cast to chat about poetry, how it can be used in a novel, and how authors who are interested in learning to write poetry (or more poetic prose!) can get started. Jeff Zentner is the author of New York Times Notable Book The Serpent King, Goodbye Days, Rayne &...
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Bonus Episode: Conlang with John Blackham
John Blackham joins Caitlin in talking about constructed languages authors create for their sci-fi and fantasy worlds. Resources and other tidbits John mentions: Caillou clip:...
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5.14 Writing Fantasy Horror with Erin A. Craig
Erin A. Craig joins the podcasters to chat about horror as a genre and how she approaches writing it. Erin is the New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and Small Favors which will be out July 27th. For more about Erin and her books, visit her website. The chapter we...
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5.13 Creating Near Futures with Axie Oh
Axie Oh joins the podcast to talk about how to create a shiny (or not so shiny!) near future world. Axie is the author of Rebel Seoul, Rogue Heart, XOXO (releasing July 13th), and The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea (Releasing February 2022). Find out more about Axie and her books here. To read the...
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5.12 Smaller Publishers 101 with Lori M. Lee
Lori M. Lee joins us to chat about what it's like to work with a smaller publisher (compared with some of her other publishing experiences). What kind of publisher are you interested in working with? Lori is the author of The Gates of Thread and Stone series (Skyscape/Amazon), Forest of Souls and...
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5.11 The Power of Subplots with Liselle Sambury
Liselle Sambury joins the Lit Service crew to chat about how to use subplots to flesh out our stories (and where to find them!). Liselle is a Toronto-based Trinidadian Canadian author. Her brand of writing can be described as “messy Black girls in fantasy situations.” She works in social media…
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5.10 How to Write an Adaptation with Katherine Cowley
Katherine Cowley joins the Lit Service Crew to chat about why adaptations, both of fairy tales and other stories people love, are so common, and how to approach writing one so it becomes your own story. To learn more about Katherine and her new book The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, check out...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Lit Service have?
Lit Service currently has 151 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Lit Service about?
Publishing pros give writing advice and first chapter critiques to aspiring writers.
How often does Lit Service release new episodes?
Lit Service publishes regularly with 151 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Lit Service?
You can listen to Lit Service on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Lit Service?
Lit Service is created and hosted by Caitlin Sangster, Kristen Evans, Cameron Harris, Aliah Eberting.
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