Christian Indie Writers' Podcast cover art

All Episodes

Christian Indie Writers' Podcast — 321 episodes

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Title
1

326: Can Good Characters Save a Bad Plot? (And What Actually Keeps Readers Hooked)

2

325: Christian Fiction Is Growing Fast — Here’s What Readers Actually Want Now

3

324: The Truth About Christian Publishing in 2026? What This Means for Christian Indie Writers

4

323: The Truth About Christian Publishing in 2026? What Writers Need to Know

5

322: Writing Emotional Core — A Trauma-Informed Approach

6

321: The 15-Minute Writing Habit That Can Help You Finish Your Book

7

320: Is Your Writer’s Block Spiritual? (Christian Writers Need to Hear This)

8

319: How to Write a Christian Novel that Actually Helps People (Without Being Preachy)

9

318: How much description is too much?

10

317: How to Write the Five Senses in Fiction

11

316: More Than “Like” and “As”: Using Metaphors and Similes to Strengthen Your Writing

12

315: How to Write Weather in Fiction | Setting, Mood, and Atmosphere

13

314: AI and the Indie Author

14

313: Rhythm, Routine, Revamp: How a Christian Indie Author Boosted Productivity

15

312: From Brooding CEO to Lumberjack: Your Guide to Writing Hallmark Hunks

16

311: 30 Days of Writing Sprints Challenge Recap

17

310: How to Publish Your Book Step-by-Step: Part 3: Distribution

18

309: How to Publish Your Book Step-by-Step: Part 2: Formatting

19

308: When the Words Stop Flowing: Getting Unstuck During Writing Sprints

20

307: How to Publish Your Book Step-by-Step: ISBNs, Formatting & Distribution Made Simple, Part 1

21

306: RIP NaNoWriMo: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Writing Challenges for Christian Indie Authors

22

305: Cliffhangers That Keep Readers Hooked

23

304: Pacing & Momentum: Crafting Your Story’s Pulse

24

303: Faith Meets Fantasy: Allegory in K-Pop Demon Hunter

25

302: Underused POVs: Writing from the Side Character’s View

26

301: Writing through Grief

27

300: Celebrating 7 Years of Shenanigans with the Christian Indie Writers

28

299: Progress Check In for Writers

29

298: Building a Strong Indie Author Network: Collaborating Without Compromise

30

297: Faith-Fueled Worldbuilding: What Does a Christian Magic System Look Like?

31

296: The Art of Writing Christian Fantasy

32

295: The Power of Quiet Scenes

33

294: Getting Personal: How to Incorporate Your Own Life into Fiction

34

293: The Evolution of Christian Fiction: Trends and Future Directions

35

292: Top 5 Benefits of Writing Short Stories for Indie Authors

36

291: The Power of Writing for One – Trusting God with a Small Audience

37

290: Parables and Plot Structure – What Jesus' Stories Can Teach Us About Fiction

38

289: Discernment and Darkness: Should Christian Writers Tackle Tough Topics?

39

288: Memorial Day: Writing for Remembrance

40

287: Learning from Others’ Mistakes

41

286: Mechanics of Dialogue

42

285: The Dos and Don’ts of Dialogue

43

284: Writing the Villain: Can a Bad Guy Point to Christ?

44

283: 5 Ways to Save Your Characters Without Ruining Your Story

45

282: The Meta Piracy Controversy

46

281: From Idea to Manuscript: How a Book Coach Can Help with Elyse Seal

47

280: How to Add Conflict to Your Story

48

279: The Importance of Conflict

49

278: Words and Worry: Navigating Author Anxiety

50

277: Top 10 Romance Tropes and Why They Work

51

276: Should You Hire a Book Coach?: How to Get Started

52

275: Baby Steps Back to Writing Part 4: How Did You Do?

53

274: Baby Steps Back to Writing Week 3

54

273: Baby Steps Back to Your Writing Week 2

55

272: Baby Steps Back to Writing

56

271: Every Story Has A Message

57

270 Every Story Is A Journey

58

268 Brainstorming: Igniting Creativity For Your Next Book

59

269 Every Story Is A Love Story

60

267: Crafting Characters: Core vs. Thematic

61

266: Our Top 5 Book Recommendations for Writers

62

265 Guest Host Piper Dow Talks About Her Decision To Quit Her Job

63

264: Christian Writing Groups: Building a Support Community

64

263: More is More: The Power of the 4th Book

65

262: A Day in the Life of an Indie Author

66

261: Writing as Ministry

67

260 Audiobooks And The Indie Author: Creating Your Own Audiobooks

68

259: Finding Inspiration in Scripture

69

258: The Freedom of Independent Publishing

70

257: Crafting Characters with Christian Values

71

256: Ask The Reader Anything

72

255: The Good and The Bad: Advice from our Listeners

73

254: The Author’s Budget - How to decide where to spend your money

74

253: Audiobooks and the Indie Author: Audiobook options

75

252: Navigating Stoplight Editing for Writers

76

251: The 4 Ps of Building a Writing Routine Grounded in Faith

77

250: 6 MORE Christian Tropes for Every Genre

78

249: 6 Christian Tropes for Every Genre

79

248: 5 Ways to Cope with Editor Criticism

80

247: 5 Reasons Your Editor Hates Your Book

81

246: How To Weave Faith Into Your Novel

82

245: 5 New Writer Mistakes We Made...So You Don't Have To

83

244: Live Q&A with Tina, Jamie and Jen

84

243: Perfection is the Enemy of Writing

85

242: 10 Tips for Better Writing Productivity

86

241: What in the World is DMARC? A Step-by-Step Guide

87

240: 5 Writer’s Goals for the New Year

88

239: Live Events for Authors with Ben Wolf

89

238: A Writer’s Christmas Carol

90

237: The End is In Sight: How to Conclude Your Story

91

236: Finding Writing Moments in Everyday Life

92

235: How to Win NaNoWriMo with Your Friends

93

#234: NaNoWriMo: Put Your Life On Autopilot.

94

233: NaNoWriMo Preptober: Structuring your Story

95

232: NaNoWriMo Preptober: Character Development

96

231: NaNoWriMo Preptober: Deciding What to Write

97

230: How to Write the First Chapter

98

229: Back to Basics: Characters or Story first?

99

#228:Did God Tell You to Write?

100

227: Back to School: What’s Your Why?

101

225: The 3 Rs of Keeping Your Novel Accurate

102

226: Back to School: Planning for Success

103

224: 5 Ways to Disappoint Your Readers

104

223: Writer’s Guilt

105

222: Turning Your Life Struggles into Your Next Book

106

221: Top 5 Reasons to Give Your Book Away

107

220: Writer's Life: Fitting Writing into Your Summer Fun

108

219: Spirituality in Your Writing

109

218: Downright Doable Dialogue: 5 Don’ts and Dos for Writing Dialogue

110

217: Adding Conflict to Your Story

111

216: Character Interrogations: Questions to ask Your Characters

112

215: Public Speaking for Authors with Kirsten Holmberg

113

214: Using Lore in Your Novel

114

213: St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans

115

212: Writing an Excellent Book: What is your ONE best tip for writing a GREAT book

116

211: What are you waiting for? When is the right time to publish your novel?

117

210: Give Me a Break! Taking Breaks From Your Writing

118

209: Writing Romance in Your Non-Romance Novel: Writing Craft

119

#208: Dump the Info Dumping: Writing Craft

120

#207: Back to Basics: Bringing Back the Joy in Writing

121

#206: How to Reach Your New Year Goals

122

#205: Setting New Year Goals

123

#204: Story Structure from The Book of Job

124

#203: The Christmas Story: Finding Inspiration in the Greatest Story Ever Told

125

#202: Lessons Learned from 20 Books Vegas 2022

126

#201: NaNoWriMo 2022 Recap

127

#200: Celebrating 200 Episodes of Information, Encouragement and Shenanigans!

128

#199: How to Use Plot Points in Your Writing

129

198: Crafting Compelling Characters: What is a Character sketch?

130

#197: Writer Resources: What Genre is my Book

131

#196: Writer Resources: How to Find an Editor

132

#195: Writer Resources: Different Types of Editors

133

#194: Blurb Clinic: Self-Publishing Tips

134

#193 Self-Publishing Tips: Does My Cover Fit My Genre?

135

#192 Writing Groups 101: Genre-Specific Writing Groups Pros and Cons

136

#191: Writing Groups 101: Critique Do's and Don'ts: Jamie's Piece

137

#190: Self-Editing Help: Getting Your Piece Ready for the Editor

138

#189: What Makes an Author ‘Successful’?

139

#188 Writing Groups 101: Critique Dos and Don'ts Part 2: Jen's Piece

140

#187: Critique Dos and Don'ts: Writing Groups 101

141

#186: Questions for the Hat: Shenanigans with Jamie and Jen

142

#185: Dear Writer, Are you Intuitive?: A Live Q&A with Becca Syme

143

184: Writing Groups 101: Setting Expectations

144

#183: Writing Groups 101: How to Start a Writing Group

145

#182 Negative Book Reviews: The Writer’s Life

146

#181: How to Set Up Your Amazon Author Page: Book Marketing Strategies 2022

147

#180: How to Launch a Book: Tina's Latest Book Launch

148

#179 Pinching Publishing Pennies Part 2: Self-Publishing Tips 2022

149

#178 Pinching Publishing Pennies: Self-Publishing Tips 2022

150

#177 Self Publishing Tips: The Perils of Predatory Publishers

151

#176: Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing 2022

152

Episode 175: How to Write a Novel for Beginners: Where do You Begin?

153

Episode 174: Ask You Anything: The Hosts take Advice from their Listeners (April Fool's Edition)

154

Episode 173: Book Marketing Strategies 2022: Using Newsletters to Market Your Book

155

Episode 172: Book Marketing Strategies 2022: Paid Email Marketing Websites

156

Episode 171: Book Marketing Strategies 2022: Free First in Series

157

Episode 170: Book Marketing Strategies 2022: Begin with the Basics

158

Episode #169: Essential Writing Tips: Using Short Stories To Advance Your Writing Career

159

Episode 168: Writing Craft: How Real is Too Real?

160

Episode 167: Nonfiction Self-Publishing Tips: Devotionals, Blender Manuals, and Self-Help, Oh, My!

161

Episode 166: Essential Writing Tips: Banishing Boring Dialogue

162

Episode 165: Essential Writing Tips: Point of View

163

Episode 162: The Business of Writing: 3 Ways To Capitalize on the Commercialism of Christmas

164

Episode 164:The Business of Writing: Do I Really Need All These Subscriptions?

165

Episode 163: Writers Life: Self Publishing Goals and Ideas for 2022

166

Episode 161: The Business of Writing: Author Business Plan Year in Review

167

Episode 160: How to Write a Hallmark Christmas Movie

168

Episode 159: From Murky Middle to Magnificent Midpoint

169

Episode 158: Should I Quit NaNo?

170

Episode 157: NaNoWriMo: Are You Meeting Your Goals?

171

Episode 156: Worldbuilding with Ben Wolf

172

Episode 155: NaNoWriMo: Plot Outline: Fantasy

173

Episode 154: NaNoWriMo Preptober: Plot Outline: Romance

174

Episode 153: NaNoWriMo: Tips for Pantsers

175

Episode 152: NaNoWriMo: Plot Outline: Cozy Mystery

176

Episode 151: NaNoWriMo: Prepping for Preptober

177

Episode 150: Writer’s Life: Finding Motivation when Writing is Hard

178

Episode 149: Self Publishing Tools: SEO for Authors?

179

Episode 148: Self Publishing Tips: Blurb vs. Synopsis

180

Episode 147: Self Publishing Tips: Back Matter Matters

181

Episode 146: Writer’s Life: Envy

182

Episode 145: Superstition: Writing on the Wall

183

Episode 144: The Writer's Life: Love is Kind

184

Episode 143: The Writer's Life: Patience is a Virtue

185

Episode 142: Book Marketing Tips: How to Take a Better Headshot

186

Episode 140: Creative Mindset: Establishing Habits to Promote Creativity

187

Episode 139: Essential Writing Tips: Plan your Novel Using Story Beats

188

Episode 138: Self Publishing Tips: How to Choose a Narrator for Your Audiobook

189

Episode 137: Self Publishing Tips: Is Audible the only choice for your Audiobook?

190

Episode 136: What is Acceptable to Christian Readers

191

Episode 135: Essential Writing Tips: Our Top 10 Tips for Self-Editing

192

Episode 134: Essential Writing Tips: Research Trips to Enhance Your Writing

193

Episode 133: Essential Writing Tips: Get to Know Your Characters

194

Episode 132: Writing Advice: Shiny New Things

195

Episode 131: Self Publishing Tips: How to Use Hashtags

196

Episode 130: Going Permafree

197

Episode 129: Writing Tools for Authors

198

128: Marketing Your Self Published Book: How Tina Hit #1

199

Episode 127: Metadata for Authors

200

Episode 126: Why Isn't My Book Selling?

201

Episode 125: SUPERFANS: 4 Steps to Creating Devoted Readers

202

Episode 124: Writing Your Way: Plotting vs Pantsing

203

Episode 123: Project Management Software for Writers

204

Episode 122: TOP 10 Productivity Tips for Writers

205

Episode 121: CliftonStrengths for Writing Groups with Becca Syme

206

Episode 120: Writing as a Business: "I've written a business plan...now what?"

207

Episode 119: Writing as a Business: Creating a Business Plan #2

208

Episode 118: Writing as a Business #2: Creating a Business Plan Part 1

209

Episode 117: Writing as a Business: Career vs. Hobby

210

Episode 116: Holiday Episode 2020

211

Episode 115: Before Your Book Launch Party

212

Episode 114: T.G.I.O.

213

Episode 113: Reviews in Review

214

Episode 112: Purch the Merch: Merchandising and the Author

215

Episode 111: Book Launch

216

Episode 110: NaNoWriMo "Eve Eve"

217

Episode #109: Writing Sprints #4: Beyond Sprinting

218

Episode 108: Writing Sprints #3: Where to Sprint

219

Episode #107: Writing Sprints #2 - How should You Sprint?

220

Episode 106: Writing Sprints #1 - Why Every Writer Should Sprint

221

Episode 105: PREPTOBER: Preparing for National Novel Writing Month

222

Episode 104: Improving Your Writing with Framing

223

Episode 103: Exhortation: Encouragement and the Christian Writer

224

Episode 102: Pinterest for Writers - Growing your Pinterest Page

225

Episode 101: Social Media Etiquette

226

Episode 100: Celebrating 100 Episodes

227

Episode 99: Indescribable, #2 - Improving Setting Descriptions in your writing

228

Episode 98: Indescribable: Improving Physical Descriptions in your writing

229

Episode 97: Finding Your Social Media Stride

230

Episode 96: Plodding Through Plotting

231

Episode 95: 12 Things We Wish We Had Known as New Writers

232

Episode 94: Why You Should Have a Book Launch Strategy

233

Episode 93: Art Imitates Life #4: Inspiration is Everywhere

234

Episode 92: Art Imitates Life #3: Characterization

235

Episode 91: Art Imitates Life Episode #2: Your Joys

236

Episode 90: Art Imitates Life, Episode #1: Your Trauma

237

Episode 89: Readers of the Elusive ARC

238

Episode 88: Better Call A Beta

239

Episode 87: Secrets of Side Character Success!

240

Episode 86: Amazing Antagonists

241

Episode 85: Penning Perfect Protagonists

242

Episode 84: Keeping it Real: Accuracy in Your Writing

243

Episode 83: Help! Tina has Writer's Block!

244

Episode 82: Proceed with Caution: Protecting Your Rough Draft

245

Episode 81: I Love You, But You Must Die!

246

Episode 80: Allegory? That's What I'm Tolkien About!

247

Episode 79: Putting Your Work Out There

248

Episode 78: Poco Loco - Staying Sane When Your Book is Driving You Crazy

249

Episode 77: Gesundheit - An Author's Guide to Staying Healthy

250

Episode 76: The Devil is in the Details

251

Episode 75: Genre Matters

252

Episode 74: Christian Romance

253

Episode 73: Spring Cleaning Your Desktop

254

Episode 72: Genealogy for Storytelling

255

Episode 71: What are You Reading?

256

Episode 70: What to Write Next

257

Episode 69: I'm Going to Buy a Planner

258

Episode 68: Book Covers

259

Episode 67: You've Written a Novel...Now What?

260

Episode 66: Scenes vs. Chapters

261

Episode 65: Thankful for His Blessings

262

Episode 64: NaNoWriMo Week 3: The Final Push

263

Episode 63: Nano Week 2: The Murky Middle

264

Episode 62: NaNoWriMo Week 1

265

Episode 61: NaNoWriMo Kickoff

266

Episode 60: The Elements of Story Part 3

267

Episode 59: The Elements of Story Part 2

268

Episode 58: The Elements of Story Part 1

269

Episode 57: Pen Names

270

Episode 56: Writer Guilt

271

Episode 55: Chapter Chat

272

Episode 54: Building Your Platform: Newsletters: Beyond Automation

273

Episode 53: OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL!

274

Episode 52.2: Building Your Platform: Newsletters - Automation Sequence

275

Episode 52: Building Your Author Platform: Newsletters

276

Episode 51: Building Your Author Platform: Facebook Groups

277

Episode 50: Building Your Author Platform: Facebook

278

Episode 49: Building Your Author Platform

279

Episode 48: Failure to Launch

280

Episode 47: Special Edition: Postcast

281

Episode 46: Passive Voice

282

Episode 45: Improve Your Craft: Show don't Tell

283

Episode 43: Writing the Blurb

284

Episode 42: Online Writing Groups

285

Episode 41: Back on Track

286

Episode 40: Collaboration

287

Episode 39: The Art of Short Stories

288

Episode 38: Camp Nano Wrap-Up

289

Episode 37: Writing Prompts

290

Episode 36: Giving Voice to Your Story

291

Episode 35: The First Page

292

Episode 34: Social Media and the Writer

293

Episode 33: Camp Nano...should you participate?

294

Episode 32: The Art of Research

295

Episode 31: Reading in Your Genre

296

Episode 30: Reader Reviews: the good, the bad and the totally awesome

297

Episode 29: Ghostwriting and Plagiarism

298

Episode 28: Online Release Parties

299

Episode 27: Genre Tropes

300

Episode 26: Self-Editing - Planning your process

301

Episode 25: Office Hours for Writers

302

Episode 24: Bullet Journals for Authors

303

Episode 23: In the Trenches: Publishing your Novel

304

Episode 22: Writing Goals

305

Episode 21: Writer Beware

306

Episode 20: Give the Gift of Writing

307

Episode 15: NaNoWriMo Week 1

308

Episode 14: NaNoWriMo Kickoff

309

Episode 13: Story Structure

310

Episode 12: Increasing Your Word Count

311

Episode 11: Plotting vs. Pantsing

312

Episode 10: Inspiration

313

Episode 9: Preparing for NaNoWriMo

314

Episode 8: Spreading the Gospel through your writing

315

Episode 7: Faith, Family and Career

316

Episode 6: What Does It Mean to be a Christian Writer?

317

Episode 5: Is Indie Publishing Right For You?

318

Episode 4: Establishing Daily Writing Habits

319

Episode 3: Free, Simple Websites

320

Episode 2: Critiquing

321

Episode 1: Writing Groups