Don't Quit Your Daydream (for writers)

Hey Daydreamers, it's a sad but exciting one today as we finish off Don't Quit Your Daydream with how we have succeeded this year. Remember that our archive will always be here for you when you need some writing support. Thank you to everyone who has listened to us each week. We really appreciate it.So, please, don't quit your daydream because we didn't quit ours...Follow us on social media to keep up with us in the future:S. R. Crawford https://www.instagram.com/writersrcrawford?igsh=MTk1YzVna3RwNG9mOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qrCharlene Antrobus: https://www.instagram.com/charleneabooks?igsh=MTA1dGo2Ymd3cHdjZg==

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Sorry, we haven't been as present lately. We are busy bees! Here is a life and career update from us and a pep talk if you're feeling sad about the end of summer. There are still 4 months left in the year, what will you do with them?Follow us:https://www.instagram.com/writersrcrawford?igsh=MTk1YzVna3RwNG9mOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qrhttps://www.instagram.com/charleneabooks?igsh=MTA1dGo2Ymd3cHdjZg==

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we wanted to share with you how we have started taking our writing more seriously this year. Charl has finished a long draft for the first time in years, and I'm onto drafts 2, 3, 4 in the editing stages. We have gotten serious about our dreams, and it's time for you to do the same!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Sorry we have been absent - we have been busy bees! Today, we are talking about my favourite thing, which is thinking about your worldbuilding is culture building, and system building instead. Grab a notebook for this one!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! We will be uploading only monthly at the moment because we are both hard at work with our drafts! Here's an episode on editing a finished draft that needs reworking. Whether parts of the story or the characters aren't quite working, this podcast episode is for you.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! We're sorry we missed last month - we've been very busy writing, editing, and marketing. That's why, this week, Charlene is talking about all things creative marketing for your book. If you want to know how to make marketing your book fun and simple, this is the episode for you. Get ready to take some notes.Go follow Charlene on Instagram to support her book, out Sept 15th: https://shorturl.at/UCxyK

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are opening the year by talking about all the ways that real life works well when blended into the fantasy genre.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we have the last episode of 2024 to help motivate you to reflect on how your writing went in 2024, and set reasonable, logical goals for 2025! Here's to a great New Year and a fresh start! Thank you for much for listening this year, speak again in 2025!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we have a laidback, fun episode for you all about bouncing ideas off one another to build a story. Let's see what happens when all you have is a prompt...

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are talking all about the middle of your story. What is the middle of your story for? How can you nail the tension and character-building of your middle? Let's discuss!

Hey Daydreamers! Today we have a chatty writing update about where we're at and the benefits of knowing when to let an idea or project go.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are getting to the core of our story by focusing on emotions. From our point of view, when you know the character and their emotional beats well enough, the story writes itself (sort of!).

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are talking about experimenting and making writing fun again. Get ready to get creative with old drafts and old ideas, because when you allow yourself to play, they can be reborn!

Welcome back, Daydreamers. Today we are talking all about HOW the story is told, not what it's about. This can be vastly more important than anything else because it determines the reader's experience. Here are our thoughts on voice (the character's and the author's voice), tone, and different types of narration to affect how the story is told.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we chat about the importance of the setting of your story, and how the setting can drastically affect the characters and plot. The setting should be like its own character! Get ready to take notes and dive deeper into your settings.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we discuss how we have both struggled with having too many directions and ideas for a story idea. This can cause paralysis and falling out of love with the idea. Here are our experiences with it and how to combat it.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are just gushing over vampires and why they have remained popular for so long. From folklore to sparkles, why do we all love a good vampire story?

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are going in deep! We have realised that we need to write stories with an emotional center that connects with us on a deeper level. If you think this sounds like you, too, this episode is for you! Follow us on Instagram: Siana - https://www.instagram.com/writersrcrawford?igsh=MTk1YzVna3RwNG9mOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr https://www.instagram.com/charleneabooks?igsh=MTA1dGo2Ymd3cHdjZg== Siana's blog: https://srcrawford.co.uk/

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today, we are discussing how to motivate yourself and be your own best friend and cheerleader on your writing journey. It's important to have people who inspire us, but it's more important to motivate yourself!!

Hey Daydreamers, this week we are talking about the benefits of writing as fast and as simple as you can for your first draft. Complicating a first draft can only make it more daunting, so it can be useful to cut the fluff and get to the bare bones so that you can finish. After all, all good writing is rewriting!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are talking about the tools you will need to help you get writing success. Many things will help you grow as a writer on the road to success, things that become tools in your toolkit to use when you need them. After all, luck is preparation meets opportunity!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today is a nostalgic episode where we give advice across time to our younger selves. We talk about all the things we wish we had known back then, how to be a healthier person when dreaming about writing fame, and more realistic expectations for our writing. Want to avoid the mistakes we've made in our writing and our mindsets? Listen to this episode!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we discuss how to ensure you don't neglect your creative potential. Are you holding yourself back? Do you self-sabotage in your creative pursuits? Are there things in the back of your mind that are causing fear and making it harder for you to write? We discuss all this and more in this deep episode that tackles how to motivate yourself to write and not to lose your creative potential while you have the time to gasp it!

Welcome back, Daydreamers. Today we discuss why writing your novel in scenes instead of chapters works so well. We talk about visual storytelling, activating your full creative and artistic skills when writing, and how this could work to unstick you if you see your novel as daunting. This is how to write a novel in scenes and make your novel more cinematic!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are discussing the difference between plot and story and the things you need to bear in mind for each. Let's get started!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we have a very important and exciting episode that is all about shifting our perspective on our creativity as a health benefit in our lives. Get ready for an eye-opener!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today is an important reminder about the impact of your writing and the influence your stories may have on the world. Get ready to shift your mindset!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we have a fun episode about how to look for clues that you are close to your writing/story's sweet spot. Let's get into it!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we discuss what is inspiration, tropes, and helpful for our writing and what is just plain copying! Come along for the chat and get help with original ideas.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are tearing up the rulebook and freeing ourselves from the chains of "shoulds" and expectations. The writing journey should be fun, so let's find that perspective again...

Happy New Year! We thought we would kick off 2024 by talking about our biggest, wildest, most ambitious writing dreams! Dream big, guys, why not?

This is the last episode of the year, I can't believe it! Thank you for listening this year. We are sharing all our unfiltered thoughts about our writing (and life) goals for next year to make it a much better experience. Speak to you in 2024!

Welcome back, today we are talking about the ways Charl and I have been feeling more creative again. If you lost a bit of your creativity, then this is the episode to help get you back on track.

Welcome back, today is a fun, snappy one inviting you to explore your story in a new way when you're finding it hard to sit down to write the full thing. When you're low on energy, down in the dumps, or not yourself, creating can be hard, so this is a way to still be creative while minimising the pressures.

TRIGGER WARNING for anyone struggling with their mental health. Today we have another deep episode discussing mental health, the struggles of real life as an adult, and how it all affects our creativity. We then go into some analogies to help us stop being cruel to ourselves and ideas on how to fix this narrative.

Welcome back, today we are having fun gushing over our favourite characters! We like quite a mix but they all have something in common: they're written well! Who are your favourite characters and why? Do you write them into your stories?

Today we have a more personal and emotional episode about how it feels when your writing isn't working, or you aren't happy with your writing process. I think a lot of aspiring authors feel this way at some point, where everything they do just isn't working. Charl and I go deep into how we have felt lately and our plans to reconnect with who we are as writers to get our spark back.

Hey Daydreamers! Today is a long one because we get very deep into why we may struggle to write the right story and what we can do to rediscover and reconnect to who we truly are as creatives.

Hey, Daydreamers! I'm on my own today and the audio isn't perfect but, hopefully you will still get thinking after today's episode. I talk about everything to consider if you feel like your story isn't the right one or if something feels off. You're not alone!

(SORRY, THE AUDIO ISN'T GREAT THIS WEEK AS WE HAVE A NEW MIC! WILL CORRECT IT FOR NEXT WEEK) Welcome back, Daydreamers. Today we get vulnerable by sharing our mistakes as writers so far, hoping that you feel less alone and don't fall into the same traps. It's okay to make mistakes. We all fail our way towards success!

Hey, Daydreamers! Today we have an episode that Charl has been dying to share with you: the 3 Act 8 Sequence structure! It's a famous story structure that has helped many writers and authors to write award-winning novels and films. If you would benefit from some structure to your outlining and your writing, this structure may be for you. Get ready to take a lot of notes!

Hey Daydreamers! Today we have our friends helping us out with a special, deep episode about all our writing fears. No matter whether you are a seasoned writer or a newbie, we all have worries that just don't go away. Here is our advice on combating those fears and it usually comes down to one thing...

Hey Daydreamers, today we are sharing some examples of great story openings from a variety of genres to get your creative juices flowing and help you to see what the opening lines need to include to hook your reader. We want you to be confident in what is needed for your genre, the purpose of your story, and how to grip your audience from the first few lines. Get ready to take notes!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today is a really important episode about how to build your writing routine and tips on beating procrastination. If you are finding it hard to regularly show up to write, then this episode is for you!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are talking loosely about structuring your novel and the true purpose or goal of the beginning, middle and end of a story. They each play a key role in your character's journey so bear these things in mind while you're writing. Get ready to take notes.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we have a very important episode on how to flesh out your characters so you can improve your story. Characters are the most important part of any story, so don't let them be punched by the plot! Here is how to improve your characters in your story. Grab a notebook for this one!

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are talking about the dreaded first chapter. It can be daunting to face the blank page and write that first chapter, as it's the most important, but we have a few things you need to keep in mind to ensure your first chapter is strong.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today is an awesome episode all about morally grey characters and why we love them. Grey characters work on so many levels, adding depth and realism to your story, so get studying them and get writing them! Here's how to make your characters morally grey.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! Today we are discussing a successful book called Fourth Wing which has taken the internet and social media by storm. We break down why it worked so well for us, for different reasons, to show you how a book can appeal to a wide audience.

Welcome back, Daydreamers! If you have already written your first draft and you're in the revising stages, this episode is for you! We are talking about how to improve a draft and make your novel better. How to revise and ensure the true purpose and power of your story can shine through. Get ready to take some notes.