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 Sp

How to Start Writing a Second Draft

Jun 21st, 2023 12m 52s

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 sec

How to Write a Killer Ending

Jun 7th, 2023 11m 41s

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

Characters We’d Die For with Martha Wells

May 31st, 2023 12m 43s

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

Raising the Action, Raising the Stakes with Margaret Owen

May 10th, 2023 16m 17s

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

What Needs to be in the Middle

Apr 12th, 2023 11m 7s

Kristen, Caitlin, and Aliah chat about what goes into the middle of a book.

How to Stay Excited About Your Writing

Mar 29th, 2023 11m 28s

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.

What to Do with Writer’s Block

Mar 15th, 2023 11m 38s

Aliah, Caitlin, and Kristen discuss how to keep writing when the ideas aren't coming.

What Needs to Be in a Beginning?

Mar 1st, 2023 14m 32s

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!

How to Start Writing a First Draft

Feb 15th, 2023 11m 41s

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!

Prewriting 101: Everything You Need to Write Before You Write

Feb 1st, 2023 11m 58s

Novel Worthy Ideas

Jan 11th, 2023 10m 53s

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 newslette

Making Old Stories New with Marissa Meyer

Nov 9th, 2022 20m 33s

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 newe

All the Ways Your Liver Will Betray You with Tamsyn Muir

Oct 6th, 2022 24m 48s

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 t

Spinoffs with Chloe Gong

Sep 28th, 2022 21m 23s

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 Thes

Romantasy 101 with Stephanie Garber

Sep 14th, 2022 22m 25s

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.Stepha

Surrealism with Britney Lewis

Aug 10th, 2022 29m 27s

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 ha

Upping a Story’s IQ with Erin Beaty

Jun 29th, 2022 25m 54s

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 com

Writing Different Voices with Jesse Q. Sutanto

Jun 15th, 2022 17m 3s

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 Oxfor

Concise World Building with Holly Black

May 11th, 2022 21m 2s

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 bests

Suspension of Disbelief with Emily X.R. Pan

Apr 13th, 2022 30m 13s

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 pod

Building Characters with V.E. Schwab

Mar 16th, 2022 26m

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

The Publishing Rollercoaster with Kristen Ciccarelli

Mar 1st, 2022 28m 6s

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 h

Bonus Episode: A Baker’s Guide to Robber Pie with Liana Tan

Feb 9th, 2022 8m 37s

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

Genre Bending with Tara Goedjen

Jan 19th, 2022 32m 24s

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 ou