Matty Dalrymple talks with Jessie Kwak about CREATING YOUR OWN COMMUNITY. Our conversation was triggered by the fact that Jessie recently hosted the first Author Alchemy Summit, and I wanted to find out what had made her decide to dive into this huge community-building undertaking. But even if organizing your own conference isn’t on your bucket list, the best practices she shares are generalizable to all sorts of other big projects that might be on your wish list: testing your commitment to a major undertaking, the importance of engaging a team of helpers, the challenge of delegation, battling imposter syndrome, gathering supporters and offering them opportunities (rather than asking for favors), achieving balance with the rest of your work, the importance of avoiding task-switching, and following the flow of your energy. I also think that hearing about what is involved in being a conference organizer can help us be better (and more empathetic) conference attendees, but Jessie also offers some great practical tips for us as attendees, including how to find the conferences that best meet our goals and networking for introverts.

Interview video at https://youtu.be/nYzT1gxxK90

Show notes (including summary and transcript) at https://www.theindyauthor.com/237---creating-your-own-community.html

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Jessie Kwak is an author and business book ghostwriter living in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not writing, she can be found sewing, mountain biking, or out exploring new worlds both at home and abroad. She is the author of a supernatural thriller, two series of space scoundrel sci-fi crime novels, and a handful of productivity books including From Chaos to Creativity and From Big Idea to Book.

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she’s learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer’s Digest" magazine. She serves as the Campaigns Manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Tiffany Yates Martin about CREATING CHARACTER MOTIVATION: THE FALLACY OF MAGICAL KNOWING, including an explanation of what "magical knowing" is, what leads a writer to fall back on it, and the signs that you're relying on it; the importance of understanding the character's overarching goal and of laying in brushstrokes of both context and specifics; the challenge of finding balance; the power of dissecting your own story and the value of outside eyes; and the pitfalls of "magical ignorance."

Interview video at https://youtu.be/XSfCN3tehZs

Show notes (including summary and transcript) at https://www.theindyauthor.com/236---creating-character-motivation-the-fallacy-of-magical-knowing.html

If you find the information in this video useful, please consider supporting The Indy Author!

https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor

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Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and newer writers. She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial and author of INTUITIVE EDITING: A CREATIVE AND PRACTICAL GUIDE TO REVISING YOUR WRITING. She is a regular contributor to Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman, and Writer Unboxed, and a frequent presenter and keynote speaker for writers’ organizations around the country. Under her pen name, Phoebe Fox, she is the author of six novels.

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she’s learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer’s Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Matty Dalrymple talks with Rob Hart about THE SOURCE CODE OF STORYTELLING, including the importance of making your readers laugh; getting rid of the rituals; doing a backwards editing pass; posing the villain as the hero of their own story; not counting out the Riders of Rohan; and writing an outline and throwing it out.

Interview video at https://youtu.be/X_rCsIB6Zdw

Show notes (including transcript) at https://www.theindyauthor.com/235---the-source-code-of-storytelling.html

If you find the information in this video useful, please consider supporting The Indy Author!

https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple

Rob Hart is the author of THE PARADOX HOTEL and THE WAREHOUSE. He also wrote the Ash McKenna crime series, the short story collection TAKE-OUT, the novella SCOTT FREE with James Patterson, and the comic book BLOOD OATH with Alex Segura. His next books, coming in 2024, are ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS, and DARK SPACE, the latter of which is co-written with Alex Segura.

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers, beginning with ROCK PAPER SCISSORS; the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH; and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Shorts. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Matty also writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage, and shares what she’s learned on THE INDY AUTHOR PODCAST. She has written books on the business of short fiction and podcasting for authors; her articles have appeared in "Writer’s Digest" magazine. She is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.