If you've been making story decisions from anxiety instead of confidence, this episode is going to feel like a deep breath. Because the confidence you want isn't about doing everything right. It's about knowing why you're making each choice so you can make the best ones. In episode 11, I'm walking you through what that feels like in practice, with real stories from writers learned to trust their storytelling instincts.

You'll learn:

1. Why every story decision romance writers make feels heavier than it should
2. What happened when a writer realized the conflict she kept rewriting wasn't the real conflict at all
3. How a D&D interview about childhood bullying shows us how to write romance characters readers believe in
4. The revealing exercise you can try on your own manuscript this week

This 24-minute episode is for romance writers who keep going back and forth on story decisions because you're not sure what your story actually needs. By the end, you'll understand where that second-guessing comes from and what it feels like to start making revision (and drafting!) decisions you trust.

Resources from this episode:

1. Live workshop: Cake, Not Chaos: The Moment To Moment Method (March 27, 2026) → hi.suebrownmoore.com/cake
2. Community: Join Enemies to Experts → suebrownmoore.com/enemies-to-experts
3. Hero growth arcs: The 5 phases every hero needs → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/5-phases
4. Hero “Armor”: The 4 types of hero defenses that affect your story’s scenes → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/armor
5. Brennan Lee Mulligan: Hear his bullying story yourself → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/meetbrennan
6. More Resources: Learn from Sue at your own pace → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/learn

• Hero “Armor” (Augmentations CCV) - Free article: The 4 types of hero defenses that affect your story’s scenes → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/armor
• The Brennan Lee Mulligan interview - Sit back and listen to Brennan Lee Mulligan—one of the greatest storytellers of our generation—talk about how an unpredictable life has shaped a phenomenally interesting and unstoppable career on this interview with Hank Green on the Study Hall YouTube channel: “How DnD Became a Career: Brennan Lee Mulligan’s College Journey” (https://podcast.suebrownmoore.com/meetbrennan)
• Enemies To Experts™ - Learn more about the Enemies To Experts™ program with Sue Brown-Moore. Because falling in love with your manuscript starts with understanding it.
• Get your ticket - Join Sue for the live workshop, Cake, Not Chaos: The Moment To Moment Method on March 27, 2026
• The 5 Growth Phases - Free article: The 5 stages of every character arc → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/5-phases
• More resources - Learn from Sue at your own pace at podcast.suebrownmoore.com/learn

Subscribe to the Story Sorcery® podcast with Sue Brown-Moore on your favorite podcast app to never miss an episode.

You had two free hours to write, and instead you reorganized your Trello board. You love this story. You chose it. So why won't your brain let you work on it? In episode 10, I'm breaking down why romance writers get stuck, what your block is actually responding to, plus how one writer's story block disappeared when she swapped a single word in her heroine's Root Fear.

You'll learn:

1. Why "butt in chair, just write" advice fails most romance writers
2. Three completely different types of creative blocks that show up in romance manuscripts, each needing a different fix
3. What happened when a writer in my group sessions replaced "fear of failure" with something deeper (and why that depth matters so much in romance books)
4. An exercise you can try this week with three questions to help you figure out what your own resistance is about

This 20-minute episode is for romance writers who keep blaming yourself for being lazy or unfocused when the real issue has nothing to do with discipline. By the end, you'll understand why your brain keeps hitting the brakes on your manuscript and have an intuitive way to start working with through resistance instead of against it.

Resources from this episode:

1. Community: Join Enemies to Experts → suebrownmoore.com/enemies-to-experts
2. Live workshop: Cake, Not Chaos: The Moment To Moment Method (March 27, 2026) → hi.suebrownmoore.com/cake
3. Liar, Liar, Plot on Fire: Take the workshop where Hollie learned the 5 growth arc phases → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/liar-liar
4. The 5 growth arc phases: Read this free article to learn your hero's psychological arc → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/5-phases
5. The Root Fear: Read this free article on the Root Fear for your hero → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/5-phases
6. Hollie Smurthwaite, romance author: Visit Hollie's website and check out her books → holliesmurthwaite.com/

• Liar, Liar, Plot on Fire - Learn about my workshop course and the 5 questions to diagnose plot problems → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/liar-liar
• The Root Fear explained (CCV) - Free article: The hero trait that anchors your entire story → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/root-fear
• Hollie Smurthwaite (author website) - Learn more about Hollie Smurthwaite, the writer I talked about in this episode, on her author website and check out her funny, witty romance book style.
• Enemies To Experts™ - Learn more about the Enemies To Experts™ program with Sue Brown-Moore. Because falling in love with your manuscript starts with understanding it.
• Get your ticket - Join Sue for the live workshop, Cake, Not Chaos: The Moment To Moment Method on March 27, 2026
• The 5 Growth Phases - Free article: The 5 stages of every character arc → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/5-phases

Subscribe to the Story Sorcery® podcast with Sue Brown-Moore on your favorite podcast app to never miss an episode.

Revision isn't slow because you're a slow writer. It's slow because you're fixing symptoms instead of causes. In episode 9, I'm showing you what that actually costs you in real publishing time, and what one focused week of looking at the right thing can replace.

You'll learn:

1. Why each revision pass feels like progress but adds weeks to your timeline without solving anything
2. How editing any of the four layers of a romance manuscript creates a compounding ripple effect when you fix one without understanding what it touches
3. What a one-week diagnostic read can replace compared to four or five full passes (with actual math)
4. The three questions to ask about any problem scene before you rewrite a single word

This 17-minute episode is for romance writers who keep telling yourself "just one more pass" and are several passes in with nothing to show for it. By the end, you'll know exactly what to look at in the scene that won't cooperate, and why that's probably not even the scene that needs fixing.

Resources from this episode:

1. Community: Join Enemies to Experts → suebrownmoore.com/enemies-to-experts
2. Live workshop: Cake, Not Chaos: The Moment To Moment Method (March 27, 2026) → hi.suebrownmoore.com/cake
3. More Resources: Learn from Sue at your own pace → podcast.suebrownmoore.com/learn

Subscribe to the Story Sorcery® podcast with Sue Brown-Moore on your favorite podcast app to never miss an episode.