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How To Write The Future
The How to Write The Future Podcast offers fiction writing tips for science fiction and fantasy authors who want to create optimistic stories because when we vision what is possible, we help make it so. By science fiction and fantasy author and fiction writing coach, Beth Barany.
Episodes
218 episodes
08 Editing Your Beginnings, Middles, Ends
Editing Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Genre: Hooks, Builds, Payoffs, and TwistsIn this episode, Beth Barany explains how to revise novels by analyzing beginnings, middles, and ends at the book level, focusing on genre expectati...
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210. Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict
“In addition to your villain's goal, they need a motivation. They feel like they're the hero of their own story. They have a good reason for wanting what they want.” - Beth BaranyIn some stories long after the final page is clos...
209. How To Find the Right Illustrator for You with Anna Leitensdorfer
“Since it was my first book cover there, I learned a lot. There was a big process involved. Lots of figuring out, print lingo, making sure things are where they should be. So it was definitely a learning process.” - Anna Leitensdorfer<...
208. Turn Your Wish Into Story Fuel with Brownell Landrum
“That ties into your whole theme — because the theme of my novels is ‘Lose yourself in the fiction. Find yourself in the truth.’” - Brownell LandrumDo you know what sciences we use in making a wish? When blowing out the candles ...
07 The Writer’s GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict (and Strengths) for Creative Projects
Today Beth Barany shares about the writer’s GMC—goal, motivation, and conflict—adapted from Deb Dixon’s book "GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict" as a self-coaching tool for writing and other creative projects.She describes choosing a speci...
207. Edit Your Novel Checklist: First Read, No Edits
“Read through the checklist, put it in your mind, and let it just float there. Don't be so restrictive about it. You can always revisit it whenever you want.” - Beth BaranyIn this episode of How To Write The Future, Bet...
06 Premium; Editing Your Novel: Identify Genre, Tropes, and Reader Expectations
The episode focuses on considering genre and tropes during the editing phase, emphasizing that revision is about editing for readers and managing their expectations rather than writing only for oneself.Beth frames editing as refining the...
206. AI Content Licensing for Authors: Julie Trelstad
“Amlet AI creates a tool that allows authors to make it known to machine to developers that their work can be licensed and is available and that they expect to be compensated.” - Julie TrelstadIn this How To Write the Future pod...
205. Goal-Based Sci-Fi Research With Sue Burke
“One thing I recommend is that if you're really sure about something look it up cause you're probably wrong.” - Sue BurkeIn this How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled, “Goal-Based Sci-Fi Research With Sue Burke,...
05 Premium: Identify Your Learning Style to Edit Your Writing More Effectively
What is your learning style? (5 senses)Identify Your Learning Style to Edit Your Writing More EffectivelyThe episode explains how understanding your learning style—how you take in information through sensory channels—can improve y...
204. Alex Kingsley: Writing Speculative Futures
“Fiction is a wonderful arena for dealing with some really complex topics and some difficult issues in a safe space.” - Alex KingsleyIn the latest How To Write the Future podcast episode titled, “Alex Kingsley: Writing Specul...
04 Premium: Options vs. Procedure: Find Your Preferred Novel-Editing Process
The episode explores a preferred mental process for approaching novel editing, drawn from an NLP “options vs. procedure” spectrum. On one end are procedural thinkers who prefer step-by-step rules and editing from beginning to end; o...
203. Hip Hop for the Future
“I'm trying to make sure we have artists, the next generation people who can get to the open mic for the first time and learn how to hold a microphone.” - Khafre JayIn the latest How To Write the Future podcast episod...
03 Premium: On Overwhelm & Mindset
Overwhelmed by Editing Your Novel? Shift Your Mindset (Fixed vs. Growth)Beth Barany addresses how overwhelmed and confused writers can feel after a first read-through of a novel, especially when faced with lots of issues to fix and feed...
202. Read, Write, Repeat with David D. Levine
“I was a science fiction reader from the beginning, and I continued to identify myself as a science fiction writer. However, a lot of my stuff would have to be classified as fantasy.” - David D. Levine In the la...
201. 5 Upcoming Inspiring Interviews
“Oh my goodness. Sue has so much to say about research and how to use research strategically about finding conflicts and problems and learning as much as you need to know to be able to move forward. So be sure to listen to our conversation....
02. Premium: How to Use the Edit Your Novel Checklist for Your First Draft Read-Through
How to Use the Edit Your Novel Checklist for Your First Draft Read-ThroughBeth Barany introduces the Edit the Future Science Fiction and Fantasy Revision Lab and walks through how to use the Edit Your Novel Checklist, available at
200. Uncertain Times: Five Creative Superpowers
“What is creativity? Here's the short of it. For me, creativity is about combining disparate elements, elements we might not even think of putting together. For us, for us as science fiction and fantasy writers, what might this look like? W...
01 Premium Episode: Our Philosophy on Editing
Editing to Help Readers Disappear Into Your StoryBeth Barany introduces the premium Edit the Future Science Fiction and Fantasy Revision Lab and shares her and her husband Ezra’s philosophy for editing novels: revise rough drafts ...
199. Use Divination Cards to Spark Stories
“If you need help with ideas, if you want to play with randomness, to inspire you, to jumpstart your creativity, to come up with new ideas that you wouldn't have ordinarily thought of.” - Beth Barany***In this How To Writ...
198. Beginning, Middle, End — And Mess
“Life is messy. Life is unpredictable, and so is creating. Make room for that. Create compassion.” - Beth BaranyIn this How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled “Beginning, Middle, End — And Mess” host Beth Barany ...
197. Business Advice Creatives Can Actually Use
“Traditionally, at least for the last 200 years, there's been a cultural divide between being in business and being a creative, which is born out of a lot of images of the starving artist and really different movements that thought being an...
196. Fun Values Check-In for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writers
“ I care very much about your success and I really believe that our future is in our hands and as creatives, we have some incredible skill sets we get to bring to that.” - Beth BaranyIn this How To Write the Future podcast episo...
195. Trust Your Creative Process
“In difficult days when I'm struggling with my story or I'm struggling with my creative entrepreneur business. I turn to what I know and to what I trust, which is my emotions, my breathing, my physical body, and often it's a sign I need to ...
194. Risk Taking Without Desperation: Write From Trust
“Every creative project involves risk, whether you are writing a novel, creating a play, a film, or starting your own creative entrepreneur business.” -- Beth BaranyIn the this episode of How To Write the Future podcast, tit...