Most everyone focuses their attention on having compelling protagonists. But are you giving your antagonists the attention they deserve? Whether you’re writing romance, mysteries, or fantasy novels, your bad guys need to be well-rounded to be interesting. Two ways to do this are through sharing their back story and identifying the motivations for their actions.

In this episode, we refer back to some prior episodes: Episode 4, Research’s Role in Writing Fiction; Episode 5, Look Closer at Keeping Your Reader’s Interest with David Ellis; and Episode 6, Dovetailing Creative Ideas and Smart Business Decisions with Kevin Tumlinson.

The Write Approach, Episode 8: Properly Motivating Your Antagonists

Listen to the audio:

Find The Write Approach on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Amazon Music, and Audible.

You can also watch it on YouTube.

Barbara Hinske’s  author website — https://barbarahinske.com/

J. W. Judge’s author website — https://jwjudge.com/

J. W. Judge’s writing blog — https://expectantwriter.com/

When you finish one writing project and are mentally (and let’s face it — emotionally) ready to take on a new one, it can be a daunting task to decide what to write next. If you’re like us, you have no shortage of ideas. So how you decide what to write next? Barbara Hinske and J. W. Judge have had very different approaches to responding to this question. Because Barbara has multiple series going, her creative choices are colored by business necessities. J. W. has been a bit more willy-nilly about it to date, but sees changes on the horizon.

This episode is a continuation of Episode 1 in which we talked about where story ideas come from.

The Write Approach, Episode 7: Deciding What to Write Next

You can You can listen to the audio here.listen to the audio here.

Find The Write Approach on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Amazon Music, and Audible.

Or you can watch it on YouTube.

Barbara Hinske’s  author website — https://barbarahinske.com/

J. W. Judge’s author website — https://jwjudge.com/

We had a different episode slotted for this date, but when Kevin Tumlinson told us his birthday is October 12, we couldn’t help but give him an early birthday present. We cover a bunch of ground in this interview, and two parts of the conversation really stand out. Kevin talks about writing novels quickly, but also about that costs that can accompany doing that. We also discuss how his crossover stories have origins in being creative endeavors but have the effect of introducing multiple intellectual properties to new audiences.

There is also a discussion about how Kevin researches for his archeological thrillers, which ties in well with Episode 4, Research’s Role in Writing Fiction.

One of the books we talk about specifically in the interview is Evergreen, so we wanted to make sure to link it, along with the newest story from Kevin Tumlinson, The Templar Tunnel.

Dovetailing Creative Ideas and Smart Business Decisions with Kevin Tumlinson

You can listen to the audio here.

Find The Write Approach on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Amazon Music, and Audible.

Or you can watch it on YouTube.

Barbara Hinske’s  author website — https://barbarahinske.com/

J. W. Judge’s author website — https://jwjudge.com/

In Episode 5 of The Write Approach, NYT #1 bestselling author David Ellis talks about the tenacity and intentionality required to juggle writing and legal careers simultaneously, how collaborating with James Patterson has improved his writing, and why a writer must prioritize maintaining their readers’ interest in every chapter.

We also discuss David Ellis’ newest book Look Closer and why he enjoys starting a new novel with a character in mind before he starts developing the plot.

The Write Approach, Episode 5: Look Closer at Keeping Your Readers’ Interest with David Ellis

Listen to the audio:

Find The Write Approach on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Amazon Music, and Audible.

You can also watch it on YouTube.

David Ellis’ website — https://davidellis.com/

Barbara Hinske’s  author website — https://barbarahinske.com/

J. W. Judge’s author website — https://jwjudge.com/