Writing Roots

S26E8 – When in Doubt, Leave it Out

One key to good writing is to accepting that sometimes, you’ll need to leave things out entirely. This is often based not on any hard and fast rules, but on instinct. We can’t teach instinct, but we can help you identify those moments when they happen.
Most often, the things that need to be left out leave a manuscript feeling awkward or bulky. Sometimes you need to leave the comma out, even if the technical rules say it should be there. At other times, there are entire words you should be removing from a sentence. Listen to this episode to learn more about when and how to leave things out.
First aired November 25, 2021.
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S26E7 – The Basics of Sentence Structure

The sentence is the core of writing. While every language has different requirements on what makes a sentence, they all usually share common threads. Complete sentences need a subject and a verb. A thing doing something. That simple construction is the foundation for all the world’s best stories. To write, you need to know what makes a sentence.
Not all of what we create will be crafted of the perfect complete sentences, though. In fact, it can be good to have incomplete sentences outside of strictly academic scenarios. You need variety. Rhythm. Even simple sentences are not enough.
In this episode, Leigh and Ley talk about the four types of sentence structure, how to diagram a sentence, and other basics you need to know in order to break the rules in the best ways.
First aired November 22, 2021.
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S26E6 – Uh, Phrasing!

A phrase is one of the basic elements of a sentence. Without knowing the different kinds of phrases and what they do, sentences can feel disjointed. Phrases often dictate comma placement or flow.
In this episode, Ley and Leigh break down the different kinds of phrases, from introductory to prepositional, and when a phrase can be a sentence all its own.
First aired November 18, 2021.
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S26E5 – The Rules of Commas

Commas. They’re a problem. It can be difficult to remember where commas should be and, more importantly, where they shouldn’t be in a sentence. New writers often hear the suggestion to put a comma wherever feels natural. Stephen King even recently tweeted, “If you hear a pause in your head, the comma goes in (see what I did there?). If you don’t you don’t.” While that can work at times, it is also dangerous advice for people seeking to be published. Misusing commas can be a sign of other problems within a manuscript.
Like any other writing rule, it’s important to know it before you break it. There are several rules that dictate where commas belong. Sometimes those rules change based on the style book, such as the hotly debated Oxford comma. Commas also belong with introductory or interjectory phrases, where you omit other words, or inside quotation marks when you have a dialogue tag.
We break down what all of those mean in this episode, as well as in our next episode about phrases.
First aired November 15, 2021.
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S26E4 – The Parts of Speech (Part Two)

Language is made up of so many different pieces. Often, you use them instinctively because it’s what you grew up learning. To write, however, you should become more familiar with all the different parts of speech and how they should be used. Knowing that, then, will help you break the rules when necessary.
This is the second part of our episodes about parts of speech. To listen to part one, click here.
First aired November 11, 2021.
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S26E3 – The Parts of Speech (Part One)

No one can be a good writer without knowing the basics of the language in which they write. You may have learned terms like nouns and adverbs in school, but its quite possible you’ve forgotten what they actually mean or how they should interact. Maybe you’re still learning, as all writers are. That’s why we’re taking two episodes to break down the parts of speech within the english language.
In this episode, Ley and Leigh discuss the basic parts of speech, such as verbs, adjectives, and even interjections. They break down the term’s meaning and how those words are used within sentences.
First aired November 8, 2021.
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S26E2 – The Basics of Formatting Styles

When someone talks about the formatting of a book, there are many different things this could mean. They could be talking about the final book format, or the manuscript formatting requirements. Those are fairly simple, though. Some of the more difficult formatting comes from the writing requirements most often encountered in professional and academic environments.
In this episode, we discuss the differences between the different stages of formatting, as well as style guides such as Chicago, MLA, and AP.
First aired November 4, 2021.
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S26E1 – Becoming a Student of Language

As a writer, you should be striving to become a student of language. This doesn’t mean becoming a polyglot, but learning to love the study of the language you use to write. It is vital to know the rules of a language in order to become a good writer, because it is only then that you can really know how to properly break the rules.
If you’re writing in english, you’re not going to follow all of the rules all of the time. Dialogue is often broken and fragmented as it is supposed to be an imitation of how people actually speak. You may start sentences with conjunctions, or end with prepositions. You may break all of those rules your teachers told you were hard and fast in the writing world. The danger is in breaking the rules because you don’t know the rules. Readers can often see the difference, whether they realize it or not. It changes how they view the story. Rules broken well are seamless. Rules broken poorly are jarring.
In this episode, Leigh and Ley discuss how to become a student of language, why it is important (even if you don’t like it), and ways you can begin studying.
First aired November 1, 2021.
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S25 Bonus – A Guide to Finishing Your Book

Finishing a book is probably the most difficult part of the writing process. Editing can be daunting and publishing simply overwhelming, but none of that can even happen if you never reach the end. This is an especially important goal as we enter National Novel Writing Month, where people across the country (and now across the world) attempt to write 50,000 words in one month. That’s the minimum size for a single writing work to be considered a novel.
In reality, writing a book is all about perseverance and consistency.
Did you know that 90% of people never finish NaNoWriMo? Schedules get in the way, the ideas fall flat, and it simply gets discouraging to see that goal get more and more out of reach as the daily word goals aren’t met. But that’s where this episode comes in handy. There are lots of things you can do to help yourself get back on track and keep motivated to write.
If you’re setting out to reach the 50,000 word NaNoWriMo goal, the most important thing to remember is that the writing does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be. Ley and Leigh share some of the tricks they’ve learned from successes and failures during their own NaNo projects. This includes making sure you take care of yourself, find a buddy to help encourage you, and how to identify what’s holding you back.
First aired October 30, 2021.
For other episodes and articles on this topic, see below:”– S1E8: Getting it Written– S20E4: Myth: Characters Control the Author– S4E1: Getting the Most from NaNoWriMo– Series 16: Tricks of the Trade– Write Terribly– Series 19: Writing Prompts for Act Two– Series 6: The Nitty Gritty– S9E3: I Have an Idea for a Book
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S25E8 – A Guide to Building an Author Brand

Building a brand around yourself as an author is a key element of successful marketing. This is even more important if you plant to write several books or different series. Having an author brand is how you can lead people to all of your books, not just the most successful ones.
A brand is what people perceive as being you. When it comes to retail and large companies, this is often a symbol that can be immediately recognizable, such as a logo. It’s difficult to develop a symbol to represent you as an author, but the idea still applies. It can be the voice you use on social media, what makes you and your books unique, your style of profile photo, and the kind of imagery you share when promoting your books.
When building your brand, consider the authors who you believe share your target audience. Look at the successful ones. What do they do that helps build an audience? What have they done to build a brand? How are they recognizable? Take elements of what they do and apply it in your own marketing process. This can include anything from a website to social media sites, to newsletters.
There’s a lot more to consider as well, such as consistency, ways to get your name out there, and building your own personal schedule. We’re creating a notebook to help you track all of these elements, as well as build ideas for how you want to present yourself in the marketing world. This episode is a breakdown of some of the elements included in that book.
First aired October 28, 2021.
For more episodes on this topic, see below:– S4E8: Working with Other Writers– S12E2: Building an Author Brand– S12E1: Finding your Target Audience– S17E4: How Do I Determine the Genre of a Book?– S5E1: What’s in a Name?
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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