Writing Roots

S25E7 – A Guide to Publishing

Publishing can be a daunting process, especially if you’re a new author and unsure what comes after finishing that manuscript. You may be looking at is and asking yourself “what now?” Do you self-publish, or pursue traditional publishing? What about the title and the cover and the formatting?
Even once you’ve decided those things, it’s not the end. There is more to publishing than just getting the book printed or in the hands of a publisher. It’s also about marketing and getting the word out to your target audience, even if you’re traditionally published. If you don’t share what you’ve created, no one will know it exists. Once you’ve figured out the cover and titles, it’s time to start getting together promotional material.
In this episode we discuss the workbook we’re creating to help you get published. We include a calendar to schedule the release date and everything you need to do beforehand, ideas and space for you to jot down your plans for social media, as well as scheduling and budgeting things like the editing and cover design processes.
First aired October 25, 2021.
For more episodes on this topic, see below:– S20E1: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover– S20 Bonus: Self-Publishing is Free– Series 2: Final Draft– S17E4: How Do I Determine the Genre of a Book?– Series 8: Exploring Genres– Series 12: Marketing Your Writing– S11E6: Why Editing is Essential for the Business of Publishing– S5E7: What’s the Difference? Traditional vs. Self-Publishing– Industry Spotlight: Lindsey Teske, Of Ink and Pearls
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S25E6 – A Guide to Plotting the Series

If you think about your favorite books, they’re probably not standalone novels. Many of todays books, especially in fantasy and sci-fi settings, are part of a set. Writing a series, though, can be difficult work. Not only do you need to consider the plot of a single book, but the plot that will connect all of them. This, of course, doesn’t always apply. If you’re writing an episodic series, such as Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series, or Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, then you don’t need to worry about connecting plot threads.
However, if you’re planning to write a complicated series, then keeping detailed notes is a must. That’s where our book comes in handy. In this episode, we discuss the notebook we’ve created to help you plot out a whole series, starting with book one. Like the rest of the workbooks, you can use the ones we’ve created, or use this episode to guide you in the process of creating your own. These are starting points to help you write the best series you can.
First aired October 21, 2021.
For additional episodes on this topic, see below:– S12E8: Using Sequels During Marketing– S20E9: Everything is Better as a Trilogy
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S25E5 – A Guide to Designing Support Characters

Story would not be the same without multiple characters. You often need a villain and at least one supporting character. In some genres, especially epic fantasy and science fiction, there will be at least a dozen prominent supporting characters. There are even some cases where the supporting characters are almost main characters of their own.
It’s important, then, to consider how all of these supporting characters play into the story as a whole. What role do they fulfill in the group? Are they important to the the plot in some way? What will they contribute to the resolution of the conflict?
In the workbook we discuss this episode, we talk about several kinds of supporting characters and things to consider for each of them as you build your cast. We include things from how they look, who they are to the main character, and what strengths they contribute to the team.
This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.
First aired October 18, 2021.
For additional episodes on this topic, see below:– S1E5: Character Design: Support– S6 Bonus: What Makes a Good Villain– S10: Designing Your Characters– S21E9: Villainy: Should Villains Be Evil?– S22E6: K/D Ratio: Character Voice
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S25E4 – A Guide to Designing the Main Character

Stories could not exist without some form of character. Especially in the Hero’s Journey, it is the main character who drives the story forward. Readers connect better to the story when it is about the people inside the pages. That’s why one of the first things any author should build is their main character.
While some authors don’t plan their characters down to every last detail, others will list every aspect of their physical appearance. On top of that, there is the character’s history to consider. They didn’t just spawn into existence within the story’s world just as the story begins. You have to consider moments in their history that made them who they are now.
In this episode, we discuss our guidebook to building main characters. We break down as much as we can within 10 minutes to give you a starting point for creating the key element of your story. We include questions in the book about the character’s defining moments, what they do, who they know, their faults and strengths, and the lie they believe about themselves.
This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.
First aired October 14, 2021.
For additional episodes to assist in building main characters, check out the ones below:– S1E4 – Character Design: Primary– S3E7 – Weaknesses– S7E1 – The Mary Sue– S7E4 – Love Triangles– S7E7 – Plot Armor– S9E7 – Cultural Appropriation– S10 – Designing Your Characters
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S25E3 – A Guide to Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding is one of those things that we at Writing Roots (especially Leigh) can talk about for a very, very long time. There is so much that goes into the process of creating the world of a book, even if that book is based in modern Earth. You need to consider things like the history of the place and culture, the languages, and the geography. If you create a magic system or have advanced technology, that only adds to what you have to track. It can be difficult to keep all of those straight, or even to remember to consider all of them, as you set about writing.
That’s why we’ve created the guide to worldbuilding. Leigh and Ley explain as many of the elements involved in the worldbuilding process as they could fit within a 10-minute(ish) episode. This episode will be a companion to the workbook we will be releasing soon. We divided the book into sections, such as the natural world, government, religion, and magic. Each of those sections includes prompts for what to consider along with plenty of space to add and develop your own ideas.
This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.
First aired October 11, 2021.
For additional information about worldbuilding, check out these episodes:– S1E6 – Worldbuilding: The World Around You– S1E7 – Worldbuilding: Fantasy and Magic– S3 – Writing What You Don’t Know– S15 – Monster Mash– S18BE – Pearls from the Masters: Brandon Sanderson– S24E1 – Storytelling in Prehistoric Times– S24E2 – Stories of Gods and Fate– S24E9 – Futuristic and Dystopian Stories
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S25E2 – A Guide to Plotting a Hero’s Journey

One of the most common types of structures, especially in fantasy writing, is the Hero’s Journey. It’s why we’ve talked about it as much as we have over the course of this podcast. As we get further into Preptober, getting ready for National Novel Writing Month, one thing we suggest is to plan out the story you want to write. Yes, even you pantsers can benefit from having an idea of how your story fits into this structure.
In this episode, Leigh and Ley discuss our upcoming workbook designed to help you fill in all of the gaps in a Hero’s Journey as you prepare to write your next novel.
This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.
First aired October 7, 2021.
For more episodes about this topic, see below:– S21 Bonus: Story Building: Plot First or Character First?– S6E4: When to Kill a Character– Series 8: Exploring Genres– S6E8: Rule of Three– S11 Bonus: READ– S1E3: Story Structure– S2E3: Playing with Structure
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S25E1 – A Guide to Stirring the Imagination

We are one month away from National Novel Writing Month. October, sometimes known in writing circles as Preptober, is the time to start planning for trying to write 50,000 words in one month. Before you can do any writing, you need some kind of idea. Something needs to stir your imagination so you can create wonderful worlds and characters. Leigh, the pantser, is using the month to get into a habit of writing daily with a word count goal through the use of writing prompts.
Writing prompts can be helpful in sparking creativity, whether it’s related to your story or not. That’s why we’re releasing a workbook full of different kinds of prompts. They’re divided into three sections: 10-minute prompts, 30-minute prompts, and 2-hour prompts.
This workbook will be just one in a series we’ll release through the month. Each book is designed to help you plot, build, and write. If you’re a plotter, you’ll probably find the books more helpful before you write. Pantsers can use them to chart and track as they work on their stories. This series, though, is built in a way to help you even if you don’t get the book. You’ll get all the information you need in each episode to help you build your own version, whether it’s about worldbuilding, branding, or creating your own writing prompts.
First aired October 4, 2021.
For more episodes about this topic, see below:– Series 19: Act II Writing Prompts– S11E8: PLAN– S21E1: Writing Prompts: Helpful or Not?
Our first workbooks are now available! Check them out here.
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S24E9 – Futuristic and Dystopian Stories

Whether it’s a dystopian or utopian outlook, humans have been looking towards the future for almost all of history. The reason for painting on cave walls was to teach future generations. The reason we record current events is to make sure those to come know what happened in their past. The thing with the future, though, is that we don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s what makes it a perfect setting for fiction.
Science fiction stories often take place somewhere in the future, in a time with wondrous technologies we have yet to invent and worlds we have yet to discover. There are usually two ways to look on the future: a utopian outlook where the world is better and humans are thriving, or a dystopian outlook where there are fundamental cracks in society where corruption thrives. Both outlooks have spawned some of the most well-known stories of our generation.
Another way to look to the future is to look at the past and as the question “what if?” What if the Allies had lost World War II? What if Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated? What if ______?
In this episode, Ley and Leigh discuss the trends with futuristic and dystopian stories, their common tropes, and how all authors can learn something from looking to the future. Listen now below, or on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts.
First aired September 30, 2021.
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S24E8 – The History of Superheroes

What is a superhero? Do they have to have superpowers of some kind? Did their origins have to be tragic? Are characters superheroes only because they started in comic books? No matter the answers, superheroes have become a massive piece of the storytelling world in recent years. We can largely thank the Marvel Cinematic Universe for that. Even before then, superhero stories have been an important element of the writing world.
Stories about characters with fantastic abilities and strengths have been around far longer than the superhero genre as we know it. Superhero comic books started in the late 1930s with characters such as Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel (no, not that Captain Marvel; the one that eventually became Shazam). One of the most notable parts of these stories is that the hero is usually a human who becomes something greater.
Even when that’s not the case, there are other story tropes that help mark a story as a superhero story. Ley and Leigh discuss those tropes and how you can use the history of superheroes to help your writing, no matter the genre. Listen now below, or on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts.
First aired September 27, 2021.
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S24 Bonus – How Film Impacted Storytelling

Storytelling has evolved more rapidly in the last 100 years than in the centuries before all because of film. Movies and television have changed the way we consume stories, sped up the process for evolving genres, and given another way for people to share the stories they want to create.
Even before books, people were trying to tell story through pictures. In the earliest days of cave drawings, scientists theorize that people would use wavy lines to mimic motion. The flickering firelight would create an optical illusion to make the figures move. Later, grand scenes were embroidered into tapestries. Entire battles would be logged with needle and thread.
In the late 1800s, we figured out how to make moving pictures. Only a few years later, people were using them to tell fictional and fantastical tales. George Méliès is among the first to use editing tricks such as stop motion to help him share his stories.
From those early days of hand-cranked film reels to modern times, storytelling through movies has been evolving. It’s not entirely because of changing technology. Hosts Ley and Leigh talk through more than 100 years of film history, how it coincides with the writing industry at the time, and how both changed because of the other.
First aired September 25, 2021.
We’re still buying your books to celebrate our two-year anniversary and thank all of you listeners for your support! Hosts Leigh and Ley are buying self-published books from our listeners and followers. We’ll keep buying until our fund runs out. Find out more on our Facebook or Instagram. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter (found on our homepage) while you’re here.
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