Dana Wayne - A Writers Life

Introduction to Character Interviews for character development with two sample interviews.

Discussion of the different types of POV (Point of View) and short excerpt from The Detail showing three POV changes. 

Discussion on the value of research in your work and includes a brief excerpt from my latest work, The Detail. 

A review of what a synopsis is, along with tips on how to write an effective one. 

Five steps to help you flesh out and create memorable main and secondary characters. Includes Chapter One of The Detail, my new romantic suspense that will release in November 2021.

The author talks about herself, her life, her work. Includes a short excerpt from Whispers On The Wind. 

A discussion about adding 'the spark' between your characters and a short excerpt from Dana Wayne's latest release, Unveiling Beulah.

Discussion about secondary characters, who they are, why do you need them and how do you develop them. What are secondary characters? Why do you need them. Includes an excerpt from The Detail, current work in progress.

A brief discussion on what is a tagline and what is a logline and why you need them. Also includes Chapter One of a new release, Unveiling Beulah. 

A short piece on things to think about when you want to add heat/steam to your story. Includes common heat levels and tips for going forward. Closes with back cover blub for a new release coming out in late February. 

A short piece on what I have chosen as my marketing goals/marketing resolutions for 2021 and a short excerpt from my upcoming release, Unveiling Beulah. 

Lively conversation with Texas Author Maida Mably. Listen as she talks about how she began her career, how her heritage connects with her books and why she became a romance author. 

A few marketing tips you can put into place now and a high-level overview on how to make book trailers. 

Short piece about how ideas come about, and what I do with them. Includes first chapter of my latest story idea. 

Some tips and examples on how to balance dialog and narrative in your story using excerpts from Whispers On The Wind and Secrets of The Heart.

This episode contains tips on writing male POV as well as tips on how to decide whether or not to include love scenes in your story. 

Short piece on the pros and cons of traditional vs self publishing and an uplifting message on being positive in a negative world. 

A discussion on ways to enhance character development by using character interviews and how I came up with the idea for Mail Order Groom. How to use what-if and why questions to develop your story. 

This episode talks about how I deal with writers block and includes an excerpt from my second book, Mail Order Groom. 

A discussion of what I write, some generalities about the romance novel,  and the difference between a romance and a love story.

This episode features 10 tips for new writers and a story of growing up in rural East Texas. 

What is characterization? How do you build believable and memorable characters? If you don't love the loveable ones and hate the despicable ones, your reader won't either.

In this episode, we'll explore some of the benefits of a good critique, things to look for or focus on when critiquing and end with a short story entitled The Queen's Rules. 

This episode explores the difference between critique and criticism and why we (writers) need a critique. I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I thought that meant putting words on paper in story format and that’s what I did with the first draft of Secrets of The Heart. Unfortunately, I had no idea what info dump was or show-don’t-tell. And my all-time favorite writing faux pas, passive voice. Critiques helped me understand those issues and how to avoid and/or correct them.  It also includes a short excerpt from Chapter Three of Secrets of The Heart. 

A short piece on my writing process, a snippet from Chapter 4 of Chasing Hope and then a tell-on-myself story about me and spiders. 

This episode answers the question I am frequently asked relating to how I get my story ideas. It ends with a cute story about my brother Doyle and the year he got a BB gun for Christmas. 

This episode details why I use a pen name and also includes Chapter One of Whispers On The Wind, my romantic suspense and ends with a tale about worm calling. 

I have always wanted to be a writer. This short trailer tells how that dream began and ends with a cute Mama-story.