We detail all the lovely things we got to do and people we met at Flights of Foundry, an online & free virtual convention. Also, listen-in to hear some exciting updates from No Bad Books Press! https://nobadbookspress.com/

Semi-Sages of the Pages

Episode 28: Our Experiences at Flights of Foundry

There are many different reasons to write and today we talk about the power of writing to heal. The ladies share personal stories, strategies, and thoughts about this powerful topic. As we say during the episode, we are not professionals, we are not doctors. We are simply talking about things that have helped us grow as both people and authors.

Episode 27: We Cry...But Hopefully Because It's Healing

If dialogue is yellow thread and description is blue thread, when you weave them together, does your book tapestry look green? 

Episode 26: Dialogue vs. Description - Finding your Balance

Molly and Morrigan talk about the intricacies in Children&apos;s Literature, specifically Middle Grade and Young Adult.  What defines each age category? What topics can you address? What type of vocabulary/grammar should you use? We discuss all this and more here!

Episode 25: Craft in Kid Lit

In this episode, the Semi-Sages discuss what it means to write marketably. Like any good topic, it starts with introspection and an understanding of what your writing goals are! We dive into style, trends, age categories, genres, tropes, and more!

Episode 24: Deliberately Writing to Market

In a special 1 year celebration, we answer audience questions, reflect on the last year, & what's upcoming. We also read entries from our latest Flash Fiction contest and announce the winners! Thank you to everyone out there for listening and supporting us this past year. Sending all the love!

Episode 23: One Year Anniversary Party!

One of the ultimate goals of writing is to make a reader feel and feel alongside your characters. In this episode, the Semi-Sages discuss how to convey a character&apos;s emotion on the page in a genuine way that will connect with readers. This is a multi-dimensional topic including but not limited to - show vs. tell, character reaction, blocking, scene & set-up, over vs. under-emoting, and formatting.

Episode 22: Character Emotions - Feelin' the Feels

In this Semi-Sode Theresa talks about the pitfalls associated with authors leaving reviews for other authors. It includes some tips on what to do if you HAVE to leave a review for a book you don't like and a caution about blindly leaving 5 star reviews.  

Theresa's Hot Takes: Authors Leaving Reviews for Authors

As authors we have great plans. We plot our stories and make multiple drafts. And yet...sometimes our subconscious still trickles into our stories in unexpected ways. Our brains can betray us in all manner of ways - through inherent biases, uncooperative characters, our fears, or even our dreams.

Episode 21: Betrayed by our Brains

Semi-Sage Sarah Faxon talks about how she stays focused so that maybe a part of her process will inspire you.

Just For Today - A Semi-Sode By S. Faxon

Audio from our live show! Join us for some holiday trivia and fun times.If you want to watch the youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fghZXCNbDk&ab_channel=Semi-SagesforthePagesSpecial shout out to Bubbles!

Episode 20: A Writer's Holiday Special

Disclaimer - we talk about sex and writing sex. Be aware of the following topics: sex, rape, & anatomical names of body parts. If this is not for you, then don't listen.We decided to tackle this topic because writing sex scenes is something that many of us as authors have to face. But it is often a stigmatized topic and not freely discussed. We go over the follow points - deciding if you need a sex scene, point of view of your scene, the balance between authenticity and mood, how a sex scene can (and should) serve a purpose, medieval humor, and how to approach aspects of sex of which you might not be familiar (e.g. writing from a different gender). 

Episode 19: Sexy Writing

Welcome to this semi-sode of Molly Explains, where she completely overanalyzes something that everyone else probably thinks is common knowledge. This time, we dive into "Show Don't Tell" -learn where the phrase came from, how it came to be popularized in the writing community and what the heck it even means! As always, there are concrete examples and a rule of thumb at the end. Because it's not fun if you can't make it into an algorithm.

Molly Explains: Show Don't Tell

Listen in as the Semi-Sages talk about their experiences with querying. We're not here to tell you how to do it, but instead discuss what our experiences have looked like. We talk all about the emotional rollercoaster and how we handle it. Or, sometimes, we don't handle it. Make sure to listen to the end for a guest appearance from Sarah's furry friend!

Episode 18: Slogging Through the Trenches

This Moments with Morrigan episode explores the importance of planning the opening of your story around reader engagement. Morrigan analyzes the introduction paragraph of five best selling books to elucidate how authors set readers up to ask questions that serve the overall setting, theme, and characterization of the story.  Like a great book, this episode may have a hidden surprise!

Moments with Morrigan: Questioning the Hook

The writing podcast where we don't know where we're going...but we're having an adventure! The four semi-sages are women who write primarily speculative fiction. Join them as they explore the ever-evolving world of writing and publication.