Shows / Story Magic
Story Magic
Hey fiction writer! Want your readers to stay up until 2am, so engrossed in your story they just can’t put it down? Want to build a successful, fulfilling, and sustainable writing life that works for YOU? Story Magic is the place for you. Every week, professional book coaches and editors Emily and Rachel from Golden May dive into writing craft, community, and mindset tips, tricks, and advice so you can write and publish books you’re damn proud of, again and again. We cover craft topics like…
Episodes
- Story Magic
84 - 4 Pillars to Author Success with Emma Dhesi
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the 4 pillars to author success with guest Emma Dhesi. What you’ll learn from this episode: A full breakdown of each of the 4…
- Story Magic
83 - How and when to apply the story point
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about how and when to apply the story point. What you’ll learn from this episode: Using story point as a tool at different points in…
- Story Magic
82 - Overthinking vs. thinking something through
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about overthinking vs thinking something through. What you’ll learn from this episode: When are you overthinking? What does it feel…
- Story Magic
81 - Character want vs need
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about Want vs Need in character arcs. What you’ll learn from this episode: What’s a character want? What’s a character need? How do…
- Story Magic
80 - The risk of plagiarism in the writing community
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the risk of plagiarism in the writing community. What you’ll learn from this episode: What feedback relationships should…
- Story Magic
79 - Lower your expectations with Rachael Herron
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about lowering your writing expectations with guest Rachael Herron. What you’ll learn from this episode: Why lowering your…
- Story Magic
78 - How to start querying with Abigail K. Perry
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the querying process with guest Abigail K. Perry! What you’ll learn from this episode: Exactly what a query letter is and how…
- Story Magic
77 - Plot + character in the crime/thriller genre with Marybeth Whalen
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about all things plot, character, process, and crime/thriller with guest Marybeth Whalen. What you’ll learn from this episode: How…
- Story Magic
76 - Negative arcs
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about negative arcs. What you’ll learn from this episode: The differences between positive and negative arcs How to shape effective…
- Story Magic
75 - Book marketing with Erica Birtles
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about book marketing with guest Erica Birtles. What you’ll learn from this episode: The right time to start marketing your book What…
- Story Magic
74 - Reviews and your ideal reader
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about getting reader reviews! What you’ll learn from this episode: Mindset around getting reviews Reviews are for readers (not for…
- Story Magic
73 - Beta reading
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about beta reading! What you’ll learn from this episode: What is beta reading? When is the right time to search for beta reading?…
- Story Magic
72 - Sweet and clean romance with Victorine Lieske
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about sweet and clean romance with Victorine Lieske. What you’ll learn from this episode: What sweet and clean romance are How to…
- Story Magic
71 - Publishing's changing landscape with Nicole Meier
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the changing landscape of the publishing industry with guest Nicole Meier. What you’ll learn from this episode: the publishing…
- Story Magic
70 - Character arcs across a series with Jennifer Armentrout
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about developing arcs across a series with very special guest Jennifer Armentrout. What you’ll learn from this episode: Planning…
- Story Magic
69 - Dog Training with Eric Goebelbecker
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about not fiddling around with writing and getting to work with guest Eric Goebelbecker. What you’ll learn from this episode: The…
- Story Magic
68 - Lean into messy humanity
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about leaning into messy humanity. What you’ll learn from this episode: What to do when you ask "is this too much?" Not shying away…
- Story Magic
67 - All is Lost vs Dark Night of the Soul beats
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the All is Lost vs Dark Night of the Soul story structure beats. What you’ll learn from this episode: What role these two…
- Story Magic
66 - Writing is not always fun
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about how writing is not always fun. What you’ll learn from this episode: The different phases of writing How we naturally gravitate…
- Story Magic
65 - Spicy and erotic romance with Jordyn Kross
Today, Rachel talks about spicy and erotic romance with guest Jordyn Kross. What you’ll learn from this episode: What erotic romance actually is How to ensure…
- Story Magic
64 - Making intentional writing choices with Kat Caldwell
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about making writing choices with guest Kat Caldwell. What you’ll learn from this episode: A little bit about what coaching is like…
- Story Magic
63 - Convincing antagonists
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about antagonists! What you’ll learn from this episode: What an antagonist actually is How to write believable antagonists How…
- Story Magic
62 - Shedding the shame of talking about your book with CC Tyler
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about shedding the shame of talking about your book with guest CC Tyler. What you’ll learn from this episode: why you feel so…
- Story Magic
61 - Rejection mindset with Kayla Stansbury
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about querying and rejection with guest Kayla Stansbury. What you’ll learn from this episode: what the querying process is really…
- Story Magic
60 - Author Interview with Emilia Emerson
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about indie publishing and the author journey with Emilia Emerson. What you’ll learn from this episode: what it's like to be an…
- Story Magic
59 - Being afraid to do it wrong
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about answering a listener question about perfectionism and the idea of doing it wrong. What you’ll learn from this episode…
- Story Magic
58 - Return from hiatus
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about returning from an unplanned hiatus. Ready to make readers so in love with your characters they can’t stop biting their nails…
Story Magic57 - Choosing scene POV
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about choosing scene POV. What you’ll learn from this episode: 4 questions to determine the most impactful POV sometimes you just…
Story Magic56 - Listen up, procrastinators
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about procrastination! What you’ll learn from this episode: Procrastination and perfectionism are two sides of the same coin The…
Story Magic55 - The versatility of the writing process
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the versatility of the writing process. What you’ll learn from this episode: Is it useful to define ourselves by plotter…
Story Magic54 - Author interview with Brit KS
Today, Emily & Rachel talk with author Brit KS. What you’ll learn from this episode: Brit KS's process of developing her world and characters How book 2 is…
Story Magic53 - Exploring perfectionism with Jocelyn Lindsay
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about how fear is at the heart of perfectionism with guest Jocelyn Lindsay. What you’ll learn from this episode: what might really…
Story Magic52 - The "standard of excellence" rant
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about a little rant about the self-publishing vs traditional publishing debate. What you’ll learn from this episode: how deciding…
Story Magic51 - Are character thoughts show or tell?
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about character thoughts, and whether they're show or tell. What you’ll learn from this episode: What internal processing (or…
Story Magic50 - Use character movement to "show"
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about using character movement to "show" on the page. What you’ll learn from this episode: Showing character movement without going…
Story Magic49 - The 3 layers of show, don't tell
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the three layers of "show!" What you’ll learn from this episode: Showing the action in a scene Showing what things mean to…
Story Magic48 - Emily & Rachel updates
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about updates from our personal lives and the Golden May business! Subscribe to our email list…
Story Magic47 - A little rant about "should"
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about how we hate the word "should!" What you’ll learn from this episode: How to reframe the 'shoulds' Bringing awareness to your…
Story Magic46 - Set goals free from shame
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about setting goals without shame. What you’ll learn from this episode: How to determine whether your goals are from self-love or…
Story Magic45 - LGBTQ+ representation with Sam Cameron
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about LGBTQ+ representation with guest host Sam Cameron. What you’ll learn from this episode: The balance between "getting it right"…
Story Magic44 - The art of self-editing with Tiffany Grimes
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the art of self-editing with guest host Tiffany Grimes. What you’ll learn from this episode: What is self-editing? Common…
Story Magic43 - Static / flat arcs with Lewis Jorstad
Today, Lewis & Rachel talk about static and/or flat arcs. What you’ll learn from this episode: What static and flat arcs are What static/flat arcs actually do…
Story Magic42 - NaNoWriMo behind the scenes with Lewis Jorstad
Today, Lewis & Rachel talk about NaNoWriMo behind the scenes. What you’ll learn from this episode: NaNo check in Different experiences doing this challenge…
Story Magic41 - Create consistency without burnout with Lewis Jorstad
Today, Lewis & Rachel talk about creating consistency in our routines. What you’ll learn from this episode: The difference between consistency and…
Story Magic40 - Stakes and why they're important
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about stakes and why they're important. What you’ll learn from this episode: what stakes really are stakes vs goals vs motivations…
Story Magic39 - Creating strong and purposeful secondary characters
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about secondary characters. What you’ll learn from this episode: What's a secondary character? The purposes of secondary characters…
Story Magic38 - Low stakes stories
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about low stakes stories. What you’ll learn from this episode: What is a low stakes story? Why low stakes stories are growing as a…
Story Magic37 - How to come up with ideas you actually like
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about how to come up with ideas you actually like. What you’ll learn from this episode: Reaching the root cause of why you don't…
Story Magic36 - Tips to trick your inner perfectionist
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about tips to trick your inner perfectionist (aka separating thinking from implementing). What you’ll learn from this episode: how…
Story Magic35 - Reaction progressions
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about reaction progressions. What you’ll learn from this episode: what reaction progressions are the 4 pieces of a reaction…
Story Magic34 - How to grow a thick writer skin
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about growing a thick writer skin. What you’ll learn from this episode: why you actually don't need a thick skin how to begin…
Story Magic33 - When to write or reject a series with Lewis Jorstad
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about when to write or reject a series with guest Lewis Jorstad. What you’ll learn from this episode: Benefits of a series above and…
Story Magic32 - Digging into character backstory
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about digging into character backstory. What you’ll learn from this episode: Backstory vs character facts Where to start diving into…
Story Magic31 - Harmony in your creative life with Corrie Legge
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about developing harmony in your creative life with Corrie Legge. What you’ll learn from this episode: why harmony is more important…
Story Magic30 - The pros and cons of external motivation
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the pros and cons of external motivation. What you’ll learn from this episode: the right mindset for using external motivation…
Story Magic29 - Build your story with genre with Savannah Gilbo
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about building your story with genre with guest Savannah Gilbo. What you’ll learn from this episode: Why genre is a really important…
Story Magic28 - Where to start your story
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about where to start your story. What you’ll learn from this episode: Starting your story by introducing your character's world…
Story Magic27 - Burnout with Gauri Yardi
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about creative burnout with guest Gauri Yardi! What you’ll learn from this episode: What burnout is + how to recognize it How our…
Story Magic26 - The flow of learning
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about the flow of learning. What you’ll learn from this episode: The process of learning How to understand and apply this process to…
Story Magic25 - Making money with your writing with Nicole Stork-Hestad (Part 3)
Today, Emily & Rachel talk about making money with your writing with guest Nicole Stork-Hestad. This is part 3 of our interview series with Nicole! What you’ll…