What Horses Can Teach Writers About Winning Readers' Hearts | Ep10

What Horses Can Teach Writers About Winning Readers' Hearts | Ep10

Readers don’t connect with your vocabulary — they connect with who you’re being on the page. In this episode, I break down three practical ways to help readers experience your writing instead of just understanding it: writing scenes instead of summaries, using concrete sensory detail, and letting vulnerability do the trust-building work that polish can’t. (There’s also a horse named Nugget involved.) In This Episode * Why readers connect with who you’re being on the page, not your vocabulary * The real difference between telling your reader something and letting them experience it * A careful, honest look at “mirror neurons” and what the science actually supports * Why concrete, sensory detail does more work than naming an emotion outright * How vulnerability — not polish — builds trust fastest * One simple, doable rewrite you can try in your manuscript this week * (Plus: what my horse Nugget unintentionally taught me about all of this) A Line to Sit With “They’re not grading your vocabulary. They’re feeling for your pulse.” Mentioned in This Episode ✍️ The line that sparked this episode — horse trainer Pat Parelli’s “Your horse is listening. Just not to your words.” Free Resources for You   📒 Free ebook: Book Publishing Essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779385225694] A foundational ebook to help you navigate the publishing journey with clarity and confidence. https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials] 📒 Free Guide: Creating an Ideal Reader Avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779383966188] Reconnect with who you're actually writing for — a beautiful reset when you've gotten tangled up in what everyone wants instead of who really needs your words. https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar] 📒 Free Download: Your First 100 Readers Roadmap [https://www.alicecrider.com/first100readers032026] A step-by-step path to your first 100 true fans. No ads, no big platform, no guessing. https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026 [https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026] 📗 Join The InkWell Collective [https://alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] — for monthly masterclasses, workshops, and writing sprints. https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective [https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective]     Leave a review — it helps more heart-led authors find the show   ⭐ Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts (iOS only) 1. Open the Apple Podcasts app and search for the show. Tap the title to open the main show page. 2. Scroll down to the Ratings & Reviews section and tap the stars to leave your rating. 3. Tap Write a Review, enter your title, comments, and nickname. 4. Tap Send to submit.

Build Writing Momentum Without Burnout | Ep09

From the outside, momentum looks like nothing's happening — until suddenly it is. In this episode, I take us back to my childhood, riding shotgun in my uncle's twin-engine Cessna, to unpack a truth every heart-led author needs to hear: the writers who actually finish their books aren't the ones waiting for a lightning bolt of inspiration. They're the ones who learned how to taxi — one small, repeatable action at a time. If you've ever felt behind, or like your progress is too small to count, this episode is your permission to keep rolling down the runway. In This Episode * The story behind my lifelong love of flying — and the slow, unglamorous taxi every plane takes before it ever lifts off * Four patterns I noticed in authors who build real, lasting momentum — and the doubts that usually get in the way * Why “one sentence a day” isn't really about the math — it's about becoming someone who shows up * What bestselling author John Grisham has to say about the discipline of daily writing * Why rest isn't the opposite of momentum — it's part of how momentum gets renewed * This week's micro-action invitation, and why noticing your small wins matters more than you'd think Quotes Worth Pinning to Your Wall “Most people watching from the gate can’t tell the difference between a plane that's about to lift off and one that's just rolling slowly down the runway.” “Momentum is made of quiet, reliable, almost boring consistency — the kind you can trust on your worst day, not just your best one.” Mentioned in This Episode Bestselling author John Grisham on daily writing discipline: “Write at least one page every day, without fail.” (a quote widely attributed to Grisham across interviews and writing-craft round-ups) This Week's Invitation Pick one micro-action — one sentence, one paragraph, five minutes with your manuscript. That's it. Not the whole chapter, not the breakthrough. Just the taxi. And then notice when you do it. Let yourself actually feel that small win — that's the very fuel that gets you back to the runway tomorrow. Free Resources for You   📒 Free ebook: Book Publishing Essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779385225694] A foundational ebook to help you navigate the publishing journey with clarity and confidence. https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials] 📒 Free Guide: Creating an Ideal Reader Avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779383966188] Reconnect with who you're actually writing for — a beautiful reset when you've gotten tangled up in what everyone wants instead of who really needs your words. https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar] 📒 Free Download: Your First 100 Readers Roadmap [https://www.alicecrider.com/first100readers032026] A step-by-step path to your first 100 true fans. No ads, no big platform, no guessing. https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026 [https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026] *************** 📗 Join The InkWell Collective [https://alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] — live Zoom writing sprints and a community that cheers your small wins: https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective [https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] 🔖 One-on-one coaching with Alice — reach out any time: admin@alicecrider.com [admin@alicecrider.com] or alicecrider.com [https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1] Let's Stay Connected If this episode found you today, hit subscribe wherever you're listening so you don't miss the next one. And if you have thirty seconds, a quick review helps another heart-led author find their way here, too. About Alice Alice Crider is an author coach, book editor, and certified life coach who has edited hundreds of manuscripts over the course of her career. She hosts Your Write Life Coach, a podcast for heart-led authors who are after both motivation and momentum. Her first book releases in April 2027.

The Myth of Multitasking | Ep08

You've been told your whole life that multitasking is a skill — maybe even a superpower. You put it on your resume. You wear your ability to juggle everything as a badge of honor. But what if it's been costing you more than it's giving you? In this episode, I share why multitasking is actually a myth, what it's doing to your writing, and the simple shift that can unlock more focus, more flow, and more finished pages.   In This Episode * Why "multitasking" is really just task-switching — and why it matters * The hidden cost every interruption adds to your creative work * How fragmented attention affects the quality of your writing (not just the quantity) * Why multitasking steals the joy — not just the productivity * What Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow" has to do with your manuscript * Four practical strategies for single-tasking your way to more meaningful pages * The invitation: one protected writing session that might just surprise you   From the Episode "Friend, the well isn't dry. Your attention is just… fractured." "Momentum doesn't come from doing everything at once. It comes from doing the right thing, with your whole attention, over and over again."   Your Invitation This Week Pick one writing session — just one — and protect it completely. Close the tabs. Put your phone in another room or flip it face down. Let the people in your household know you need an uninterrupted window. Then give that session your full, undivided attention. Notice what it feels like. Notice what you produce. That's it. Just that one experiment.   Links & Resources Mentioned 📒 Free ebook: Book Publishing Essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779385225694] A foundational ebook to help you navigate the publishing journey with clarity and confidence. https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials] 📒 Free Guide: Creating an Ideal Reader Avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779383966188] Reconnect with who you're actually writing for — a beautiful reset when you've gotten tangled up in what everyone wants instead of who really needs your words. https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar] 📒 Free Download: Your First 100 Readers Roadmap [https://www.alicecrider.com/first100readers032026] A step-by-step path to your first 100 true fans. No ads, no big platform, no guessing. https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026 [https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026] 📒 Join The InkWell Collective [https://alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] — A community of heart-led authors, including regular writing sprints on Zoom. https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective [https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] 📗 Work with Alice one-on-one: alicecrider.com [https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1] or email admin@alicecrider.com [admin@alicecrider.com] 📗 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow — for further reading, his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is the source   Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a comment or review! If this one resonated with you, the kindest thing you can do is leave a review wherever you're listening — it helps other heart-led authors find the show. And if you know a writer who's been living in the chaos of doing-it-all-at-once, send them this episode. It might be just what they need. ⭐ Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts (iOS only) 1. Open the Apple Podcasts app and search for the show. Tap the title to open the main show page. 2. Scroll down to the Ratings & Reviews section and tap the stars to leave your rating. 3. Tap Write a Review, enter your title, comments, and nickname. 4. Tap Send to submit.   *************************** About Your Host Alice Crider is an author coach, book editor, and certified life coach. She has edited hundreds of books and spent decades helping writers move from stuck to published — with their voice, vision, and sanity intact. Her podcast, Your Write Life Coach, exists to give heart-led authors the motivation AND the momentum they need to do the work that matters. Find Alice at alicecrider.com [https://www.alicecrider.com/home-page202032083212-1].

You Either Win or You Learn: Long-Term Thinking for Heart-Led Authors | Ep07

What if the pressure you feel to make it happen right now is the very thing standing between you and a lasting publishing career?   In this episode, I share one of the most powerful — and most overlooked — strategies in publishing: the shift from short-term thinking to long-term thinking. Through two contrasting author stories, a Nelson Mandela quote that reframes rejection entirely, and three qualities that show up in virtually every author who builds something that lasts, I unpack what it really looks like to play the long game.   This isn't about slowing down. It's about building momentum that actually compounds over time.   Key Takeaways * Short-term thinking shows up as the "now or never" mindset — rushing to publish, skipping craft development, burning bridges over rejection, and ignoring reader feedback. * Long-term thinking means every pitch, every rejection, and every fifteen-minute editor appointment is either a win or a lesson — never a loss. * The three P's of long-term thinking: Patience (with yourself, your craft, and the industry), Persistence (focus on the next right step, don't let rejection derail you), and Positivity (become someone people genuinely want to work with). * Authors who show up to serve — rather than to be seen — are the ones who build relationships that stand the test of time. * The publishing world is smaller than it looks. Editors talk. Agents remember. Who you are in the process matters as much as what you produce.   Authors & Stories Mentioned 📜 Robin Jones Gunn — Author of the Christy Miller series, which has been in print for 37 years. Her publishing journey began not from ambition, but from a desire to serve the young girls in her Sunday school class who couldn't find wholesome books to read.   📜 Kathryn Stockett — Author of The Help, which sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major motion picture. She submitted her manuscript to at least 50 agents before landing representation. (Writer's Digest has reported the number was closer to 60.)   📜 Joanna Weaver — Author of Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (over 1 million copies sold) and four additional bestsellers, written over 25 years.   This Week's Invitation   Take one area of your publishing journey where you've been operating from short-term thinking — a pitch you gave up on too fast, a manuscript you shelved after one rejection, a community you stopped showing up in — and look at it with long-term eyes.   Ask yourself: What's the lesson in it? What's still possible if I stay patient and persistent?   Free Resources for You 📒 Free ebook: Book Publishing Essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779385225694] A foundational ebook to help you navigate the publishing journey with clarity and confidence. https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials [https://www.alicecrider.com/book-publishing-essentials] 📒 Free Guide: Creating an Ideal Reader Avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779383966188] Reconnect with who you're actually writing for — a beautiful reset when you've gotten tangled up in what everyone wants instead of who really needs your words. https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/reader-avatar] 📒 Free Download: Your First 100 Readers Roadmap [https://www.alicecrider.com/first100readers032026] A step-by-step path to your first 100 true fans. No ads, no big platform, no guessing. https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026 [https://www.alicecrider.com/100-readers-032026] 📒 Join The InkWell Collective [https://alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] — A community of heart-led authors, including regular writing sprints on Zoom. https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective [https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a comment or review! ⭐ Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts (iOS only) 1. Open the Apple Podcasts app and search for the show. Tap the title to open the main show page. 2. Scroll down to the Ratings & Reviews section and tap the stars to leave your rating. 3. Tap Write a Review, enter your title, comments, and nickname. 4. Tap Send to submit.

Keep the Flame - You Don’t Have to Choose Between Your Life and Your Calling | Ep06

You’ve probably said it. Maybe you’ve said it this week: “I just don’t have time to write.” In this episode, I lovingly, firmly push back on that story — because what looks like a time problem is almost always something deeper. Drawing on my own experience building an online course in the margins of a very full life, and honoring the legacy of my friend Beverly — a writer who published four books while living with a debilitating illness — I make the case that protecting your calling isn’t selfish. It’s an act of stewardship. And it starts with one decision: to stop treating your writing like it doesn’t count. What You’ll Hear in This Episode * Why “I don’t have time” is almost never really about time * My personal story of building my first online course in the margins of a full corporate life — and what it cost me, and what it gave me * The story of Beverly: a writer who published four books despite a debilitating illness * Why your calling is not one more demand on your life — it’s what fills you up * What “tending the flame” actually looks like in a busy, full, real life * The voice-to-text trick that keeps your creativity alive even on your most time-starved days * A permission slip exercise you can do right now — yes, even while you’re listening Key Takeaway “You don’t have to choose between your life and your writing. You just have to stop treating your writing like it doesn’t count — and stop treating yourself like you don’t count.” — Alice Crider This Week’s Invitation Pick one flame-tending ritual — just one — and put it on your calendar like an appointment you actually keep. Then tell someone. Accountability is how intentions become action. Some ideas to get you started: 📗 15 minutes at the kitchen table before the house wakes up 📗 A voice memo captured on your lunch break or school pickup run 📗 One paragraph written before bed 📗 A voice-to-text capture of your ideas on the go — then edit it later when you have time to sit Your Permission Slip As I say in this episode: nobody is going to give you permission to protect your calling. You have to give it to yourself. Finish this sentence — out loud if you can: “I give myself full permission to ________.” Write it down. Say it like you mean it. Because you do. Free Resources for You 📒 Free Guide: Creating an Ideal Reader Avatar [https://www.alicecrider.com/first-100-readers1779383966188] Reconnect with who you're actually writing for — a beautiful reset when you've gotten tangled up in what everyone wants instead of who really needs your words. 📒 Free Download: Your First 100 Readers Roadmap [https://www.alicecrider.com/first100readers032026] A step-by-step path to your first 100 true fans. No ads, no big platform, no guessing. 🖊️ Come find your people Longing for a community where authenticity is actually the strategy — not just a pretty word on a website? That’s The InkWell Collective. There’s a seat for you. → https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective [https://www.alicecrider.com/inkwellcollective] 🖊️ Go deeper Ready for the work that goes straight to the heart of what’s holding you back? I offer private coaching to help you become the dynamic author you’re meant to be — in your writing, on your platform, and in the way you talk about your work. → alicecrider.com [https://alicecrider.com] Don’t miss what’s next If this resonated, hit subscribe wherever you’re listening. New episodes are on the way. You’ve got a story worth telling and a message to deliver. Keep writing, friend.