How To Write The Future

“It's hard to fix a manuscript that is not yet finished. This is what I counsel all of my clients and people who might want to work with me is write the whole first draft because there's something that brought you to the story.” - Beth BaranyIn this How To Write the Future episode, “How to Handle Plot Holes Effectively,” host Beth Barany answers a listener's question on how to handle your story's plot holes when you’re deep into writing the rough draft and how to take the necessary steps, depending on whether you’re a plotter or a panster.In this episode:Gain insight into how to handle plot holesTips to help you solve the problems in your story developmentGET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING - START HEREFree World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCASTSign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/Support our work for creatives!Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/bethbaranySHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDadeEDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompartc. 2025 BETH BARANYhttps://bethbarany.com/Questions? Comments? Send us a text!--- CONNECTContact BethLinkedInCREDITSEDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)MUSIC: Uppbeat.ioDISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

“In my opinion, the cure for writer's block is writing -- pure and simple.” - Beth BaranyDo you wonder why you’re not writing and wish you were? Then listen to “Writer's Block: Five Steps Forward,” the latest How To Write the Future podcast episode, where host and writing teacher, Beth Barany, shares five steps forward that you can put into action to help with your writer’s block. Plus, she shares the importance of creating a safe writing space and how to create a routine that will help you progress daily in your WIP. ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCASTThe How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING - START HEREFree World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/GET SOME FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCASTSign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/Support our work for creatives!Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/bethbaranySHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDadeEDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompartc. 2025 BETH BARANYhttps://bethbarany.com/Questions? Comments? Send us a text!--- CONNECTContact BethLinkedInCREDITSEDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)MUSIC: Uppbeat.ioDISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

“I am currently deeply involved with the process and the importance of creativity in the second half of life.” - Catherine BramkampIn this episode of How To Write the Future, “Writing Through Chaos: Creativity and Resilience with Catharine Bramkamp,” host Beth Barany chats with fellow writing and creativity coach Catharine Bramkamp. Catharine dives into why creativity matters in the second half of life and shares resources to keep your spark going. Together, they explore how life’s chaos can actually fuel creativity and compare how artists in the past and today respond to turbulent times.ABOUT CATHARINE BRAMKAMPCatharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach, Chief Storytelling Officer, former co-producer of Newbie Writers Podcast, and author of a dozen books including the Real Estate Diva Mysteries series, and The Future Girls series. She holds two degrees in English and is an adjunct university professor. After fracturing her wrist, she has figured out there is very little she is able to do with one hand tied behind her back. She delights in inspiring her readers.Website: https://catharine-bramkamp.com/Catharine Bramkamp books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Catharine-Bramkamp/author/B009NI5CN0Real Estate Diva Mystery Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0843TJ54YFuture Girl: https://www.amazon.com/Future-Girls-Changing-harder-looks-ebook/dp/B07NDF21Y8RESOURCESGET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING - START HERE - Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/GET FREE WRITING COACHING LIVE ON THE PODCAST - Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDadeEDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompartc. 2025 BETH BARANYhttps://bethbarany.com/Questions? Comments? Send us a text!--- CONNECTContact BethLinkedInCREDITSEDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)MUSIC: Uppbeat.ioDISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

“I try to write worlds that I believe are attainable and that I think we can aspire towards.” - Abigail Hing WenIn this future‑forward episode of How To Write The Future, host Beth Barany chats with author‑filmmaker Abigail Hing Wen about The Vale — a middle‑grade fantasy where a family builds a clean, AI‑generated virtual world. They get into why ethical AI matters for storytellers, what “clean AI” looks like, and the real‑world tradeoffs creators face as tech evolves.Why ethical AI matters for writers and readersWhat “clean AI” means: trained on your work and public‑domain classicsCraft meets tech: worldbuilding across book, short film, and RobloxPractical questions around indemnification, settlements, and building responsiblyABOUT ABIGAIL HING WENAbigail Hing Wen is an author, film producer and director as well as former tech executive. She is the New York Times best selling author of multiple novels for young people, including Loveboat, Taipei, which has been adapted as the movie Love in Taipei, now on Netflix. Abigail served as an executive producer and on set during production. Abigail is directing her first short film starring Lea Salonga, a prequel to her middle grade debut THE VALE, coming September 2025, and featuring an inventor family that builds an AI generated virtual world. She serves on the board of Harvardwood and as a judge for the 2025 Golden Trailer Awards recognizing the industry’s most outstanding film trailers.Abigail is a frequent keynote speaker for young people, including Y’Allfest, US Presidential Scholars, and the Los Altos High Writer's Week, as well as libraries, colleges, schools and bookstores around the country. She’s also given keynotes and fireside chats for the National Conference of State Legislatures, Meta, Google, Paramount, Paypal and other companies, and spoken on panels at SDCC, LACC, LA Times Festival of Books and ALA.Website: www.abigailhingwen.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailhingwen/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/search?q=abigailhingwenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailhingwen/RESOURCES: GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING - START HEREFree World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDadeEDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompartc. 2025 BETH BARANYQuestions? Comments? Send us a text!--- CONNECTContact BethLinkedInCREDITSEDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)MUSIC: Uppbeat.ioDISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465

“Written from the point of view of one character and then another scene from the another character. Now, we would never shift point of view within a scene, but each scene, each segment of the book is from a different point of view.” - Lawrence ConnollyIn this How To Write the Future episode, “Building Character-Driven Action Adventure Stories with Lawrence Connolly,” podcast host Beth Barany interviews author Lawrence Connolly, where they explore his upcoming exciting projects, including a feature film with his brother and his new novel. They also dive into using deep POV to create characters that are emotionally compelling to draw a reader into the author's world and share advice for writers working on film adaptations.ABOUT LAWRENCE C. CONNOLLYLawrence C. Connolly’s books include the collections This Way to Egress, whose titular tale of psychological horror was adapted for the Mick Garris film Nightmare Cinema; and the Bram-Stoker-nominated Voices, which features Connolly’s best stories from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone, Year’s Best Horror, and other top magazines and anthologies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. A third collection, Visions, was praised by Publishers Weekly for featuring an eclectic mix of “entertaining and satisfying” SF. His novels include the eco-thrillers Veins, Vipers, and Vortex. World Fantasy Award winner T. E. D. Klein called Veins “a crime thriller as intense and fast-moving as a Tarantino movie.” This fall, Caezik Science Fiction will release his new novel Minute-Men: Execute & Run, a globetrotting adventure that combines elements of military science fiction, gaming, and medical suspense in a thrilling reinvention of the superhero genre. He is collaborating with brother Christopher Connolly and Academy Award-winning producer Jonathan Sanger to develop a feature film based on Execute & Run. He is also the writer of Mystery Theatre, a podcast produced by Prime Stage Theatre, who premiered his adaptation of Frankenstein in 2022. His newset commission, a play based on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, opens in November 2025 at Pittsburgh’s New Hazelett Theatre.More at MinuteMenNovel.com. Website: https://lawrencecconnolly.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawrence.c.connolly.9Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawrence_c_connolly/SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth BaranySHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDadeEDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompartc. 2025 BETH BARANYhttps://bethbarany.com/Questions? Comments? Send us a text!--- CONNECTContact BethLinkedInCREDITSEDITED WITH DESCRIPT (Affiliate link)MUSIC: Uppbeat.ioDISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1994465