Episodes

  • 3 Cornerstones of Every Story / Quick Tips for Writers 3 / 7:18
    Apr 29 2026

    We’re onto our third episode in the Quick Tips for Writers series. What are the three cornerstones of every story we write, no matter the length or genre or purpose?

    TIMINGS

    • 00:40 Introduction
    • 01:10 QT 3: Three Cornerstones of Every Story
    • 03:17 Closing

    Total Run Time = 4:17

    LINK

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/04/three-cornerstones-of-story-quick-tips.html

    Licensed Music with the Quick Tips content is “Simple Acoustic Guitar” from the creator applehillstudios on Audio Jungle. The music is licensed for podcast and YouTube. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration, also licensed from Audio Jungle for the purpose of podcast and YouTube.

    All short videos with the video are from Pexels.com, a site that offers free short videos, some with sound (turned off for this posting).

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools.

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    • You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
    • Also available: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

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    4 mins
  • Before I Start Writing / Quick Tips for Writers 2 / 7:17
    Apr 22 2026

    In this second episode of the Quick Tips for Writers series, we look at another topic which trips writers up. Whether a total newbie or a seasoned writer, we all ask the same question. It’s the same questions every time we start a new story. How much do I need before I start writing?

    TIMINGS

    • 00:40 Welcome
    • 01:10 How much do I need before I start writing?
    • 04:33 Closing

    Total Run Time = 5:33

    LINK

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/04/quick-tips-for-writers-2-717.html

    Licensed Music with the Quick Tips content is “Simple Acoustic Guitar” from the creator applehillstudios on Audio Jungle. The music is licensed for podcast and YouTube. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration, also licensed from Audio Jungle for the purpose of podcast and YouTube.

    All short videos with the video are from Pexels.com, a site that offers free short videos, some with sound (turned off for this posting).

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools.

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    • You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
    • Also available: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

    Content copyright is 2020 to 2026, Writers Ink Books.

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    6 mins
  • How do I start writing? / Quick Tips for Writers 1 / 7:16
    Apr 15 2026
    The Write Focus brings in a Blast from the Past, from Summer 2025. Thirteen—count `em, 13—posts that distill over 30 years of writing knowledge and 10 years of publishing writing. Host M.A. Lee has 60-plus novel-length titles under three pen names that guide this information. We hope you find a spot of wisdom in each of these Quick Tips for Writers. In our first episode of the series, we answer every writer’s burning question: “What do I need to start writing?” TIMINGS 00:40 Introduction01:10 Quick Tip 14:14 Closing Total Run Time = 5:14 LINK Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/04/quick-tips-for-writers-1-716.html Licensed Music with the Quick Tips content is “Simple Acoustic Guitar” from the creator applehillstudios on Audio Jungle. The music is licensed for podcast and YouTube. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration, also licensed from Audio Jungle for the purpose of podcast and YouTube. All short videos with the video are from Pexels.com, a site that offers free short videos, some with sound (turned off for this posting). Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. As a Blast from the Past, our current focus is a series entitled Quick Tips for Writers. Here is a link to the playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7JoFvT3aJEZPpneLjOH1Ur_&si=j8n2yOeaJz05H4bY Select the most recent episode through the URL after the TIMINGS. Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Also available: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand. For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com . Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com. If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.) Listen on your favorite podcast site: from Apple to YouTube, Spotify and Podbean (my favs), Google Play, Amazon Music and Audible, Samsung and Player FM, Deezer and Podcaster, the rivals iHeart and Tune-in, and too many to list. Here are the easiest. Make us a favorite, and follow along easy-peasy, once a week, while you fix a quick dinner, drive a short commute, or take a brisk walk. My favorite podcast is Podbean. https://eden5695.podbean.com/ YouTube direct link to the Current Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7IZWMlW9kLwMNEkuLMySGnq Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-write-focus/id1546738740%20 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4fMwknmfJhkJxQvaaLQ3Gm?si=ffeb71ed17c3409d Amazon/Audible https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/062ecc60-d61c-432a-ad99-8234c1044ef1 ListenNotes https://lnns.co/y_Jg5rpaMNo Google https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2VkZW41Njk1L2ZlZWQueG1s Tune-In https://tunein.com/podcasts/p1608565/ IHeart Radio https://iheart.com/podcast/90647163 Content copyright is 2020 to 2026, Writers Ink Books.
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    5 mins
  • MORE: Easter / Bright Sunday with Creativity Refresh 15 / 7:15 (last in series)
    Apr 12 2026

    Our More: Easter series concludes in this episode with my confession of a longtime failing and the way I’m casting off that sin … which was one of the motivations for the entire series on More.

    And our final Creativity for Writers segment, we consider the daily practice of gratitude to the greatest Creator of all.

    TIMINGS

    • 00:40 Introduction
    • 00:50 Bright Sunday
    • 06:20 Creativity Refresh 15
    • 10:22 Last Words and Next Series
    • 11:05 Closing

    Total Run Time = 12:05

    LINKS

    Prazoli Christian Bible Prayer Journal https://www.amazon.com/Prazoli-Christian-Prayer-Journal-3-Month/dp/B0D3PFXNX5/

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-easter-bright-sunday-with.html

    Licensed Music with the Easter segment is entitled “Soft Beautiful Hope Piano” from the creator Nehliudoff on Audio Jungle while that with the Writing segment, with the same title, is from the creator Little Victory, also on Audio Jungle. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration.

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    12 mins
  • MORE: Easter / Bright Saturday with Creativity for Writers 14 / 7:14
    Apr 11 2026

    David’s prayer in Psalm 143 is our focus, following God’s timeline rather than the world’s.

    In the Creativity for Writers segment, we look at three techniques to generate new ideas from the blankness.

    TIMINGS

    • 00:40 Introduction
    • 00:50 Bright Saturday
    • 06:06 Creativity Refresh 14
    • 11:12 Closing

    Total Run Time = 12:12

    LINK

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-easter-bright-saturday-and.html

    Licensed Music with the Easter segment is entitled “Soft Beautiful Hope Piano” from the creator Nehliudoff on Audio Jungle while that with the Writing segment, with the same title, is from the creator Little Victory, also on Audio Jungle. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration.

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    12 mins
  • MORE: Easter / Bright Friday with Creativity Refresh 13 / 7:13
    Apr 10 2026

    As we age, we think the three most common bedtime prayers for children are only for the little people. They seem too plain for our complex lives.

    Our mistake is when we try to make our prayers more when simple is better.

    In looking at the simple, we often see things we have forgotten because our so-called complex lives are actually only filled with distractions.

    In the Creativity for Writers segment, we look at overcoming the burdens of the daily grind by awakening our child.

    TIMINGS

    • 00:40 Introduction
    • 00:50 Bright Friday
    • 08:40 Creativity Refresh 13
    • 12:02 Closing

    Total Run Time = 13:03

    LINKS

    Versions of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_I_Lay_Me_Down_to_Sleep

    The Shema https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KQLOuIKaRA

    Christ with four arch-angels Painting https://media.craiyon.com/2025-04-10/cNA-qexEQ2SwteWDcqbNKg.webp

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-easter-bright-friday-with.html

    Licensed Music with the Easter segment is entitled “Soft Beautiful Hope Piano” from the creator Nehliudoff on Audio Jungle while that with the Writing segment, with the same title, is from the creator Little Victory, also on Audio Jungle. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration.

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    13 mins
  • MORE: Easter / Bright Thursday with Creativity Refresh 12 / 7:12
    Apr 9 2026

    While the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed and even little Glory Be offer the basic tenets of Christian faith, we can still add more to intensify our daily walk with Christ.

    More can mean a greater understanding of the church year, such as knowing Holy Week and Bright Week. More can also mean additional readings to add to our daily devotions.

    Reading through the Bible can be a challenging daily devotion, especially when we are deep into Leviticus or the minor prophets or weeping Jeremiah. Supplementing with additional small readings can make the uphill struggle of the laws or the Lamentations bearable.

    The Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi is one such addition.

    In the Creativity for Writers segment, we consider the hardest method of all to refresh our creativity.

    TIMINGS

    • 00:40 Introduction
    • 00:50 Bright Thursday
    • 04:40 Creativity Refresh 12
    • 09:05 Closing

    Total Run Time = 10:30

    LINKS

    The Prayer As a Song https://youtu.be/ZABZroCGXTU?si=J0OYhJ763_KXJnZf

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-easter-bright-thursday-with.html

    Licensed Music with the Easter segment is entitled “Soft Beautiful Hope Piano” from the creator Nehliudoff on Audio Jungle while that with the Writing segment, with the same title, is from the creator Little Victory, also on Audio Jungle. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration.

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    10 mins
  • MORE: Easter / Bright WED, Emmaus, & Creativity Refresh 11 / 7:11
    Apr 8 2026

    He is Risen! That’s the word the women gave, based on the evidence of the tomb and the word of the bright angel who reassured them.

    Yet the disciples could not bring themselves to believe. They wanted to, desperately, but their earthly realism prevented complete belief.

    Our focus today is on the event three days after the Crucifixion, on the day of the Resurrection, when two of the Jesus’ followers are walking on the road to Emmaus.

    In the Creativity Refresh segment, we discuss the management of two guiding principles of writing that constantly affect creativity.

    TIMINGS

    • 00:41 Introduction
    • 00:50 Bright Wednesday
    • 06:00 Creativity Refresh 11
    • 10:50 Closing

    Total Run Time = 11:51

    LINK

    Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-easter-bright-wednesday-emmaus-and.html

    Licensed Music with the Easter segment is entitled “Soft Beautiful Hope Piano” from the creator Nehliudoff on Audio Jungle while that with the Writing segment, with the same title, is from the creator Little Victory, also on Audio Jungle. Music for the opening and closing segments are in the narration.

    All short videos with the video are from Pexels.com, a site that offers free short videos, some with sound.

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    12 mins