The Confident Fiction Author

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The Confident Fiction Author

Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

44 episodes

1 week ago

Have you ever had a story idea that included a character or culture outside of your own—and then hesitated? You wondered, What if I get it wrong? What if readers call me out? In this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, I talk about how you can respectfully and confidently write beyond your own experiences. Because if we only ever write from our personal worlds, our stories will be flat, limited, and missing the depth readers crave. Here’s what you’ll discover in this episo...

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Have you ever had a story idea that included a character or culture outside of your own—and then hesitated? You wondered, What if I get it wrong? What if readers call me out? In this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, I talk about how you can respectfully and confidently write beyond your own experiences. Because if we only ever write from our personal worlds, our stories will be flat, limited, and missing the depth readers crave. Here’s what you’ll discover in this episo...

Show more...

Episodes (20/44)

The Confident Fiction Author

#44: Writing Beyond Your Own Experience — Respectfully Portraying the “Other”

Have you ever had a story idea that included a character or culture outside of your own—and then hesitated? You wondered, What if I get it wrong? What if readers call me out? In this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, I talk about how you can respectfully and confidently write beyond your own experiences. Because if we only ever write from our personal worlds, our stories will be flat, limited, and missing the depth readers crave. Here’s what you’ll discover in this episo...

1 week ago

28 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#43: How to Win Arguments with Your Writing Brain

Have you ever wanted to do something simple—like leave a book review, reply to a reader email, or edit a single chapter—yet it suddenly felt impossible? Instead of tackling the task, you’d rather scroll Instagram or take out the trash. Sound familiar? That’s your writing brain arguing with you. In this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, I share why your brain resists even small creative tasks and, most importantly, how you can win those arguments. Here’s what you’ll disco...

3 weeks ago

14 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#42: Why You Should Stop Fearing the Dictation Mess

Let’s be honest: dictated drafts can look messy. I still remember the first full scene I dictated—nearly 1,500 words while doing dishes. When I had it transcribed, it looked like it had been chewed up and spit out by autocorrect: Missing punctuation, random words, broken sentences. I almost gave up right then. But here’s what I discovered (and what I share in this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast): messy drafts aren’t a failure. They’re the key to momentum. In this episo...

1 month ago

13 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#41: How to Start Dictating Your Novel Today (No Fancy Gear Required)

Does the thought of dictating your novel bring up images of expensive microphones, digital recorders, and pricey software? That’s exactly what kept me from dictating my fiction for years. Back when the Dragon Dictation software cost hundreds of dollars (and came on CD-ROMs!), I thought I’d need at least $1,000 worth of gear before I could even get started. But here’s the secret: you don’t need fancy gear to dictate your fiction. In this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, ...

1 month ago

15 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#40: From Epic Failure to Fiction Freedom: My Journey With Dictation

When you hear the word dictation, you might picture speed—writers rattling off 10,000 words a day and hitting sky-high word counts. But here’s the truth I share in this episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast: dictation isn’t about speed. It’s about building a sustainable fiction writing career. In this episode, I open up about: How I went from an epic failure at dictation to making it the cornerstone of my writing life.The hidden toll typing takes on your body (and how dictation can ...

2 months ago

19 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#39: [ENCORE EPISODE] Rethink Your Mornings

This week, I’m bringing back an encore episode of one of the most practical and encouraging topics we’ve covered: my morning routine. Now, let me start by acknowledging—you might not be a morning person. And that’s perfectly fine! When Hal Elrod released his book The Miracle Morning, he found that 75% of his readers were self-proclaimed not-morning people. Yet, once they discovered the possibilities of a mindful, intentional start to the day, everything changed. I’m not here to convince you ...

2 months ago

24 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#38: Never Give Up: Why Your Writing Dream Is Worth Holding On

Have you ever felt like maybe it’s just not working? Like you’ve been trying, learning, starting over… and still haven’t “arrived” where you thought you’d be by now? I get it. I’ve lived it. But here’s the truth I’ve learned over and over: If you don’t quit, you’ll get to live your dream. In this episode of The Confident Fiction Author, I’m sharing a personal look into how I’ve been able to live the writing life I dreamed of—even though I’ve never had a breakout success or viral hit. It’s not...

3 months ago

21 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#37: Too young? Too old? What is the ideal age to become a fiction author?

Is there such a thing as the ideal age to become a fiction author? You might think it’s in your twenties or thirties when energy is high and dreams are fresh. Or maybe after retirement, when you finally have time to chase that creative passion. In this week’s episode of The Confident Fiction Author Podcast, I share a story that breaks the mold—a 91-year-old woman who wrote her very first piece of fiction so she could join my anthology. Her sister joined in, too. She was 89. I also talk about ...

3 months ago

20 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#36: Writing Seasons: How to Balance the Page and the Pile-Up

Have you ever hit a stretch where the to-do list takes over, and your writing feels like a distant dream? Or maybe you’ve been deep in a fiction writing groove, but everything else—laundry, emails, life—starts to pile up behind you? In this episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, I’m talking about writing seasons—those natural rhythms where either your fiction or your life needs more of your attention. Here’s the key: It’s okay to let one side pile up for a time…as long as you’re ...

4 months ago

24 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#35: Why Doing “Nothing” is Productive for Your Fiction Writing

When was the last time you did nothing? I’m not talking about scrolling your phone or checking emails while waiting in line. I mean really doing nothing—just letting your mind wander. Some years ago, I came across a quote from an entrepreneur who advised you to, “Take one hour a day where you do absolutely nothing but sit and think.” There’s something powerful in that. In this episode of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, I’m sharing why stepping away might be exactly what you need to move...

4 months ago

30 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#34: How to Build Self-Trust as a Fiction Author

Ever feel like your writing goals slip through your fingers—not because you're not capable, but because deep down, you didn’t trust yourself to follow through? In this episode of The Confident Fiction Author, I’m sharing a personal story about a jet ski rescue during a storm, and how it revealed something powerful about confidence, courage, and self-trust. You'll learn why courage matters, but why building self-trust matters more—and how small wins in your writing life can lead to last...

4 months ago

21 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#33: From the Vault - The 5-Minute Fiction Habit

In 2024, I developed a habit I'm still using called "5-minute fiction." I did a podcast episode on this powerful writing hack, and I'm bringing it back for you this week. My "5-Minute Fiction: New Habit for the New Year" (episode #10) is my most downloaded episode, and for good reason. This little hack is helping authors around the world write more consistently, and it's helping authors take their first steps in dictating their fiction. So for this episode, I recorded a new introduction to in...

5 months ago

25 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#32: The Broken Emoji: Writing Through the Mess of Being Human

You know that weird thing your phone does—when you write a word and it offers you an emoji instead? That happened once when I wrote the word broken. It offered to change it to a sad or angry face which caught me off guard. But it’s a true reaction, isn’t it? Sadness, anger. Those emotions do happen when we’re broken in grief, frustration, overwhelm. This week’s podcast episode, “The Broken Emoji,” is a raw and honest look at: 💔 Writing in your brokenness – When you're still in the th...

5 months ago

16 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#31: Managing Reader Expectations: What Every Author Should Know

Have you ever met a fan of your work and walked away wondering… Was I a letdown? I’ve been there (more than once). It’s a weird space to navigate. As fiction authors, we pour years of emotion, imagination, and experience into our books. Readers get to know us across thousands of words. And yet, when they finally meet us in person, we’re just… human. That brief moment can never live up to the world we've created on the page. And that can feel awkward, even disheartening. In this week’s podcast...

5 months ago

25 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#30: How to Become a Reader Again

If you’re a fiction author who hasn’t felt like a reader in a while… you’re not alone. Between writing deadlines, life demands, and constant distractions, it’s easy to fall out of the habit of reading for joy. But if you want to write powerful fiction, you need to feed your creative well. That’s what this week’s podcast episode, I walk you through simple, doable ways to fall back in love with reading—even if it’s been a while: 📖 Choose the Format That Works for You – Audiobooks, eBooks, pa...

5 months ago

17 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#29: How to Make Mental Adjustments in a Crisis to Keep Writing (Part 2)

Let’s face it: crisis doesn’t knock—it crashes in. Maybe it's a family emergency, a health scare, or some other chaos that pulls you away from your writing desk. I’ve been there recently—seven intense weeks deep after a car accident—and I finally feel like I’m coming up for air with my fiction writing. In this week’s podcast episode, “How to Make Mental Adjustments in a Crisis to Keep Writing (Part 2),” I’m sharing three real-world ways to keep writing even in the middle of a crisis. These...

5 months ago

20 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#28: Should You Hire a Sensitivity Reader?

Most authors are concerned about getting it wrong when writing about other cultures or anything they've not personally experienced, including disabilities and traumas. When it comes to cultural differences especially, many authors are feeling the pressure to hire a sensitivity reader. But should you? That's the question I'm going to answer in this episode, because I get this question quite a bit. I teach authors how to accurately and respectfully include Native American characters in thei...

6 months ago

18 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#27: Burn the Candle: A Gentle Nudge Toward an Abundant Writing Life

There’s a candle on my stove that I once treated like treasure. I’d light it only on “special” days—afraid that once I'd burned it down, I'd lose that treasure. One day, I realized something simple but powerful: I could burn the candle, enjoy it fully, and then… buy another one. There is no shortage of lovely candles, but I was subconsciously stuck in thinking that I needed to be careful not to burn through that one too fast. That’s what a scarcity mindset looks like. And you know what? It ...

6 months ago

17 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#26: How to Dictate Your Next Novel

If you're a regular listener of my podcast, you know I love to dictate my fiction, and you know I love to teach my fellow authors how. And that's the key. I heard so many authors gush about the huge wordcounts they were racking up simply by speaking their words. They were doing it while out on hikes or loading groceries into their car. It sounded like the coolest thing, but every time I heard a story and tried to dictate fiction, I failed. Fast forward years later, and I was finally able ...

6 months ago

44 minutes

The Confident Fiction Author

#25: 4 Ways You Can Borrow a Skilled Author's Confidence

In January of this year, I flew an airplane. As in, a real airplane. How? Because I was able to borrow a skilled pilot’s confidence. And I needed to borrow it, because I had no confidence in my ability to even try (I know, because this was a second-chance for me to be daring!). I wouldn’t have even tried, except for one thing: The pilot was confident I could do it with his instructions. So I borrowed that confidence and flew the plane. That experience stuck with me, because so many tim...

7 months ago

31 minutes