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Lit Lessons on Flight School

NYT Bestselling Author, Jennifer Lauck

Internationally celebrated author with 25+ years of teaching experience who demystifies the creative writing game. Learn what you need to finish a memorable and publishable book in simple, easy to understand lessons.

jenniferlauck.substack.com
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  • 22 episodes
  • Avg 31 min
  • English

Episodes 22

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  • Aug 20, 2025 · 48 min

    The Question That Changes Everything: Who Are You Writing For?

    Hi and welcome back to Flight School: If you missed our live summer conversation, not to worry. I’ve edited it and present it here. Watch and witness writers discovering their true audience and experiencing real-time breakthroughs. Our central question (thanks to Becky) was deceptively simple: Who do you want to talk to in your own writing? Stories found their direction and writers claimed their heroic journeys. It was pretty impressive to behold. The Heart of the Conversation Writers in our intimate group revealed their own specific audiences: an estranged son and fellow military "brats" (00:05:53), people struggling with workplace corruption (00:07:38), those without family creating community from isolation (00:17:16), and future grandchildren not yet born (00:20:13). One writer shared her family's grace: "May we have eyes that see, ears that hear, hearts that love, and hands that help each other" (00:21:51)—which became the perfect opening scene for her memoir (00:23:33). We also delved into the challenges of writing difficult topics, the legal realities of using real names (00:33:19), and the fundamental truth that scene writing—not idea writing—being what allows story to emerge in an authentic manner (00:30:26). Three Key Takeaways 1. The More Specific Your Audience, The More Universal Your Impact When you write to reach one particular person or group, emotional stakes become clear and you touch the human experience we all share. 2. Trust the Story to Drive Itself Like a self-driving car (00:16:15), your story will find its way to the heroic destination if you commit to writing in scene—specific moments in time where something happens. Keep your hands off the analytical wheel and trust the process. 3. All Writing is Autobiographical Whether writing fiction or memoir, you cannot write what you don't know (00:38:52), and you are always the hero of your story. The only question is whether you'll be tragic or transformed. The writing itself will show you. Watch, listen, and when done, please join in the conversation. ✍🏻Your Turn: Who do you want to talk to in your own writing? Share your answer in the comments. Try to be specific, vulnerable, and see if the answer reveals itself through the question itself. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jenniferlauck.substack.com/subscribe

  • Aug 6, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min

    Time Management + Scene Writing = Breakthrough

    Hi and welcome to Flight School: Our first paid-subscriber Studio titled Perils & Promise was a hit. Thanks to everyone who showed up live. REMINDER: The Second Perils and Promise with Becky and me is coming August 14th. If you are a paid-subscriber, you get in free. Look for your code in the footer of the email. ** Remember to add the bird. Two core teachings arose from this first conversation: Managing time and writing in scene. ⏰ Let’s start with time: Whether it was Bruce, at seventy-seven, who worried about running out of time, Lori at eighty, wondering if she has the energy to finish her novel, or our younger writers juggling kids and careers, the struggle with time was universal but we learned it isn't about time but about consistency within your capacity. "I am a full-time believer in writing habits, pedestrian as it all may sound. You may be able to do without them if you have genius, but most of us only have talent, and this is simply something that has to be assisted all the time by physical and mental habits, or it dries up and blows away...I only write two hours every day because that's all the energy I have, but I don't let anything interfere with those two hours, at the same time and the same place." ~ Flannery O’Connor 1. Assess Your Real Capacity Ask yourself Flannery's question: What energy do I actually have? Not what you think you should have but what you actually have available. For some of us, it’s fifteen-minute bursts, others get an hour in the morning, and still others get three. Bottom line: Find out what you CAN DO and do it. 2. Protect Your Time Fiercely The magic isn't in the duration—it's in the reliability. Find YOUR time and then protect it like your life depends on it. Because your writing life does. 3. Trust Process Over the Product This last is the hardest lesson of all: showing up matters more than what you produce. For the Time-Pressed and Energy-Limited If you're feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of your project: Start with lists. Human beings are extraordinary list-makers. Ten moments with your father. Ten defining experiences. Ten scenes that matter. Write big, then slim down. Give yourself permission to overwrite. Becky's father's story was once 300 pages—now it's 32. But she needed those 300 pages to find the 32 that mattered. Trust the reader. You need less connective tissue than you think. Those moments in time will speak to each other. 📝Great writing is sensual not mental Now you have a handle on managing your time, it’s time to discipline your method. Write in scene. Always and evermore. Amen. Did you know that a reader needs at least three sensual cues to feel as if they are “in” your story? It’s true. If you are telling, you are not writing well. If you are showing (another way to say writing scene), you are on your way becoming a great writer. Scene-writing takes your idea into the material world and “enlivens” it. Learn how to do this NOW. Take Scene vs. Exposition. If you are a paid subscriber, you get 20% off. Do it. Once you get scene writing, watch the quality of your work rise like phoenix. More tips on scene: * Manageable scope: One moment in time versus an entire life story * Natural stopping points: When the scene ends, you can rest * Cumulative power: Each scene builds your story and your skills * Revelation through action: As Becky noted, "Scene will corner you and take you to that moment you haven't really been wanting to write about” REMINDER: The Second Perils and Promise Conversation with Becky and Jennifer is coming August 14th. If you are paid, you get in free. Look for your code in the footer of the email. Remember to add the bird. ✍🏻 Your turn: What is your writing practice right now? How do you keep going when you want to give up? Thanks for being here, and I look forward to seeing you all soon, Jennifer ~ 🐦‍⬛ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jenniferlauck.substack.com/subscribe

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