Leigh Bardugo on Pushing Past Writing Struggles & Outlining Your Story Idea

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We have author Leigh Bardugo of #1 New York Times Bestseller “Six of Crows” on the show with us today! Entertainment Weekly says, “…it’s one twist after another in a heist at times reminiscent of Inception.”

We chat about everything: Her time as a professional make-up artist, an insider’s look at how authors are involved with their own book covers (if at all), the inspiration behind her books, how ‘structure’ can be an awesome writing tool, and we talk a lot about WRITING RETREATS (one of our favorite topics.)

Recommended Books & Resources:

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold

Madcap Retreats

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What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

Advice on building an intricate and exciting world for your stories
How knowing the ending of your story helps with the process of writing the first draft
Leigh’s writing process
How to find the perfect writing retreat to create a productive environment for you

The incredible advantages of writing retreats

Learn more about “Ninth House”

The mesmerizing adult debut from #1 New York Timesbestselling author Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

Learn more about Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over three million copies sold worldwide, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars—with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including The Best of Tor.com and the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and the forthcoming Ninth House. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and even makeup and special effects. These days, she lives and writes in Los Angeles