Publishing Details
About This Podcast
Do you fancy yourself a writer? Stuck in neutral and cannot get past the first page? Been there, done that.
Welcome to Off Grid - a podcast service for writers, would-be writers, and readers of historical and mystery/suspense fiction. It is entitled “Off Grid” for two reasons:
1.- the practice called “freewriting” is an alternative to the grid-based, outlined, and preplanned writing style we were all exposed to in school. There is a better way for those of us who cannot function like that.
2. - I have really gone “Off Grid” - sold our family home in Centralia where we raised 3 of our own, helped with grandchildren, and welcomed almost 40 foster children to our beautiful extended family. Time for a change after 25 years.
So we have gone off grid - taking to the road to discover a whole new range of experiences and intrigues.
I will be featuring ideas and excerpts from my Juno Letters and Carlisle Journal series as they relate to topics of interest. New fiction will follow, and will be debuted here.
We will keep an running account of our travels and how they relate to this writing style.
For an inspiring book on free writing, the one that caught me in its web in college years ago, check out “Writing-without-Teachers” by Professor Peter Elbow ). [This is an unsolicited recommendation]
In the near future the podcast will become a for-fee service, but for now they remain free. Once the serve is set up, your one-time subscription will include ebook copies of all 14 books in my Juno Letters series. For audio, paperback, and hard cover versions, visit junoletters.us for links into the Amazon sites.
Have fun.
I’m L.W. Hewitt, and I’ve gone OFF GRID
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Recent Episodes
S2E1 Obfuscation - try it out
Try this method of creating thorough characters, scenes, and locations then trimming down to engage and capture the attention and imagination of your readers
S1E14 Writer's Block
Do you get stuck in neutral? Can't get off a single line of readable narrative or dialogue? Well, it's called writers block and we all go through it. Take a listen - here are some ideas to break the…
S1E13 A Better Writing Tool
If you have tried to write your novel on a traditional word processor I know a good psychologist you should talk to. There is a better way. This episode is all about Scrivener by Literature and…
S1E12 Be Your Toughest Editor
Editing is more than proofreading. Whether you self-edit or use a professional it is crucial to spend time polishing your draft before putting it out for editing - give your editor the opportunity to…
S1E11 The Power of Photographs
This pod cast is taken from Book 4 of The Juno Letters. It relies heavily on a rather long example so you may want to download the narrative and follow along.Photographs can be powerful plot agents…
S1E10 Objects as Plot Vehicles - The Hotel Lancaster
Here is another example from one of my books - The Hotel Lancaster. Tye podcast is about using objects you see in the world around you as plot vehicles. I suggest you download the narrative on this…
S1E9 Scene Repetition
There are times when borrowing a scene from one of your own works can be a useful tool. Take a look at a couple of examples. I suggest you download the narrative and follow along as it uses examples…
S1E8 Methods and Other Madness
This episode looks at some of the methodologies to improve your writing at the scene level.I recommend you download the narrative and follow along. The example sections are much clearer when you can…
S1E7 Dynamic Dualism - a Balancing Act
We'v e seen some examples of plot development, so let's go back and talk about some of the writing principles mentioned in those episodes - DETAIL vs CONTEXT.
S1E6 Letters and Journals - the Stuff of History; Part 2
This is part two of the topic, Letters and Journals.It is based on book #11 of The Jun.o Letters series, Murder on the Red Ball Express.See how a bizarre real-life letter led to a plot of a timely…
S1E5 Letters and Journals - the Stuff of History; Part 1
This episode is based on The Juno Letters, Book 1 of the Juno Letters series. It uses examples from the novel to illustrate key ways a journal can stimulate plot ideas for an historical novel.The…
S1E4 My Writing Place - Creating the Right Environment
There is a lot to be said about creating your space and time to sit down and write. It is all about changing habits and relishing the creative time you have.My own experience may give you some ideas.…
S1E3 A Beginner's Guide to Freewriting
Freewriting is a method that lets people like me who love to explore their creative side without the traditional constraints of that old high school writing class everyone hated. There are methods…
S1E2 Be a Writer
It's a bit scary. You know a bunch of people who say they write, but never send you a copy of their work. You checked for them at Amazon ... no show.You have a great idea ... but where do you start.…
S1E1 Welcome to Off Grid
This is my first podcast upload and I am excited to bring my experiences in writing to you. I began my journey in 2012 when I said "good riddance" to the workaday world and the small technology…
Frequently Asked Questions
Off Grid - a freewriter's journey has published 15 episodes since January 2025, covering topics in Arts, Books.
Off Grid - a freewriter's journey is currently dormant with new episodes every few days. Average episode length is 5m.
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