Craft is the heart of the writing life, and in today's show, I discuss Plot Gardening with Chris Fox, as well as some thoughts on how to build a career for the long-term. In the introduction, I mention my research for the next Mapwalker dark fantasy novel, as well as preparing for year-end. Plus, some of your thoughts on the changes at Amazon that I discussed last week. Today's show is sponsored by my own courses for writers, including How to Write a Novel, How to Write Non-Fiction, Creative Freedom, and Content Marketing for Fiction. Click here to find out more. Chris Fox is the bestselling author of science fiction and dark fantasy as well as nonfiction for authors including Write to Market, and Six-Figure Author. Today we're discussing his book on craft, Plot Gardening: A Simple Guide to Outlining your Novel. You can listen above or on iTunes or your favorite podcast app or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below. Show Notes * On the impetus to write a book about craft * On the development of writing craft over time * Using the gardening metaphor in relation to both storytelling and author backlists * Tips for writing conflict that is rooted in story and interesting to readers * On the different types of conflict that can add depth to a story * Thinking like a reader when you’re plotting * Balancing world-building with writing fast * On the recent changes in Amazon discoverability * Protecting our future as writers You can find Chris Fox at ChrisFoxWrites.com and on Twitter @ScholarlyFox. Transcript of Interview with Chris Fox Joanna: Hi, everyone. I'm Joanna Penn from thecreativepenn.com. And today, I'm back with Chris Fox. Welcome back, Chris. Chris: Hey, good morning, Joanna. Joanna: I'm so glad to have you back on the show. Just in case people missed that earlier edition: Chris is the bestselling author of science fiction and dark fantasy as well as nonfiction for authors including Write to Market, which I know all the listeners know about. And Six Figure Author, which Chris has been on the show talking about before. Today, we're going to talk about Plot Gardening, which is more about craft and I know everyone loves to hear about craft. But also, we're going to talk a bit about ads and about data as well because I want to pick Chris's brain. So, exciting show today. Chris, talk about why you doubled down on craft. Why suddenly a craft book when you're known for data and Write to Market? Chris: This was always the plan for me. When I first got into the market, like every author, you've got to get a backlist of books out there so that you can actually make enough money consistently to do this, but you eventually reach a point where, in my case, I had,