The craft of writing has many levels — structure, character, plot, emotion, depth and much more — but all of these can be strengthened by your choice of words. In today's show, Damon Suede gives some tips on using active verbs to bring your writing alive. In the intro, I reflect on what I learned at the London Book Fair — lots of tips on audiobooks, Streetlib's Africa roll-out, why non-fiction is easier to sell, and why intellectual property rights are behind Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Plus, lessons learned from my audiobook narration day at The Showreel in London; my new podcast www.BooksAndTravel.page, and why you should check out the Self-Publishing Advice Conference. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, where you can get free ebook formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Get your free Author Marketing Guide at www.draft2digital.com/penn Damon Suede has worked as a performer, director, and writer in film and theater. He now writes award-winning gay romance and teaches writers how to use their words more effectively for writing and marketing. Today we're talking about Verbalize: Bring Stories to Life & Life to Stories. 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 * Common weaknesses in writing * Leaning into each writer’s unique voice * On developing a story’s verbal palette * Putting readers in emotional danger at a safe distance * On the merits for writers of reading widely * The power of language * Developing rich, complex characters * How the origins of psychology and writing are linked * The importance of verbs when creating a character * On the current state of the Romance industry and how to rise above the scammers * Damon's latest book, Activate: A Thesaurus of Actions and Tactics for Dynamic Genre Fiction is available now.