This is K.M. Wyland and you are listening to the 180th episode of the Word Play Podcast.

Looks like we all survived 2012.

It was another busy year on the writing front for me

between the Outlining Your Novel Workshop

I put together for Writers Digest University and Dreamlanders

publication early this month, I capped hopping. But 2013 is shaping up to be even hoppier.

My writing goals include finishing my latest rewrite of the deepest

breath and finishing research for storming and starting its first draft. I'm also excited

to get to announce that F&W Media, home of Writers Digest magazine, among other things, has asked me to write a book for them.

The book will be one of the first in their new series of classic novels annotated especially for writers.

It's tentatively titled Jane Eyre, the Classic Annotated for Writers and Readers, and is scheduled

for release July 2014.

Should you slam your stories breaks?

The latest post in the video series on my blog cautions against allowing your stories

ticking clock to speed things up too much.

To watch it, visit my website at W.W. Dot Helping Writers Become Authors.com.

New videos are posted every Wednesday.

And now I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast, the fourth in the series structuring your story's scenes.

This installment is titled, Options for Conflict in a Scene. Once you've established your character's scene goal, the fun begins in earnest.

Conflict is what story is all about. Without it, the character would achieve his goal in minutes.

All the loose ends would instantly be tied off with a pretty red bow, and the story would be

happily ever over.

...