Mark interviews Lisa M. Lilly, writer, attorney, and podcaster about story structure and the idea that writers don't need to make full time writing a priority or goal.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes and a thank you to those who support this podcast at patreon.com/starkreflections

During their conversation, Mark and Lisa talk about:

The mysteries and supernatural thrillers that Lisa writes, the non-fiction books for authors, and the podcast that she hosts
How Lisa continues to practice Law, but is no longer doing it full time
Writing not having to be a full-time thing, and Lisa's latest book "Fiction Writing as Your Second Career"
The kind of Law that Lisa practices
The "floating around" that Lisa did when she had too much free time when completely away from the responsibilities of the "day job"
Lisa's "Awakening" series which is described as a cross between Rosemary's Baby and The Davinci Code
How sometimes a small plot or story idea might be inspired by a real-life case Lisa has worked on or heard about
Lisa's book "Super Simple Story Structure" and how it related to her passion and knowledge of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and that led to the basis for her podcast
Things Lisa learned about doing the podcast weekly the first year, then every second week during the second year
The decision of whether to quit doing a thing or to try doing it a different way
Considering your writing as a 2nd career rather than as a "hobby"
The powerful impact of allowing yourself to "daydream"
Advice that Lisa would offer to authors who is balancing their full time work, a busy personal life and their writing
If you can't set a habit by day or time, then add some other sort of habit to help trigger your brain that it's "time to write"
What's next for Lisa
And more...

After the interview, Mark reflects on the important perspective that not all writers need to aspire to writing full time, as well as the passion behind creative projects (which seems to be a recent common theme in his world).

Links of Interest:

An author, attorney, and podcaster, Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the Q.C. Davis mysteries and the bestselling four-book Awakening supernatural thriller series. Writing as L. M. Lilly, her books on writing include The One-Year Novelist: A Week-By-Week Guide To Writing Your Novel In One Year, Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide To Plotting & Writing Your Novel; and Fiction Writing As Your Second Career. She also hosts the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Rolando Pujol, "The Great American Retro Road Trip: A Celebration of Roadside Americana" (Artisan Publishers, 2025)