The Adventurous Author | How to Write a Book, Character Development, Write with Consistency, Creative Writing,Story Structure

For decades, I wrote in bursts—finishing and publishing four novels over twenty years, but I never truly saw myself as a disciplined author. I thought about writing daily, but I wasn’t actually creating daily. That gap between declaration and demonstration was holding me back.

In this episode, I reveal why aspirations alone don’t define identity — actions do — and how to use the evidence from your daily life to build an unshakable ...

Ever had a character do something totally out of character—and it felt fake?

In today’s episode, a charging deer disrupts my dog walking expedition and reveals a storytelling truth:

Great character moments come from internal programming breaks.

When your character’s default behavior no longer serves them—and they know it—that’s when real transformation begins.

🎯 You’ll learn:

• Why plot twists rooted in internal change hit har...

What if you’ve been waiting on the wrong milestone to claim the right identity?

You don’t need a book deal, an audience, or a spot on the bestseller list to call yourself a professional author. What you do need? Daily discipline. Conviction. Integrity. And the guts to show up...especially when no one’s watching.

In today’s episode of The Adventurous Author Podcast, we expose:

✔️ Why bestselling is a status you can buy, but professi...

Want to know the secret storytelling formula that powers every great book, movie, and personal story you’ve ever loved?

Then listen in because we’re breaking down how to use Hero + Goal + Obstacle to create stories that feel meaningful, emotionally resonant, and easier to write—even when you’re short on time.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll discover:

✔️ Why your brain craves clarity in stories (and life)

✔️ The difference between extern...

Grok 4 dropped last week with powers that would have fried our brains twelve months ago: PhD reasoning, quarter-million-token memory, live web claws—the works.

Cue the collective panic: “Will anybody even need human writers now?”

Hard stop.

The truth is the exact opposite: The sharper AI becomes, the more priceless a human creative identity is—if you know how to wield it.

In this episode you’ll discover ⬇️

• The Creative Identi...

You wouldn’t sprint through an airport without paying attention to the signs. So why write a story without knowing your genre’s rules?

In today’s episode, we’re unpacking:

✔️ Why genre tropes aren’t creative handcuffs—they’re your storytelling GPS

✔️ The secret to delivering what readers crave without sounding cliché

✔️ How to twist tropes strategically (instead of confusing your reader)

✔️ A 15-minute challenge that helps you mast...

Ever wonder how actors bring characters to life with such depth and emotion?

In this behind-the-scenes conversation, we dive into the character work of Megan, a gifted actress who played Maria in The Sound of Music. You’ll see exactly how she took lines off a script and turned them into a fully embodied human being—and what fiction writers can learn from that transformation process.

Inside this episode:

✔️ What theater taught her a...

Ever notice how fast you can move when you're about to miss a train? What if you brought that same urgency to your writing?

In today’s episode of The Adventurous Author:

✔️ Why fake deadlines create real creative results ✔️ How time pressure activates your inner pro ✔️ A timed writing challenge that forces focus and execution

🎧 Listen now.

Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,

Bonnie Jean

Next Steps:

🔥 Adventurous ...

I crossed the Day 101 finish line—but the real transformation begins here.

In today’s final integration episode of The Adventurous Author, we go deep into:

✔️ The internal rupture that writing daily begins to heal

✔️ The difference between chasing goals and pursuing mastery

✔️ Why Proverbs 10:9 holds the key to long-term creative peace

✔️ The practical next step: crafting your personal Finisher Code

🎧 Listen now.

Keep the words ro...

The 101-Day Challenge is complete—but the transformation has only begun.

In today’s powerful final episode of The Adventurous Author, we unpack the truth that daily writing isn’t a hobby or a productivity hack—it’s a public declaration of identity. And if you’ve shown up for 101 days in a row, you’ve built something no contract or algorithm could ever give you:

💥 Unshakable self-trust.

Inside this finale, you'll discover:

✔️ Why y...

Ever feel invisible as a writer?

You're not. You're pre-famous—and the work you’re doing today is building the strength to carry the spotlight before it finds you.

In today’s powerful episode, we uncover:

✔️ Why showing up daily is a public declaration in private

✔️ How obscurity is not a punishment—it’s preparation

✔️ The biblical blueprint for building strength before visibility

✔️ A bold writing challenge that makes your words r...

You don’t need to speed up to hit your goal of finishing your book.

In today’s episode, I reveal how a broken digital clock taught me the most powerful writing lesson of the year: you can’t fast-forward your way to mastery.

Inside, you’ll discover:

✔️ Why rushing the journey sabotages your integrity as a writer

✔️ How daily writing literally rewires your brain to trust the process

✔️ A simple writing challenge to build momentum and...

You say you're a writer… but does your schedule agree?

For years, I told myself I was a writer—called, gifted, meant to steward stories for Kingdom impact.

But I wasn't showing up daily. And that misalignment started killing my confidence. Quietly. Slowly. One excuse at a time.

In today’s episode, I unpack the painful truth that misalignment between your actions and your assignment erodes your integrity.

And I share the one decisio...

Still waiting for that magical moment where you finally feel like a “real” writer?

That moment isn’t coming.

In today’s episode, I share what I’m learning about mastery during my 101-Day Triple Crown Challenge—and why the only way to become who you’re called to be is to start before you feel ready.

Inside this episode:

✔️ Why the “ready room” is a lie

✔️ What daily writing actually trains (hint: it’s not just your skills)

✔️ How to...

You think you’re afraid of failing—but what if success is what scares you most?

In today’s episode, I share:

✔️ Why the fear of finishing is scarier than starting ✔️ How daily writing is a death sentence to your “aspiring author” identity ✔️ The real reason you’ve been circling the same story mountain

🎧 Listen now.

Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,

Bonnie Jean

Next Steps:

🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega...

There’s a cost to waiting. And no one talks about it until it’s too late.

In this episode, I share a completely made up story about a hiker who had all the tools he needed—but froze because he waited too long to use them. But that story has everything to do with writing.

If you’ve ever delayed the story God gave you because you’re waiting for a better time, this episode is the wake-up call.

Here’s what we get into:

✔️ Why delay isn...

Do you have a story you want to write but have been avoiding? 

In this episode, I share how one story haunted my hard drive for six years—and how 94 days of daily writing changed everything. What started as hesitation turned into confidence. Not because I felt ready. But because I kept moving.

Here’s what we get into:

✔️ The surprising way trust is actually built

✔️ Why creative obedience is more powerful than creative clarity

✔️ W...

🎯 Ever feel like you don’t know what to write—or if you’re even on the right track?

You do know. You’ve just stopped trusting yourself.

In this episode of The Adventurous Author, I unpack:

✔️ Why daily writing is how real creative discernment is trained

✔️ How Hebrews 5:14 gives us a blueprint for practicing instinct

✔️ Why noise, distraction, and comparison feel louder the less you write

✔️ How to rebuild confidence through one 1...

What happens when you say you're called to write—but your actions say otherwise?

In today’s episode of The Adventurous Author, we dive deep into what it means to live in integrity with your calling. I shares the exact moment God called me to write—back in 1999—and the twenty-six-year battle to believe it was real.

You’ll discover:

✔️ Why daily writing isn’t about talent—it’s about trust

✔️ How internal fracture happens when your sc...