211. Write the Future: Our Five Themes

“Writing craft is about meaning and the reader experience. I really don't teach rigid rules because language is evolving constantly, and it's all about choices.” - Beth Barany

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled “Write the Future: Our Five Themes” host Beth Barany shares the five themes often discussed on the podcast which include writing craft tips, helpful advice, walkthroughs, and interviews.

Beth also explains why she believes our personal creativity can be used to reshape humanity and shares the one thing that she believes beats “the hustle” every time.

The five topic themes:

• World building
• Creative Process & Mindset
• Publishing
• Marketing
• AI Ethics

Do you have a question on one of the topics above? Then Beth invites you to get in touch and your question could be shared in an upcoming podcast episode.

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ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

How To Write The Future is a podcast for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to imagine better worlds—and write stories that bring those futures to life. Each episode offers practical craft guidance, creative prompts, and big-picture inspiration to help you draft, revise, and publish with purpose.

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany is an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. Through her services and products, she guides novelists to write, revise, and publish stories that matter—blending practical craft guidance with a big-picture commitment to bright imagination, deep meaning, and wide-open possibilities. She calls writers to create with hope and courage—and to speak truth through art, even when it stretches them into a new version of themselves.

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Support the podcast! https://ko-fi.com/bethbarany

Get the workbook: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/ 

Join the Edit Lab before the price goes up! https://bethbarany.com/editlab

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• SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
• SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade
• EDITORIAL SUPPORT by Iman Llompart

c. 2026 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

Transcript

211. Write the Future: Our Five Themes

Introduction 

BETH BARANY: Hi, everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future podcast. Today, I'm sick, so no camera. 

All right, on to this week's episode.

I wanna let you know some of the topics that we've been covering on How to Write the Future, for the last four years. I'm coming up on the fourth anniversary, so exciting, and there are five main topics that I have talked about, and of course can continue to talk about.

So if you have questions on these five topics, let me know. And of course, I accept questions on other topics as well.

[00:35] Podcast Focus and Optimism

My podcast is really for fiction writers. It is for fiction writers who write science fiction, fantasy, anything that falls under the speculative fiction umbrella. 

I especially like genre mashups.

Also, my stance is one of obstinate... Can I say that again? Obstinate optimism.

Meaning I really believe that fiction and our creativity, can be tools for good and can be tools that can reshape humanity. and there's some other core beliefs that I have.

Writing craft is about meaning and the reader experience. I really don't teach rigid rules because language is evolving constantly, and it's all about choices. Choices about your villains, the story structure or conflict or character motivation. It's all in the service of aliveness, emotional resonance, clarity, and forward momentum. 

What I care about and what I want you to care about is helping the reader be pulled through the story.

[01:44] Worldbuilding Through Character

The other stance that I have is that world-building is filtered through character. 

We only wanna reveal what is important through your character's perception in a way that it supports immersion and avoids info dumps. I have done a lot of episodes on world-building. And really culture and context belong in the foundation of your story, it's not just decoration. I don't care about adding more lore. What I care about is what your characters know and use and come from. That's culture.

[02:17] Creative Process and Mindset

Thirdly, creative process. 

I love talking about creative process. I believe that sustainable creativity comes from trust, compassion, and small doable steps.

Really my signature is around self-trust, being gentle with yourself around your messy first drafts, and practices that reduce shame or pressure on yourself. I treat mindset like a practical craft tool. How you write does affect what you can write, and in my mind, the sky's the limit. You can write in a lot of different ways if your heart desires.

[02:54] Publishing and Marketing Values

Which brings me to publishing and marketing. 

I have a heart-centered approach.

A heart-centered approach that's values aligned, and that's what I encourage you to have your focus on for your marketing. I think that beats hustle every single time, at least for me and people like me. Marketing and the business side of being an author is part of the creative path, not something outside of it, but part of it.

So the big question is, how can writers sell their books without selling their soul? And they can, because I think you can choose strategies that fit your strengths, build real relationships, and aim for long-term sustainability, not desperation.

It's a whole other way of thinking about being in business, and I talk a lot about this in my creative entrepreneur incubator programs, and I bring it all here too as well.

[03:50] AI Ethics for Writers

And lastly, about AI and other technology. 

I think we can be curious and ethical. I think we can use these tools without surrendering authorship.

In fact, I don't think we want to surrender authorship. That's what makes us unique. That's what makes us human. We are not machines.

I really don't take an all or nothing stance around AI. I really emphasize critical thinking, being aware of consent, being aware of rights, and really bringing your own human creativity and taking leadership.

Don't cede your higher thinking skills to these machines. 

I really encourage writers to understand the landscape of the AI and other tools coming and to respond intentionally. Not fearfully and not blindly. To really think about it for discernment.

[04:35] Wrap Up and Invitation

I thought I would tell you, the big buckets that I talk about, so you can ask me more questions about these.

The best way to ask me a question is to email me from howtowritethefuture.com and I will see your question. Also, you can @ bethbarany me on the socials. I'm on most of the socials. But really the best way is email. I could pull out some highlighted episodes that point to the things I listed here today, but there's over 200, so I invite you to explore the backlog.

You can also see them all listed at howtowritethefuture.com, or if you're looking for something specific, write me and ask me and I'll help you find it.

So that's it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper.