The WCCS at the Brooklyn Book Festival: Writing Through the Chaos with Queer Indie. Tackling toxic perfectionism, trauma, and the neurodivergent imagination with a stellar panel of authors. Plus, a healthy dose of live-stream chaos. Welcome back to The Writing Community Chat Show. I’m your host, CJ, and in this special episode, Chris Hooley and I are incredibly proud to present an official 2026 Bookend Event as part of the Brooklyn Book Festival. For our third year running with the festival, we teamed up with the fantastic folks at Queer Indie, a brilliant community whose golden rule is simply “don’t be a dick.” to bring you a panel that is as raw as it is necessary.We’re digging deep into the realities of the creative journey alongside a truly stellar lineup of authors and content creators straight from the Queer Indie directory: Anya Pavelle, Halo Scot, Anna Bloom, Ross Young, and Mario Dell’Olio.In this episode, we unpack: - Toxic Perfectionism: How to recognise when the drive to edit is actually just fear in disguise, and why you need to let your manuscript go. - The Neurodivergent Edge: Harnessing hyperfocus for massive word counts, and how to navigate the dreaded “kryptonite crash” that follows. - Writing in Survival Mode: Why getting just a single sentence down is a massive win when life is heavy, and how writing through trauma can be both exhausting and deeply healing. - Alternative Productivity: Ditching the standard writing rules for chaotic drafting methods that actually work, including the cruel but effective trick of stopping mid-sentence. You can also expect our usual brand of live-stream chaos, including a heated debate on magnets, an impromptu adult show-and-tell featuring a T-Rex bottle opener, and Ross fighting a losing battle against gravity with his wall art.Support our guests and find their work: - Anya Pavelle: anyapavelle.com - Currently working on a brilliant historical magical realism and contemporary crime fusion. - Ross Young: rossyoung.ink - Author of four books about the afterlife and proud owner of 800,000 words of unfinished novel beginnings. - Mario dell’Olio: mariodellolio.com - Author of Letters from Italy, currently drafting a 19th-century Italian historical fiction. - Halo Scot: haloscot.com - Master of dark, cinematic writing and our wonderful Queer Indie liaison. - Anna Bloom: Sharing insights on translation, the emotional power of James Baldwin, and surviving the writer’s life. Learn more about Queer Indie and their inclusive community at queerindie.com.Bookend events are a vital part of the Brooklyn Book Festival’s mission to present programming that is hip, smart, diverse, and inclusive for NYC and beyond. Visit brooklynbookfestival.org for more info.

Brick by Brick: How to Build a Story by Douglas Smith

YouTube video by Comic Book School - Buddy Scalera & Mike Fasolo