how to write stories on episode 2022

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The Episode app is a mobile storytelling network and platform. Episode features interactive Hollywood-caliber stories built from the ground up for mobile, not the passive entertainment of TV and movies. In Episode, your choices decide the path of your story. There have been 10+ billion episodes viewed on Episode so far. We’ve also opened up our storytelling platform and have the world’s largest community of interactive stories and storytellers, with 150,000+ stories and 25+ million registered creator accounts. Episode can also be read in 6 languages with more to come.

At 10+ billion episodes viewed across 150,000+ stories, Episode has the largest selection of stories on mobile. From romance to comedy to suspense to mystery, Episode has something for everyone.

You could create the next great Episode story. Make your story on the Episode website and share it with millions of viewers on Episode.

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How to Write a Story on Episode: Choose Your Story App on iPhone or iPad

Last Updated: January 27, 2024

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 61,930 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to use Episode’s mobile editing app to create your first story on an iPhone or iPad.

Creating a New Story

• The mobile app is for creating stories that you can save or share with friends. If you want to create and publish a series of many episodes, you’ll need to use the Episode Writer’s Portal on a computer. [1] X Research source

• Stories are broken into scenes, which are parts of the story that occur in a single location (against a single background). Scenes are broken into ″beats,″ which are each action and/or dialog bit that occurs in the scene. [2] X Research source
• To create the first scene, you’ll select a background. Each thing that happens in the first scene will be added to its own beat, which will have the same background.

• Now that you’ve created a background, you’ll see that there’s a green circle near the bottom-left corner of the screen (right of play button). This circle represents the first beat. Each beat will eventually have its own circle.

Creating Characters

• Swipe left or right to see a preview of your character in the selected tone.
• To see all skin tones at once, tap the upward-pointing arrow at the bottom-left corner of the screen to open all options in one window.

• The options at the bottom of the screen are different outfit categories. Tap each category to explore its options.

• Repeat these steps to create additional characters.

Creating the First Beat

• Tap Characters at the bottom of the screen. Your new character(s) show up in the list.
• Tap a character to insert it.

• Tap the pencil icon beside the character's head to open the menu, then tap the icon at the bottom of the list (a vertical line with a curved arrow) to cycle through different standing positions.
• When the character’s position is right, tap the pencil icon to close the positioning screen.

• Tap the character (if they are not still selected).
• Tap Emotions at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap the emotion that fits the character who’s speaking.
• Tap Emotions again to exit the selector.

Adding More Beats

• Not all beats require speech.

Adding Another Scene

Sharing Your Story

• You can use your real name or a pen name if you wish.
• Tap the Genre menu to view a list of story genres, then tap your selection.

• To save the story to your phone, tablet, or iCloud drive, select Save to Files , then follow the on-screen instructions to save it.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://episodesupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004083494-What-can-I-do-in-Mobile-Creator-
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPsWlD_oE3Q&feature=youtu.be
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxFP8zZvQeA
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sukk1X-bi98

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wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

START HERE – Episode Tutorial 1 (How to Make Your Own Story on Episode App 2022!)

For more Episode help and resources, head over to my website: https://www.episodelife.com

Free Custom Backgrounds: https://www.episodelife.com/p/backgrounds Free Custom Overlays: https://www.episodelife.com/p/overlays Free Script Templates: https://www.episodelife.com/p/script-templates Free Story Planner: https://www.episodelife.com/p/documents

Ink Start Here Tutorial: https://youtu.be/rZ4jy2UFWHk Classic Start Here Tutorial: https://youtu.be/wf9YBy7eHAg source

How To Write for Television

With the advent of streaming, television has entered a golden age. Even ten years ago, the standard entry route was to get your show to air on one of the major television networks.

Budgets were a lot smaller than the budget you would be allocated for a film, and often the reason for cancellation or scripts not being made would be the internal politics of the network.

Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV, and Disney all have huge budgets to rival those of films and a thirst for new talent and risk-taking. Streaming is now the preferred medium for your TV scripts.

How to write for television:

Think episodically.

The most crucial factor to consider when you are writing your TV pilot scripts is the structure of each episode.

Unlike a movie with a clear beginning, middle, and end that the audience will enjoy in one sitting, a television series should be enjoyed in several sittings. Each episode moves us forward but at the same time must be enjoyable on its own. You can work on this by deciding what narrative structure best suits your screenplay.

If we were to draw the narrative map of a television series, it would consist of zig-zags as we go up and down with the events of each episode. This can be hard to conceptualize and manage.

Thinking about every episode as a movie in itself is a great mindset to have. This stops you from creating filler episodes, which don't serve any real purpose and are just a bridge to the next one.

Remember, on a big production, and you might not even be the sole writer. Other writers might write some episodes.

If you don't yet have an agent or an executive involved, write a full-length script for your first episode and plan the rest of the series but don't write any more episodes just yet. For example, the BBC show Dr. Who has multiple writers and one showrunner; writing will be a collaborative experience, and you must accept that.

A great case study of how a TV show and a movie differ are the two different adaptations of Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events . The 2004 movie condensed the first three books into one film and significantly changed the ending to feel more conclusive. A sequel was planned but never took off.

However, the television series created the complex storylines to evolve over several hours, which kept fans engaged and renewed for two further seasons.

Character and story arcs for TV scripts

A television show is the best for telling complex, slow-burning stories with multiple character perspectives and subplots.

Television shows reward audiences who stick with the show until the very end. Unfortunately, TV shows that do badly are ill-thought-out and don't offer their audiences any resolution or feel inauthentic.

How do you deal with this? Especially if multiple writers end up writing episodes of your show?

It would help if you created your characters and story arcs before you embark on your project. Small details can change, but you need to have the fundamentals of your series plotted out.

Only then can you start to turn this meta-plan into an episode-by-episode plan that you can translate onto the page. Excellent planning and learning to be more productive is the only way to succeed when you're embarking on a big project.

Different writers plot out their story arcs in different ways. For example, some writers like to use flashcards that they file away in a draw. Others create charts and grids on a big piece of paper.

Dealing with property

Coming up with your ideas for television shows is always great, but what if you want to adapt a novel or a comic?

The recent success of The Queen's Gambit and Bridgeton, both based on books published long before they were turned into a series, shows that a book doesn't have to be a mega-bestseller to find an audience with television.

You might have read a relatively obscure book and want to adapt it for television; however, before you do this, you should enquire about the rights.

Even if you've written the best script in the world, you will feel defeated and disheartened if you find out another company already owns them or the agent or author is not interested in optioning them to you.

Remember that authors generally don't sell their rights to writers, producers, or agents. Instead, they "option them." That means they give you the exclusive right to work on finding a producer or director and passing certain production milestones for a set fee. If you fail to do this, the requests will usually revert to the author or agent.

Once you have optioned the rights, you will need to negotiate the story into episodes.

Key questions when it comes to writing your TV pilot script are:

• Is there enough material for this to work as a TV series?
• If you are adapting a book series, is the author planning on writing sequels?
• Is there anything in the novel that will require careful consideration to translate onto the screen?

Where is the TV industry heading?

Although writing is a creative process, you have to be aware of the industry and its direction so you can pitch ideas and write scripts that are likely to get greenlit.

A small word of caution: if you are writing just to the market and that's your only consideration, you are at risk of writing something that lacks creativity. Sometimes the best ideas come from the left field. You must have an idea of trends while also maintaining your sense of creativity and originality.

Foreign language TV shows

Netflix is investing heavily in original programming from overseas. The recent success of S quid Game - which became one of Netflix's most-watched shows - was a testament to Netflix's investment in the South Korean market.  

Other emerging economies worldwide, such as India and Vietnam, are all seeing a cultural renaissance.

If you speak any foreign languages or understand a non-Western culture, then it might be worth considering writing something not set in America. We live in a global culture no longer dominated by the West; bear this in mind when you pitch to Netflix .

While television is usually catered to a mass market - in other words, to everyone - streaming services have understood that market diversification can be a route to success.  

A television series doesn't have to appeal to everyone: it's better to cultivate a smaller fan base dedicated to a particular genre or niche because they are loyal. Instead, the audience will seek out new programs in that genre and watch the series through to the end. They will also spread their enthusiasm about the series through word-of-mouth, bringing in new audiences.

The recent BBC crime drama Line Of Duty is an excellent example. It was initially turned down for being too procedural and problematic for a mainstream audience. The show follows an anti-corruption unit - AC-12 - that investigates serving police officers.

It doesn't shy away from hard-to-follow jargon or the challenges of modern policing policies: one episode hinged on one character's misinterpretation of the 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

Yet, it achieved one of the highest ratings the BBC has ever seen precisely because of its procedural nature: it added a sense of realism to the drama that most viewers weren't used to seeing. Viewers who felt lost just rewatched specific episodes so that they understood.

If you're passionate about writing a complex space opera or a gritty crime drama, don't be afraid: go for it, make it flawless.

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David Wappel is a feature writer. Recent work includes the screenplay for Long Gone By, now available on HBO. He was named a Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch in 2020 by the ISA and is the 2019 Stowe Story Labs Fellowship winner. He is an avid Shakespeare and Tolkien fan.

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One Simple Trick to Write More Books:: Episodic Fiction

by Eliza | Feb 1, 2022 | Author Life , Leslie Kim Serials , Writing , Zeze | 1 comment

Please note that any links within this post may be affiliate links. This means I earn a commission on qualifying sales at no extra cost to you.

One Simple Trick to Write More Books in 2022

Sorry for the clickbait title! But I truly do think that this one trick can help any writer who wants to write more books this year. Maybe you want to finish the sprawling fantasy series that you started or you need to find the courage to write the next book after your debut was a flop. In this post, I will share one simple clickbaity trick that helped me go from releasing one book a year (approximately) to releasing three novels in 2022.

It can seem overwhelming to write multiple novels a year, and for those just beginning to follow the 20 books to 50k lifestyle , writing twenty novels feels impossible. Now, I can’t say that I’m advocating for whether 20 books to 50k is legitimate, since I have not yet written that many, but it seems like a good goal. I’m currently at 9 books (under multiple pen names) and this is the first year that I’m able to actually turn a profit on my writing. (For those wondering, I published my first book back in 2017.)

So, how did I go from writing four books over a four year period to releasing three books in a year? Episodic fiction.

Write Episodic Fiction

The biggest thing that changed for me in 2021 and 2022 is that I started writing more episodic fiction. Now, this blog post is actually an update of one that I wrote in January of 2021, but my true start in episodic fiction was back when I published my first book, Mythical Investigations, in 2017. I mention the dates because it is important to see how long it took me to get here and how writing books in an episodic way actually sped things up immensly.

Episodic fiction for me, at that time, meant writing each novella as an episode of a show. Here’s what I had to say about episodic fiction back last year:

The way I chose to write episodic fiction was as if each serial was an episode of a television show. I want to be specific that I was not writing a script (I wouldn’t even know how to.) I wanted the books to be brief but submersible. I wanted them to invite you into the world and help you to see each “episode.” There is world-building, but the reader is thrust into the story without a lot of preparation. You’re expected to trust the experience and have an open mind. All the explanations will happen in due time, but right now, we’re focusing on the action. I am in the process of writing a science/fantasy serial set on the distant planet of Kapaton. I’ve published four, with one more in the works. My protagonist, Leslie Kim, is thrust into a variety of situations with other characters, fantasy creatures, and physical and moral challenges. I write each edition in the serial to feel like an episode of television. I want to cut the fat, get to the story, and save the readers a little time. I did not want it to be like a short story. I wanted the reader to get a satisfying, bite-sized plot without all the loose ends . Each episode needed to have a connecting, over-arching story while still able to stand on its own. This is difficult to achieve because I did not want to spend a great deal of the words I had limited myself to, describing the planet and the aliens who occupy it.

In 2021, I started writing for Kindle Vella. This is a mobile-first serialized format where you release one episode (what they call chapters) at a time. You earn bonuses for thumbs ups, follows, and reviews. This was really instrumental for me because it allowed me to publish two books as I wrote them. This also means that I get paid as I write and release the book, which jumps through a couple of hoops. For The Disappearance of Susannah Dane, I was able to use the money that I made releasing the book on Kindle Vella and reinvest it into proofreading, formatting, and designing the book to be released as an eBook and paperback.

For some writers, they cringe at the idea of releasing while they write. This seems intimidating, but I have found it actually produces a higher quality of work. When I write a novel the traditional way, I spit out the rough draft in a few weeks and then spend months writing and rewriting that draft. It takes a very long time and by the time I actually release the book, I am sick of looking at it.

What is Episodic Fiction?

“You start with a character who, for one reason or another, is launched into a situation that involves travel and a series of adventures with different groups of characters and challenges. In the end, the protagonist finds happiness.” Episodic Novels by Ginny Weinhardt.

Episodic fiction has been described in many ways. I have heard it described as a novel made up of many short, almost unrelated chapters or as serialized content. I chose the quote above from an article that I found when I sat down to write this blog post. I think this is a nice descriptor for an episodic novel, but it could also be a description for any novel. In almost every story you have a main character who faces a challenge and eventually makes their way to happiness.

The Key Element of Episodic Fiction

The key element, which is also mentioned in the article linked above, is that the character does not usually have time to change a great deal in the book. Episodic fiction tends to be brief; it gets to the point. There isn’t the same opportunity for expansive world-building, long explanations of back story, or scenes that don’t move the plot.

Each scene has to move the story forward or the book won’t go anywhere. There isn’t room for wasted words, scenes, or chapters. This makes the experience much quicker to read. It’s more to the point and less frustrating. But there also has to be more of it to be worth the reader’s time.

For The Leslie Kim Serials, this is how I write Leslie Kim. His character development is somewhat the same for each book. He doesn’t change tremendously as a character, though he might change his perspective on the case at hand.

This is true for the Paige Parker Mystery Series on Kindle Vella as well. Paige, as a person, stays true to her core through each book. Since it is young adult book, she does have a lot more character development and I imagine that at the end of the series, she will have changed a lot as a person.

Write, Edit, and Release Weekly

When I write an episode for Kindle Vella, I am able to slow down the process initially and in turn, speed up the process overall. I release my episodes on Saturday each week. If I haven’t written multiple episodes ahead of time, I know that I have to write and edit the episode during the week. So, I will re-read the last episode and write the next one on Monday. On Wednesday, I will return to it and read the new episode and make any changes. Then I go over it again for proofreading purposes before I release it on Friday (Amazon sometimes takes 24 hours to release, so I always publish a day early to make sure it is there for readers on Saturday morning.)

For The Absence of Aurelia Perez, I started publishing on October 9th and I’ve released 17 episodes. Since I am not consumed by trying to pump out the whole draft in one go, I’m able to catch plot holes and make changes to the story when I realize it isn’t working. I am writing from an outline that I did write first, but I make changes to it as I realize they are necessary. This is great because I can take feedback from readers into consideration and I can take my time with the story craft.

Since I am not rushed, I also have more time to write for clients. I currently work as a freelancer and write non-fiction books, as well as biographies and website content, for clients. I only commit to one Kindle Vella story at a time so that I can fit my schedule with clients around what I know I need to do in the upcoming weeks.

It has also given me more time to work on The Leslie Kim Serials at the same time, instead of devoting one year to my Kindle Vella projects and pushing off the Leslie Kim books for another year.

The Length of Episodic Fiction

In the original version of my post, I had this to say about episodic fiction length:

As a writer, I write neither long nor short. My first book was about 85,000 words. But the vision that I had of this serial was something much briefer. I wanted it to feel accessible to the reader who only has the ability to catch snippets on a lunch break. I knew a lot of people that read before their shift or while they forced down a sandwich. I wanted to craft the story in a way that that person could sit down and finish an entire chapter without losing their place. I wanted to keep them fairly short and the storyline direct. I want the books to be something you can consume within a few hours, maybe on your commute on the bus or The first vision or idea that I had of Leslie Kim had nothing to do with Kapaton or Grootslangs or even Vampires. The idea was simple, Leslie must face off against some large creature in the water and struggles with whether or not he should kill it. He has a bounty on the line but ultimately decides to spare the creature. As Leslie attempts to release the monster, it turns on him and he is forced to kill it anyway. I did eventually write this as a short story and plan to release it at some point! That scene stuck with me and I chewed it around in my head for about a year. When I finally sat down to write the serial, I had a strict outline that I wanted to follow. The story evolved many times after this but the rules stayed the same. I wanted each serial to be between 15,000 and 40,000 words. Initially, I wanted there to be only 15 chapters in each book; this changed when I realized that I cared more about keeping the chapters “bite-sized” than I did about the number of chapters.

My opinion on this has evolved a little bit. With The Disappearance of Susannah Dane, each episode is around 1500 words (with some variation between 500 and 3,000 if the episodes seem to need it) and the book ended up being nearly 80,000 words. So, the book itself is novel length, but each chapter is brief and can be read during your lunch hour.

My most recent Leslie Kim book has grown in size as well and will be around 40,000 words when it is released which is closer to “novel” length than “novella.” I really struggled with this for a while because I didn’t want it to seem out of place with the other books, but after editing it, the length is just what it needed to be for the project.

Episodic Fiction is Freedom

In short, writing fiction in an episodic way, whether through short novellas or releasing in the chapters in weekly installments on Wattpad, Kindle Vella, or Radish, allows you to have an element of freedom. You can write and get feedback immediately. You can release more books because you are writing more often, without being consumed by any one project. You can still write long, novel length books and release them in an episodic way, if that feels right for your project.

If you are looking for a way to increase your output in 2022, consider writing episodic fiction!

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This is very informative information! Thank you for sharing. I am interested in publishing fiction using Kindle Vella, but I struggle with outlining and structuring episodic fiction. Do you have any posts or blogs related to this for helping would-be Kindle Vella authors?

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Extra Ordinary, the Series

Make the extraordinary, extra ordinary in your life, how to write an anime script (2022 q4 update).

I have been working on creating my own animated cartoon using 3D computer animation. This is a personal hobby project, so I have been taking short cuts like no voice actors. I have the first few episodes completed, which means it’s a good time to sit back and review before I launch back into the scripts for future episodes.

So here is a quick review of a few blogs on “how to write an anime script”, with the goal to identify things I would change in my own process I have been following.

How to write an anime script (Wikihow)

Let’s start with Wikihow on how to write an anime script .

• Write down character profiles. (Makes sense.)
• Make a story plot line with start, conflict, climax, resolution, and end. Use it for the whole series or one episode. Introduce lots of characters at the start. Introduce enemy/challenge at conflict point. Have the big fight, solve the problem, go back to normal. List characters in each scene and 5 to 10 lines about what happens in each part of the scene. (Also known as Freytag’s pyramid amongst other names.)
• Write the script. What characters say, what they do. (Yes, that is what a script normally contains…)
• When writing, don’t forget about the characters or the plot. (Well, err, sure…)
• Have fun! (Okay…)
• Edit! Find problems and fix them. (Well, that was unexpected…)
• Read through it! Add emotional details, vocal actions (e.g. sigh). (So the previous edit step did not involve reading?)
• Your script is done! Get some others to read it. (So don’t use their feedback to improve your script?)

Have you got the impression I was not that impressed by this article? Nothing was really wrong, but apart from the second point it was all pretty shallow. Lesson: not all advice out there is going to help you create a great script!

Constructing your Manga plot (from Manga Studio for Dummies)

This article I found more interesting. It describes the stages for manga, which similar to but not identical to Freytag’s pyramid.

• Ki — Introduction of an idea. Set up the context and scene. Establishing shot. Introduce the main characters.
• Sho — Developing the idea. Build up the suspense. The tempo should increase. The reader should care about your characters – build up that relationship!
• Ten — The dramatic, unexpected turn of events. Throw the reader off guard with something unexpected.
• Ketsu — Conclusion. Resolve the current sequence. Possibly end opening the next can of worms (a cliffhanger).

It is a short article, similar to the western world start/conflict/climax/resolution/end structure, but it adds a twist as an important ingredient plus the importance of a cliffhanger to get the reader to come back for more.

There was one old anime series where the twist struck me in particular (I cannot remember the title unfortunately). It started out a pair of girls working together in a galactic police force, for the protection of the galaxy, defeating the bad guys one by one, each episode a new challenge as they worked their way through a known list of bad guys. Just as I was getting into the rhythm of each episode, the twist came. They were being fooled and were working for the bad guys! All of their victories were actually losses! This twist has been used in many series, but the author successfully caught me completely off guard in this series. The series tone changed from “a cute pair of characters beating up bad guys” into a story of government corruption and intrigue.

It also reminded me of another writing strategy where you have a recurring theme that can be used to measure progress through episodes. In this case, they were knocking off the bad guys one by one. The series could have ended up working its way up to the final boss and I would have still enjoyed the series. The twist partly caught me because I thought I understood what was going to happen, with these mileposts measuring out progress to the final goal.

How to make a good anime plot

A short blog post by Tiffany Ross, but recently I was reminded of the adage to show not say. Don’t say “I am angry with you!” It’s too obvious and there is no room for imagination of the reader, no chance to for “aha, I know why!” Instead, imagine what the characters would do if they were angry. “Go do your homework! NOW!”

The blog included “Write your plot using only action… The actions of your characters will inspire the words they choose to use.” As a new scriptwriter, I think I fall into this trap. I write the script as dialogue to get the ideas across, then flesh it out with actions to get the pacing right. I am wondering if for myself it might be better to outline the plot and write the actions first. Then work out dialog that supports the actions (not the plot). Let people deduce the plot, not be told it directly. After all, a mime can tell a story without any script at all!

As I create very short episodes, another thing I am planning to improve upon is mapping out the emotional curve of the episode. It should not chop and change too fast. The audience probably won’t keep up. It also makes background music harder as rapid changes can end up with music inconsistent with the desired emotion. So I am moving towards mapping out the mood music much earlier in the script writing process as well.

Anime production – detailed guide to how anime is made and the talent behind it!

An old blog , so possibly not up with the latest adoption of technology, but it goes through the traditional stages of creating anime from pre-production (planning, series storyline, character design), production (script writing from episode synopsis, visual planning), storyboard (first images, cut numbers, actor movements, camera movements, dialogue, shot lengths), layouts, animation, key animation, animation director, in-between animation, compositing/filming, …

All very interesting, but why do I mention it here? Sure, you start with a written script and outline, but you quickly move into storyboarding, layouts, animation, and compositing of shots. These are all visual! Again, character actions and movements again stand out to me, possibly because I am not doing a great job here as I think about dialogue describing the plot, instead of dialogue supporting the actions describing the plot.

Your ultimate guide to anime editing credits: Part IV

This blog , much like the previous blog, it mentions scriptwriting and storyboarding again (job descriptions in the end credits of an anime episode), and the job of a director keeping visual consistency throughout.

How does this apply to me?

So how does this apply to myself?

• My series outline approach I am still happy with.
• My scriptwriting needs to improve – I am going to try and write the script (or perhaps “screenplay” is better) to have more focus on telling the story through actions, with dialogue to support the actions.
• For storyboarding I mock up a rough draft of an episode using software, rather than drawing out a storyboard. (I can’t draw well!) I think this is still okay, but do it with more focus on the visual storytelling. If there was no dialogue, could someone understand the story being told?
• I am going to get the background music in earlier, to make sure there is more consistency of mood for longer stretches. Avoid too rapid chopping and changing of mood.

(For other posts on scriptwriting advice, check out my scriptwriting summary page )

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How to: Get a lot of reads on your story

I’d like to start this off with saying that if you are writing on Episode because you want reads, and only because you want to go viral, you are most likely going to be left quite disappointed and have a very frustrating experience. Getting a lot of readers can be a very gratifying, exciting experience, but only when you are writing for the sake of writing something that you love first, and the amount of reads that you get second.

I am not a “viral sensation” on Episode by any means - especially compared to some of the other stories on here with 10, 20 million reads, but I have learned quite a few tips and tricks on getting the most readers possible and seeing as people are always asking about how to get more reads, I wanted to write down some of the things that I’ve learned help to make your story more popular.

My first story got around 1.5k reads. On my second story, I eventually reached about 120k reads. The difference between the two, writing wise, wasn’t anything drastic, but this is what I’ve learned.

• Your cover art, description, and title are EVERYTHING. If nobody notices or even gives your first episode a chance in the first place, how will you get anybody to read to the second, third, fourth episodes? I’ve noticed a trend in what cover art attracts people. First of all, characters on the front of your cover are a must. Your cover art should be intriguing, it should draw people in. Look around for inspiration in the trending section on the Episode app. I’ve noticed that people tend to like when a choice in the story is shown in the cover art. As for the title, my tip for you is simply this - make it short and sweet. Stories with titles like “Dear Dahlia” tend to do better than stories with titles like “Dahlia And The 47 Love Letters”, for a few reasons - one being that people are just attracted to simplicity. And just like the cover art, make it intriguing . At least, as intriguing as you can in the 1-4 or whatever words you use in your title. For the description, a few things are key. A lot of people might not like this, but you sort of have to conform to the mainstream Episode audience if you’re really looking to get a lot of reads. This can be pretty difficult, but you just have to learn what kind of descriptions draw people in. Let’s say my story is about a girl who is an undercover cop, and it’s a mystery/thriller type story. Here’s the description that you may be inclined to write:

“After your father passed away, you didn’t ever want to go back to work, but that’s not how it works. What happens when a day at work as an undercover cop turns sour?”

Fine, that might be what happens, but it’s not going to draw in the same episode readers that trend cliche gang-badboy stories. Even if your story is about something that isn’t cliche at all, you have to sort of make it sound cliche. Here’s a description that might help you out more:

“Lies, secrets, and drama. They told you that being an undercover cop would be easy, but what happens fall in love with a hot criminal? YOU decide!”

I know, I know, it’s a little bit cringey. But notice how I emphasize the fact that the readers are making important choices in the story, and the romantic aspect of the story, which readers tend to like.

Read for reads/review for reviews will only get you so far. However, it’s a good way to get your story out there and give it a little boost. Obviously, you aren’t going to be able to get 3 million read for reads, but even if it’s just 20 or so, it will give your story that little push it needs to get out there. And when it comes to advertising your story, try not to be too…persistent. People will be more likely to read your story if you are kind to them.

Tags, tags, tags. This is where your inner cliche-oh-god-am-I-really-writing-these-tags can come out. Even if it’s a story that has nothing to do with pregnancy - put pregnancy in the tags. Bad boy, highschool, mean girls, teen, drama, romance, teacher, hot, sexy, kidnapped, put all of these in your Search Keywords. And more. These are the stories that people are searching for, god knows why. But it’s simply a way to get your story out to the most people possible.

If you didn’t know already, the first episode that people read doesn’t even count as a read. So, if you want even one read, you have to make your reader want to read to the next episode. In your first episode, you have to make your reader care about your MC enough that they will read to the next episode to see what happens to her. Meaning, you have to end the episode with a conflict, a cliffhanger, that will make the readers worried and want to resolve things by reading the next episode. However, if your character development is horrible and the only thing your readers know about your MC by the end of the episode is that she likes pizza and the color green, being honest, they probably won’t care if her father gets shot or not, or if she gets accepted to that program or not, or if her best friend is okay.

Thanks for this thread!!

Hi! I’m currently working on both of my stories at the same time and both are not published yet. But can you revise my descriptions for both of my stories and see how I can make it attractive to the readers?

Sure, I’d be happy to!

Thanks so much for making this thread. It helped me a lot. But, I do have a question, I’m working on my 6th story on Episode next month, and I need a bit of help. Even though I’ve been writing on episode since December of 2016, there are still some things that I need to learn and be skilled at. I was wondering if you had an Instagram account. That way it’ll be easier for us to communicate because I’m not always on the forums.

Okay that’s fine. Can you PM me? I’ll tell you what I’m struggling with and my weaknesses.

I just published my first story a while ago. I’m worried because no one’s still viewing my story. How long does it take to have atleast one view? Is it normal?

@lou.episode , Don’t let it get you down people might not choose your story… Don’t write because you want to have a reads… Write because you wanna write because “YOU” enjoy it That’s what I always tell myself…

Hey, can you take a look at my description and see if it could be revised?

Sure. Would you like to PM me it?

Yes. Just a second

Oh will you look at mine as well… Please…

Sure! Just PM me your description.

Okay on it…

When you say tags you mean on instagram ?

How to watch the solar eclipse on TV: What to know about live coverage and broadcast info

T he much-anticipated total solar eclipse is here, and whether you're in the path of totality or following along from afar, you'll have plenty of ways to watch the rare event .

The eclipse's U.S. path will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT and end in Maine at 3:36 p.m. EDT, but the exact time of the eclipse varies by where you are in its path. You can search by zip code to find the exact time for your location.

Millions of people are expected to travel to see the eclipse, which will also attract scientists from across the country to study its effects on the Earth and its atmosphere.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

If you are unable to see it from where you are, you can track the eclipse on your mobile device or follow along on television, as multiple networks will have shows focused on eclipse coverage.

Here's what to know about how you can follow the eclipse on television and streaming platforms.

Solar eclipse livestream

If you're looking for a livestream of the eclipse you can watch on your phone or computer, USA TODAY is providing a stream here .

ABC, National Geographic eclipse coverage

ABC News and National Geographic announced they would air "Eclipse Across America," live on Monday beginning at 2 p.m. EDT on ABC, ABC News Live, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+ and Hulu, as well as network social media platforms.

The special will be anchored by "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir and "ABC News Live Prime" anchor Linsey Davis, who will be reporting live from Burlington, Vermont, according to a news release from the network.

Watch solar eclipse coverage on Hulu: Subscribe

Spanning 10 cities across North America, "Eclipse Across America" will broadcast from the following locations in the path of totality: Mazatlán, Mexico; Del Rio, Texas; Dallas; Russellville, Arkansas; Carbondale, Illinois; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Niagara Falls, New York; Burlington, Vermont and Houlton, Maine.

Viewers will be able to watch the program from anywhere – TV, mobile, computers, and more – and will also be simulcast on social on ABC News' Facebook, YouTube channel and TikTok, and on Nat Geo's Facebook, according to the network.

CNN eclipse coverage

CNN will also have special live coverage of the eclipse, with featured programming on its television, streaming and digital platforms, according to a news release.

CNN's live presentation will be featured from 1-4 p.m. EDT on "CNN News Central" with Brianna Keilar and Boris Sanchez and CNN International and CNN Max with Richard Quest and Rahel Solomon. CNN Digital will feature a special multi-hour livestream and coverage of the event across the United States at CNN.com/Eclipse .

CNN en Español anchor Rey Rodriguez will be reporting live from Mazatlán, Mexico starting Sunday, hosting "Mirador Mundial" live on location at 6 p.m. EDT, and live reporting throughout the day on Monday.

NBC eclipse coverage

NBC's Lester Holt will host a special broadcast starting at 2 p.m. ET Monday from Indianapolis Motor Speedway that will air on NBC, NBC News Now, NBCNews.com and Peacock , according to the network.

MSNBC eclipse coverage

Katy Tur will anchor special coverage of the total eclipse beginning at 2 p.m. on MSNBC, the network told USA TODAY.

Throughout the coverage, MSNBC will use "innovate in-studio virtual technology" to demonstrate the path of the solar eclipse across North America.

CBS eclipse coverage

Norah O’Donnell and Tony Dokoupil are hosting CBS' coverage, also from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The broadcast will feature contributions from several journalists based around the nation, including Dallas, Cleveland and Russellville, Arkansas.

The broadcast is set for 2 p.m. ET to 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS' TV channel.

Fox Weather

Fox Weather's coverage of the solar eclipse will be anchored by meteorologists Stephen Morgan and Kendall Smith from Dallas and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, respectively, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET.

The network says Fox Weather will also provide coverage for Fox News and Fox Business channels.

NewsNation eclipse coverage

NewsNation will present special live coverage throughout the day of the 2024 total solar eclipse, the network told USA TODAY.

Senior national correspondent Brian Entin will co-anchor a special broadcast from the network's headquarters in Chicago from 1-4:30 p.m. ET, alongside "NewsNation Now" anchors Nichole Berlie and Connell McShane.

Correspondents will be dispatched throughout the country in the areas of totality, according to the network, including Indianapolis, Dallas and Niagara Falls.

Solar eclipse path of totality

A  new map  is projecting that the path of totality for  Monday's solar eclipse  may be narrower than experts previously believed. But if you're right on the edge of the path, don't go changing your plans just yet.

New amateur calculations suggest that  widely-accepted path  could be off by as much as just a few hundred yards. The potential shift in the eclipse's path is so miniscule, in fact, that a NASA spokesperson  told the Detroit Free Press  the U.S. space agency won't be making any alterations to its own calculations.

So, even if the new calculation is more accurate, it’s unlikely to matter much for most of the  millions of skygazers  who hope to witness the  first total solar eclipse in North America in seven years .

The new eclipse calculations come courtesy of John Irwin, a member of the team of amateur astronomers analyzing the celestial event for the  Besselian Elements .

But don't fret too much: Not only is the new analysis not yet peer-reviewed, but NASA told the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that its predictions have not changed.

However, NASA spokesman Tiernan Doyle acknowledged "a tiny but real uncertainty about the size of the sun" could lead to a narrower eclipse path.

Contributing: Doyle Rice & Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at [email protected].

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to watch the solar eclipse on TV: What to know about live coverage and broadcast info

Episode 106 - How to write a scene's sequel, and plotting the novel's middle‪.‬ Essential Guide to Writing a Novel

Jack Bickham says that scenes should be followed by sequels.  Here are thoughts on how to write a sequel.  Also, the middle of a novel--sometimes called the Great Swampy Middle--can be hard to plot.  We'll discuss techniques on bulking up the middle of our story. Support the show

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How to know if you have eye damage from eclipse: Symptoms of solar eclipse damage

PHILADELPHIA -- Millions of people were in the path of totality for Monday's solar eclipse , where the moon completely blocked the sun. However, looking at the sun without properly made eclipse glasses can result in severe eye injury, from temporary vision impairment to permanent blindness. Even looking at the eclipse through your camera could cause serious eye damage, according to NASA.

The only time it's safe to view the sun without eye protection is during the totality of a total solar eclipse, or the brief period when the moon completely blocks the light of the sun, according to NASA.

RELATED: Eclipse Across America: Millions of Americans witness a rare total solar eclipse

"The visible light, that normally would be blinding to us, temporarily isn't there. It's blocked by the moon," Dr. Joel Schuman, an ophthalmologist at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, told Action News leading up to the eclipse. "So, that allows us to stare at the sun without feeling that we're actually getting harmed."

Now, in the wake of the solar eclipse, there may be a spike in people wondering if they've done some damage to their eyes from gazing up without the proper protection.

But how do you know if you have eye damage from the eclipse?

While the clouds did hamper some viewing efforts in parts of the U.S. , many eventually caught a glimpse of at least the partial eclipse.

After experiencing the rare celestial moment, some might find their eyes are bothering them or feeling a little funny, even if they were wearing the protective glasses -- but don't panic. Your eyes are probably fine.

Leading up to the eclipse, experts stressed that it was absolutely necessary to wear certified eclipse glasses or use handheld solar viewers that meet a specific safety standard , known as ISO 12312-2, when watching all other phases of a total or partial solar eclipse. The safety standard means that the lenses meet international requirements for direct solar viewing, according to the American Astronomical Society, or AAS.

When asked about what could happen if you don't protect your eyes, Dr. Schuman said, "You would burn the part of the retina that has the most sensitive, sharpest vision because you're looking directly at the sun."

The lenses of solar eclipse glasses are made of black polymer, or resin infused with carbon particles, that blocks nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, according to The Planetary Society. And sunglasses don't work in place of eclipse glasses or solar viewers.

Dr. Schuman said those who don't protect their eyes could experience what is called "solar retinopathy," which occurs when intense light energy injures or damages the retina and causes permanent damage.

While the highly specialized cells inside our eyes don't feel any pain, the rods and cones and photochemical reactors become inflamed and damaged when looking at the sun, said Ronald Benner, an optometrist and president of the American Optometric Association.

It's a bit like the effect that occurs when we see a camera flash go off, which can distort our vision for a few minutes before it goes away. But the intensity of solar retinopathy causes permanent damage that won't be immediately apparent. Overnight, the cells can die, and they won't be replaced. There is no treatment for solar retinopathy. It can improve or worsen, but it is a permanent condition.

The changes in a person's vision depend on the type of damage that is done, and these can occur in one or both eyes.

"It can take somebody a very short time, even seconds, from seeing 20/20 to seeing 20/200," Dr. Schuman added.

"The retina is an extension of the brain, so it's actually neurological tissue, and when you damage that, it doesn't always come back," Benner said. "If you damage one cell, that cell may never be the same. But if you damage a group of cells, then you're going to end up with blotchy vision, like having someone dab oil on your windshield. If you just kind of damage them and they don't completely die, then color vision is going to be altered. What can you do about it? Absolutely nothing other than prevent it."

If the damage occurs in the center of someone's vision, it can affect the ability to read or recognize faces, Benner said.

However, in the unlikely chance of more serious damage, you would have likely already started to experience the symptoms, including blurriness, light sensitivity, or dark spots.

If you experience vision issues or eye discomfort after viewing the eclipse, Benner recommends booking an appointment immediately using the American Optometric Association's doctor locator. Symptoms may take hours to a few days to manifest, and they include loss of central vision, altered color vision or distorted vision.

"For most people, it's an alteration of color vision," Benner said. "The next morning, colors just don't look right, or it may be bleached out it or just kind of hazy all the time. For others, it may be that they actually have holes in their vision."

Benner also said to talk to your kids.

"If your child experiences eye damage, they have to live with it the rest of their life. And they may not be able to tell you, 'I'm not seeing clearly out of one eye," he said.

Where to recycle and donate your eclipse glasses

If you have special glasses that helped you watch the rare celestial event, here's what to do with them now that the eclipse is over.

Astronomers Without Borders has been accepting donations for over 15 years. They partner with organizations where you can drop off or send your used glasses.

You can also send them to Eclipse Glasses USA , which takes in used but undamaged eclipse glasses and then repurpose them for other eclipse events.

You could also recycle them by removing the lenses and recycling the cardboard.

When is the next solar eclipse in America?

The next major total solar eclipse will not return to North America for another 20 years -- on March 30, 2033 -- and only includes Alaska, with a partial solar eclipse over most of the country.

In 2044's U.S. eclipse, totality will only occur over North Dakota and Montana. Another with a broader U.S. path will occur in August 2045.

CNN contributed to this post.

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States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat

Access to abortion remains a patchwork of state-by-state policies after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade , with abortion restricted across much of the Southern United States. In the six months that followed the ruling, there were an estimated 43,410 fewer legal abortions in states that had bans, according to a recent survey .

New restrictions are continuing to take effect, with Republican-led legislatures pushing to enact bans in some states that have become abortion havens. A six-week ban will soon take effect in Florida, after the state’s conservative Supreme Court ruled that the state’s constitution does not protect abortion rights. When enacted, the ban would outlaw most abortions in the country’s third-most-populous state. More restrictions in other states are almost certainly on the way.

Current status of abortion access

A previous version of this graphic incorrectly stated that the governors of Pennsylvania and North Carolina are up for reelection. They are term-limited.

Bonnie Berkowitz, Nick Mourtoupalas and Eugene Scott contributed to this report.

About this story

Weeks of pregnancy are calculated since the last menstrual period. Fetal viability is generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks, but there is no universal consensus. Life endangerment is defined differently in different states. Medical emergencies can include cases of severely compromised health, endangerment or physical health conditions.

Sources: Post reporting; Elizabeth Nash, principal policy associate for state issues at the Guttmacher Institute; Center for Reproductive Rights; Census Bureau. Edited by Kevin Uhrmacher and Peter Wallsten. Copy edited by Carey L. Biron.

U.S. abortion access, reproductive rights

Tracking abortion access in the United States: Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade , the legality of abortion has been left to individual states. The Washington Post is tracking states where abortion is legal, banned or under threat.

Abortion and the election: Voters in a dozen states in this pivotal election year could decide the fate of abortion rights with constitutional amendments on the ballot. Biden supports legal access to abortion , and he has encouraged Congress to pass a law that would codify abortion rights nationwide. After months of mixed signals about his position, Trump said the issue should be left to states . Here’s how Trump’s abortion stance has shifted over the years.

New study: The number of women using abortion pills to end their pregnancies on their own without the direct involvement of a U.S.-based medical provider rose sharply in the months after the Supreme Court eliminated a constitutional right to abortion , according to new research.

Abortion pills: The Supreme Court seemed unlikely to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone . Here’s what’s at stake in the case and some key moments from oral arguments . For now, full access to mifepristone will remain in place . Here’s how mifepristone is used and where you can legally access the abortion pill .

• States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat April 1, 2024 States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat April 1, 2024
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How to Watch ‘WrestleMania 40’ Night 1 and 2: Full Match Card, Where to Stream

• Author: Dan Gartland

In this story:

Can Cody Rhodes finally finish his story? He’ll have to get through The Rock first.

Rhodes’s pursuit of WWE’s undisputed universal championship has taken longer than most fans expected. From the moment he left the company he helped found, AEW, and returned to WWE in 2022, Rhodes made it clear that his goal was to win the title that his father, the great Dusty Rhodes, never got to hold. But there were plenty of bumps in the road. Just two months after his return, Rhodes tore a pectoral muscle on the eve of his Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins. Rhodes wrestled through the injury against Rollins, with the entire right side of his chest covered in a deep purple bruise , but he then underwent surgery to repair the injury and was sidelined for more than six months.

Rhodes made his return in January 2023, winning the Royal Rumble to earn a championship match at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles. The stage was set for him to dethrone Roman Reigns and hoist that elusive championship. But he didn’t. In a result that shocked almost everyone, Reigns won the match and retained the title.

Now Rhodes has another chance to vanquish Reigns—but there’s one more hurdle in the way. Rhodes and Reigns will square off in the main event of the second night of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia on Sunday. But first, they’ll meet in a tag team match on Saturday. Rhodes will team with Rollins and Reigns will team with The Rock. If Rhodes’s team wins on Saturday, all members of Reigns’s Bloodline faction will be banned from ringside on Sunday. If Reigns’s team wins, Sunday’s match will be contested under “Bloodline rules” (meaning there are no rules).

In addition to the two matches featuring Rhodes and Reigns, there are 11 other bouts scheduled for the two-night event. Highlights include brothers Jey and Jimmy Uso squaring off against each other, a six-team ladder match for the tag team championship, the return of Logan Paul and an opportunity for Gunther to extend his record-long reign with the intercontinental championship.

Night 1 card

• Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka and Kairi Sane)
• Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee) vs. Santos Escobar and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio
• Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
• Undisputed tag team championship match (six-team ladder match): The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) (c) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate)
• Women’s world championship match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
• Intercontinental championship match: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
• Main event: The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin” Rollins

Night 2 card

• LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
• Six-man tag team Philadelphia street fight: The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (with B-Fab) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam and Rezar) (with Scarlett and Paul Ellering)
• United States championship match: Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
• Women’s championship match: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley
• World heavyweight championship match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
• Undisputed WWE universal championship match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes

How to watch

Coverage of both nights will begin at 7 p.m. ET, with the main card beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The only way to watch in the United States is on Peacock. Everywhere else in the world, the event will stream on the WWE Network.

The WrestleMania Countdown preshow will begin at 5 p.m. ET both nights, featuring commentary from CM Punk, Pat McAfee, Big E, Michael Cole, Wade Barrett and Jackie Redmond.

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Colorado's MAGA GOP chair gloats over kicking 'fake journalist' out of event

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Before joining raw story, brad reed spent eight years writing about technology at bgr.com and network world. prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as alternet and the american prospect. he has a master's degree in business and economics journalism from boston university..

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams isn't making any apologies for having veteran reporter Sandra Fish booted out of an event.

In fact, he's openly gloating about it.

The Washington Post reports that Williams had Fish, who has been reporting on politics in the state since 1982, kicked out of a recent event in the city of Pueblo on the grounds that her coverage of the party has been "very unfair."

“We make no apologies for kicking out a fake journalist,” Williams told the Post.

The Colorado GOP chairman went on to accuse Fish's employer, the Colorado Sun, of being "an extension of the Democrat Party’s PR efforts."

READ MORE: Theft alert: Republican congressman loses almost $40,000 in check fraud incident

The Post points to some of Fish's recent reporting that may have rankled Williams, particularly a story she wrote about how the state party funded mailers that criticized a fellow Republican who was running against Williams in a congressional primary.

Fish tells the Post that she went to the event after being warned in an email that she would not be welcome there.

When she got there, Fish said, "they gave me a press pass" but then said that "the assembly was about to start, and some of the security staff at the event came up and said I needed to leave.”

Fish tried to ask what about her reporting was unfair, and she was told to get out. Eventually, security escorted her out of the building.

The Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists denounced the move from the Colorado GOP, which it said “represents a hostile disregard for the fundamental standards of transparency, accountability and press freedom.”

Even some Colorado Republicans criticized the move, as Republican state Rep. Matt Soper argued that his party "shouldn't be ejecting reporters" from meetings.

Stories Chosen For You

Should trump be allowed to run for office, senate republicans beg house colleagues to delay mayorkas impeachment — and it may work.

House Republicans are likely to delay transmitting articles of impeachment against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate, Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman reported Tuesday.

That's because Senate Republicans are pleading with House colleagues for more time in order to avoid a procedural hurdle that could end the whole exercise before it begins, according to reporter Andrew Desiderio.

"Senate Republicans spoke up at lunch today urging House GOP to delay sending the Mayorkas impeachment articles until next week, or even later," Desiderio wrote in a lengthy thread on X. "In response, GOP Whip Thune agreed with them that the House should wait, but some [Republicans] want leadership to make the case directly to Johnson."

According to Desiderio, the GOP senators who want a full trial are concerned about timing.

ALSO READ: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes 'victory lap' after making GOP see red over tiny green pins

"A dismissal vote would happen on Thursday afternoon/evening because of the Japanese PM’s speech in the morning," he noted, "creating attendance issues that could foil [a Republican] attempt to defeat a dismissal motion."

After weeks of vote-wrangling and failed attempts amid their threadbare majority, House Republicans impeached Mayorkas in February.

The exact misconduct alleged remains unclear, but House Republicans have argued broadly that Mayorkas violated his oath of office over his handling of southern border immigration policies.

The impeachment is almost certain to fail in the Senate as Democrats are firmyl united in support of the secretary; however, the initial vote on a dismissal motion could lead to the Senate skipping a trial altogether if Republicans failed to muster the votes to block it.

Even some Senate Republicans, including Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), have criticized the impeachment as a waste of the chamber's time and attention.

A recent report further revealed that the Republican staffers who drafted the articles of impeachment have ties to a Christian nationalist organization.

New book details how one lifelong Arizona Republican grew to despise Trump's base

Kathy Petsas was the kind of Republican who knocked on voters' doors if there was a forthcoming election.

Her story features amid the Steve Bannon quotes and Mar-a-Lago anger in a new book by Isaac Arnsdorf that explores the MAGA movement. "Finish What We Started" details the lifelong Republican who voted in every election and spent her life trying to get members of the GOP elected.

Then Donald Trump came into the picture. She never liked him, choosing to cast a ballot for former Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the primary elections. Still, when the time came for being a delegate at the GOP convention, she stayed true to the party.

What she witnessed after the 2020 election, however, changed her forever.

Months after Steve Bannon promoted a plot to populate precinct committee positions with people to challenge voters in Democratic precincts, Petsas had coffee with 132 potential candidates.

Each was asked, "Why do you want to be a precinct committee member? Where did you hear about this? Where do you get your news?" It was all stuff like Steve Bannon, OANN and the "Gateway Pundit."

"They believed a vast conspiracy had denied Trump a second term. Some hinted that Trump was secretly fighting a global cabal of Satan-worshipping child sex traffickers,' the book says. They all signed up to join precinct committees, thanks to a request from Bannon.

The book describes Petsas as spending years "fending off extremists," beginning with the 2008 birther campaign promoted by Donald Trump. Local papers described her as ushering in the "Dekookification" of the state party.

"It wasn’t just that Trump was rude, he brought out the rudeness in his followers; they were not winning anybody over by standing on street corners with Trump signs and guns," her section of the book continues. "Kathy believed that elected officials were supposed to represent everyone, not only the people who voted for them. But everything Trump did was for his base. And everything they did was for him. His cult of personality was probably the thing that bothered her most."

ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different

She argued he didn't stand for anyone but himself. It was all she heard about as she knocked on doors, gathering signatures to get Republican candidates on the ballot.

She found it shocking as 2020 approached that his supporters "believed" what he said. Worse, she explained, were the Republicans who "knew better" but went along with him anyway.

Her legislative chair position was challenged in Dec. 2020 by a woman promoting the "1776" themes calling for a revolution. While she hung onto the post during that vote, Kathy was challenged and removed the following year.

In the meantime, Kathy said she was still meeting with people in the county who would tell her to read the conspiracy theories about the election.

"They told Kathy she clearly didn’t know anything about" elections or the process, the book describes. So, she would go home and check their voting record. She found that many of them had just registered to vote or only voted in presidential elections in the past and not at the midterms or local elections.

"And they were lecturing her about how she didn’t understand the process?" the book continues. "They’d personally seen all this fraud, and somehow, someone who had lived and breathed politics her whole life would fail to notice?"

Trying to detoxify the party again after the era of Trump, she found she was outvoted by someone higher up in GOP leadership who wanted the Trump loyalists on precinct committees even if they'd never voted before 2020.

"By May of 2021, to Kathy’s disbelief, she was now going to district meetings with QAnon believers on her own committee,' the book describes. She watched as they began shutting down school board meetings because they refused to wear masks. At a hotel where the government was housing undocumented immigrants who came into the U.S. the new supporters began demonstrating.

The man who rented the building space for meetings to the legislative district said he wasn't comfortable with "these people in his building." She called it "worse than embarrassing," thinking they had a "normal" group of people. But she saw what Trump was doing to the GOP.

Finally, she met her foe, a woman who didn't bother to vote in 2018 and wasn't even a registered Republican between 2016 and 2020. Kathy refused to even meet with her, but behind the scenes, Bannon was telling supporters that it wouldn't be easy to combat the "establishment." The new woman went to war, and ultimately, she was removed in "an ambush."

The book goes on to tell sell similar stories to hers, illustrating how the GOP has been thwarted by the far-right wing of the party who were once nothing more than a loud fringe. It is now those who are taking over the Republicans.

Arnsdorf's book is on sale now.

Trump bumped from Bloomberg's list of billionaires as Truth Social stocks plummet

Former President Donald Trump has been bumped from Bloomberg's list of billionaires, according to new reports.

Trump's name did not appear Tuesday on the financial news site's daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people , based on net worth analyses of the billionaires' profiles and the day's trading.

USA Today , the first to spot Trump's absence, linked Trump's fall to the problematic public opening of the eponymous media company that parents Truth Social.

"Tuesday has been the stock’s lowest trading day since Trump Media merged with the public shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp," the report notes.

"The price dip has wiped out billions of dollars from the company’s market value."

USA Today put the value of Trump Media — of which the former president owns the majority stake of about 57 percent — at about $5 billion as of Monday evening.

The company, trading under the ticker symbol DJT, was reportedly valued at nearly $8 billion when it debuted on the stock market two weeks ago.

Shares in the firm plummeted by more than 15 percent on April 1 after investors got their first peek at the financials.

Trump Media reported a net loss of $58 million in 2023 on revenues of just over $4 million, those filings showed.

The stocks may be low but the stakes are high for Trump, facing mounting legal fees linked to four criminal court cases and an upcoming presidential campaign that has seen him struggling to keep up with President Joe Biden's campaign donations.

ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why keeping Trump from the White House is all that matters

Trump this year was also found liable in two civil court cases that demanded cash judgements of more than $500 million in total.

Writer E. Jean Carroll successfully sued Trump for defamation and was awarded $83.3 million and his court battle against New York Attorney General Letitia James ended with a $464 million ruling.

Trump denies wrongdoing and is pursuing appeals in both case, but as is required by New York law, must first cough up the cash.

News of Trump's removal from Bloomberg's billionaire index Tuesday was not met with blanket surprise on social media.

"Donald Trump is broke and is now begging for money on Truth Social," replied X user @MonitorFake .

Forbes estimates Trump's worth is $4.8 billion and ranks him as the 659th richest person in the world.

White rural rage: The secret political force shaping America's future

Gop senators back away from mtg's 'ridiculous' speaker threat, revealed: what government officials privately shared about trump not disclosing finances.

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A conservative Oregon county attempts criminal prosecution of a federal employee

Kirk Siegler

Dwayne Ehmer carries a U.S. flag as he rides his horse on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. An armed anti-government militia occupied the headquarters there to protest the jailing of two ranchers accused of arson. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Dwayne Ehmer carries a U.S. flag as he rides his horse on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 7, 2016, near Burns, Ore. An armed anti-government militia occupied the headquarters there to protest the jailing of two ranchers accused of arson.

Attorneys for a federal wildland firefighter whose controversial arrest in eastern Oregon by a rural sheriff drew national headlines have successfully delayed his trial while they try to move the case to federal court.

Ricky Snodgrass with the U.S. Forest Service had been scheduled to appear in a Grant County, Ore., court Monday on a reckless burn charge stemming from a controlled burn he supervised that spread onto private land in the fall of 2022.

But his lawyer, with the help of the Department of Justice, was granted a motion to delay until next month. In the meantime, they're trying to move the case to federal court, where the charges could be dropped.

Snodgrass's arrest and later criminal indictment occurred after a controlled burn he led on federal land near a highway in the eastern Oregon mountains jumped to private land and burned 20 acres.

Ecologists say federal wildfire plans are dangerously out of step with climate change

Snodgrass is not doing interviews. But Max Alonzo, a former USFS employee with the union representing federal workers, says nearby landowners that day were apparently upset about the fire happening and started causing trouble, taking to the road in their pickups.

"They were swerving in and out of the road. They were acting like they were going to hit people that were trying to perform this prescribed fire," Alonzo says.

Snodgrass called the police for help, Alonzo says. By the time the sheriff arrived the fire had spread to private land. He ended up handcuffing Snodgrass and arresting him for reckless burning .

Controlled burns and private property

It's not that unusual for a prescribed fire to accidentally spread to private land, especially if unpredicted winds kick up. Landowners are typically compensated, but an arrest appears unprecedented.

" There are federal protections for federal employees doing their jobs," Alonzo says. "Honestly, the sheriff should be charged with interfering with federal work."

The Picture Show

How these neighbors use fire to revitalize their communities, and land.

Sheriff Todd McKinley declined an interview request, citing the case being in pretrial. But Grant County leaders say the arrest is being overblown.

"One man doing his job kind of caused the other one to have to do his," says Scott Myers, the Grant County judge and chief executive officer.

Myers says the weather conditions that day probably weren't favorable for a burn, and it damaged private property.

" It's an accident, and you can't predict accidents," he says. "But I think you can prevent them to some extent."

The setting of the arrest can't be ignored. Like much of the natural resource-dependent rural West, eastern Oregon has a long history of mistrust of the federal government. Grant County once petitioned Congress to take control of all the federal lands inside the county. In 2002, voters also overwhelmingly supported an apparent symbolic citizen initiative to keep the United Nations out of eastern Oregon.

Some Oregonians want to leave, and take part of the state to Idaho with them

National Association of Forest Service Retirees President Steve Ellis spent much of his career as a supervisor with the agency in the region. He says the anger can be traced back to the early 1990s, when public lands logging was all but shut down there.

"It resulted in a lot of economic frustration," Ellis says. " And it's run fairly high ever since."

In 2016, during the armed occupation of the headquarters of the nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, militia members led by Ammon Bundy and LaVoy Finicum were traveling to Grant County to meet with supporters. They ran into a police roadblock, and Finicum was fatally shot by law enforcement.

Book Reviews

Long-simmering rage leads to rebellion in 'chosen country'.

Oddly, that 2016 occupation originally stemmed from a legal battle over another intentional burn. That one was set by a rancher on federal land who ended up going to federal prison. But Grant County chief executive Scott Myers says generally relations between the county and federal land managers have gotten better.

"We get labeled a lot to be a whole bunch of gun totin', pickup driving crazy maniacs out here, and I don't really think we are," he says.

Still, federal workers say the Oregon arrest is casting a chill over a vital wildfire prevention program that's already under scrutiny, especially after a controlled burn in New Mexico got out of hand and turned into that state's largest ever wildfire in April of 2022.

"Wildland firefighters make an average of a third of what a normal firefighter makes," says Alonzo. "Now you're expecting them to go out and possibly get arrested for doing their jobs. I mean, who wants to do that?"

A decision on the Snodgrass arrest case is likely months out.