Books. Biceps. No B.S.: Sophia Chang Show Podcast By Sophia Chang Author cover art

Books. Biceps. No B.S.: Sophia Chang Show

Books. Biceps. No B.S.: Sophia Chang Show

By: Sophia Chang Author
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Reese's Book Club LitUp author Sophia busts publishing myths, gives best writing and author voice tips, shares health and fitness for writers, and explores digital minimalism, adult friendship and chronic illness. She says out loud the things you only think. Subscribe if you want to be brave. Featuring debut authors and fitness experts, this is a podcast for fiction writers and creatives. Sophia shares life struggles as a disabled dancer, traditional publishing and agent query advice, and strength training with autoimmune disease after her first deadlift solved 8 years of chronic pain.Sophia Chang, Author Art Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Social Media Made You a Bad Friend: Why a 30-Day Detox Won't Fix It | Ep 82

    Social Media Made You a Bad Friend: Why a 30-Day Detox Won't Fix It | Ep 82
    Sep 8 2026
    "Is social media rotting my brain?"Why are you even asking?You already know the answer is yes. The real question is, "How crappy a friend is social media making me?"I've been off social media since 2018 and when I got dragged back onto Substack last year, kicking and screaming, what I found there isn't just people with wrecked attention spans — it's people who cannot hold onto the one most important thing you ask for: please respect my disability. Brain rot doesn't just cost you your focus, it costs you your friends. And why does that matter for writers? Being a better friend makes you a better person, which makes you a better creative.This one turned into a rant! If you miss Sophia Chang Show Season 1, hit play.FREE GUIDE — 5 Daily Wellness Habits That Ended 8 Years of Chronic Pain: https://www.sophiachang.com/desk⏰ TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Social Media Is Rotting Your Brain — Yes, Really01:13 Can I Fix My Focus From Social Media Brain Rot?02:06 Bad Friends Are on Substack Too03:34 People are Lazy04:43 I Made a Tutorial. It Didn't Help.05:14 No One Cares About Your Disability05:51 "People Don't Read"06:55 30-Day Detoxes Won't Fix It07:15 What's the Solution? Party Like It's 1999💡 IN THIS EPISODE:What happened when I told my entire friend list "if you have my number, we're real friends"The "olds for olds" audio message tutorial I made so nobody would have an excuseWhat my family member said at breakfast that explained the whole thing in three wordsWhy your prefrontal cortex is not coming back in 30 days⭐ BEST QUOTES:"I will give my phone number like it's candy. I will sprinkle it like it's jelly beans. It is not precious to me.""You would think, my God, why? You don't even know these people. Believe me, nobody actually wants to keep in touch. People are very, very lazy. They have their own lives. They're used to their schedules. They don't care.""The one thing that I have noticed the most of is the inability for people to respect my disability."🔗 LINKS I PROMISED YOU:How to Send Audio Messages on iPhone (Not Voicemail!) — the Olds for Olds TutorialTakes 1 minute to learn, and it's an easy way to support your disabled friends. You have no more excuses. Ep 62: Losing Friends from Chronic Illness — Extrovert on Loneliness, Adult Friendship & Social MediaEp 53: 3 Reasons Making Friends is Hard—Because You Make it That Way on AppleOn SpotifyFREE GUIDE — 5 Daily Wellness Habits That Ended 8 Years of Chronic Pain: https://www.sophiachang.com/deskIncludes how I protect my hands, wrists, and eyes at a screen all day with a visual and mobile disability, plus 50% off the Neck Relief Course on DailyFascia and $15 off a 1-on-1 with Erin Tietz.I edit and produce everything on this channel myself, no team. Help me keep creating: ☕ BUY ME A BOBA https://ko-fi.com/sophiachangSophia Chang is a Reese's Book Club LitUp fellow, disabled dancer, and extroverted writer. She hosts The Sophia Chang Show podcast where she shares No B.S. publishing stories and advice she wishes she'd known. Subscribe if you don't want to cry alone. Learn more at: www.sophiachang.comPodcast content is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical, health, or fitness advice.TOPICS:digital minimalism, social media detox, social media brain rot, dopamine detox, attention span, deep work, quitting social media, 30 day social media detox, making friends as an adult, adult friendship, voice messages, audio messaging, accessibility, visual impairment, disabled writer, chronic illness, Substack, Asian American author, traditional publishing, writing community, author platform, digital wellbeing, screen time
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    8 mins
  • Character Sheets Are Ruining Your Characters — Here's When to Actually Use Them | Ep 81

    Character Sheets Are Ruining Your Characters — Here's When to Actually Use Them | Ep 81
    Jun 25 2026

    FREE Character Toolkit: https://www.sophiachang.com/character

    I hate character sheets.

    Okay, I hate this writing advice.

    Character sheets as step one is dead wrong and I’m going to tell you what Hollywood actors actually do to find the heart of a character fast.

    *No character sheets were harmed in the making of this episode.

    If your characters feel flat, sound the same, or read like a Tindr dating profile—it's time to build from the inside out.

    Best Quotes:

    "No one’s going to be moved to tears in the audition room because I wrote down the astrological sign of a character on a character sheet."

    "You can list the character's wounds all you want. You can list the character's needs. But until you fully dig into that and understand what it really means, it’s just going to be a Tinder profile. And we know how much we like those."

    "I hate this advice not because character sheets are bad. I think that they're very useful, but only if you do it at the right time. You should not be filling out a character sheet as your step one."

    IN THIS EPISODE:

    • Why plotters AND pantsers both get character sheets wrong
    • What Hollywood actors do to find a character fast that don’t involve knowing her favorite ice cream flavor
    • The character-building approach most writing coaches get backwards
    • FREE cheat sheet with two actor-based exercises to try right now

    ⏰ Timestamps:

    00:00 Worst Writing Advice on Character

    00:25 Why I Hate Character Sheets

    01:42 Why Hollywood Actors Do Character So Well

    02:58 Lights, Camera, Character!

    03:48 When SHOULD You Use Character Sheets?


    🎬 Want to try these techniques yourself?Grab the FREE Character Cheat Sheet — both actor-based exercises, complete walkthrough, just 4 pages

    DOWNLOAD FOR FREE: https://www.sophiachang.com/character


    📬 No social media! Newsletter is the ONLY way to stay connected.

    Subscribe: thesophiachang.substack.com

    Sophia Chang is a Reese's Book Club LitUp fellow, disabled dancer, and extroverted writer. She hosts The Sophia Chang Show podcast where she shares No B.S. publishing stories and advice she wishes she'd known. Subscribe if you don't want to cry alone. Learn more at: www.sophiachang.com

    I edit and produce everything myself, no team. Help me keep creating: ☕ BUY ME A BOBA https://ko-fi.com/sophiachang

    TOPICS: character development, character sheets, writing advice, writing craft, Hollywood acting techniques, character motivation, Book Finisher Summit, inside-out character building, Asian American author, traditional publishing, writing community
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    6 mins
  • 80. Writers, Don't Follow Your Bliss — Follow Your Anger Instead

    80. Writers, Don't Follow Your Bliss — Follow Your Anger Instead
    Jun 12 2026
    Are your parents right and you should have been an accountant, not a writer? Find out with this FREE Decision Tree: https://www.sophiachang.com/freebieYou know what's more motivating than following your bliss? Spite and envy.This is Part 2 of my conversation with Kevin Chung on Substack LIVE and it went places. I talk about my 100% query request rate and how dropping out of grad school—TWICE—kickstarted a new career.And for the No B.S. portion, I skewer the entire "redefine success" mantra, and how this advice will keep writers poor.If you've ever experienced the exquisite fury of being told to "follow your bliss" while staring at a medical bill, this one's for you. It's worth watching on video for the Suck Timer alone...Missed Part 1? Start here: https://www.sophiachang.com/podcast/going-blind-fanfiction-reeses-book-clubBest Quotes:“This whole "redefine success"—I'm happy for you if that works, but we still live in an actual world where we need to feed ourselves. I'm a child of immigrants and war refugees—I'm just trying to eat here.”“The people making six figures off Substack paid subscribers are going, "Follow your bliss, redefine success, stay in your own lane." And I just want to be like, You are so privileged.”“I'm working on my seventh novel. I have celebrity book club backing. My last query was 100% request rate. There is no doubt I am at the top of my game and only getting better. But I still ask myself, how do I suck and how can I fix that suck?”“It used to be good writing was enough to get you in. It isn't anymore.”IN THIS EPISODE:The trap of overfocusing on the query pitch instead of what happens AFTER you get in the roomDoes writing to market actually work? TikTok trends, here we come!The Maslow's hierarchy and economic reality check nobody in the writing space talks aboutBalancing author platform building with actually finishing your novelHow radical acceptance of anger, envy, and spite makes you a better writer1-minute bravery challengeTIMESTAMPS:00:00 Embracing the Suck Counter00:33 How I Got a 100% Query Letter Request Rate from Literary Agents01:17 Dropping out of Grad School Twice Launched a New Career03:43 Trap of Overfocusing on the Query05:35 Does Writing to Market Actually Work in Traditional Publishing?08:45 Follow Your Bliss is Privileged B.S.12:41 If it Won't Sustain You, It Will Make You Resentful14:14 Balancing Platform with Finding Time to Write21:34 Best Advice for Authors Starting Over from Scratch23:25 How Anger, Envy, and "Bad" Emotions Make You a Better Writer25:58 1-Minute Writing Challenge: Write the Most Honest Thing You've Ever Written⏰ HAPPENING NOW — FREE SUMMIT WORKSHOPI'm speaking at the Book Finishers Summit on June 25 — Day 1 (available at 8am ET)! My talk: Lights, Camera, Character! The Actor's Guide to Writing Unforgettable Characters. An on-demand workshop with FREE cheatsheet.SIGN UP for FREE: https://link.sophiachang.com/bookfinishers📬 STAY CONNECTEDI edit and produce everything myself, no team. Help me keep creating!BUY ME A BOBA: https://ko-fi.com/sophiachangNo social media! Newsletter is the ONLY way to stay connected.Plus, you get my FREE workbook: 3 Hollywood Secrets to Unforgettable Author Voice at www.sophiachang.com/hollywoodOn Substack? Subscribe, don’t follow: https://thesophiachang.substack.com/Sophia Chang is a Reese's Book Club LitUp fellow, disabled dancer, and extroverted writer. She hosts The Sophia Chang Show podcast where she shares No B.S. publishing stories and advice she wishes she'd known. Subscribe if you don't want to cry alone. Learn more at: www.sophiachang.comTOPICS: traditional publishing, query letter tips, literary agent rejection, writing to market, author platform, career reinvention, chronic illness and writing, writing craft, toxic positivity, honest writing, digital minimalism, AAPI Heritage Month, Asian American author
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    28 mins
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