What does it mean to think of story as cosmology? In this episode, I explore story not as entertainment or belief, but as a deeper framework for meaning—one that helps humans understand change, transformation, and lived experience.

When I talk about story as cosmology, I'm pointing to the idea that story functions beneath ideology and belief systems, shaping how we make sense of crisis, consequence, and change. Long before we articulate doctrines about the world, we experience life through story, and long after specific ideologies strain or collapse, the shape of story remains.

This episode looks at:

– Story as a pattern reflecting something larger
– Why archetypal story structure mirrors lived patterns of transformation
– How story holds under stress in ways rigid systems often don't
– What this understanding asks of writers and storytellers today

This is a reflection on story as shape, pattern, and process, and why that matters so deeply to human experience.

Related Resources:
Helping Writers Become Authors
https://helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

Next Level Plot Structure by K.M. Weiland

We're living in a storytelling moment deeply fascinated by darkness—and for good reason. Stories have always helped us metabolize fear, trauma, and moral failure. But darkness is not meant to be the destination.

In this episode, I explore why writers need a sense of wonder in fiction, not as escapism or denial, but as a way of completing the story arc. Wonder is what allows stories to move through the descent rather than getting stuck there and to imagine a future still worth moving toward.

This is a reflection on how stories work psychologically and culturally, why so many books already carry hope with quiet integrity, and how writers (often without realizing it) contribute to building meaning, courage, and care through the stories they tell.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why dark stories play an essential role in storytelling

• The danger of getting stuck in the descent

• Why stories must complete the arc

• The sense of wonder in fiction as moral imagination

• How stories help us imagine a future worth moving toward

Links & Resources

📚 Writing craft & story theory:
https://helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

✍️ Join my mailing list (weekly insights for writers):
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/resources/free-e-book/

📖 Explore my books and resources for writers:
https://kmweilandstore.com/
(Including Writing Your Story's Theme, Structuring Your Novel, and Creating Character Arcs)

📷 Find me on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/authorkmweiland/

About the Host

K.M. Weiland is an award-winning and internationally published author of writing guides such as Structuring Your Novel and Creating Character Arcs. She mentors writers in story theory, technique, the deeper meaning of narrative, and all the wild and wonderful highs and lows of the writing life.

In this episode, I'm looking back on how my writing career evolved in 2025—a milestone year marked by turning forty, rediscovering my teaching voice, and stepping into a deeper vision for my work. I explore the transitions from SEO to GEO, the shifting landscape of the writing life, and the tools and insights that helped me reimagine the next decade of my author career. Join me as I share the lessons, transformations, and new directions that are shaping where Helping Writers Become Authors goes from here.