Writing Excuses
208 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 12 years ago - ★★★★★ - 115 ratingsFifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Writing Excuses 4.5: Roleplaying Games as Tools for Story Telling
February 08, 2010 03:00 - 11.4 MBRoll for initiative, folks! Brandon, Dan, and Howard all play tabletop role-playing games, and sometimes even play together. The question of the hour (well… quarter-hour) is “how can these games help your world building, storytelling, and anything else having to do with good writing?” If this ‘cast doesn’t make you want to play RPGs with … Continue reading Writing Excuses 4.5: Roleplaying Games as Tools for Story Telling →
Writing Excuses 4.4: Agents. Do you need one?
February 01, 2010 02:56 - 11.6 MBWe’re going to wade into a recent e-brouhaha, but it’s not going to be the Amazon vs Macmillan one. No, this is the one where Dean Wesley Smith argued that authors do not need agents. But you don’t need to read that to appreciate this ‘cast. So… do you need an agent? This depends on … Continue reading Writing Excuses 4.4: Agents. Do you need one? →
Writing Excuses 4.3: How to Manage Your Influences
January 25, 2010 02:32 - 13.1 MBHow do you avoid letting other people’s work creep into your own? We’re all influenced by the media we partake in whether we admit it or not. How much of those influences should we allow into our own work? How do we control that? As we engage the topic, we admit that sometimes we want … Continue reading Writing Excuses 4.3: How to Manage Your Influences →
Writing Excuses 4.2: Heroism
January 17, 2010 23:41 - 11.8 MBIf you want to write a good, heroic hero, this is the podcast for you. We’re not necessarily talking about the archetypical, classically-defined, capital-H “Hero” in this podcast, though. We’re talking about what makes readers stand up and cheer. And yes, this can be applied to the archetype, but let’s not digress. We talk about … Continue reading Writing Excuses 4.2: Heroism →
Writing Excuses 4.1: Types of Humor
January 11, 2010 17:07 - 13.6 MBWelcome to Writing Excuses Season 4, featuring new, shorter episode titles! Also, if you don’t count the bonus episodes or the Parsec Award Acceptance Speech, this is our 100th Episode! Brandon kicks this off by asking “What does Howard do that’s funny?” and then by categorizing the sorts of things he finds Howard doing. Obviously … Continue reading Writing Excuses 4.1: Types of Humor →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 32: Collaboration
January 04, 2010 02:02 - 12.2 MBFor starters, let’s clear the air. Yes, the first episode of the new year is also the last episode of Writing Excuses Season 3. And yes, we’ll be getting Season 2 and Season 3 on CDs pretty soon here. Collaboration! This is one of our all-time most requested topics, and we’re covering it now because … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 32: Collaboration →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 31: Tragedy
December 28, 2009 01:21 - 10.4 MBTragedy. It’s just TRAGIC. Tragedy is also one of the classical forms that writers need to know how to work within. Why? Well… because the Greeks thought we should be forced to have strong emotional responses to literature. Writing Prompt: Write a delightful story about happy, cheerful anthropomorphic creatures who all die horribly. This episode … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 31: Tragedy →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 29: Antiheroes
December 20, 2009 23:12 - 11 MBWhat is an Antihero? There are lots of definitions of this word, so Dan boils it down to just three: The Frodo, The Punisher, and The Talented Mister Ripley. And that third definition is the one Brandon believes to be the most correct, at least in the strict literary sense. This was a difficult ‘cast … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 29: Antiheroes →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 30: Unreliable Narrators
December 14, 2009 06:30 - 11.3 MBThis episode totally would have updated earlier if I’d only known sooner that it was ready to go. Jordo says he emailed me early this evening, but if he HAD then you’d have been listening to this by 8:00pm Sunday. So… how much of that do you believe? Is the Narrator lying to you, or … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 30: Unreliable Narrators →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 28: World-Building Gender Roles
December 07, 2009 03:28 - 11.8 MBIs there a disconnect? Brandon specifically introduces the episode as “World-building political correctness,” but the title here says “World-Building Gender Roles.” And then Brandon goes on to blame Howard for picking the title. There is, in fact, a disconnect. Oh the mirth! Howard was imagining a slightly wider scope for the ‘cast, but Brandon focused … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 28: World-Building Gender Roles →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 27: Mixing Humor with Drama and Horror
December 01, 2009 18:07 - 11.1 MBA Monday without Writing Excuses is kind of like a Tuesday without Writing Excuses, only far less aggravating. With Brandon once again by our side(s), we venture once more into the realm of humor: this time, specifically considering how to blend humor with decidedly unhumorous elements such as drama and horror. Why do humor and … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 27: Mixing Humor with Drama and Horror →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 26: NaNoWriMo
November 23, 2009 03:02 - 11.1 MBDan, Howard, and Jordo descended into the basement at Dragon’s Keep where members of the local NaNoWriMo chapter were attempting to bolster their word-counts for the day. We talked to them about National Novel Writing Month, and about the things that were getting them stuck. Good times! Writing Prompt: Kill one of your characters with … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 26: NaNoWriMo →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 25: The Business of Writing Comics
November 16, 2009 06:11 - 1 ByteDan and Howard are again joined by Jake Black, who writes comics (and some other things) for a living. Jake tells us how he got into the business, and we talk about how this might be applied to other folks. But you can’t do it exactly the way he did it because they’ve bricked that … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 25: The Business of Writing Comics →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 24: Writing Comics with Jake Black
November 09, 2009 02:13 - 13.5 MBJake Black fills in for Brandon “#1 New York Times Bestselling Author” Sanderson this week, and that’s perfect because Jake writes comics and Brandon doesn’t. So mostly this is Dan holding Jake’s and my feet to the fire. We’ll talk about the business of writing comics next week. This week it’s more nuts-and-bolts, and we … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 24: Writing Comics with Jake Black →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 23: How to Write Without Twists
November 02, 2009 04:15 - 10.8 MBQuestion: Can you write a good book without a plot twist? Better question: is it a good book if your readers predicted what was coming? Best question: is a podcast about predictable prose itself predictable? No, seriously… the best question is “how can we use predictable, formulaic plotting effectively?” We actually answer that one. Writing … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 23: How to Write Without Twists →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 22: Idea to Story
October 25, 2009 23:23 - 12.2 MBYou are going to love this episode. Seriously. Brandon throws an idea at Dan and Howard, and then we spend 15 minutes expanding on that idea as if we were going to base a story around it. You people who keep asking where we get our ideas? You’re asking the wrong question. Ideas are easy … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 22: Idea to Story →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 21: Pitfalls of Self Publishing with Larry Correia
October 19, 2009 02:28 - 10.9 MBLarry Correia is either the guy who did everything wrong and then broke into publishing anyway, or he’s the exception who proves the rule. He self-published Monster Hunter International, and then got picked up by Baen Books. If you’re considering self-publishing, this is the podcast for you. This week’s episode of Writing Excuses is brought … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 21: Pitfalls of Self Publishing with Larry Correia →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 20: Plot- vs. Character-Driven Fiction
October 12, 2009 03:55 - 10.9 MBLarry Correia, whose debut novel Monster Hunter International hit the market this summer, joins us for a discussion of plot-driven vs. character driven fiction. We start with a definition of terms and a discussion of the battlefield. Then we dive into the nuts and bolts of how to write what it is you want to … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 20: Plot- vs. Character-Driven Fiction →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 19: Emotion in Fiction with John Brown
October 05, 2009 00:53 - 10.8 MBJohn Brown joins us again, and tells us that fiction “is all about guiding an emotional response in a reader.” We begin with a discussion of depression, which John (like many of us) had to deal with. He tells us about the paths for emotional response, and how a beginning writer can end up in … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 19: Emotion in Fiction with John Brown →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 18: How To Not Repeat Yourself
September 28, 2009 04:00 - 11.6 MBJohn Brown rejoins us for this discussion of repetition. How do we, as writers, avoid repeating ourselves? We’re not just talking about the literal re-use of words and phrases here. We’re interested in avoiding the re-use of themes, character arcs, and plotlines. Forget the problems Howard might have coming up with a new joke… he … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 18: How To Not Repeat Yourself →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 17: Characters & Worldbuilding Q&A with Mary Robinette Kowal
September 21, 2009 00:55 - 12.2 MBMary is back! We still had a Mary Robinette Kowal episode from WorldCon 67, and now you have it too! We take questions from the audience, and then answer them. Here are the questions: What do you do if your characters revolt and start to take over the story? When you became a writer what … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 17: Characters & Worldbuilding Q&A with Mary Robinette Kowal →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue Episode
September 13, 2009 23:54 - 12.2 MBJohn Brown, debut author of Servant of a Dark God, joins us for this discussion of the avoidance of self-insertion. In polite company we call this the “Mary Sue,” because it’s difficult to say “self-insertion” in polite company, much less with a straight face. In broader terms, what we’re covering is voice, and how to … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue Episode →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 15: Writing Process Q&A, with Mary Robinette Kowal
September 06, 2009 22:47 - 11.5 MBMary Robinette Kowal joins us again, live at WorldCon 67 in Montreal! This time we fell back on that tried-and-true “Questions from the Audience” format, so the topic is pretty much what the audience asks for on the fly. If the questions were all over the map, our answers require a new school of cartography. … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 15: Writing Process Q&A, with Mary Robinette Kowal →
3.14: The Four Principles of Puppetry, with Mary Robinette Kowal
August 31, 2009 04:44 - 9.84 MBAside from being a delightful author and a Campbell award winner, Mary Robinette Kowal is a professional puppeteer. She joined us at WorldCon 67 in Montreal, and totally schooled us in front of a live audience. I mean it. TOTALLY SCHOOLED. If you want to learn something new about writing, and I mean something really … Continue reading 3.14: The Four Principles of Puppetry, with Mary Robinette Kowal →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 13: Dialects and In-World Jargon
August 24, 2009 03:28 - 12.1 MBHoward here, folks. On behalf of the entire Writing Excuses team I’d like to apologize in advance for that which you are about to receive. You know how sometimes one of those crazy thoughts seems like a good idea, and the more you talk about it the better the idea seems, and so then you … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 13: Dialects and In-World Jargon →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 12: Subplots
August 17, 2009 01:05 - 12.4 MBMeanwhile, several side-characters found themselves looking for a sub-plot in the tavern. Something funny, or perhaps romantic to take the load off of the main story, but still tense enough to keep the pace going. Or maybe something that will let them introduce important elements to the main plot without the reader knowing that’s what’s … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 12: Subplots →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 11: Trimming
August 09, 2009 06:47 - 10.7 MBLet’s talk “trimming.” Why do it? Well… because your manuscript is longer than it needs to be. Yes, we’re talking to you. AND you. And you, too. None of you are exempt! (Well… maybe YOU are, but you can’t be allowed to believe it.) So… what do you trim? We’ve covered “Killing Your Darlings” way … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 11: Trimming →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 10: The Dos and Don’ts of Attending Cons
August 03, 2009 02:12 - 13.5 MBLast week we discussed what kinds of events that you, the aspiring author, should be attending. This week we cover what you should and shouldn’t be doing there. And we start with some don’ts. The word of the day? “Booth Barnacle.” If last week’s ‘cast was a little long-winded, this one is downright rambling, coming … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 10: The Dos and Don’ts of Attending Cons →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 9: Conventions You Should Be Attending
July 27, 2009 01:24 - 11.1 MBAs genre-fiction writers we attend a lot of conventions. As aspiring genre-fiction writers you probably want to be attending conventions. But which ones should you spend time and money on, and what should you plan to do while you’re there? We start by categorizing conventions – literary conventions, anime conventions, media conventions, conferences and trade-shows. … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 9: Conventions You Should Be Attending →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 8: What Star Trek Did Right
July 20, 2009 20:35 - 13.8 MBAs we did with The Dark Knight and Watchmen (the comic, not the movie), once again we turn our searing critical insight on a major work of successful storytelling talk about what they did right. If you loved the new Star Trek movie, or even just kind of liked it, we’ll tell you what the … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 8: What Star Trek Did Right →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 7: Genre Blending
July 13, 2009 01:29 - 12 MBYou’ve seen it done… “Zombie Apocalypse in Space.” “Perry Mason in the Armed Forces.” It’s genre blending, where the author takes themes prevalent in two different genres and combines them to create something new. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. We call down a few examples of both, and offer you listeners the sage advice … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 7: Genre Blending →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 6: Dramatic Breaks
July 07, 2009 16:59 - 11.9 MBWhat are dramatic breaks? We open this episode with Howard very genuinely playing Doctor Watson to Brandon’s Holmes, which is amusing because as it turns out, Howard uses dramatic breaks every day. Simply put they are the points in the narrative, typically at the end of a chapter, where we cut to another scene. Sometimes … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 6: Dramatic Breaks →
Season 3 Episode 6 Delayed by Holiday Weekend
July 06, 2009 15:26Last week we recorded four episodes, but apparently they haven’t been dropped into the hopper for posting yet. I blame the long weekend and good barbecue. As soon as the file has been processed by Producer Jordo I’ll start writing it up and get ol’ 3.6 on the air for your edification. Sorry for the … Continue reading Season 3 Episode 6 Delayed by Holiday Weekend →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 5: How to Take Criticism
June 29, 2009 02:29 - 11.3 MBHow do you take criticism? How do you react, if you even do react? Does criticism cause you to change the way you work? Criticism can come from your peers in a writing group, from editors sending you rejection letters, and from those one-star Amazon reviewers who are out there looking for something to hate. … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 5: How to Take Criticism →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 3: Stumping Howard at Conduit
June 22, 2009 02:53 - 14.6 MBHoward here… I’ve learned that it’s a really bad idea to run out for a bio-break between podcasts. When I returned to the packed panel room I could tell that everyone’s attitude towards me was subtly different. It wasn’t until we started recording that I realized Brandon had turned our Q&A panel into a “Stump … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 3: Stumping Howard at Conduit →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 2: Keeping it Real with Aprilynne Pike
June 15, 2009 03:41 - 11 MBThis episode was recorded live at CONduit in Salt Lake City with special guest Aprilynne Pike. Our topic: How do we “keep it real” when writing speculative fiction? What does that even mean? (Okay, it means making the stuff that exists in real life seem real.) Short answer: Research. We talk about how we go … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 2: Keeping it Real with Aprilynne Pike →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 4: Non Linear Story Telling
June 08, 2009 07:02 - 11.4 MBDon’t you just hate it when things unfold out of order? Why do writers do that? We explain why they do it, and how they do it, and then we discuss how to avoid some common mistakes. Non-linear storytelling is inherently risky, after all. Maybe not as risky as jumping ahead two episodes in a … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 4: Non Linear Story Telling →
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 1: World-Building History
June 01, 2009 15:33 - 11.1 MBWelcome to Season 3 of Writing Excuses! With eighteen hours and fourteen months of podcasting history behind us, it seems appropriate for us to talk about history, and how to write it. We talk about the iceberg principle — 90% of the history stuff you write never gets seen by the reader, it’s just there … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 1: World-Building History →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 33: How To Not Be Overwhelmed
May 25, 2009 14:05 - 10.2 MBAnd here we are, at the final episode of Writing Excuses, Season 2. As promised, this episode is going to be super-useful to new writers, but it’s going to be extra-super-useful to one new writer in particular, Brandon’s nameless friend who listened to 9 hours of Writing Excuses podcasts and is now too overwhelmed to … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 33: How To Not Be Overwhelmed →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 32: The Most Important Thing Dan Learned In The Last Year
May 18, 2009 03:30 - 10.2 MBThis the third in our series of retrospective episodes. The most important thing Dan learned this year? Being a full-time author is a lot different than he thought it would be. How different? What was Dan expecting? Was he really imagining silk pajamas and a notebook computer on the beach? We talk about the types … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 32: The Most Important Thing Dan Learned In The Last Year →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 31: The Most Important Thing Brandon Learned In The Last Year
May 11, 2009 05:10 - 11.2 MBHere’s the second part of our three-part “what we learned this year” series. This time around Brandon tells us the most important thing he learned this year. Summed up? Gimmicks cannot compensate for bad writing. So… what’s a gimmick? We begin with hooks and pitches, but gimmicks can include things like photo-realistic cover art, internet … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 31: The Most Important Thing Brandon Learned In The Last Year →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 30: The Most Important Thing Howard Learned In The Last Year
May 03, 2009 23:34 - 10.8 MBThis is the first of a three-part series in which Brandon, Dan, and Howard tell each other (and you, of course) about the most important thing each of them has learned in the past year. We start with Howard, who seems to believe that of all the many things he’s learned about writing in the … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 30: The Most Important Thing Howard Learned In The Last Year →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 29: How not to end your book
April 27, 2009 03:40 - 11.5 MBLet’s talk about failure… but let’s talk about it so that we can avoid it. How do you know if your ending has flopped? What kind of approaches to ending a story should you be avoiding? How can you recognize these approaches in time to avoid them? The best approach? Identify the promises you’ve made … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 29: How not to end your book →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 28: Applying Critical Reading: “Watchmen”
April 20, 2009 00:49 - 12.8 MBLast week we talked about reading critically, reading as writers. This week we decided to apply that critical reading skill to Watchmen, the Hugo award-winning graphic novel by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. We start (once we get past the donuts in our mouths) by breaking it down into character, … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 28: Applying Critical Reading: “Watchmen” →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 27: Reading Critically
April 13, 2009 00:43 - 11.6 MBAs a writer you obviously know how to read. But being a writer changes how you read, and what you read, and even why you read. Do you read more, or less as a writer? How do you read so that your reading doesn’t interfere with writing? How do you channel your reading into bettering … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 27: Reading Critically →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 26: How Publishing is Changing in the new Century
April 06, 2009 00:37 - 14.8 MBNancy Fulda, assistant editor at Baen’s Universe and editor-in-chief and founder of Anthology Builder, joins us again while Dan Wells is out celebrating his birthday. We discuss the rise of digital SF magazines, and touch on concepts like user-generated content, the Superconducting Copy Machine, and disruptive technology. We talk about print-on-demand vs. self-publishing, we laugh … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 26: How Publishing is Changing in the new Century →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 25: The Seven Deadly Sins of Slush Stories
March 30, 2009 02:04 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBNancy Fulda fills in for Dan for this week’s episode (he was sick, she was in town, huzzah!) but she’s more than just “filling in.” She’s FEATURED. Nancy is the assistant editor for Jim Baen’s Universe, and as such is probably the one who rejected your story. Nancy is also the editor-in-chief and founder of … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 25: The Seven Deadly Sins of Slush Stories →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 24: Writing Habits and Q&A with Tracy Hickman
March 24, 2009 04:45 - 12.5 MBTracy Hickman joins us again at “Life, The Universe, and Everything,” and in this episode we let Brandon ask him random questions while Dan and Howard chime in with comments that hopefully don’t detract from the discussion. During the interview Tracy mentions his latest project, XDM: Extreme Dungeon Mastery, but he doesn’t mention the very … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 24: Writing Habits and Q&A with Tracy Hickman →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 23: Avoiding the Cliché with Tracy Hickman
March 16, 2009 14:19 - 11.1 MBWe took Writing Excuses on the road last month for “Life, The Universe, and Everything,” the symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy at Brigham Young University. The Guests of Honor were Tracy and Laura Hickman, and poor Tracy agreed to join us for a podcast or two, recorded in front of a live audience. After … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 23: Avoiding the Cliché with Tracy Hickman →
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 22: Marketing 201, Branding for Authors
March 09, 2009 02:53 - 12.1 MB“Branding,” not “Brandon,” just so we’re clear. Brand-ING. We open with the definition of “branding,” talking about what it is, and (just as importantly) what it is not. With that out of the way we forge ahead and talk about author brands, brand messaging, and why any of this really matters. We throw down a … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 22: Marketing 201, Branding for Authors →