Writing Excuses Episode 9: Sci-Fi Sub-Genre
This week we continue our discussion on Science Fiction with a discussion of various Sub-genres, why they’re different, and what you can do to make sure you know your audience. Sub-genres covered:...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 8: Sci-Fi Genre
In the first of our series on genres, we discuss why people write Sci-Fi, what you need to know to write Sci-Fi, and how much we all love unicorns.
View ArticleWriting Excuses Bonus Episode 2: Rules of Writing Excuses
If you’re new to Writing Excuses, or if you’re just curious about some of the terminology we use, let us break it down for you. These are the rules/tricks that we use to keep ourselves on task.
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 7: Villains
Are flaws necessary for villains? What traits make for a really good (err… evil?) villain? What’s the difference between Sauron and Gollum? (“That’s the LAST time I send you out shopping for Gollums,...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 6: Flaws vs Handicaps
Is there a difference between the two? How do you use each appropriately in your writing? And how lovable can a group of mercenaries be?
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 5: Heroes and Protagonists
What makes a good hero? Why is Dirk Pitt so cool? Why do people like Superman? And why does Howard-with-a-chest-cold start to sound like Barry White? Some of these questions are answered in this...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 4: Beginnings
The first line of any story is the most important. People get drawn in to a book because of the first line. Brandon, Howard and Dan talk about how to start a book and what’s important about the first...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 3: Killing your Darlings
How do you make your novel better? Sometimes you have to cut out the part you like best. Don’t believe me? Before I posted this I had attached an image of a chimp wearing a tux. Brandon’s Deleted...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 2: Blending the Familiar and the Original
How do you know when your setting of high school kids solve supernatural mysteries becomes cliché? Brandon, Howard and Dan discuss how you create unique concepts by blending familiar topics with...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 1: Brainstorming
Brandon, Howard and Dan discuss where their ideas come from and Howard tells us a little too much about his love of Pepsi. wikidPad Home Page
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 35: Voice, Tone and Style
Everyone says you can’t teach style–each writer just has to figure it out on his or her own. Well, we here at Writing Excuses have never met an ultimatum we didn’t immediately challenge, so today we...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 34: What The Dark Knight Did Right
Like all right-thinking people, we loved The Dark Knight–but because we are also writers obsessed with the craft of storytelling, we liked it for very specific, very nerdy reasons. Join us as we take a...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 33: Side Characters
Just as no burger is complete without its fries, no protagonist is complete without his sidekick, or his mother, or his entomologist, or whatever side character you decide to give him. This week we...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episodes 32: Talking Exposition with Patrick Rothfuss
In this, the last of our WorldCon 66 episodes, Brandon, Dan, and Howard interview Name of the Wind author Patrick Rothfuss. We discuss exposition, and how not to bore people as you move them through...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 31: Talking RPG and Game Writing with Steve Jackson
One of the biggest areas of professional creative writing these days is game writing, and who better to talk to about it than Steve Jackson–yes, THE Steve Jackson. We start off trying to talk about...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 30: Talking Revision with Moshe Feder
Last week we talked to an editor, this week we talk to OUR editor: Brandon’s and Dan’s editor at Tor, Moshe Feder. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about how an author and editor work together to...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 29: Talking Publishing with Lou Anders
So what exactly does an editor, do, anyway? We’ve already talked about the process of submitting to an editor; today we talk about the millions of vital things that happen after an editor says “I want...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 28: Writing for Webcomics with Phil and Kaja Foglio
This is the first of five episodes recorded on location at WorldCon 66 in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Brandon, Dan, and Howard are joined by Phil and Kaja Foglio, and we discuss writing...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 27: World-Building Religion
The Writing Excuses team sits down to talk about religion as a world-building device: your characters probably believe in something, so what is it? How does it affect their lives? How does it change...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 26: Horror
What is horror? Why is it scary? HOW is it scary? Forced by their grandfather’s will to spend an entire night in his spooky mansion, our podcasters gather to discuss the nuts and bolts of what horror...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 25: Viewpoint and Tense Part 2
We are pleased to present the second half of “Viewpoint and Tense,” which, as we all know, is Tense. Part 1 was Viewpoint. It’s not two podcasts that both talk about tense and viewpoint, it’s two...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 24: Research
How much research do you do? Howard’s answer: “Just enough to get by.” In this podcast we talk about why we research, how we research, and when we feel like we’ve researched enough. We also discuss...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 23: Viewpoint
You’ve heard about viewpoint, but do you really know what it means? Discover along with Howard the magic world of person, tense, and omniscience, and how you can use them to tell your story. It’s a...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 22: Doing The Unpopular
As a writer it’s sometimes difficult to decide between doing things the readers want, and things that are right for the story. But as Dan says, writers can get away with doing things to readers that...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 21: Humor
Enough of this highbrow literary crap–make with the funny! Or, if you’re Howard, do both. In this this episode we talk about why to write humor, how to write humor, how to recognize humor in others,...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 20: More Q&A from Conduit
Writer Eric James Stone joins the Writing Excuses crew for our third Conduit installment. We tackle questions from the audience again (except for when Brandon throws a question AT the audience, which...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 19: Plot Twists
Michael Stackpole, author and podcaster, joined us at CONduit, and the four of us tackled plot twists in front of a live audience. Whether you write from a solid outline or discover your plot as you...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 18: Q&A at Conduit
While at CONduit, we recorded three episodes of Writing Excuses in front of an audience, and this is the first of those. In this episode we have Dan Willis join us as we take questions from the crowd....
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 17: This Sucks and I’m a Horrible Writer
The Writing Excuses crew tackles writer’s block again, this time approaching the “This Sucks And I’m A Horrible Writer” mindset. Dan relates his Neil Gaiman anecdote, Brandon explains why he’d written...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 16: Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard
Howard kicks this off with his own sure-fire cure for Writers’ Block, “BIC HOK:” Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard. The Writing Excuses team takes off from there, discussing the different kinds of...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 15: Costs and Ramifications of Magic
This week the Writing Excuses team discusses magic again, this time focusing on the cost of magic. Whether or not your magic system has internally-consistent rules your readers can follow (per...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 14: Magic Systems and their Rules
Does magic need rules? Sometimes yes and sometimes no; our intrepid podcasters talk about how to know which situation is which, and explore the pros and cons of each method. We’ll also yak for a while...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 13: Submitting to Editors Part 2
In part two of our chat with editor Stacy Whitman, we discuss more about how to interact with editors: how to approach them at cons, how to inquire about work you’ve already submitted, and how to...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 12: Submitting to Editors Part 1
This week, special guest Stacy Whitman joins us from Mirrorstone books (an imprint of Wizards of the Coast). Stacy works there as an editor, and helps us understand the submission process, including...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 11: The Business of Writing
So… you’re ready for the big-time. You’re a writer, and the writing is almost paying the bills. Hurray! Now, how do you balance your life so that you can make the jump to writing full-time? How do you...
View ArticleWriting Excuses Episode 10: Pacing
Pacing… it’s all about keeping the tension up, keeping things snappy, and keeping the reader interested. This week the Writing Excuses crew delivers some tips, tricks, and tools you can use to get your...
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