Writing Excuses

By Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

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Category: Fiction

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Subscribers: 2606
Reviews: 8
Episodes: 904


 Jan 17, 2024


 Oct 1, 2023
The single most useful resource for an aspiring author.


 Jan 12, 2022


 Jun 4, 2020


 Dec 29, 2018

Description

Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.


Episode Date
19.41: A Close Reading on Structure: An Overview and Why Fifth Season
Oct 13, 2024
19.40: An Interview on Tension with P. Djèlí Clark
Oct 06, 2024
19.39: A Close Reading on Tension: Tying It All Together
Sep 29, 2024
19.38: A Close Reading on Tension: Anticipation and Subversion
Sep 22, 2024
19.37: A Close Reading on Tension: Movement and Resolution
Sep 15, 2024
19.36: A Close Reading on Tension: Narrative vs. Contextual
Sep 08, 2024
19.35: A Close Reading on Tension: An Overview and Why Ring Shout
Sep 01, 2024
19.34: Grants and Fellowships
Aug 25, 2024
19.33: Workshops and Retreats
Aug 18, 2024
19.32: An Interview on Character with CL Clark
Aug 11, 2024
19.31: A Close Reading on Character: Tying it All Together
Aug 04, 2024
19.30: A Close Reading on Character: Agency vs. Choices
Jul 28, 2024
19.29: A Close Reading on Character: Barriers vs. Stakes
Jul 21, 2024
19.28: A Close Reading on Character: Internal vs External Identity
Jul 14, 2024
19.27: A Close Reading on Character: An Overview and Why We Chose C.L. Clark's Stories
Jul 07, 2024
19.26: Bringing Falconry into Writing
Jun 30, 2024
19.25: From the Classroom to the Page
Jun 23, 2024
19.24: An Interview on Worldbuilding with Arkady Martine
Jun 16, 2024
19.23: Tying It All Together (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding)
Jun 09, 2024
19.22: Technology and Identity (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding)
Jun 02, 2024
19.21: Language as a Tool (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding)
May 26, 2024
19.20: How to Make Worlds Feel Big Without Overwhelming the Reader (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding: Focusing on Scale)
May 19, 2024
19.19: A Close Reading on Worldbuilding: An Overview and why A Memory Called Empire
May 12, 2024
19.18: How to Build Fictional Economies
May 05, 2024
19.17: Novellas- the Goldilocks of Publishing
Apr 28, 2024
19.16: An Interview with Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
Apr 21, 2024
19.15: A Close Reading on Voice: Tying It All Together
Apr 14, 2024
19.14: A Close Reading on Voice- Epistolary Storytelling Through Voice
Apr 07, 2024
19.13: A Close Reading on Voice: Blue's Perspective - Confidence and Vulnerability
Mar 31, 2024
19.12: A Close Reading on Voice - Red's Perspective - Muscular Prose
Mar 24, 2024
19.11: A Close Reading on Voice- An Overview, and Why Time War
Mar 17, 2024
19.10: Introducing Our Close Readings Series
Mar 10, 2024
19.09: LIVE Recording - Rituals, Rites, and Traditions
Mar 03, 2024
19.08: NaNoWriMo Revision with Ali Fisher: Working with an Editor
Feb 25, 2024
19.07: NaNoWriMo Revision with Ali Fisher: Intention
Feb 18, 2024
19.06: NaNoWriMo Revision with Ali Fisher: Length
Feb 11, 2024
19.05: LIVE Recording - Revisions with Mahtab Narsimhan
Feb 04, 2024
19.04: LIVE Recording - Pacing with Guest Fonda Lee
Jan 28, 2024
19.03: Behind The Scenes with our Producer and Recording Engineer
Jan 21, 2024
19.02: Q&A Episode with WX Core Cast
Jan 14, 2024
19.01: Interview with Abraham Verghese
Jan 07, 2024
18.53: Funding the Writing Life
Dec 31, 2023
18.52: Writing Inside The Box
Dec 24, 2023
18.51: So You Wanna Play With Format?
Dec 17, 2023
18.50: The Unreliable Narrator
Dec 10, 2023
18.49: Giving Your Story A Voice
Dec 03, 2023
18.48: NaNoWriMo Week 5 - Writing Endings
Nov 26, 2023
18.47: NaNoWriMo Week 4 - Climaxes, or OH MY GOD NO
Nov 19, 2023
18.46: NaNoWriMo Week 3 - Raising the Stakes
Nov 12, 2023
18.45: NaNoWriMo Week 2 - Inciting Incident
Nov 05, 2023
18.44: NaNoWriMo Week 1- Getting Started
Oct 29, 2023
18.43: Worldbuilding in Miniature
Oct 22, 2023
18.42: Creating Magic Outside of a System
Oct 15, 2023
18.41: Deep Dive: Erin's Short Fiction Extravaganza
Oct 08, 2023
18.40: How To Make Money From Your Hobby (with special guest Sandra Tayler!)
Oct 01, 2023
18.39: How To Write An Ending
Sep 24, 2023
18.38: How Do You Write A Series With Books That Stand Alone?
Sep 17, 2023
18.37: Mandatory Failure
Sep 10, 2023
18.36: The Soggy Middle Pays the Rent (or, "Stand Alone With Series Potential")
Sep 03, 2023
18.35: How to Organize Your Writing, or Managing the Mega-Arc
Aug 27, 2023
18.34: Seventeen Years of Foreshadowing
Aug 20, 2023
18.33.5: State Of The Podcast
Aug 16, 2023
18.33: Deep Dive: The Schlock Mercenary Finale
Aug 13, 2023
18.32: The Kirsten Vangsness Expansion Pack
Aug 06, 2023
18.31: Getting Personal: Mining Your Life for Themes
Jul 30, 2023
18.30: Planting Supernatural Seeds
Jul 23, 2023
18.29: Collaboration And Partnership
Jul 16, 2023
18.28: Writing Conversational Dialogue
Jul 09, 2023
18.27: Framing Stories
Jul 02, 2023
18.26: Broadening Your Writing Wheelhouse: Video Game Dialogue, RPG Adventures, & More
Jun 25, 2023
18.25: To Narrator or Not to Narrator
Jun 18, 2023
18.24: “Dark One: Forgotten” Deep Dive
Jun 11, 2023
18.23: Our Advice on Giving Advice
Jun 04, 2023
18.22: On Mentorship: Sending the Elevator Back Down
May 28, 2023
18.21: The Empathy Gap: How to Understand What Your Publisher is Telling You
May 21, 2023
18.20: So You Want To Work In Publishing?
May 14, 2023
18.19: What is Publishing For, Anyway?
May 07, 2023
18.18: Launching an Author Newsletter
Apr 30, 2023
18.17: Build Your Author Brand, 2023 Edition
Apr 23, 2023
18.16: Deep Dive: Publishing is Hard, by DongWon Song
Apr 16, 2023
18.15: Building a Mystery, Now With More Tools
Apr 09, 2023
18.14: Heavy Lifting with Microtension
Apr 02, 2023
18.13: Finding the Core Conflict
Mar 26, 2023
18.12: The Long Shadow of Unanswered Questions
Mar 19, 2023
18.11: Turning Up the Contrast With Juxtaposition
Mar 12, 2023
18.10: Anticipation is More Than Just Making Us Wait
Mar 05, 2023
18.09: Unpacking the Tension
Feb 26, 2023
18.08: Building a Mystery
Feb 19, 2023
18.07: Deep Dive into THE SPARE MAN
Feb 12, 2023
18.06: An Interview With Howard Tayler
Feb 05, 2023
18.05: An Interview with Mary Robinette Kowal
Jan 29, 2023
18.04: An Interview With Dan Wells
Jan 22, 2023
18.03: An Interview With Erin Roberts
Jan 15, 2023
18.02: An Interview with DongWon Song
Jan 08, 2023
18.01: Twenty Twenty-Three, By Way of Introduction
Jan 01, 2023
17.52: The WXR 2022 Q&A
Dec 25, 2022
17.51: Feel The Burn
Dec 18, 2022
17.50: Consistency, Inconsistency, and the Crushing Weight of Expectations
Dec 11, 2022
17.49: Bodies Are Magical
Dec 04, 2022
17.48: Bodies, Why? (Part III)
Nov 27, 2022
17.47: The Linguistics of Disability
Nov 20, 2022
17.46: Monstrous Awakening
Nov 13, 2022
17.45: Bodies, Tech, and Character
Nov 06, 2022
17.44: Bodies, Why? (Part II: Working Through Disability)
Oct 30, 2022
17.43: Bodies. Why? (Depicting Disability)
Oct 23, 2022
17.42: Eight Embodied Episodes About Disability
Oct 16, 2022
17.41: Picture Books are Books Too, with Special Guest Seth Fishman
Oct 09, 2022
17.40: Questions & Answers About Structure, with Special Guest Peng Shepherd
Oct 02, 2022
17.39: Writing Bodies and Intimacy, with K.M. Szpara
Sep 25, 2022
17.38: Oh No I Lost The Thread
Sep 18, 2022
17.37: Science and Fiction—It’s Not Just Science Fiction
Sep 11, 2022
17.36: Space for Everyone
Sep 04, 2022
17.35: Nuances of Dialog
Aug 28, 2022
17.34: Developing Subtext
Aug 21, 2022
17.33: Building Tension
Aug 14, 2022
17.32: Everything is About Conflict
Aug 07, 2022
17.31: Everyone Has an Agenda
Jul 31, 2022
17.30: Know Your Characters
Jul 24, 2022
17.29: The Job of Dialogue
Jul 17, 2022
17.28: Keys to Writing Dialog
Jul 10, 2022
17.27: Ensembles Behind the Scenes
Jul 03, 2022
17.26: Hanging Separately
Jun 26, 2022
17.25: Archetypes, Ensembles, and Expectations
Jun 19, 2022
17.24: Ensembles and Genre
Jun 12, 2022
17.23: Are We Stronger Together?
Jun 05, 2022
17.22: Establishing the Ensemble
May 29, 2022
17.21: Casting Your Story With Character Voice
May 22, 2022
17.20: Basics of Ensemble Characterization
May 15, 2022
17.19: Working in a Collaborative Environment
May 08, 2022
17.18: How to be Funny, with Jody Lynn Nye
May 01, 2022
17.17: Writing in the Public Domain
Apr 24, 2022
17.16: Miscellaneous Structures
Apr 17, 2022
17.15: Storytelling in the Footnotes
Apr 10, 2022
17.14: Structuring for Disordered or Order-less Reading Order
Apr 03, 2022
17.13: Structuring Around a Thing
Mar 27, 2022
17.12: Structuring a Story Within a Story
Mar 20, 2022
17.11: Structuring with Multiple Timelines
Mar 13, 2022
17.10: Structuring with Multiple POVs
Mar 06, 2022
17.9: Let’s Talk About Structure
Feb 27, 2022
17.8: The Alchemy of Creativity
Feb 20, 2022
17.7: Dissecting Influence
Feb 13, 2022
17.6: Hitting Reset Without Getting Hit Back
Feb 06, 2022
17.5: The Promise of the Brand
Jan 30, 2022
17.4: The Gun on the Mantel is Actually a Fish
Jan 23, 2022
17.3: Chekov’s Surprising Yet Inevitable Inverted Gun
Jan 16, 2022
17.2: It Was a Promise of Three Parts
Jan 09, 2022
17.1: Genre and Media are Promises
Jan 02, 2022
16.52: Structure is a Promise
Dec 26, 2021
16.51: Promises are a Structure
Dec 19, 2021
16.50: Worldbuilding Finale: Making Deliberate Choices
Dec 12, 2021
16.49: Magic and Technology: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Dec 05, 2021
16.48: Believable Worlds Part 2: Creating Texture
Nov 28, 2021
16.47: Believable Worlds Part 1: The Illusion of Real
Nov 21, 2021
16.46: World and Plot: The Only Constant is Change
Nov 14, 2021
16.45: World and Character Part 2: Moral Frame
Nov 07, 2021
16.44: World and Character Part 1: All Your Characters Are Biased
Oct 31, 2021
16.43: The Narrative Holy Trinity of World, Character, and Plot, with Fonda Lee
Oct 24, 2021
16.42: M.I.C.E. Quotient, After the Fact
Oct 17, 2021
16.41: Middles and Conflicts with M.I.C.E. Structure
Oct 10, 2021
16.40: Nesting Threads in the M.I.C.E. Quotient
Oct 03, 2021
16.39: Deep Dive into “Event”
Sep 26, 2021
16.38: Deep Dive into “Character”
Sep 19, 2021
16.37: Deep Dive Into “Inquiry”
Sep 12, 2021
16.36: Deep Dive into “Milieu”
Sep 05, 2021
16.35: What is the M.I.C.E. Quotient?
Aug 29, 2021
16.34: Novels Are Layer Cakes
Aug 22, 2021
16.33: Tell, Don’t Show
Aug 15, 2021
16.32: First Page Fundamentals—THE KILLING FLOOR, by Lee Childs
Aug 08, 2021
16.31: First Page Fundamentals—MOBY DICK
Aug 01, 2021
16.30: First Page Fundamentals—THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
Jul 25, 2021
16.29: Building Trust
Jul 18, 2021
16.28: Common First-Page Mistakes
Jul 11, 2021
16.27: Nobody Wants to Read a Book
Jul 04, 2021
16.26: Working With Teams
Jun 27, 2021
16.25: Breaking Into Game Writing
Jun 20, 2021
16.24: Worldbuilding for Games
Jun 13, 2021
BONUS EPISODE! 2021 WXR Early-Bird Announcement
Jun 10, 2021
16.23: Rules and Mechanics
Jun 06, 2021
16.22: Scenes and Set Pieces
May 30, 2021
16.21: Player Characters
May 23, 2021
16.20: Branching Narratives
May 16, 2021
16.19: Intro to Roleplaying Games
May 09, 2021
16.18: Poetry and the Fantastic
May 02, 2021
16.17: The Time To Rhyme
Apr 25, 2021
16.16: Poetic Structure: Part II
Apr 18, 2021
16.15: Poetic Structure, Part I
Apr 11, 2021
16.14: Poetic Language
Apr 04, 2021
16.13: Day Brain vs. Night Brain
Mar 28, 2021
16.12 : Singing Versus Speaking
Mar 21, 2021
16.11: What is Poetry?
Mar 14, 2021
16.10: Paying it Forward, with Kevin J. Anderson
Mar 07, 2021
16.9: Crossing The Revenue Streams
Feb 28, 2021
16.8: Smart Promotion
Feb 21, 2021
16.7: To Series, or Not to Series
Feb 14, 2021
16.6: Building Your Brand
Feb 07, 2021
16.5: Pros and Contracts
Jan 31, 2021
16.4: Networking
Jan 24, 2021
16.3: Publishing Pitfalls
Jan 17, 2021
16.02: Publishers Are Not Your Friends
Jan 10, 2021
16.01: Your Career is Your Business
Jan 03, 2021
15.52: Economy of Phrase, Being the Concentrated Concatenation of Complex Thoughts in Just a Very Few Words Which Must Fit In A Very Very Small Box, With Patrick Rothfuss
Dec 27, 2020
15.51: Feedback—When to Listen, and When to Ignore, with special guest Mahtab Narsimhan
Dec 20, 2020
15.50: Juggling Ensembles
Dec 13, 2020
15.49: Maintaining Passion for a Story, with special guest Mahtab Narsimhan
Dec 06, 2020
15.48: Deliberate Discomfort, Part Two
Nov 29, 2020
15.47: Worldbuilding Science Fiction, with Cory Doctorow
Nov 22, 2020
15.46: Crafting Chinese-American Characters
Nov 15, 2020
15.45: Worldbuilding Fantasy, with Patrick Rothfuss
Nov 08, 2020
15.44: Rebooting a Career
Nov 01, 2020
15.43: Audiobook Narration, with Bruce D Richardson
Oct 25, 2020
15.42: Writing The End
Oct 18, 2020
15.41: Researching the FCK out of Things, with Cory Doctorow
Oct 11, 2020
15.40: Researching for Writing the Other
Oct 04, 2020
15.39: Translation, with special guest Alex Shvartsman
Sep 27, 2020
15.38: Depicting Religions That Are Not Your Own
Sep 20, 2020
15.37: Writing Under Deadlines
Sep 13, 2020
15.36: Collaboration, with Shannon and Dean Hale
Sep 06, 2020
15.35: Tools for Writing and Worldbuilding, with Erin Roberts
Aug 30, 2020
15.34: Writing Deliberate Discomfort
Aug 23, 2020
15.33: The Long, Dark Second Act of the Soul
Aug 16, 2020
15.32: Short Story Markets
Aug 09, 2020
15.31: The Agent in the Room
Aug 02, 2020
15.30: Write What You Want To Know, with Laurell K. Hamilton
Jul 26, 2020
15.29: Barbie Pre-Writing, with Janci Patterson and Megan Walker
Jul 19, 2020
15.28: Small Evils
Jul 12, 2020
15.27: Alternate History, with Eric Flint
Jul 05, 2020
15.26: Taking the Chance, with David Weber
Jun 28, 2020
15.25: Using the MICE Quotient for Conflict
Jun 21, 2020
15.24: Keeping it Fresh, with Jim Butcher
Jun 14, 2020
15.23: Serialization
Jun 07, 2020
15.22 Writing For Children, with Shannon and Dean Hale
May 31, 2020
15.21: Writing About Children, with Shannon and Dean Hale
May 24, 2020
15.20: Mental Wellness and Writing
May 17, 2020
15.19: As You Know, This Episode Is About Exposition
May 10, 2020
15.18: Finding a Community, with Shauna Hoffman
May 03, 2020
15.17: Asexual Representation
Apr 26, 2020
15.16: Balancing Plot and Character
Apr 19, 2020
15.15: Dialog
Apr 12, 2020
15.14: Agent Query Trenches
Apr 05, 2020
15.13: Using Elections in Stories
Mar 29, 2020
15.12: Writing the Other—Being an Ally
Mar 22, 2020
15.11: Digital is Different, with Cory Doctorow
Mar 15, 2020
15.10: Evaluating Ideas
Mar 08, 2020
15.09: Choose Your Own Adventurous Publishing Path
Mar 01, 2020
15.08: Q&A on a Ship
Feb 23, 2020
15.07: Creating Chapters
Feb 16, 2020
15.06: Prose and Cons, with Patrick Rothfuss
Feb 09, 2020
15.05: Setting Goals for Your Career
Feb 02, 2020
15.04: Revision, with Patrick Rothfuss
Jan 26, 2020
15.03: Self Publishing
Jan 19, 2020
15.02: Writing Between the Lines
Jan 12, 2020
15.01: Evolution of a Career
Jan 05, 2020
14.52: Game Mastering and Collaborative Storytelling, with Natasha Ence
Dec 29, 2019
14.51: A Farewell to Worldbuilding
Dec 22, 2019
14.50: Write What You… No.
Dec 15, 2019
14.49: Customs and Mores
Dec 08, 2019
14.48: How to Practice Worldbuilding
Dec 01, 2019
14.47: Writing Characters With Physical Disabilities
Nov 24, 2019
14.46: Unusual Resources
Nov 17, 2019
14.45: Economics
Nov 10, 2019
14.44: Realism vs. Rule-of-Cool
Nov 03, 2019
14.43: Sequencing Your Career Genome
Oct 27, 2019
14.42: Alternate History
Oct 20, 2019
14.41: History
Oct 13, 2019
14.40: Deep vs. Wide
Oct 06, 2019
14.39: Positioning Your Book in the Marketplace
Sep 29, 2019
14.38: Volunteer Opportunities for Writers, with Jared Quan
Sep 22, 2019
14.37: Outlandish Impossibilities
Sep 15, 2019
14.36: Languages and Naming
Sep 08, 2019
14.35: What You Leave Out
Sep 01, 2019
14.34: Author Branding
Aug 25, 2019
14.33: Writing Imperfect Worlds
Aug 18, 2019
Worldbuilding Gender Roles
Aug 11, 2019
14.31: Cultural Setting as Conflict
Aug 06, 2019
14.30: Eating Your Way to Better Worldbuilding
Jul 28, 2019
14.29: Field Research
Jul 21, 2019
14.28: Warfare and Weaponry
Jul 14, 2019
14.27: Natural Setting as Conflict
Jul 07, 2019
14.26: Lessons from Aristotle, with Rob Kimbro
Jun 30, 2019
14.25: Choosing Your Agent
Jun 23, 2019
14.24: Political Intrigue
Jun 16, 2019
14.23: Governments Large and Small
Jun 09, 2019
14.22: Characters out of Their Depth
Jun 02, 2019
14.21: Writing The Other — Yes, You Can!
May 26, 2019
14.20: Allegory in Fiction
May 19, 2019
14.19: Religion and Ritual
May 12, 2019
14.18: Setting as Theme
May 05, 2019
14.17: It’s Like “Car Talk” meets “Welcome To Nightvale”
Apr 28, 2019
14.16: Your Setting is a Telegraph
Apr 21, 2019
14.15: Technology
Apr 14, 2019
14.14: When To Tell
Apr 07, 2019
WX 14.13: Obstacles vs. Complications
Mar 31, 2019
14.12: Writing The Other — Latinx Representation
Mar 24, 2019
14.11: Magic Without Rules
Mar 17, 2019
14.10: Magic Systems
Mar 10, 2019
14.9: Showing Off
Mar 03, 2019
14.8: Worldbuilding Q&A #1
Feb 24, 2019
14.7: How Weird is Too Weird?
Feb 17, 2019
14.6: Fantasy and Science Fiction Races
Feb 10, 2019
14.5: Viewpoint as Worldbuilding
Feb 03, 2019
14.04: Writing the Other—Bisexual Characters
Jan 27, 2019
14.03: World of Hats
Jan 20, 2019
14.02: Geography and Biomes
Jan 13, 2019
14.01: Worldbuilding Begins! Up Front, or On the Fly?
Jan 06, 2019
13.52: Working Dad is a Spaceman
Dec 30, 2018
13.51: Wrap-up on the Year of Character
Dec 25, 2018
13.50: What Writers Get Wrong, with Zoraida Córdova
Dec 16, 2018
13.49: How to Finish
Dec 09, 2018
13.48: Character Death and Plot Armor
Dec 02, 2018
13.47: Q&A on Fixing Characters
Nov 25, 2018
13.46: The Unsexy Side of Space, with Bart Smith and Ben Hewett
Nov 18, 2018
NaNoWriMo 2018 Bonus Episode, with Mercedes Lackey
Nov 15, 2018
13.45: Next Level Narration
Nov 11, 2018
NaNoWriMo 2018 Mini-Episode 2
Nov 07, 2018
13.44: Alien Characters
Nov 04, 2018
NaNoWriMo 2018 Mini-Episode 1
Oct 31, 2018
13.43: Characters Who Are Smarter Than You Are
Oct 28, 2018
13.42: Writing Excuses Talks to an Astronaut, with Special Guest Kjell Lindgren
Oct 21, 2018
13.41: Fixing Character Problems, Part II
Oct 14, 2018
13.40: Fixing Character Problems, Part I
Oct 07, 2018
13.39: What Writers Get Wrong, With Wendy Tolliver
Sep 30, 2018
13.38: How to Find and Use Alpha Readers
Sep 23, 2018
13.37: What Writers Get Wrong, with J.Y. Yang
Sep 16, 2018
13.36: Confronting the Default
Sep 09, 2018
13.35: Cliché vs. Archetype
Sep 02, 2018
13.34: Q&A on Character Arcs
Aug 26, 2018
13.b1: Bonus Episode — Elephants and Death, with Lawrence Schoen
Aug 22, 2018
13.33: Reading Outside the Box
Aug 19, 2018
13.32: How To Handle Weighty Topics
Aug 12, 2018
13.31: Learning to Listen as a Writer
Aug 05, 2018
13.30: Project in Depth, THE CALCULATING STARS, with Kjell Lindgren
Jul 29, 2018
13.29: Iconic Heroes
Jul 22, 2018
13.28: What Writers Get Wrong, with Wildstyle
Jul 15, 2018
13.27: Characters as Foils
Jul 08, 2018
13.26: Character Relationships
Jul 01, 2018
13.25: Our Journey With Character
Jun 24, 2018
13.24: What Writers Get Wrong, with Piper, Aliette, and Wesley, with special guest Ken Liu
Jun 17, 2018
13.23: Internal Conflicts
Jun 10, 2018
13.22: Character Arcs
Jun 03, 2018
13.21: Q&A on Character Depth and Motivation
May 27, 2018
13.20: Fear and Writing, with Emma Newman
May 20, 2018
13.19: Backstories
May 13, 2018
13.18: Naturally Revealing Character Motivation
May 06, 2018
13.17: What Writers Get Wrong, with Jamahl Crouch
Apr 29, 2018
13.16: Avoiding Flat Characters
Apr 22, 2018
13.15: What Writers Get Wrong, with Mike Stop Continues
Apr 15, 2018
13.14: Character Nuance
Apr 08, 2018
13.13: Character Voice
Apr 01, 2018
13.12: Q&A on Heroes, Villains, and Main Characters
Mar 25, 2018
13.11: Writing Secondary Characters, with Charlaine Harris
Mar 18, 2018
13.10: Handling a Large Cast
Mar 11, 2018
13.9: Quick Characterization
Mar 04, 2018
13.8: Making Characters Distinctive
Feb 25, 2018
13.7: What Writers Get Wrong, with Lou Perry
Feb 18, 2018
13.6: External Conflicts for Characters
Feb 11, 2018
13.5: Villain, Antagonist, Obstacle
Feb 04, 2018
13.4: Protagonists Who Aren’t Sympathetic
Jan 28, 2018
13.3: What Writers Get Wrong, with Aliette de Bodard
Jan 21, 2018
13.2: Writing Active Characters
Jan 14, 2018
13.1: Hero, Protagonist, Main Character
Jan 07, 2018
12.53: Writing Excuses True Confessions
Dec 31, 2017
12.52: Cross-Genres as Gateways
Dec 24, 2017
12.51: Constructed Languages, with Dirk Elzinga
Dec 17, 2017
12.50: Form and Function
Dec 10, 2017
12.49: Non-linear Narratives
Dec 03, 2017
12.48: Q&A on Novels and Series, with Brian McClellan
Nov 26, 2017
12.47: Screenwriting and the Writers Room, with JD Payne
Nov 19, 2017
12.46: Reinventing Yourself
Nov 12, 2017
12.45: Structuring a Series
Nov 05, 2017
12.44: NaNoWriMo 2017 Primer
Oct 29, 2017
12.43: Serialized Storytelling
Oct 22, 2017
12.42: Adapting Your Stories for Game Play, with Alan Bahr
Oct 15, 2017
12.41: Raising the Stakes
Oct 08, 2017
12.40: Structuring a Novel
Oct 01, 2017
12.39: Q&A on Short(er) Fiction
Sep 24, 2017
12.38: What Do Editors Really Want, with Toni Weisskopf and Cat Rambo
Sep 17, 2017
12.37: Subplots
Sep 10, 2017
12.36: Structuring a Mid-Length Piece
Sep 03, 2017
12.35: Short Fiction Markets, with Spencer Ellsworth and guest host Beth Meacham
Aug 27, 2017
12.34: Fulfilling the Reader’s Fantasy, with Brian McClellan
Aug 20, 2017
12.33: How to be Brief, Yet Powerful
Aug 13, 2017
12.32: Structuring a Short Piece
Aug 06, 2017
12.31: What Makes a Good Monster, with Courtney Alameda
Jul 30, 2017
12.30: Tools for Writers
Jul 23, 2017
12.29: “Oh Crap, the Cops are Here!” with Joe McKinney
Jul 16, 2017
12.28: Trimming and Expanding
Jul 09, 2017
12.27: Choosing a Length
Jul 02, 2017
12.26: Q&A on Outlining and Discovery Writing
Jun 25, 2017
12.25: Hiring an Editor, with Callie Stoker
Jun 18, 2017
12.24: Creating Great Outlines
Jun 11, 2017
12.23: Proposals, Pitches, and Queries
Jun 04, 2017
12.22: Hybrid Outlining and Discovery Writing
May 28, 2017
12.21: Narrative Bumper Pool, with Bill Fawcett and Carrie Patel
May 21, 2017
12.20: Retrofitting Structure into a First Draft
May 14, 2017
12.19: Structure on the Fly
May 07, 2017
12.18: Gendered Dialect, with J.R. Johansson
Apr 30, 2017
12.17: Q&A on Style, Diction, and Paragraphing
Apr 23, 2017
12.16: Writing Crime Fiction with Brian Keene
Apr 16, 2017
12.15: Pacing With Chapters
Apr 09, 2017
12.14: Controlling Pacing with Structure
Apr 03, 2017
12.13: Beautiful Prose, Purple Prose
Mar 26, 2017
12.12: Words as Words, with Linda Addison
Mar 19, 2017
12.11: Diction
Mar 12, 2017
12.10: Developing Your Own, Personal Style
Mar 05, 2017
12.9: Q&A on Viewpoint
Feb 26, 2017
12.8 Short Stories as Exploration, with Tananarive Due
Feb 19, 2017
12.7: Description Through the Third Person Lens
Feb 12, 2017
12.6: Variations on Third Person
Feb 05, 2017
12.5: Literary Fiction
Jan 29, 2017
12.4: Hybrid Viewpoints
Jan 22, 2017
12.3: Project in Depth, “Risk Assessment,” by Sandra Tayler
Jan 15, 2017
12.2: How to Nail Character Voice in First Person
Jan 08, 2017
12.1: Variations on First Person
Jan 01, 2017
11.52: Elemental Ensemble Q&A, With Claudia Gray
Dec 24, 2016
11.51: Ensemble as a Sub-Genre, with Lynne M. Thomas
Dec 18, 2016
11.50: Hand-Selling Your Book to Potential Readers, with Michael R. Underwood
Dec 11, 2016
11.49: Elemental Ensemble, with Michael Damien Thomas
Dec 04, 2016
11.Bonus-04: Fantasy Food, with Elizabeth Bear and Scott Lynch
Nov 29, 2016
11.48: Elemental Issue Q&A, with DongWon Song
Nov 27, 2016
11.47: Issue as a Subgenre, with Steven Barnes
Nov 20, 2016
11.46: Colonialism, with Steven Barnes, Tempest Bradford, DongWon Song, and Shveta Thakrar
Nov 13, 2016
11.45: Elemental Issue, with Desiree Burch
Nov 06, 2016
11.Bonus-03: Some Books Have Maps in the Front, with Maurice Broaddus, Mur Lafferty, and James Sutter
Nov 03, 2016
11.Bonus-02: Horrifying the Children, with Darren Shan
Nov 01, 2016
11.44: Project in Depth, GHOST TALKERS, by Mary Robinette Kowal
Oct 30, 2016
11.43: Elemental Drama Q&A, with Tananarive Due
Oct 23, 2016
11.42: Elemental Drama as a Sub-Genre
Oct 16, 2016
11.Bonus-01: Characterization and Differentiation, with Robin Hobb
Oct 13, 2016
11.41: The Editor’s Wish List, with Navah Wolfe
Oct 09, 2016
11.40: Elemental Drama
Oct 02, 2016
11.39: Elemental Relationship Q&A, with Greg van Eekhout
Sep 25, 2016
11.38: The Elemental Relationship as a Sub-Genre
Sep 18, 2016
11.37: Casting Your Book, with Gama Martinez
Sep 11, 2016
11.36: The Elemental Relationship
Sep 04, 2016
11.35: Elemental Humor Q&A with Victoria Schwab
Aug 28, 2016
11.34: Humor as a Sub-Genre
Aug 21, 2016
11.33: Crossover Fiction, with Victoria Schwab
Aug 14, 2016
11.32: The Element of Humor
Aug 07, 2016
11.31: Futurism, with Trina Marie Phillips
Jul 31, 2016
11.30: Elemental Thriller Q&A
Jul 24, 2016
11.29: Elemental Thriller as a Subgenre
Jul 17, 2016
11.28: Impostor Syndrome, with Alyssa Wong
Jul 10, 2016
11.27: The Elemental Thriller
Jul 03, 2016
11.26: Elemental Mystery Q&A
Jun 26, 2016
11.25: Elemental Mystery is Everywhere
Jun 19, 2016
11.24: Stakes!
Jun 12, 2016
11.23: The Element of Mystery
Jun 05, 2016
11.22: Examining Unconscious Biases, with Shannon Hale
May 29, 2016
11.21: Q&A on Elemental Horror, with Steve Diamond
May 22, 2016
11.20: Horror as a Subgenre
May 15, 2016
11.19: Fashion for Writers, with Rebecca McKinney
May 08, 2016
11.18: Elemental Horror
May 01, 2016
11.17: Elemental Adventure Q&A
Apr 24, 2016
11.16: Adventure as a Subgenre
Apr 17, 2016
11.15: The Environment, with L.E. Modessit, Jr.
Apr 10, 2016
11.14: The Element of Adventure
Apr 03, 2016
11.13: Elemental Idea Q&A
Mar 27, 2016
11.12: Idea as Subgenre, With Nancy Fulda
Mar 20, 2016
11.11: Self Publishing in 2016, with Michaelbrent Collings
Mar 13, 2016
11.10: Idea, as Genre, with Nancy Fulda
Mar 06, 2016
11.09: Q&A on the Element of Wonder
Feb 28, 2016
11.08: Wonder as a Subgenre
Feb 21, 2016
11.07: The Convention Survival Kit, with Gail Carriger
Feb 14, 2016
11.06: The Element of Wonder
Feb 07, 2016
11.05: Writing and World Building for Role Playing Games
Jan 31, 2016
11.04: Newton’s Laws of Writing
Jan 24, 2016
11.03: Layering The Elemental Genres
Jan 17, 2016
11.2: How To Get The Most Out Of A Conference, with Kathy Chung
Jan 10, 2016
Writing Excuses 11.1: Introduction to Elemental Genre
Jan 03, 2016
Writing Excuses 10.52: Moving On, with Ellen Kushner
Dec 27, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.51: Q&A on Showing Your Work, with Daniel José Older
Dec 20, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.50: How to Hand-Sell Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors, with Michael Underwood and Marco Palmieri
Dec 13, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.49: What Do I Do With This Thing Now?
Dec 06, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.48: Project in Depth, The Devil’s Only Friend
Nov 29, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.47: Q&A on Revision
Nov 22, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.46: How Do I Make This Pretty?
Nov 15, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.45: Q&A at the GenCon Writing Symposium, with Kameron Hurley, James L. Sutter, and Michael Underwood
Nov 08, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.44: How Do I Fix What is Broken?
Nov 01, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.43: Q&A on Endings, with Delia Sherman
Oct 25, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.42: How In The World Do I Tie All This Together?
Oct 18, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.41: Your Character’s Moral Pendulum
Oct 11, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.40: What’s the Difference Between Ending and Stopping?
Oct 04, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.39: Q&A on Plot Twists with Kevin J. Anderson
Sep 27, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.38: How Does Context Shape Dialog?
Sep 20, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.37: Being a Good Panelist and a Great Moderator, with Susan J. Morris and Marc Tassin
Sep 13, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.36: How Does Context Shape Plot Twists?
Sep 06, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.35: Breaking In, With Charlie N. Holmberg
Aug 30, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.34: Q&A on Pacing
Aug 23, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.33: Combat, with Marie Brennan
Aug 16, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.32: How Do I Control the Speed of the Story?
Aug 09, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.31: How Do I Control the Reader’s Sense of Progress?
Aug 02, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.30: Q&A on Middles, with Marie Brennan
Jul 26, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.29: Why Should My Characters Fail Spectacularly?
Jul 19, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.28: Polytheism in Fiction, with Marie Brennan
Jul 12, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.27: Why Can’t I Just Jump to the Ending?
Jul 05, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.26: Q&A on Scenes and Description
Jun 28, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.25: What Makes a Scene?
Jun 21, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.24: Hooking Younger Readers
Jun 14, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.23: Can You Tell Me How To Show?
Jun 07, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.22: Project-in-Depth—Of Noble Family
May 31, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.21: Q&A on World Building
May 24, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.20: How Do I Write a Story, Not an Encyclopedia?
May 17, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.19: Intrigue
May 10, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.18: Build an Entire World? Are You Crazy?
May 03, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.17: Q&A on Beginnings
Apr 26, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.16: What Do I Do With All This Blank Space?
Apr 19, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.15: Worldbuilding Wilderness with Wes Chu
Apr 12, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.14: How Much of the Beginning Needs to Come First?
Apr 05, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.13: Where is My Story Going?
Mar 30, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.12: Story structure Q&A, with Special Guest Wesley Chu
Mar 23, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.11: Project In Depth: “Parallel Perspectives”
Mar 15, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.10: Q&A with the I Ching
Mar 08, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.9: Where is My Story Coming From?
Mar 02, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.8: Q&A on Character
Feb 22, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.7: Who Are All These People?
Feb 16, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.6: The Worldbuilding Revolves Around Me (“The Magical 1%”)
Feb 09, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.5: What Do You Mean My Main Character is Boring?
Feb 02, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.4: Q&A on Ideas
Jan 25, 2015
2015 Hugo Award Eligibility – SHADOWS BENEATH
Jan 21, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.3: Lovecraftian Horror
Jan 20, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.2: I Have an Idea; What Do I Do Now?
Jan 12, 2015
Writing Excuses 10.1: Seriously, Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Jan 05, 2015
Writing Excuses 9.54: Capstone to Season 9
Dec 29, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.53: Writing For Fun
Dec 22, 2014
Writing Excuses Season 9.52: From the Page to the Stage
Dec 15, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.51: Q&A At The Retreat
Dec 08, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.50: Writing for the Enfranchised Reader
Dec 04, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.48: Neurobolics of Characters
Dec 01, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.49: Hiding the Open Grave
Nov 24, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.47: Conversation With a Bookseller
Nov 18, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.46: Disability in Narrative
Nov 09, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.45: Tools for Writing from Oral Storytelling
Nov 03, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.44: Getting in the Writer’s Mindset with Peter Beagle
Oct 27, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.43: Writing Mysteries
Oct 20, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.42: The Convention-Author Relationship, with Deirdre Saoirse Moen
Oct 12, 2014
Registration is open for the 2015 Out of Excuses Writing Workshop and Retreat
Oct 09, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.41: Fan Writing, with Christopher J. Garcia
Oct 05, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.40: Understanding Royalties, with Paul Stevens
Sep 28, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.39: Publicity for Books
Sep 22, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.38: Q&A at Westercon
Sep 15, 2014
9.37: Training A Critique Group, with Kathleen Dalton Woodbury
Sep 08, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.36: Writing Instruction
Sep 01, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.35: What to do when you disagree with your editor
Aug 24, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.34: Science Fiction as Science Education
Aug 17, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.33: Microcasting
Aug 10, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.32: Adjusting Character Proactivity
Aug 03, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.31: Critiquing “An Honest Death”
Jul 27, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.30: Critiquing A Fire in the Heavens
Jul 20, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.29: Part 2 of 2, Critiquing Sixth of the Dusk
Jul 13, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.28: Part 1 of 2, Critiquing Sixth of the Dusk
Jul 06, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.27: Pre-writing
Jun 30, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.26: Adjusting Character Competence
Jun 23, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.25: Adjusting Character Sympathy
Jun 16, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.24: Side Quests
Jun 09, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.23: World Building Without Breaking Viewpoint
Jun 02, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.22: Microcasting
May 26, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.21: Sanderson’s 3rd Law
May 19, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.20: Creator vs Creation
May 12, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.19: Showing Emotion
May 05, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.18: Microcasting
Apr 28, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.17: Microcasting
Apr 21, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.16: Coming up with a New Ending Halfway Through
Apr 16, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.15: Becoming a Writer—Full Disclosure
Apr 07, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.14: How to have an Opinion as a Public Figure
Apr 04, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.13: Three Pronged Character Development
Mar 30, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.12: Microcasting! Twice in a row!
Mar 24, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.11: Microcasting
Mar 17, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.10: Engaging Characters
Mar 10, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.9: What to do When Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Mar 03, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.8: When is your Handwavium Good Enough?
Feb 24, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.7: Last Pass Revisions with Eric James Stone
Feb 16, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.6: The Experience of Time
Feb 10, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.5: Hijacking the Knowledge You Already Have, with Mette Ivie Harrison
Feb 03, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.4: Artificial Intelligence with Nancy Fulda
Jan 27, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.3: Character Perception vs. Narrative Perception with Nancy Fulda
Jan 19, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.2: Hard Science Fiction with Eric James Stone
Jan 13, 2014
Writing Excuses 9.1: Chronology of a Book Deal with Eric James Stone
Jan 06, 2014
Writing Excuses 8.52: You Think You Don’t Have Time to Write, with Mette Ivie Harrison
Dec 30, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.51: Creative non-fiction with Mette Ivie Harrison
Dec 23, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.50: Q&A with Mercedes Lackey
Dec 15, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.49: Hard Social Science Fiction with Joel Shepherd
Dec 08, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.48: Long-Form Storytelling with Sam Logan
Dec 01, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.47: Roguishness with Scott Lynch
Nov 25, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.46: Editing with Aeryn Rudel
Nov 17, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.45: Gencon Q&A With Wesley Chu
Nov 11, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.44: Talking Publishing with Tom Doherty
Nov 03, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.43: Realistic Melee Fighting with Wesley Chu
Oct 27, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.42: The Internal Heckler vs. The Internal Editor
Oct 20, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.41: Out of Excuses Retreat Microcasting
Oct 14, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.40: Publishing with Bill Schafer
Oct 07, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.39: Dystopian Fiction with Cherie Priest
Sep 30, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.38:Out of Excuses Retreat Q&A #2
Sep 23, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.37: When Fail Happens in Your Career
Sep 16, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.36: Transitioning Characters in Prominence
Sep 08, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.35: Digging Yourself Out of Holes with Jeph Jacques
Sep 01, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.34: Survivorship Bias
Aug 26, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.33: Making Non-Human Characters Relatable
Aug 18, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.32: Microcasting
Aug 11, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.31: Combining Dialogue, Blocking, and Description
Aug 04, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.30: Writing Reluctant Characters
Jul 29, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.29: Out of Excuses Retreat Q&A #1
Jul 22, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.28: Your First Contract
Jul 14, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.27: Chapter Breakdowns
Jul 07, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.26: Space Opera
Jun 30, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.25: Middle Grade with E.J. Patten
Jun 23, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.24: Project in Depth–Kiss Me Twice
Jun 16, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.23: Microcasting
Jun 09, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.22: Pre-writing with E.J. Patten
Jun 02, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.21: What the Avengers did Right
May 26, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.20: The Short Story, with Mary Robinette Kowal
May 19, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.19: Writing and Convention Culture
May 12, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.18: Blocking
May 06, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.17: Microcasting
Apr 28, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.16: Brainstorming with Brandon Again
Apr 22, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.15: Narrative Rhythm
Apr 15, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.14: Brainstorming with Brandon
Apr 07, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.13: Fake It Till You Make it
Apr 01, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.12: Project in Depth — Deus ex Nauseum
Mar 24, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.11: Abnormal Psychology
Mar 18, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.10: Brainstorming With Howard Again
Mar 11, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.9: Brainstorming with Howard
Mar 04, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.8: Writing and Personal Health
Feb 25, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.7: Cliffhangers and Icebergs with Robison Wells
Feb 17, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.6: Retellings and Adaptations
Feb 11, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.5: Breaking the Rules
Feb 04, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.4: Side-Character Arcs
Jan 28, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.3: Pets
Jan 21, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.2: Hero’s Journey
Jan 13, 2013
Writing Excuses 8.1: Microcasting
Jan 06, 2013
Writing Excuses 7.54: Four Ways the Industry is Changing
Dec 31, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.53: Secret History
Dec 26, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.52: Microcasting
Dec 17, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.51: Brainstorming with Mary
Dec 12, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.50: Outlining the Mary Way
Dec 10, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.49: Beginnings Revisited
Dec 03, 2012
NaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Episode 4, with Mary & Brandon
Nov 29, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.48: Pixar Rules for Writing a Compelling Story
Nov 26, 2012
NaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Episode 3, with Howard
Nov 23, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.47: Raising the Stakes
Nov 19, 2012
NaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Mini-Episode 2, with Dan & Rob
Nov 15, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.46: Project in Depth The Emperor’s Soul
Nov 12, 2012
NaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Mini-Episode 1, with Brandon & Mary
Nov 08, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.45: Microcasting
Nov 05, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.44: Writing for Comics with Jim Zub
Oct 29, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.43: Tie-in Fantasy Fiction with James L Sutter
Oct 22, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.42: Contemporary YA Fiction
Oct 15, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.41: Seven-Point Story Structure
Oct 07, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.40: Writing the Other
Oct 01, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.39: Death
Sep 23, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.38: Writing Love Scenes
Sep 16, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.37: Pantsing
Sep 10, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.35: Brainstorming with Dan
Sep 02, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.36: Writing Gaming Fiction with Monte Cook
Aug 27, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.34: How to Start the Next One
Aug 19, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.33: Authentic Emotion
Aug 13, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.32: Astronomy 101 for Writers
Aug 06, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.31: Project in Depth — Hollow City
Jul 30, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.30: Micocasting…Again!
Jul 23, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.29: The Villain Problem
Jul 15, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.28: Project in Depth– Glamour in Glass
Jul 09, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.27: The Problem of Originality
Jul 02, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.26: Q&A at UVU part 2
Jun 25, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.25: Writing Capers
Jun 17, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.24: Project in Depth — Way of Kings
Jun 10, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.23: Time Travel
Jun 03, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.22: Microcasting
May 27, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.21: Project In Depth — Force Multiplication
May 21, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.20: Cathartic Horror
May 14, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.19: Q&A at UVU
May 07, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.18: Discovering your Voice
Apr 30, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.17: Guns and Fiction
Apr 23, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.16: Continuing with Mary’s Outline
Apr 16, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.15: Editing Mary’s Outline
Apr 09, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.14: Writing Excuses
Apr 01, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.13: Man Vs. Nature
Mar 25, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.12: Writing the Omniscient Viewpoint
Mar 18, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.11: More Microcasting
Mar 12, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.10: Importance of Criticism, with David Brin
Mar 05, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.9: Microcasting
Feb 27, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.8: The City as a Character
Feb 20, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.7: Historical Fantasy
Feb 13, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.6: Behind the Marshmallow
Feb 06, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.5: Sensory Writing
Jan 30, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.4: Brevity
Jan 23, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.3: Fauna and Flora
Jan 16, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.2: World Building Flora and Fauna
Jan 09, 2012
Writing Excuses 7.1 When Good Characters Go Bad
Jan 02, 2012
Writing Excuses 6.30: Help! I Can’t End My Book!
Dec 26, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.29: Character Foils
Dec 19, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.28: Interstitial Art
Dec 12, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.27: Fantasy Setting Yard Sale
Dec 04, 2011
NaNoWriMo Pep-talk from Howard
Nov 30, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.26: Mystery Plotting
Nov 28, 2011
NaNoWriMo Pep-Talk from Dan
Nov 23, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.25: When Characters do Dumb Things
Nov 21, 2011
NaNoWriMo Pep-Talk from Mary
Nov 17, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.24: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime
Nov 14, 2011
NaNoWriMo Pep-Talk from Brandon
Nov 09, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.23: Pigeon Holes
Nov 07, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.22: Continuing Education for Writers
Oct 31, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.21: Brainstorming From Story Seeds
Oct 24, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.20: Endings
Oct 17, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.19: Pitching
Oct 10, 2011
6.18: The Hollywood Formula, with Lou Anders
Oct 02, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.17: Writing Assistants
Sep 25, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.16: Gender Roles–Black, White, and Gray
Sep 19, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.15: Writing Other Cultures
Sep 12, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.14: Suspension of Disbelief
Sep 05, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.13: World Building Communications Technology
Aug 29, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.12: Revising For Description
Aug 22, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.11: Making Your Descriptions Do More Than One Thing
Aug 15, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.10: Scott Card’s M.I.C.E. Quotient
Aug 08, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.9: Microcasting 2 Electric Boogaloo
Jul 31, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.8: What an Agent Does
Jul 25, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.7: Brainstorming a Cyberpunk Story
Jul 18, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.6: Cyberpunk
Jul 11, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.5: Query Letters
Jul 04, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.4: Microcasting
Jun 27, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.3: Professional Organizations
Jun 20, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.2: Internal Motivations
Jun 13, 2011
Writing Excuses 6.1: Can Creativity be Taught?
Jun 06, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.39: Filking and Writing Music with Tom Smith
May 30, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.38: Dialog with John Scalzi
May 23, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.37: Parody and Satire with Jim Hines
May 16, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.36: Non-Traditional Settings with Saladin Ahmed
May 09, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.35: Brainstorming Urban Fantasy
May 02, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.34: Story Bibles
Apr 24, 2011
Writing Excuses on the 2011 Hugo Ballot
Apr 24, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.33: Alpha Readers
Apr 17, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.32: Urban Fantasy
Apr 10, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.31: Writing Romance
Apr 04, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.30: Writing Action
Mar 28, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.29: Rewriting
Mar 21, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.28: E-publishing
Mar 14, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.27: Perseverance, with Sherrilyn Kenyon
Mar 07, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.26: Scared for the Characters
Feb 28, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.25: Writing in Other People’s Universes
Feb 21, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.24: The Author’s Responsibility to the Reader
Feb 14, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.23: Life Day!
Feb 07, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.22: Film Considerations
Jan 31, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.21: Alternate History
Jan 24, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.20: More Dialog Exercises
Jan 17, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.19: Fulfilling Promises to Your Readers
Jan 10, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.18: Offending Your Readers
Jan 03, 2011
Writing Excuses 5.17: Dialog Exercises
Dec 28, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.16: Critiquing Dan’s First Novel
Dec 20, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.12: Time Travel!
Dec 13, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.15: Steampunk with Scott Westerfeld
Dec 06, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.14: Visual Components of Novels with Scott Westerfeld
Nov 29, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.13: Writing the Second Book
Nov 22, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.12: The Secret of Lincoln’s Gold
Nov 22, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.11: MicroPodcasting 2
Nov 15, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.10: John Brown and the Creative Process
Nov 08, 2010
Writing Excuses Bonus Episode! Voting in the Service of a Dark God
Nov 02, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.9: Character Arcs
Nov 01, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.8: The Excuses You’re Out Of
Oct 25, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.7: Avoiding Melodrama
Oct 17, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.6.01: Flash Fiction
Oct 12, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.6: MicroPodcasts
Oct 10, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.5: Writing the Unfamiliar
Oct 04, 2010
Parsec Acceptance Speech 2010
Sep 28, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.4: Creating Suspense
Sep 27, 2010
Writing Excuses 5.3: First Person Viewpoint
Sep 19, 2010
WE 5.2: Character Quirks
Sep 12, 2010
WE 5.1: Third Person Limited
Sep 07, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.34: Q&A at Dragons & Fairy Tales
Aug 29, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.33: Trunk Novels
Aug 23, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.32: First Paragraphs
Aug 16, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.31: Line Editing Dialog
Aug 09, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.30: Worldbuilding the Future
Aug 02, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.29: Line Editing
Jul 26, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.28: Brainstorming The End and Working Backwards
Jul 19, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.27: Major Overhauls to Broken Stories
Jul 12, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.26: Avoiding Stilted Dialog
Jul 05, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.25: Mating Plumage
Jun 27, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.24: Random Storytelling
Jun 20, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.23: How to Break In to the Young Adult Market
Jun 13, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.22: Q&A with L.E. Modesitt, Jr
Jun 07, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.21: Writing Practical Fantasy
May 31, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.20: Strategies for Getting Published
May 24, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.19: Discovery Writing
May 17, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.18: How to Steal for Fun and Profit
May 10, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.17: Living with the Artist
May 03, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.16: Breaking the Fourth Wall
Apr 26, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.15: Visual Components of Storytelling
Apr 19, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.14: Brainstorming Science Ideas
Apr 12, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.13: Juggling Multiple Viewpoints
Apr 05, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.12: Writing An Epic
Mar 29, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.11: Brainstorming From Headlines
Mar 22, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.10: Writing for Young Adults
Mar 14, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.9: How to Write Men, with Jessica Day George
Mar 08, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.8: Working with Editors
Mar 01, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.7: Q&A with James Dashner
Feb 22, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.6: Pacing with James Dashner
Feb 15, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.5: Roleplaying Games as Tools for Story Telling
Feb 08, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.4: Agents. Do you need one?
Feb 01, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.3: How to Manage Your Influences
Jan 25, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.2: Heroism
Jan 17, 2010
Writing Excuses 4.1: Types of Humor
Jan 11, 2010
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 32: Collaboration
Jan 04, 2010
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 31: Tragedy
Dec 28, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 29: Antiheroes
Dec 20, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 30: Unreliable Narrators
Dec 14, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 28: World-Building Gender Roles
Dec 07, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 27: Mixing Humor with Drama and Horror
Dec 01, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 26: NaNoWriMo
Nov 23, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 25: The Business of Writing Comics
Nov 16, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 24: Writing Comics with Jake Black
Nov 09, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 23: How to Write Without Twists
Nov 02, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 22: Idea to Story
Oct 25, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 21: Pitfalls of Self Publishing with Larry Correia
Oct 19, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 20: Plot- vs. Character-Driven Fiction
Oct 12, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 19: Emotion in Fiction with John Brown
Oct 05, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 18: How To Not Repeat Yourself
Sep 28, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 17: Characters & Worldbuilding Q&A with Mary Robinette Kowal
Sep 21, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue Episode
Sep 13, 2009
Writing Excuses: Parsec Award Acceptance Speech
Sep 13, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 15: Writing Process Q&A, with Mary Robinette Kowal
Sep 06, 2009
3.14: The Four Principles of Puppetry, with Mary Robinette Kowal
Aug 31, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 13: Dialects and In-World Jargon
Aug 24, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 12: Subplots
Aug 17, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 11: Trimming
Aug 09, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 10: The Dos and Don’ts of Attending Cons
Aug 03, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 9: Conventions You Should Be Attending
Jul 27, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 8: What Star Trek Did Right
Jul 20, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 7: Genre Blending
Jul 13, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 6: Dramatic Breaks
Jul 07, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 5: How to Take Criticism
Jun 29, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 3: Stumping Howard at Conduit
Jun 22, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 2: Keeping it Real with Aprilynne Pike
Jun 15, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 4: Non Linear Story Telling
Jun 08, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 1: World-Building History
Jun 01, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 33: How To Not Be Overwhelmed
May 25, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 32: The Most Important Thing Dan Learned In The Last Year
May 18, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 31: The Most Important Thing Brandon Learned In The Last Year
May 11, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 30: The Most Important Thing Howard Learned In The Last Year
May 03, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 29: How not to end your book
Apr 27, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 28: Applying Critical Reading: “Watchmen”
Apr 20, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 27: Reading Critically
Apr 13, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 26: How Publishing is Changing in the new Century
Apr 06, 2009
Writing Excuses Episode 632: Now that we’ve got time travel what do we do with it?
Apr 01, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 25: The Seven Deadly Sins of Slush Stories
Mar 30, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 24: Writing Habits and Q&A with Tracy Hickman
Mar 24, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 23: Avoiding the Cliché with Tracy Hickman
Mar 16, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 22: Marketing 201, Branding for Authors
Mar 09, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 21: Fight Scenes
Mar 02, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 20: Marketing 101 for Creators
Feb 23, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 19: Do Creative Writing Classes Help
Feb 16, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 18: World Building Governments
Feb 09, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 17: Website Marketing for Authors
Feb 02, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 16: Non-Human Races
Jan 26, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 15: Knowing When To Begin
Jan 19, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 14: Writing Habits
Jan 12, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 13: Violence
Jan 05, 2009
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 12: Theme
Dec 29, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 11: Talking Publishing and Writing with Dave Wolverton
Dec 22, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 10: The Boring Parts
Dec 15, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 9: Romance, with Dave Wolverton
Dec 08, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 8: The Three Act Structure with Bob Defendi
Dec 01, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 7: Using Writing Formulas with Bob Defendi
Nov 24, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 6: Endings
Nov 17, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 5: Writing Groups
Nov 11, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 4:View point, Plot Twists and Being a Part-Time Writer with Eric James Stone
Nov 03, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 3: Characters with Brandon Mull
Oct 27, 2008
Writing Season 2 Episode 2: How to Write for Children with Brandon Mull
Oct 20, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Bonus Episode 1: Live at the Mistborn 3 Release
Oct 17, 2008
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 1: Q&A on Setting and Characters at Mountain Con with John Brown
Oct 13, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 35: Voice, Tone and Style
Oct 06, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 34: What The Dark Knight Did Right
Sep 29, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 33: Side Characters
Sep 22, 2008
Writing Excuses Episodes 32: Talking Exposition with Patrick Rothfuss
Sep 15, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 31: Talking RPG and Game Writing with Steve Jackson
Sep 08, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 30: Talking Revision with Moshe Feder
Sep 02, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 29: Talking Publishing with Lou Anders
Aug 25, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 28: Writing for Webcomics with Phil and Kaja Foglio
Aug 18, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 27: World-Building Religion
Aug 11, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 26: Horror
Aug 05, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 25: Viewpoint and Tense Part 2
Jul 28, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 24: Research
Jul 21, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 23: Viewpoint
Jul 15, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 22: Doing The Unpopular
Jul 07, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 21: Humor
Jun 30, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 20: More Q&A from Conduit
Jun 23, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 19: Plot Twists
Jun 16, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 18: Q&A at Conduit
Jun 09, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 17: This Sucks and I’m a Horrible Writer
Jun 02, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 16: Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard
May 26, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 15: Costs and Ramifications of Magic
May 19, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 14: Magic Systems and their Rules
May 12, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 13: Submitting to Editors Part 2
May 05, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 12: Submitting to Editors Part 1
Apr 28, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 11: The Business of Writing
Apr 21, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 10: Pacing
Apr 14, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 9: Sci-Fi Sub-Genre
Apr 07, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 8: Sci-Fi Genre
Mar 31, 2008
Writing Excuses Bonus Episode 2: Rules of Writing Excuses
Mar 24, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 7: Villains
Mar 24, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 6: Flaws vs Handicaps
Mar 17, 2008
Writing Excuses Bonus Episode 1: Remembering Gary Gygax
Mar 10, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 5: Heroes and Protagonists
Mar 10, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 4: Beginnings
Mar 03, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 3: Killing your Darlings
Feb 25, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 2: Blending the Familiar and the Original
Feb 18, 2008
Writing Excuses Episode 1: Brainstorming
Feb 11, 2008