Writing Excuses

What does it mean if your writing is voice-y?  How do you give your character a natural voice? We approach this question from the high-level perspective of craft, and the granular level of word choice and sentence structure. Erin talks about the research she did about Appalachian English for her short story Wolfy Things. And Mary Robinette Kowal tells us what it’s like to be an audiobook narrator, and how this helps her bring characters to life on the page. Just a reminder that our final episodes of the year will be guided by three of host Erin Roberts’ short stories: Wolfy Things, Sour Milk Girls, Snake Season. Note: these books involve some darker themes. All of these short stories are available for free online and also have audio versions available. Homework: Listen to someone's voice (a person in a coffee shop, someone on a podcast, etc.) Now write a scene from your WIP trying to approximate the essence of that voice. Thing of the Week: “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang Liner Notes: “A House with Good Bones”

Welcome to the last week of National Novel Writing Month! It’s okay if you aren’t going to finish your book, and it’s also okay if you don’t have 50,000 words! You still did a thing—you created a story that didn’t exist We want to talk about endings. How do you even write the end of a book? How do you do NaNoWriMo? There’s no right way! But there are several elements that can help you figure out how to write the end of your book. Our hosts give you guidance for environment, pacing, inversions, character changes, and the denouement. DongWon tells us why writing an obvious ending is not a bad idea, and Mary Robinette gives us advice for writing the ending of a series. Also, Dan offers a wonderful reframe for November if you’re not near the end of your book, or you didn’t reach 50,000 words. (Spoiler: it’s okay. You did, in fact, succeed.) Homework: Aim towards the MICE elements you opened. We're talking about the big ones here. In an ideal world, you begin letting your character have simple Yes or No answer

It’s week four of NaNoWriMo! Or, National Novel Writing Month, which happens every year for the month of November. This week, we are talking about how to write climaxes, how to write resolutions, and what exactly the three-quarter mark is. How do you write a climax scene? How to keep your tension going while also finding some resolution. How do you keep track of what you promised your reader at the start of your book? Our hosts dive into these topics and share examples from their own published writing. We talk about how to write emotional resolutions before a novel’s climax. We also learn how Dan taught Mary Robinette to use the 7 point plot structure, and how you can use it while you’re writing your novel (or short story or general writing project). Homework: Read through what you wrote during your last session. You can make minor edits, but you can’t edit anything. Use brackets to make notes about things you want to plant earlier. But don’t make any of these changes! You’re just using this as a launching pa

We are now three weeks into NaNoWriMo—where writers are attempting to write a novel in the month of November. For this episode, our writers talk about how to raise the stakes in your story.  To make something feel more threatening, you don’t have to make it bigger or flashier, but you do have to make it more personal to your character. Often, you don’t need to add an event or plot element, but simply ramp up your character’s connection and reaction.We also talk about multi-thread plots, Star Wars, and getting your reader to be emotionally invested in your characters’ goals. Also—don’t forget to ask for help. (And surprise surprise, the same goes for your characters.) Homework: Pick an aspect of craft that you feel weak on and choose to focus on it during your next writing session.Thing of the Week: A pep talk from Dan!Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and ma

Welcome to the first official week of National Novel Writing Month (or, almost the end of this week)! In this episode, we dive into how to write an inciting incident. What is an inciting incident? It is often the thing that goes wrong in your story. Within the first page, writers should have something go wrong. But what should this thing be? Our writers have some advice for questions you can ask yourself in order to understand your novel’s inciting incident. Also, Dan shares a recipe for an inciting incident that he learned from screenwriting, and Mary Robinette talks about the three “trauma attachment points.” Homework: What does failure look like for your character? Use this to direct your inciting incident. Thing of the Week: A pep talk from Erin! Liner Notes: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along BlogCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackso

Welcome to National Novel Writing Month! For November, writers all over the world are trying to complete a novel, or write 50,000 words. In honor of NaNoWriMo, all of our November episodes are going to focus on writing a novel or big project. For our first week—starting! How do you start writing? What do you need to give your readers in at the beginning of your story? How much information is too much information? We answer all of these questions, and talk about how these factors will help shape your story, in our NaNoWriMo kickoff episode! You have a few days left to prepare! Think about when during the day you’ll be writing, and see if you can find some people to help hold you accountable. Do you have a friend who could join? A writing group online or in-person? Check out the NaNoWriMo website at https://nanowrimo.org. A note: all of our episodes for NaNoWriMo will feature a pep talk from a host in the middle of the episode! (These will be taking the place of “thing of the week,” but only for these 5 episode

If you're writing short fiction, how much of your world do you even need to figure out? Should you have it all written out? Can you just wing it? This week on the podcast, we discuss how much of a world to build for a short story (and how). We provide some guiding questions that you can use to build the world of your novel or short story. We explore different narrative structures, DND worlds without police, and the reader's experience. Homework: Take a big world-building concept and pick one or two iconic elements that bring it to life. Take one and make it a key part of a short scene.Get ready for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month! For the month of November, writers all over the world are trying to complete a novel, or write 50,000 words. In honor of NaNoWriMo, all of our November episodes are going to focus on writing a novel or big project.You don't need to write a whole book, though! We encourage you to work on a smaller project, or simply commit to writing every day.Thing of the Week

How do you write about magic? How do you build a world with magic and spells and potions? We dive into the rules and laws behind magical worlds. We often think of magic as being with a system, but what if it's not? What opportunities and challenges do intrusive magic/emergent fantasy and fabulism create for writers and stories?Our writers and publishers talk about cultural differences across magical systems, and how you can build a fantasy world that is believable. We also talk about surrealism, dream logic, and how sometimes the belief in magic is enough. Homework: Write a scene that brings an element of magic into a mundane place you know well (grocery store, bank, etc.), Try to make it impactful without explaining how it all works.Thing of the Week: The World Wasn’t Ready For You by Justin C. Key Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex

If you write short stories or enjoy speculative fiction, this episode is for you. Our host Erin Roberts has written short stories, interactive fiction, and has built worlds for tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). For the next 8 episodes, we’ll be diving into three of her short stories. This week, Erin explains how to write outside of traditional genre classifications. We talk about the importance of antagonists, tone, and the horror genre. And we discuss how to decide if your short story should become a novel. We highly recommend you read Erin’s three short stories to get the most out of these next 8 episodes! Read Erin’s short stories: Wolfy Things, Sour Milk Girls, Snake Season. Note: these books involve some darker themes. All of these short stories are available for free online and also have audio versions available. Homework: Take a line you've written a while ago that you absolutely love. Try rewriting it as the writer you are now.Thing of the Week: Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap Liner Notes: Inte

 Or, The Business of the End of Schlock MercenaryHow did Howard start making money from his hobby of drawing and writing comics? How did he self-publish? We have a special guest on this episode! Sandra Tayler—Howard’s wife, the editor and publisher for Schlock Mercenary, and a published author—talks about starting their business. We dive into uncertainty, quality of life, and “manic optimism.” We learn about how to use pre-ordering, PayPal, and Kickstarter. Howard also shares about his experience with long covid, how to generate multiple income streams, and what comes next. Homework: Make a plan for how to monetize one aspect of your work. Start thinking like Sandra! This could be submitting a short story for publication or making a plan to submit your novel or making a plan for a paid newsletter. It doesn't have to be something you do today or tomorrow, but start thinking about what you can be doing to make this creative work part of your future income. Prepare for our next Deep Dive with Host Erin Rober

Deep Dive: Sergeant In MotionHow do you write an ending to a book? How do you finish something you’ve been writing for over 20 years? Howard Tayler talks to us about writing the ending to his serialized webcomic and space opera, Schlock Mercenary. We dive into how to write a resolution, how to finish a book, and how to finish a series. And we dive into the art of leaning into the tropes without leaning ON them.Homework: Write a one page outline for the ending of your current work in progress. Prepare for our next Deep Dive with Host Erin Roberts (starting in two weeks)! Read Erin’s short stories: Wolfy Things, Sour Milk Girls, Snake Season. Note: these books involve some darker themes. All of these short stories are available for free online and also have audio versions available. Thing of the Week: The Sexy Brutale (an adventure puzzle video game)Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded

Deep Dive: A Function of FirepowerHow do you write the middle of a book? How do you write an ending to a story? For this week’s episode about writing, we focus on Book 19 of Schlock Mercenary, the penultimate book in Howard Tayler’s series. We discuss ways to make a book feel self-contained, rather than just something to keep the beginning and the ending further apart. For reference, A Function of Firepower is the 19th Schlock Mercenary Book. We highly recommend you read this first, because this episode contains spoilers and in-depth conversations about the book. Homework: Writing prompt: try to work these three words into your WIP (work in progress): expeditious, sock, and dragonfly. Thing of the Week: Kickstarter for Schlock Mercenary Book 18: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/howardtayler(It's what Howard said, but "profile" is singular, not plural!) Liner Notes: Fermi paradoxCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayl

We talk with Howard Tayler about the story structure of a story with a BIG disaster in the middle - one which we don't recover from until the next book. We also talk about the weight of world-building, how to write for your ideal reader. And Howard considers the question, what is the cost of death if immortality exists? For reference, Mandatory Failure is the 18th Schlock Mercenary Book; 1st in the 3-book finale to the 20 book mega-arc. We highly recommend you read this first, because this episode contains spoilers and in-depth conversations about the book. Homework: Writing prompt: a major disaster has just occurred, write a scene in the aftermath. Thing of the Week: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Liner Notes: Book 18 Schlock Mercenary: Mandatory Failure Sandra Tayler Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! Pa

How do you write the middle of a book? How do you end your book? How do you know what to write next? This week, our hosts —who all work as a writers and publishers (and are sometimes teachers and puppeteers and many other things)— talk through how they have written the middle of their books. The middle is where most of the story takes place. How do you keep track of your characters and plot? How do you bring it toward an end, and stick the landing? Well, we’ve got some ideas. And some advice to help you write the middle of your novel. Or short story. Or play. Or really… anything. Homework: Identify the point of the middle where you are delaying because you feel like your character needs to "earn" the cool thing. Where can you cut and where can you turn it into an escalation?Also! Make sure to catch up on Schlock Mercenary if you haven’t already. Our next 3 episodes will dive into the details, and include some spoilers. Thing of the Week: The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuireLiner Notes: Mass Effe

Let’s talk about organization! This week, we’re talking about how and what to keep track of— characters, places, names, etc. How do you organize a book? How do you outline a novel? And don’t worry, we dive into the messy question, what is worth keeping track of in your writing? We also hear about how Howard and Mary Robinette have turned their planning tools (and research!) into money. Homework: Build a tool (spreadsheet, wiki, whatever) for tracking things in the universe of your writing. Start by thinking of three things to track—these could be character-driven, thematic, emotional. Thing of the week: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler MRKLiner Notes: Scrivener AirTableObsidian Schlock Mercenary ShopCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramYouTubeFacebookTwitterSign up for our newsletter:

18.34: 17 Years of ForeshadowingWhat can Normal Gossip teach us about foreshadowing and artful storytelling? Thinking about the 20 books that make up Howard Tayler’s Schlock Mercenary, our hosts discuss foreshadowing—our favorite examples, and our go-to tricks for structuring our own work. What does foreshadowing actually do for our work? Do we even need it? Well, yeah… it’s like invisible narrative scaffolding. But it’s also like a red herring. It’s so many things! Listen to us discuss the best ways to use it in your own work, in a way that sounds true to your own writerly voice and vision. Homework: Take a throwaway gag from one of your favorite things and outline a story or scene in which the throwaway turns out to have been foreshadowing. Thing of the Week: Babel by R. F. Kuang Liner Notes: Game of Thrones, Fonda Lee, Fermi paradox, Normal Gossip Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recor

Bonus Episode! Our first ever half-numbered episode! We are making some changes here on the podcast, and we wanted to talk to you about them. We hired a producer (Emma Reynolds), we have new interactive offerings on Patreon (office hours, livestreams, Q&A’s), and we are going to begin advertising! Don’t worry, you can subscribe to our Patreon to listen ad-free. Homework: Go check out our Patreon, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook! They are all linked below. Thing of the Week: ​​Autobiography of Red by Anne CarsonCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramYouTubeFacebookTwitterSign up for our newsletter: https://writingexcuses.comOur Sponsors:* Check out HelloFresh: http://hellofresh.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

The first episode in our eight-episode Deep Dive into Howard’s weekly webcomic strip, Schlock Mercenary. We grill Howard on how he taught himself to draw, why he decided to self-publish (hint: his wife, Sandra Tayler, helped him), and how he managed to write an ending. Homework: The "How it should have ended" game: write your own ending(s) to one or more of your favorite things. (For reference, watch some of How It Should Have Ended.) Thing of the Week: The Expanse (DongWon) Mentioned Links: Schlock MercenaryHow It Should Have EndedCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramYouTubeFacebookTwitterSign up for our newsletter: https://writingexcuses.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We have a special guest episode! Kirsten Vangsness, Criminal Minds star, joins us to talk about her experience as a writer, actor, and playwright. She taught us how she deals with imposter syndrome, and how she uses performance as a writing tool. We also talk about self-actualization, cats, and filling your metaphorical art well. Homework:From Kirsten: Record yourself, stream of consciousness, talking about one of the big questions that crops up in your work. Then write a scene that asks this question. From us: Prepare for our next Deep Dive, by reading through Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary.Thing of the Week:Kirsten's Agenda Season 2 Blue by June Carryl Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramYouTubeFacebookTwitterSign up for our newsletter: https://writingexcuses.comAdvertising

In our final episode diving into how and why Dan wrote “Dark One: Forgotten,” talk about how you can take something personal and mine it for fiction. We also tackle the complicated question—Why should you be the one to tell your story?  We think about the personal touches that you can add to your writing, and how people can hear when your story is personal. Homework:2 things! 1. Have you watched Criminal Minds? If you haven’t, you should! Next week, we have a special guest—Kirsten Vangsness who plays Penelope Garcia! Explore her other stuff (like her web series and podcast), and get ready for an INCREDIBLE conversation with her. 2. What's the thing in your real life that you keep thinking about when you aren't writing? Can you give that feeling or theme to a character? ALSO, prepare for our next Deep Dive, by reading through Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary. And feel free to re-listen to our interview with Howard earlier this year, Thing of the Week:Everything Everywhere all at Once Credits: Your