PODCAST

Writing Excuses

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

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

fiction careers

All Episodes

21:32

19.41: A Close Reading on Structure: An Overview and...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/10/13

Just a reminder that we will be talking about a lot of spoilers, so if you haven’t read The Fifth Season, go and do so now! As we dive into N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, we wanted to tell you why we chose this work to examine the importance of structure. The structure of the book is the device through which we are understanding this world, in a way that feels radical in relation to what we normally see in fiction. We chose this novel because the structure is visible and active in a way that many

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46:25

19.40: An Interview on Tension with P. Djèlí Clark

Writing Excuses ·

2024/10/06

We sat down with the author of Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark, in order to wrap up our close reading of tension. We talked with Clark about his influences, which ranged from Birth of a Nation to Beyonce’s “Formation.” We dive into contextual vs. narrative tension, why food is the unsung hero of worldbuilding, and Clark’s unconscious desires that helped this novella come to fruition. Thing of the Week: The Terror (on Netflix) Homework: Watch Midnight Mass on Netflix. Notice how it builds various areas of

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22:54

19.39: A Close Reading on Tension: Tying It All Together

Writing Excuses ·

2024/09/29

This episode, we’re talking about how important tension is in creating a world where your readers feel fully immersed. We talk about the importance of using tropes and techniques while also using variation in order to make your story less predictable. We dive into the difference between tension and conflict, and talk about how you can use the former to help the ladder. Tension can be found in movement, but also in inaction. We touch on tension's effect on try-fail cycles, inverted pyramids, and

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19:35

19.38: A Close Reading on Tension: Anticipation and...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/09/22

When you’re subverting your readers’ expectations, do you need to do the exact opposite of what they’re anticipating? Today, we dive into this question, using various examples of books and movies. We then examine how P. Djèlí Clark does this throughout Ring Shout– does he subvert our expectations completely? Not always. In fact, sometimes he does the opposite. Thing of the Week: White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link Homework: Write a scene listening to three different piece of music that move you in

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21:27

19.37: A Close Reading on Tension: Movement and...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/09/15

Today, we’re using music as an entry-point for tension. Howard introduces us to the power of the half-step, and other musical metaphors that can help you to incorporate tension in a new way to your writing. And then DongWon updates the metaphor with an electronic dance music analogy. We also dive into questions you can ask as you weave tension into your work in progress, such as, “what does your character have to gain by withholding their secret?” Thing of the Week: Clueless (the movie!) Homework:

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26:41

19.36: A Close Reading on Tension: Narrative vs....

Writing Excuses ·

2024/09/08

Today, we’re talking about the tension that is actually happening on the page, and the contextual tension is what the reader is bringing to the table. Ring Shout lives in a place of contextual tension and we are excited to dive into how you can use both types of tension in your own writing. Your readers will always bring their own context to your work; and if you think about this, you can use tension in both big and small ways in your work. Thing of the Week: Random Friday - Solar Fields

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18:53

19.35: A Close Reading on Tension: An Overview and...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/09/01

Compared to This is How You Lose The Time War, which we read earlier this year, Ring Shout deals with a very real world. This discordance, where authors make their audience uncomfortable by creating things that shouldn’t go together, is part of the power of this novella, and part of the reason we chose to dive into tension! Our favorite metaphor about tension from this episode comes from Howard: potential movement (imagine a rock at the top of a hill). Note: this novella uses tools from the horror

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28:52

19.34: Grants and Fellowships

Writing Excuses ·

2024/08/25

Today we have a wildcard episode for you! We are talking about all the different ways you can sustain your writing career. Our host, Erin Roberts, has done an incredible job of applying for grants, fellowships, and residencies. So, we put her on the spot and got her to dole out advice and insights to help you sustain and develop your writing. Thing of the Week: “Extreme Economies: What Life at the World's Margins Can Teach Us about Our Own Future” by Richard Davies Homework: Write a

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29:55

19.33: Workshops and Retreats

Writing Excuses ·

2024/08/18

Today we’re taking a break from our Close Reading Series to discuss writing workshops and retreats! We dive into how to find and prepare to attend a workshop or a retreat and what to think about for organizing your own. Thing of the Week: Solo RPGs! (Strider Mode, Star Trek Adventures, Mythic Game Master) Homework: Go find 3 writing retreats you are interested in attending. 1 retreat-focused, 1 workshop-focused and 1 combination. Then think about what your expectations would be for each one.Close

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33:08

19.32: An Interview on Character with CL Clark

Writing Excuses ·

2024/08/11

We sat down with CL Clark to talk about character—specifically, how they build different POV characters in the compressed space of a short story. We dive into plot processing (a tool CL Clark has learned from Mary Robinette!), how to specify the stakes of your world, and how to build distinct characters. Thing of the Week: Reasons Not To Worry: How to be Stoic in Chaotic Times by Brigid DelaneyHomework: “4 Scenes About Power” — Write four scenes: (1) a scene in which your protagonist does something

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24:04

19.31: A Close Reading on Character: Tying it All...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/08/04

Today, we’re taking a higher view on the techniques we’ve been talking about over the last four episodes and focusing on how you can use our takeaways in your own writing. We’ll go over our final thoughts on C.L. Clark’s short stories (until next week’s episode, when we interview them!). We’ll also try to summarize the lessons we've learned from Clark and our favorite bits of their writing. Thing of the Week: Rude Tales of Magic (podcast) Homework: Write a character study in which two characters

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23:03

19.30: A Close Reading on Character: Agency vs. Choices

Writing Excuses ·

2024/07/28

We have a theory that we want to work through on today’s episode: agency is the ability to take action, whereas choices are more about the interior life of the character. We use Mary Robinette’s talking cat, try-fail cycles, and C.L. Clark’s Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home in order to examine this theory and its underpinnings. Thing of the Week: Marginalia by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine) Homework: Create a scene in which your

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22:55

19.29: A Close Reading on Character: Barriers vs. Stakes

Writing Excuses ·

2024/07/21

Our episode today focuses on C.L. Clark’s short story “You Perfect Broken Thing” for how the character's stakes shape the barriers facing her. We use this story to examine how to tell the difference between barriers versus stakes. We also examine how to do this in a compressed space– whether that’s a short story, a single scene, or a compressed timeline. Thing of the Week: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley JacksonHomework: Write a short scene in which your character has to deal with

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24:24

19.28: A Close Reading on Character: Internal vs...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/07/14

Today, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it's a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you can still understand their internal landscapes by what they seee and notice. How do these external indicators help us understand the internal worlds of the characters? We mention two infographics

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23:45

19.27: A Close Reading on Character: An Overview and...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/07/07

Today we introduce our next close reading series—we’re focusing on character through the lens of three of C.L. Clark’s short stories: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home”. They are all hyperlinked above and available online for free through Uncanny Magazine. We are so excited to shift our focus to short stories! We love the compressed form, and C.L. Clark’s stories exemplify the freedom that exists

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27:49

19.26: Bringing Falconry into Writing

Writing Excuses ·

2024/06/30

Today we are joined by the incredible falconer Krista Hong Edwards. Krista was kind enough to take our hosts out with her falcons, and we had the most amazing time! Krista sat down with us to talk about falcons, literature, and much more. Check out our liner notes (below) for all of the texts we reference! Thing of the Week: Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey: A Novel Book by Kathleen RooneyHomework: Look up your local falconry club and see if you can attend their next event!Liner Notes: See more of

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25:50

19.25: From the Classroom to the Page

Writing Excuses ·

2024/06/23

Learning is great, but how do you translate it into doing without getting overwhelmed? What is the difference between learning in the classroom and executing when you're on your own?Marshall, our incredible recording engineer, just finished an MFA program. Congrats, Marshall!! On today’s episode, we gril Marshall in order to understand his takeaways from the program. Specifically, we are interested in how he takes everything he learned in the classroom and turns it into actionable things he’s

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35:43

19.24: An Interview on Worldbuilding with Arkady Martine

Writing Excuses ·

2024/06/16

We've spent the last month talking about "A Memory Called Empire, and now, we are so excited to welcome the author, Arkady Martine, to the show! On today's episode, we talk with Arkady about the origins of her novel, and dive into how she navigated the dense and intricate world-building. Arkady gives us advice on what not to do, where to look for your first ideas, and what her writing process looks like. Thing of the Week: “The Shamshine Blind” By Paz PardoHomework:Using the character

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22:29

19.23: Tying It All Together (A Close Reading on...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/06/09

Today, the gang talks about their final thoughts on Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire.” We conclude with some lessons we’ve learned through analyzing her work, and we share our favorite bits! Thing of the Week: Pasión de las PasionesHomework: Find a piece of world building that you love and come up with another way to use it in your work in progress. Close Reading Series: Texts & TimelineNext up is Character! Starting July 7, we’ll be diving into three short stories by C.L. Clark. These are all

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26:02

19.22: Technology and Identity (A Close Reading on...

Writing Excuses ·

2024/06/02

The imago technology lies at the heart of this novel thematically and narratively. How does this technology create a world, delineate Mahit's culture from Teixcalaan, and ask enormous questions about identity and empire?Thing of the Week: “Rotten” (Documentary Series available on Netflix)Homework: Come up with three technological or magical approaches that would raise questions about what it means to be you, to be an individual. Take one of these, and then write a scene wherein two characters

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