Shows / Writing Excuses
Episodes
- Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 5: Writing Groups
So you've got a fantastic idea for a book or a short story, but where do you go from there? Who can give the incentive to write, the support to keep going when…
- Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 4:View point, Plot Twists and Being a Part-Time Writer with Eric James Stone
Eric James Stone joins us for our final Mountain-Con episode. This Q&A covers writing part-time (and Dan disqualifies himself from answering this question in…
- Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 3: Characters with Brandon Mull
No matter how grand your setting, how intense your conflicts, or how tight your plot, at some point you're going to need characters. Join us as we discuss what…
- Writing Excuses
Writing Season 2 Episode 2: How to Write for Children with Brandon Mull
Kids these days with their long hair and their love of reading. It's like, get off my lawn, am I right? But in other news, kids (meaning anything from chapter…
- Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses Season 2 Bonus Episode 1: Live at the Mistborn 3 Release
We talk among ourselves about some episodes of this podcast being "crunchy" and others being "fluffy." "Crunchy" episodes are the ones…
- Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 1: Q&A on Setting and Characters at Mountain Con with John Brown
You didn't think we'd just keep going with the same old stuff forever, did you? Well, actually we are, but now we're calling it Season 2. This season begins…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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.Our…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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?Our Sponsors:* Check…
- Writing Excuses
Writing Excuses Bonus Episode 1: Remembering Gary Gygax
Brandon, Howard and Dan talk about their first exposure to RPG games, Gary Gygax and the influence he had on them and the industry.Our Sponsors:* Check out…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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…
- Writing Excuses
Writing 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 PageOur Sponsors:*…