Writing Excuses
Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler
300 episodes
Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.
Episodes page 2 of 6
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20.46: Now Go Write- Break All The Rules (Part 2)
In this episode, Erin returns with the final two “rules” from her section of our forthcoming book Now Go Write—and why it might be worth breaking them. With DongWon and Mary Robinette, Erin explores the classic advice…
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20.45: Now Go Write- Break All The Rules (Part 1)
In this episode, Erin shares a sneak peek from her section of our forthcoming book, Now Go Write. (To learn more about our book, sign up for our newsletter!) Erin explores four classic writing “rules,” when it’s worth…
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20.44: Now Go Write- How to Handle Relationships
We have an exciting announcement! Writing Excuses is publishing a book, Now Go Write, which will feature writing from all of our hosts! Sign up for our newsletter to learn when our book is coming out! So, for our next…
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20.43: An Interview with Dr. Tara Lepore on Paleontology
Erin and Howard sat down with paleontologist Dr. Tara Lepore for a fascinating dive into the science—and storytelling potential—of deep time. Dr. Lepore explains why paleontology is about far more than dinosaurs and…
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20.42: Erin Roberts’ Personal Writing Process
Erin describes her own writing process as, “a bunch of random practices thrown into a bag and shaken up." Nevertheless, for today’s episode, Erin managed to organize her processes into four categories: getting work,…
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20.41: DongWon Song’s Personal Writing Process
We’re continuing our episodes focusing on our hosts’ personal writing practices. Like Mary Robinette’s. DongWon’s involves a bit of… chaos. DongWon’s day job as a literary agent is demanding and unpredictable, so they…
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20.40: Mary Robinette Kowal’s Personal Writing Process
A lot of people ask published authors what their writing process is like, as if it is a key to being able to write. The only important process is the one that works for you. So, we’re going to let each of our hosts…
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20.39: Wrapping up our Conversation about Lenses
Today our hosts tell you why you don’t need to listen to all of our episodes—or even most of them. Each of our five hosts weighs in on how you can combine the topics, subtopics, and lenses that each episode features in…
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20.38: An Interview with Charlie Jane Anders
We had the absolute joy of sitting down with Charlie Jane Anders, the author of the book we’ve focused on for our last four episodes (All the Birds in the Sky). We talked with Anders about POV, tone, and how she played…
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20.37: Deep Dive into “All the Birds in the Sky” - Using the Lens of Why
This is our final episode before we have Charlie Jane Anders on the podcast to talk about her writing process next week! Today we’re talking about intention by analyzing thematics, the author’s intent, and the way…
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20.36: Deep Dive into “All the Birds in the Sky” - Using the Lens of When
If you still want to read All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, you can purchase it here! We are looking today at the lens of when. But we’re not going to look at time periods—instead, we’re going to…
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20.35: Deep Dive into “All the Birds in the Sky” - Using the Lens of Where
If you still want to read All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, you can purchase it here! Today we’re talking about places and place-moments. We’re looking at how Anders uses context, details, and…
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20.34: Deep Dive into “All the Birds in the Sky” - Using the Lens of Who
Last season we took different works to represent different concepts. But this season, we’re looking at a single work— All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. So, for the next five episodes, we’re going to look…
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20.33: Raising Children as a Metaphor for Writing
Throughout this season, we have been doing a series of episodes that feature different metaphors for writing. Today, we’re talking about raising children and what it can teach us about our own writing practice. It’s…
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20.32: Revision and Character Consciousness Téa Obreht
Téa Obreht is a short story writer and novelist. Her debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction, and was a 2011 National Book Award finalist and an international bestseller. In our…
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20.31: Framing the Lens
This year, we’ve been looking at writing through various different lenses. In two weeks, on August 24th, we’ll begin a 5-part deep dive into these lenses through a specific book: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie…
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20.30: Using Why To Shape Tone
Tone is one of those words people use in many different ways when talking about fiction. On today’s episode, our hosts break down what it means, how we use it, and how it can be a tool in the writer’s toolbox. We dive…
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20.29: Authorial Intent
What the heck is authorial intent? Does it matter? And how do intentions end up on the page without cluttering or overwhelming the story? Today, our hosts dive into message versus content, and how to wrap your…
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20.28: The Lens of Tradition
Every story has been told. Okay, maybe not, but most stories have a tradition/ influence/ history/ genre/ style that they draw upon, even if only slightly. How do you know what traditions you're bringing to your work,…
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20.27: The Lens of Why
We are joined by author Mark Oshiro, who primarily writes YA and middle grade books and was a guest teacher aboard our 2024 cruise! (Our 2025 cruise is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here.) We ask the…
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20.26: Gaming as a Writing Metaphor
What separates the way we experience a game versus the way we experience a prose narrative? Erin Roberts has written for many games, and she loves games particularly because they give the person experiencing the…
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20.25: Writing Confrontation (LIVE Aboard the WX Cruise)
Our hosts explore how to write compelling confrontations—whether physical fights or emotional arguments—in a live episode recorded on the Writing Excuses Cruise. Building off Dan Wells' class Why Your Fight Scene Is…
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20.24: An Interview with Charles Duhigg
How can listening inform the way you write? We decided to ask Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author—best known for The Power of Habit and most recently released…
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20.23: The Lens of the Senses
How does a room sound? Does your childhood have a taste? What is the smell of summer? In this episode, we dive into the sensory layers that anchor worldbuilding, character, and perspective. We explore how invoking…
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20.22: The Lens of Time
Time isn't just a backdrop—it’s a powerful tool in storytelling. In this episode, we explore how time shapes narratives, beyond just plot structure. From magnifying moments in a fight scene to revealing a character’s…
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20.21: The Lens of Context
This week, we’re digging into context—what it is, why it matters, and how it can totally transform your storytelling. Whether you're working in fantasy, sci-fi, or anything in between, the details you choose to include…
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20.20: The Lens of Where and When
Today we’re talking about setting, which in speculative fiction is often called worldbuilding. But once you’ve finished building the world, how do you convey that world on the page? That is, how do time and place shape…
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20.19: Cooking as a Writing Metaphor
What does cooking have to do with writing? In this episode, we explore how the creative choices we make in the kitchen—whether it’s improvising with missing ingredients or following a beloved recipe—mirror the choices…
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20.18: LIVE: The Art of Teaching
This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/) While on a boat in…
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20.17: An Interview with Christopher Schwarz
This season, we’ve been exploring different approaches to writing through the lens of other crafts and their respective toolkits. We had the pleasure of speaking with furniture-maker, writer, and publisher Christopher…
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20.16: Second Person
People often think of first person POV as the most intimate voice. But in a way, we think second person might be more intimate. With second person, you’re forcing the reader’s subjectivity into the fiction itself. You…
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20.15: Third Person Omniscient
With today’s episode, we are continuing our discussion on proximity by focusing on another POV: third person omniscient. In omniscient POV, the narrator can see all and move into any character's head. It's sometimes…
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20.14: Third Person Limited
Third person limited is one of the most popular storytelling lenses. Yet it is often understood differently by various authors and readers. So today we’re diving into the complexities, intricacies, and beautiful…
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20.13: First Person
We’re now going to have a few episodes focusing on the lens of proximity—specifically, how close you are to a character. Today, we’re talking about first person. First person seems like it would be one of the most…
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20.12: Fashion as a Writing Metaphor
Today, we’re returning to different personal metaphors for how we all think about writing and storytelling. In this episode, we’re talking about how DongWon uses fashion as a helpful metaphor to think about…
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20.11: Kit Lit. Q&A Aboard the WX Cruise, with Mark Oshiro, Kate McKean, and Sandra Tayler
This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/.) While on a boat in…
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20.10: Interview with Chuck Tingle: Breaking the Rules
Today we have the pleasure of talking with author (and longtime listener!) Chuck Tingle. We invited him on the podcast to talk about breaking the rules—both in terms of how to publish and what to publish. Chuck told us…
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20.09: The Reaction of Who?!
What do emotional beats and action scenes have in common? Well, they both need to land with your audience in order for your story not to fall flat. On today’s episode, we’re talking about the importance of reaction.…
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20.08: Character Stakes and Fears
This week, we’re continuing our conversation about the lens of who. On last week’s episode we talked about a character’s motivation and goals. Now, we’re starting to think about tension in the form of a character’s…
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20.07: Motivation and Goals
Do you know what your characters want? And is there a deeper desire underneath that one? A character's motivations can help make them "relatable," drive the story's momentum, and create obstacles. Additionally,…
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20.06: History and Community
Have you ever wondered how much you need to know about a specific character before you start your story? Do you need to have an entire outline of their childhood before you can start writing in depth about them? We…
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20.05: The Lens of Who
Today we are introducing the “lens of who” – which means talking about characters. We try to break big character ideas down into their elements. For instance, what do terms like "relatability" or "depth" of character…
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20.04: Puppetry as a Writing Metaphor
For our 20th season, we are focusing on this belief: that the lived experience that we all have affects the way we think about writing. We’ve all heard Mary Robinette talk about puppetry for seventeen (or so) seasons.…
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20.03: Polishing Your Writing Lens
One of the most important tools that a writer brings to their work is their own personal lens. This is shaped by your hobbies, your job, your history, and your experiences. In this season, we're going to be looking at…
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20.02: Q&A Aboard the Writing Excuses Cruise, with Mark Oshiro and Kate McKean
This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/.) While on a boat in…
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20.01: Welcome to 2025!
For our 20th season, we are focusing on your toolbox. We’re going to be thinking about tools in terms of the lenses that we use to approach a story. We’re going to focus on the four lenses of: who, where, when, and why…
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19.52: End of Year Reflections: Navigating Speedbumps
Today, we’re reflecting on 2024. Individually, all of us went through a lot throughout the year—we encountered myriad speed bumps that slowed us down in different ways.. How do you balance your workload with your own…
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19.51: And That Was That
As the end of Season 19 approaches, we want to help you integrate what you’ve learned over the year. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes designed to help you make measurable progress on a writing project. So dust…
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19.50.5: An Interview with DIY MFA Founder Gabriela Pereira (BONUS EPISODE)
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Gabriela Pereira, founder and instigator of DIY MFA, which is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Arts in Writing. Pereira has some incredible advice for how to put…
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19.50: All Systems Go
As the end of Season 19 approaches, we want to help you integrate what you’ve learned over the year. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes designed to help you make measurable progress on a writing project. So dust…
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