Writing Excuses
Episodes
Writing Excuses 6.10: Scott Card’s M.I.C.E. Quotient
08 Aug 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Mary walks Brandon, Dan, and Howard through the Milieu, Idea, Character, and Event (M.I.C.E.) quotient from Orson Scott Card, and then they retell the...
Writing Excuses 6.9: Microcasting 2 Electric Boogaloo
31 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard take questions from the Twitterverse ranging from outlining, character creation, and plot-hole repair to skill developm...
Writing Excuses 6.8: What an Agent Does
25 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Howard Tayler and Dan Wells interview literary agent Sara Crowe about what agents do for authors, and why having an agent might be the right thing for...
Writing Excuses 6.7: Brainstorming a Cyberpunk Story
18 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mary brainstorm a cyberpunk story using concepts pulled at random from a mythology textbook.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: ...
Writing Excuses 6.6: Cyberpunk
11 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard take a high-level look at cyberpunk (the literary genre) for writers considering creating something along those lines.O...
Writing Excuses 6.5: Query Letters
04 Jul 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Sara Crowe, literary agent with Harvey Klinger, joins Dan and Howard for a discussion of query letters.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.c...
Writing Excuses 6.4: Microcasting
27 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard field questions from the Twitterverse -- commercial publishing, finding balance, structuring stories, defining moments,...
Writing Excuses 6.3: Professional Organizations
20 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard talk about SFWA, NCS, and other professional organizations for writers and creators.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: htt...
Writing Excuses 6.2: Internal Motivations
13 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Mary, Dan, & Howard discuss putting character motivations on the page in support of plot, character arcs, and the story in general.Our Sp...
Writing Excuses 6.1: Can Creativity be Taught?
06 Jun 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard discuss creativity -- how to learn it, how to teach it, and how to get better at it.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: htt...
Writing Excuses 5.39: Filking and Writing Music with Tom Smith
30 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Smith joins Howard and Brandon at Penguicon for a discussion of Filk and some delightfully improvised music.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https:...
Writing Excuses 5.38: Dialog with John Scalzi
23 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
John Scalzi joins Brandon and Howard for a discussion of dialog and how genre fiction writers can learn to do a better job with it.Our Sponsors:* Chec...
Writing Excuses 5.37: Parody and Satire with Jim Hines
16 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Hines suffers abuse from Howard and Brandon as the three of them discuss parody, satire, and humor in front of a live audience at Penguicon.Our Sp...
Writing Excuses 5.36: Non-Traditional Settings with Saladin Ahmed
09 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Saladin Ahmed, Nebula- and Campbell-award nominee joins Brandon and Howard for a discussion of setting -- specifically, setting an epic fantasy in som...
Writing Excuses 5.35: Brainstorming Urban Fantasy
02 May 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard brainstorm an urban fantasy set in a big-box store in Park City, Utah.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* C...
Writing Excuses 5.34: Story Bibles
24 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Let's talk about bibles. Specifically, story bibles. What are they, why do we use them, why might we NOT use them, and what tools are working for ...
Writing Excuses on the 2011 Hugo Ballot
24 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Writing Excuses Season 4 has been nominated for a "Best Related Work" Hugo.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out Mas...
Writing Excuses 5.33: Alpha Readers
17 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss what an alpha reader is, is not, and where one might find these marvelous creatures.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: h...
Writing Excuses 5.32: Urban Fantasy
10 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We begin our discussion of Urban Fantasy with a discussion of definitions, which quickly devolves into an argument over what we are actually supposed ...
Writing Excuses 5.31: Writing Romance
04 Apr 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Eden and Robison Wells join Dan and Howard at LTUE to talk about writing romance. Sarah writes in the romance genre, but we're not focusing ...
Writing Excuses 5.30: Writing Action
28 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Howard are joined by Larry Correia and Robison Wells, and with the enthusiastic support of a live audience at LTUE they discuss writing action...
Writing Excuses 5.29: Rewriting
21 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
We were fortunate enough to record two episodes with Tracy Hickman and Dave Wolverton at Life, The Universe, and Everything XXIX. In this second insta...
Writing Excuses 5.28: E-publishing
14 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
David Farland and Tracy Hickman discuss electronic publishing with Dan and Howard.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out Mast...
Writing Excuses 5.27: Perseverance, with Sherrilyn Kenyon
07 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Sherrilyn Kenyon joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard for a discussion of persevering as a writer.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Chec...
Writing Excuses 5.26: Scared for the Characters
28 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Sherrilyn Kenyon tells us all how to make readers fear for the characters in her books.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out...
Writing Excuses 5.25: Writing in Other People’s Universes
21 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
So, you want to write a Star Wars book? Kevin J. Anderson joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard to tackle writing in other people's universes.Our Sponsor...
Writing Excuses 5.24: The Author’s Responsibility to the Reader
14 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin J. Anderson discusses author productivity with Brandon, Dan, and Howard.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterCl...
Writing Excuses 5.23: Life Day!
07 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton again join Dan and Howard, and this time we're talking about holidays in fantasy and science-fiction. This...
Writing Excuses 5.22: Film Considerations
31 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton join Dan and Howard for a discussion of movie considerations and formulas.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: http...
Writing Excuses 5.21: Alternate History
24 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Robinette Kowal and Eric Flint join Howard and Dan for a discussion of Alternate history - what, why, and how.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: htt...
Writing Excuses 5.20: More Dialog Exercises
17 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard critique some dialog-only writing exercises from listeners.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out Ma...
Writing Excuses 5.19: Fulfilling Promises to Your Readers
10 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard give examples of making, keeping, and breaking promises to your readers.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX*...
Writing Excuses 5.18: Offending Your Readers
03 Jan 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss avoiding unnecessary offense as writers.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: ...
Writing Excuses 5.17: Dialog Exercises
28 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard critique some tagless dialog submissions.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: https:/...
Writing Excuses 5.16: Critiquing Dan’s First Novel
20 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Late last season we took a look at Brandon's first novel and did some line-editing and critiquing. It was so much fun we decided that Dan needed t...
Writing Excuses 5.12: Time Travel!
13 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard each offer sage advice to their earlier selves.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: h...
Writing Excuses 5.15: Steampunk with Scott Westerfeld
06 Dec 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Westerfeld joins Brandon and Howard for a discussion of Steampunk.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: h...
Writing Excuses 5.14: Visual Components of Novels with Scott Westerfeld
29 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Westerfeld joins Brandon and Howard for a discussion of the visual components of novels.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Ch...
Writing Excuses 5.13: Writing the Second Book
22 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
John Brown joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard for a discussion of second novels, sequels, and the trick to doing it again.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: ...
Writing Excuses 5.12: The Secret of Lincoln’s Gold
22 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We sta ... ...ising but inev... ... pendently wealthy, tha... [NO CARRIER]Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass:...
Writing Excuses 5.11: MicroPodcasting 2
15 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard field questions about doing bad things to characters, soliciting feedback, creature design, and outlining.Our Sponsors:* Chec...
Writing Excuses 5.10: John Brown and the Creative Process
08 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The now cancer-free John Brown joins us again, this time for a discussion of the creative process. John has presented a seminar on this subject in th...
Writing Excuses Bonus Episode! Voting in the Service of a Dark God
02 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode is what happens when there are two things we want to plug, and we decide to try and blend them in a single PSA. Here's the Amaz...
Writing Excuses 5.9: Character Arcs
01 Nov 2010
Contributed by Lukas
John Brown joins us this week for a discussion of plot threads specific to characters. These can be the main plot thread, interesting sub-plots, or ju...
Writing Excuses 5.8: The Excuses You’re Out Of
25 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
What are the excuses you make when you're not writing? Brandon, Dan, and Howard examine these, and offer advice for getting the writing done anywa...
Writing Excuses 5.7: Avoiding Melodrama
17 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Melodrama. What is it? What do people mean when they say something is too melodramatic? Usually they do NOT mean "it's too much like a classic...
Writing Excuses 5.6.01: Flash Fiction
12 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss Flash Fiction in less time than it took you to read this excerpt.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX...
Writing Excuses 5.6: MicroPodcasts
10 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Fast-paced Q&A with Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, and Howard TaylerOur Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: ht...
Writing Excuses 5.5: Writing the Unfamiliar
04 Oct 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss "Write what you DON'T know."Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: ...
Parsec Acceptance Speech 2010
28 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard accept their 2010 Parsec Award a bit late, and offer an apology for missing the ceremony.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: http...
Writing Excuses 5.4: Creating Suspense
27 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Suspense! What is it? What isn't it? What is the relationship between suspense and mystery, and for that matter horror, humor, and adventure? This...
Writing Excuses 5.3: First Person Viewpoint
19 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Bree Despain joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard for a discussion of writing in the 1st-personOur Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check o...
WE 5.2: Character Quirks
12 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Special guest Bree Despain of the Dark Divine trilogy joins us for a 'cast on character quirks. A character quirk, avoiding the tautological defi...
WE 5.1: Third Person Limited
07 Sep 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We've talked about point of view before, but only in general terms: this time we delve into third-person limited in detail, explaining how to use ...
Writing Excuses 4.34: Q&A at Dragons & Fairy Tales
29 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
The last of our three recorded-live episodes is also the last episode of Writing Excuses Season 4. We took questions from the audience, and answered t...
Writing Excuses 4.33: Trunk Novels
23 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live at Dragons & Fairy Tales, this episode is for anybody who has a novel or two (or more) sitting in the bottom of their trunk. What ar...
Writing Excuses 4.32: First Paragraphs
16 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live at Dragons & Fairy Tales in Eagle Mountain, Utah, this episode features the work of several brave souls who submitted their first pa...
Writing Excuses 4.31: Line Editing Dialog
09 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A practical, example-filled look at tuning up rough dialog.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: https://master...
Writing Excuses 4.30: Worldbuilding the Future
02 Aug 2010
Contributed by Lukas
How to build a future setting for your novel by extrapolating from the present, working backwards from the story you want to tell, and getting those t...
Writing Excuses 4.29: Line Editing
26 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard demonstrate line-editing on an ancient manuscript.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass...
Writing Excuses 4.28: Brainstorming The End and Working Backwards
19 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard start at the ending and work their way backwards for your enjoyment.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Che...
Writing Excuses 4.27: Major Overhauls to Broken Stories
12 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when, halfway through the book you're writing, you realize it needs to be completely rebuilt? More importantly, how do you figure t...
Writing Excuses 4.26: Avoiding Stilted Dialog
05 Jul 2010
Contributed by Lukas
"How do we avoid writing stilted dialog?" asked Brandon adverbially.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClas...
Writing Excuses 4.25: Mating Plumage
27 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
James Dashner and Julie Wright talk covers, titles, and first lines with Brandon and Dan.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check o...
Writing Excuses 4.24: Random Storytelling
20 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
James Dashner and Julie Wright join Brandon and Dan at CONduit in Salt Lake City, and may end up wishing they hadn't. Brandon throws sets of story...
Writing Excuses 4.23: How to Break In to the Young Adult Market
13 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Janci Patterson and Robison Wells have both sold books very recently. Brandon and Dan put them on the spot and ask how they did it.Our Sponsors:* Chec...
Writing Excuses 4.22: Q&A with L.E. Modesitt, Jr
07 Jun 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Live from CONduit in Salt Lake City, L.E. Modessit Jr. and the Writing Excuses crew answer questions from the audience.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto:...
Writing Excuses 4.21: Writing Practical Fantasy
31 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
L.E. Modesitt and Robison Wells join Brandon and Dan for a discussion of "practical" fantasy. Recorded live at CONduit in Salt Lake City.Our S...
Writing Excuses 4.20: Strategies for Getting Published
24 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Some new strategies for getting yourself published. Obviously we guarantee exactly none of them.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* ...
Writing Excuses 4.19: Discovery Writing
17 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
How to approach discovery writing, with your hosts Brandon, Dan, and HowardOur Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass...
Writing Excuses 4.18: How to Steal for Fun and Profit
10 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Forget "Anxiety of Influence." Let's talk about how to borrow, beg, and outright steal from pop culture, history, and mythology.Our Sponso...
Writing Excuses 4.17: Living with the Artist
03 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Sandra Tayler, Dawn Wells, and Kenny Pike take over the 'cast with some coaching from Dan (and heckling from Howard) to talk about what it's...
Writing Excuses 4.16: Breaking the Fourth Wall
26 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
What's the fourth wall? What happens when you break it? Should you be breaking it at all?Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Che...
Writing Excuses 4.15: Visual Components of Storytelling
19 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A discussion of art and design elements and how they work with the stories we write.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out Ma...
Writing Excuses 4.14: Brainstorming Science Ideas
12 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A brainstorming session fueled by New Scientist's "13 More Things We Don't Understand" article.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https:/...
Writing Excuses 4.13: Juggling Multiple Viewpoints
05 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
How to write multiple viewpoints effectively, using the tool for the right reasons and avoiding pitfalls.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto...
Writing Excuses 4.12: Writing An Epic
29 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Epic podcast! Except it's only fifteen minutes long... because you're in a hurry, and we'll tell you how to write an epic.Our Sponsors:* C...
Writing Excuses 4.11: Brainstorming From Headlines
22 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon, Dan, and Howard brainstorm as Producer Jordo reads headlines.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out MasterClass: htt...
Writing Excuses 4.10: Writing for Young Adults
14 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Day George joins the Writing Excuses crew again, this time for a discussion of writing for young adults, and maybe for teens, or even middle-g...
Writing Excuses 4.9: How to Write Men, with Jessica Day George
08 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Day George joins us again, this time to tell us how to write men. Brace yourselves for the bandying-about of generalities, for painting with ...
Writing Excuses 4.8: Working with Editors
01 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Day George joins the Writing Excuses crew for a discussion of editors...Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out Master...
Writing Excuses 4.7: Q&A with James Dashner
22 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live at LTUE 2010, here's a high-energy Q&A session with the Writing Excuses crew and our special guest James Dashner, author of The...
Writing Excuses 4.6: Pacing with James Dashner
15 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded live at Life, The Universe, & Everything 28, The BYU Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy, and features, among othe...
Writing Excuses 4.5: Roleplaying Games as Tools for Story Telling
08 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Roll for initiative, folks! Brandon, Dan, and Howard all play tabletop role-playing games, and sometimes even play together. The question of the hour ...
Writing Excuses 4.4: Agents. Do you need one?
01 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
We're going to wade into a recent e-brouhaha, but it's not going to be the Amazon vs Macmillan one. No, this is the one where Dean Wesley Smit...
Writing Excuses 4.3: How to Manage Your Influences
25 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
How do you avoid letting other people's work creep into your own? We're all influenced by the media we partake in whether we admit it or not. ...
Writing Excuses 4.2: Heroism
17 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to write a good, heroic hero, this is the podcast for you. We're not necessarily talking about the archetypical, classically-defined, ...
Writing Excuses 4.1: Types of Humor
11 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Writing Excuses Season 4, featuring new, shorter episode titles! Also, if you don't count the bonus episodes or the Parsec Award Accept...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 32: Collaboration
04 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
For starters, let's clear the air. Yes, the first episode of the new year is also the last episode of Writing Excuses Season 3. And yes, we'll...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 31: Tragedy
28 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Tragedy. It's just TRAGIC. Tragedy is also one of the classical forms that writers need to know how to work within. Why? Well... because the Greek...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 29: Antiheroes
20 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
What is an Antihero? There are lots of definitions of this word, so Dan boils it down to just three: The Frodo, The Punisher, and The Talented Mister ...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 30: Unreliable Narrators
14 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
This episode totally would have updated earlier if I'd only known sooner that it was ready to go. Jordo says he emailed me early this evening, but...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 28: World-Building Gender Roles
07 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a disconnect? Brandon specifically introduces the episode as "World-building political correctness," but the title here says "Wor...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 27: Mixing Humor with Drama and Horror
01 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A Monday without Writing Excuses is kind of like a Tuesday without Writing Excuses, only far less aggravating. With Brandon once again by our side(s),...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 26: NaNoWriMo
23 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Dan, Howard, and Jordo descended into the basement at Dragon's Keep where members of the local NaNoWriMo chapter were attempting to bolster their ...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 25: The Business of Writing Comics
16 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Dan and Howard are again joined by Jake Black, who writes comics (and some other things) for a living. Jake tells us how he got into the business, and...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 24: Writing Comics with Jake Black
09 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Jake Black fills in for Brandon "#1 New York Times Bestselling Author" Sanderson this week, and that's perfect because Jake writes comics ...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 23: How to Write Without Twists
02 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Question: Can you write a good book without a plot twist? Better question: is it a good book if your readers predicted what was coming? Best question:...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 22: Idea to Story
25 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
You are going to love this episode. Seriously. Brandon throws an idea at Dan and Howard, and then we spend 15 minutes expanding on that idea as if we ...
Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 21: Pitfalls of Self Publishing with Larry Correia
19 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Larry Correia is either the guy who did everything wrong and then broke into publishing anyway, or he's the exception who proves the rule. He self...