Archive Seasons 1-6 – Writing Excuses Podcast
1) Writing Excuses 6.30: Help! I Can’t End My Book!
Merry Christmas! Here's the last episode of Writing Excuses Season 6! We decided to end the season with a discussion of endings. Specifically, we answer cries for help that we've gotten. The cries ans...Show More
2) Writing Excuses 6.29: Character Foils
Let's talk about character foils, and how to use them. We begin with a definition of character foils, expertly read by Mary. Then we talk about some archetypes, like the straight-man and the funny-guy...Show More
3) Writing Excuses 6.28: Interstitial Art
Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman from the Interstitial Arts Foundation join Mary and Dan at World Fantasy to discuss things that fall into the gaps between the genres. How do publishers, agents, and...Show More
4) Writing Excuses 6.27: Fantasy Setting Yard Sale
It's the Writing Excuses Fantasy Setting Yard Sale! In this experimental (at least for us) 'cast, Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard build a couple of fantasy settings for you, and they're free. Seriou...Show More
5) Writing Excuses 6.26: Mystery Plotting
Let's talk mystery! Specifically, how do you plot a good mystery? We're not focusing on the mystery genre but many of these principles will apply there. For fantasy and science-fiction work this usual...Show More
6) Writing Excuses 6.25: When Characters do Dumb Things
Let's face it. The characters in your book will do some dumb things. We're here to help you make sure they do those dumb things for the right reasons. Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard talk about the go...Show More
7) Writing Excuses 6.24: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime
Andrew P. Mayer joins Howard, Mary, and Dan at Dragon*Con 2011. Andrew's has one book out, The Falling Machine, and the second book in this "Society of Steam" series, Hearts of Smoke, comes out on Nov...Show More
8) Writing Excuses 6.23: Pigeon Holes
Jonathan Maberry joins Howard, Dan, and Mary to discuss pigeonholes -- specifically, not ending up in one. Jonathan was enthusiastic to address this subject, which he treats as serious career advice. ...Show More
9) Writing Excuses 6.22: Continuing Education for Writers
Mur Lafferty, the Grand Dame of SF podcasting, joins Howard, Mary, and Dan to talk about ways in which writers can continue their educations. We've said time and again that nothing improves your writi...Show More
10) Writing Excuses 6.21: Brainstorming From Story Seeds
We've done brainstorming casts before. This time we've prepared something quite a bit different. It's different, in fact, because we prepared it -- in advance, even. Producer Jordo provided your ho...Show More