Writing Excuses17 Elo 2014

Writing Excuses 9.34: Science Fiction as Science Education

When Writing Excuses was invited to be guests of honor at Westercon 67, we had the opportunity to interview numerous guests of the convention, each of whom were luminaries in their respective fields.

We met Brad Voytek, who is a doctor of neuroscience and a professor of computational neuroscience at UC San Diego, for the first time right there at the show, and immediately knew that we wanted our listeners to have the chance to hear from him. One of his passions is treating science fiction as a gateway to (and in some cases an actual example of) science education.

He starts by talking about Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep, which teaches the reader about the brain by telling the story of what would happen if a zombie walked in to the emergency room. Mary talks about Launch Pad, the NASA workshop for writers. And then Brandon tells us about blending vegetables into junk food...

We grill Brad mercilessly, and have great fun with the whole show as we talk about some of our favorite science fiction, and a few of our favorite starting points for learning actual science.

Our Sponsors: * Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/EXCUSES for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com * Check out Talkiatry and use my code Talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(997)

21.28: Narrative Transitions

How do you move readers from one scene to the next without losing momentum? Our hosts dig into different types of transitions—from scene breaks and interruptions to brief “through scenes” that bridge ...

12 Heinä 26min

21.27: The Expository Throttle

How can exposition be used as a pacing tool, and not just a way to convey information? We attempt to answer this question on today’s episode! Our hosts discuss how exposition naturally slows a story d...

5 Heinä 20min

21.26: Setting the Pace

Our hosts explore the many tools writers can use to control pacing. We discuss how cadence, transitions, tone, sentence structure, and white space can all speed up or slow down a reader’s experience. ...

28 Kesä 24min

21.25: Follow the Bouncing Ball

In this episode, our hosts explore how writers control their readers’ attention with the metaphor of a bouncing ball. We break down techniques for guiding focus on the page, including POV choice, sele...

21 Kesä 25min

21.24: Deconstructing the Seven Point Plot Structure

Dan Wells joins our conversation as we break down the seven-point plot structure! Using examples from Star Wars, Toy Story, and other films, we discuss how each point creates conflict, drives characte...

14 Kesä 35min

21.23: Barrier Breaking: Interruptions

In this episode, our hosts explore one of the most persistent barriers to writing: interruptions. From family members and pets to emails, meetings, fatigue, and neurodivergence, they discuss how disru...

7 Kesä 29min

21.22: The Order of the Telling

*Time-Sensitive* Our final WXR cruise is almost sold out, grab your spot before June 4th, 2026 here! This week, we are talking about the order in which we present information to the reader as contra...

31 Touko 27min

21.21: Rhythm and Words

*Time-Sensitive* Our final WXR cruise is almost sold out, grab your spot before June 4th, 2026 here! Today, we’re continuing the conversation on sequencing by focusing on rhythm—how the musicality o...

24 Touko 23min