Writing Excuses

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 it and when to use it and why. We apologize for the l...

7 Sep 201017min

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 them with ABSOLUTE APLOMB. Questions asked include...

29 Aug 201021min

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 are the best ways to re-use old material you've set asid...

23 Aug 201016min

Recorded live at Dragons & Fairy Tales in Eagle Mountain, Utah, this episode features the work of several brave souls who submitted their first paragraphs to us for critique. We are not American Idol...

16 Aug 201020min

We return to White Sand (original version), Brandon's first book, written while he was a teenager. Again, you'll need to suspend your disbelief as we assume that the story edits and other major conten...

9 Aug 201018min

Let's build THE FUTURE! [cue dramatic music] The Writing Excuses crew explores another angle on the massively multifaceted gem of a topic known as "worldbuilding." We've touched on governments, relig...

2 Aug 201015min

By popular request, here's a 'cast where we demonstrate line-editing. A word of warning, though: we demonstrate this process on the very first book Brandon ever wrote. Not his first published, book, m...

26 Jul 201018min

When Oscar Hammerstein wrote "Let's start at the very beginning // A very good place to start" he was talking about teaching children to sing, not writing a novel. Sometimes the beginning is the very ...

19 Jul 201018min