Writing Excuses

SPOILER ALERT! This is the third of our SHADOWS BENEATH story critique episodes. This episode's story, "A Fire in the Heavens," is available as part of the aforementioned Writing Excuses anthology, p...

20 Jul 201421min

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS! Also, merchandising! This is the second of our story critique episodes. The story, "Sixth of the Dusk," is available as part of SHADOWS BENEATH, the Writing Excuses anthology,...

13 Jul 201421min

This is the first of our DANGER SPOILERS AHEAD story critique episodes. The story, "Sixth of the Dusk," is available as part of SHADOWS BENEATH, the Writing Excuses anthology, which includes the finis...

6 Jul 201418min

What's pre-writing? Well, it's a little bit like "pre-cooking," in which something is cooked prior to being put in the final recipe, but in food terms it might also be like "cleaning the kitchen" or "...

30 Jun 201419min

This podcast references episode 9.13 where we introduce a three-slider model for characters.  In this episode we're talking about how we adjust the reader's perception of character competence, and why...

23 Jun 201418min

This podcast references episode 9.13 where we introduce a three-slider model for characters. Here we talk about character sympathy, or rather the sympathy that the reader will have for the character, ...

16 Jun 201418min

Side quests come in a couple of forms -- they may be something inside the book that takes the characters away from the main plotline, or they may be adventures that take place outside of the book itse...

9 Jun 201418min

Can you use a character with a limited viewpoint to introduce a reader to the fantastic elements of the world you're building? Even if from that character's point of view, those elements are not fanta...

2 Jun 201418min