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. And remember, fast is not inherently better than slow! This conversation highlights the importance of contrast—pairing fast and slow moments, tension and calm, or different emotional states—to make pacing more effective. Along the way, we examine examples from fiction, personal experiences, and neuroscience to better understand how readers process time and information. Homework: Take a single event and write it two ways: first so the reading time roughly matches the amount of time the event takes, and then again so the reading time is much longer than the event itself. Compare how the different pacing changes the reader’s experience. Final WXR Cruise! Our final WXR cruise is sold out, but you can join our waitlist here! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson. Join Our Writing Community! Writing Retreats Newsletter Patreon Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Facebook 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 * Check out Tin Can and use my code tincan.com/WX for a great deal: https://tincan.kids Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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21.45: Mirror, Mirror on the Plot

People respond really well to symmetry in stories. This can range from having an object from the beginning reappear at the end to having the entire plot mirrored. But why does symmetry work so well, a...

8 Nov 26min

21.44: Why Are You Stopping? You’re Almost There!

Very often, writers get to the two-third or three-quarter mark of work and get stuck, sometimes abandoning it to move on to something shinier. Why does this happen? Well, it’'s a place at which we mov...

1 Nov 24min

21.43: The Not-Final Word on Endings

Today we're focusing on the mechanics of writing endings: what needs to be resolved, what can be left dangling, and how to give your reader a sense of what has changed. We talk about symmetry between ...

25 Okt 28min

21.42: Deconstructing the Heroine’s Journey

Psychotherapist Maureen Murdock invented the Heroine's Journey in response to Joseph Campbell's monomyth Hero's Journey. He reportedly said, "Women don’t need to make the journey, they are the place t...

18 Okt 23min

21.41: Barrier Breaking- Physical Fatigue

What do you do when "take a break" isn't the answer? We’ve all ahd that feeling, "I’m just too tired to concentrate." This can be because you're worn out from work, or due to chronic fatigue or pain. ...

11 Okt 24min

21.40: The DREAM of a Structured Character Arc

What if a character arc had a structure you could actually map? This week, our hosts break down the DREAM arc: denial, resistance, exploration, acceptance, and manifestation. We look at how characters...

4 Okt 20min

21.39: Write What You Feel

Your life is probably weirder—and more useful to your writing—than you think. This week, our hosts explore how to turn lived experience into fiction, from borrowing sensory details and emotional react...

27 Sep 26min

21.38: Rules, Tools, and History’s Fools

“Tools, not rules” gets flipped on its head this week. Our hosts revisit the Turkey City Lexicon, a snarky collection of writing “rules” that circulated widely among speculative fiction writers in 198...

20 Sep 23min