Writing Excuses

If you haven't read Mary's latest novel, Of Noble Family, this episode contains many spoilers, and you'll get a lot more out of the discussion if you read the book (or listen to the book) before liste...

31 Maj 201530min

We went to you for questions about world building, and you had some really good ones. The questions are listed below, and our answers are secreted within MP3 file. * Has there ever been a piece of w...

24 Maj 201518min

You've done piles of world building. How do you convey this world to reader without infodumping? We talk about the different skill levels involved, and then the techniques that you'll be using as you ...

17 Maj 201516min

What's the difference between intrigue, suspense, and mystery? We answer this (it comes down to reader knowledge vs character knowledge), and then talk about what makes intrigue useful as a tool for a...

10 Maj 201518min

This is for you folks who started writing the story before you finished building your world. Which is what we wanted you to do all along! Sneaky! We're talking about letting your story drive your worl...

3 Maj 201520min

We've talked about beginnings this month. Now we'll answer some of your questions on the matter. Here are the questions: * What are there differences between the beginnings in different forms? * Ho...

26 Apr 201520min

The first page is often the very hardest one to write. In this episode we talk about how to fill the space on the first few pages of your story, because those are the pages where you have to convince ...

19 Apr 201517min

Wes Chu, author and adventurer, recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, and has some things to say about all the wilderness trekking that our characters do in the books we write, and how we often forget t...

12 Apr 201516min