Writing Excuses

Latest Episodes:

18.38: How Do You Write A Series With Books That Stand Alone? Sep 17, 2023

Show notes

Deep Dive: A Function of Firepower

How do you write the middle of a book? How do you write an ending to a story? For this week’s episode about writing, we focus on Book 19 of Schlock Mercenary, the penultimate book in Howard Tayler’s series. We discuss ways to make a book feel self-contained, rather than just something to keep the beginning and the ending further apart.

For reference, A Function of Firepoweris the 19th Schlock Mercenary Book. We highly recommend you read this first, because this episode contains spoilers and in-depth conversations about the book.

Homework:

Writing prompt: try to work these three words into your WIP (work in progress): expeditious, sock, and dragonfly.

Thing of the Week:

Kickstarter for Schlock Mercenary Book 18: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/howardtayler

(It's what Howard said, but "profile" is singular, not plural!)

Liner Notes:

Fermi paradox

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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18.37: Mandatory Failure Sep 10, 2023

Show notes

We talk with Howard Tayler about the story structure of a story with a BIG disaster in the middle - one which we don't recover from until the next book. We also talk about the weight of world-building, how to write for your ideal reader. And Howard considers the question, what is the cost of death if immortality exists?

For reference, Mandatory Failure is the 18th Schlock Mercenary Book; 1st in the 3-book finale to the 20 book mega-arc. We highly recommend you read this first, because this episode contains spoilers and in-depth conversations about the book.

Homework:

Writing prompt: a major disaster has just occurred, write a scene in the aftermath.

Thing of the Week:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Liner Notes:

Book 18 Schlock Mercenary: Mandatory Failure

Sandra Tayler

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18.36: The Soggy Middle Pays the Rent (or, "Stand Alone With Series Potential") Sep 03, 2023

Show notes

How do you write the middle of a book? How do you end your book? How do you know what to write next? This week, our hosts —who all work as a writers and publishers (and are sometimes teachers and puppeteers and many other things)— talk through how they have written the middle of their books.

The middle is where most of the story takes place. How do you keep track of your characters and plot? How do you bring it toward an end, and stick the landing? Well, we’ve got some ideas. And some advice to help you write the middle of your novel. Or short story. Or play. Or really… anything.

Homework:

Identify the point of the middle where you are delaying because you feel like your character needs to "earn" the cool thing. Where can you cut and where can you turn it into an escalation?

Also! Make sure to catch up on Schlock Mercenary if you haven’t already. Our next 3 episodes will dive into the details, and include some spoilers.

Thing of the Week:

The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire

Liner Notes:

Mass Effect 2

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18.35: How to Organize Your Writing, or Managing the Mega-Arc Aug 27, 2023

Show notes

Let’s talk about organization! This week, we’re talking about how and what to keep track of— characters, places, names, etc. How do you organize a book? How do you outline a novel?

And don’t worry, we dive into the messy question, what is worth keeping track of in your writing? We also hear about how Howard and Mary Robinette have turned their planning tools (and research!) into money.

Homework:

Build a tool (spreadsheet, wiki, whatever) for tracking things in the universe of your writing. Start by thinking of three things to track—these could be character-driven, thematic, emotional.

Thing of the week:

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler MRK

Liner Notes:

Scrivener

AirTable

Obsidian

Schlock Mercenary Shop

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18.34: Seventeen Years of Foreshadowing Aug 20, 2023

Show notes

18.34: 17 Years of Foreshadowing

What can Normal Gossip teach us about foreshadowing and artful storytelling?

Thinking about the 20 books that make up Howard Tayler’s Schlock Mercenary, our hosts discuss foreshadowing—our favorite examples, and our go-to tricks for structuring our own work. What does foreshadowing actually do for our work? Do we even need it? Well, yeah… it’s like invisible narrative scaffolding. But it’s also like a red herring. It’s so many things! Listen to us discuss the best ways to use it in your own work, in a way that sounds true to your own writerly voice and vision.

Homework:

Take a throwaway gag from one of your favorite things and outline a story or scene in which the throwaway turns out to have been foreshadowing.

Thing of the Week:

Babel by R. F. Kuang

Liner Notes:

Game of Thrones, Fonda Lee, Fermi paradox, Normal Gossip

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18.33.5: State Of The Podcast Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

Bonus Episode! Our first ever half-numbered episode!

We are making some changes here on the podcast, and we wanted to talk to you about them. We hired a producer (Emma Reynolds), we have new interactive offerings on Patreon (office hours, livestreams, Q&A’s), and we are going to begin advertising! Don’t worry, you can subscribe to our Patreon to listen ad-free.

Homework:

Go check out our Patreon, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook! They are all linked below.

Thing of the Week:

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson

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18.33: Deep Dive: The Schlock Mercenary Finale Aug 13, 2023

Show notes

The first episode in our eight-episode Deep Dive into Howard’s weekly webcomic strip, Schlock Mercenary. We grill Howard on how he taught himself to draw, why he decided to self-publish (hint: his wife, Sandra Tayler, helped him), and how he managed to write an ending.

Homework:

The "How it should have ended" game: write your own ending(s) to one or more of your favorite things. (For reference, watch some of How It Should Have Ended.)

Thing of the Week:

The Expanse (DongWon)

Mentioned Links:

Schlock Mercenary

How It Should Have Ended

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18.32: The Kirsten Vangsness Expansion Pack Aug 06, 2023

Show notes

We have a special guest episode! Kirsten Vangsness, Criminal Minds star, joins us to talk about her experience as a writer, actor, and playwright. She taught us how she deals with imposter syndrome, and how she uses performance as a writing tool. We also talk about self-actualization, cats, and filling your metaphorical art well.

Homework:

From Kirsten: Record yourself, stream of consciousness, talking about one of the big questions that crops up in your work. Then write a scene that asks this question.

From us: Prepare for our next Deep Dive, by reading through Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary.

Thing of the Week:

Kirsten's Agenda Season 2

Blue by June Carryl

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18.31: Getting Personal: Mining Your Life for Themes Jul 30, 2023

Show notes

In our final episode diving into how and why Dan wrote “Dark One: Forgotten,” talk about how you can take something personal and mine it for fiction. We also tackle the complicated question—Why should you be the one to tell your story? We think about the personal touches that you can add to your writing, and how people can hear when your story is personal.

Homework:

2 things!

1. Have you watched Criminal Minds? If you haven’t, you should! Next week, we have a special guest—Kirsten Vangsness who plays Penelope Garcia! Explore her other stuff (like her web series and podcast), and get ready for an INCREDIBLE conversation with her.

2. What's the thing in your real life that you keep thinking about when you aren't writing? Can you give that feeling or theme to a character? ALSO, prepare for our next Deep Dive, by reading through Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary. And feel free to re-listen to our interview with Howard earlier this year,

Thing of the Week:

Everything Everywhere all at Once

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18.30: Planting Supernatural Seeds Jul 23, 2023

Show notes

How do you slowly reveal the supernatural in an obviously supernatural story? How can you prepare your audience for a reveal without disclosing it too quickly? If someone is familiar with your writing, they know the genre and what to expect from it. We talk about how we work within these confines while also making space for surprises, magic, and the supernatural.

Homework:

Do a reread or rewatch of something with a big reveal (like the reveal in "Dark One: Forgotten.") Think about how your understanding of the story has changed since you have that information earlier.

Also prepare for our upcoming Deep Dive, by reading through Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary. And feel free to re-listen to our interview with Howard earlier this year, here.

Thing of the Week:

Nope, directed by Jordan Peele

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