Writing Excuses

Latest Episodes:

11.13: Elemental Idea Q&A Mar 27, 2016

Show notes

This is a Q&A about ideas that does NOT include the question "Where do you get your ideas?"

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11.12: Idea as Subgenre, With Nancy Fulda Mar 20, 2016

Show notes

Nancy Fulda is back for our second episode on the Idea elemental genre. We cover some tools for exploring an idea, and then drill down a bit on how to use that exploration, or even multiple explorations as "seasoning" elements for a larger work. Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson

11.11: Self Publishing in 2016, with Michaelbrent Collings Mar 13, 2016

Show notes

Recorded live at LTUE, Michaelbrent Collings guest-starred for a discussion about self publishing. The landscape continues to change, and Collings is fully engaged in it. He begins by stressing the importance of truly understanding the craft of writing—every professional writer needs this—and then talks turkey about Kindle Direct, Bookbub, formats and lengths, output, available resources, publicity activities, and what kinds of things new writers should commit to spending money on. Note: Writing Excuses Patrons at the "Hear it When Howard Does" level got this episode on March 9th, four days ahead of the rest of the world. You can help support the podcast, and get early access, plus other bonus goodies, by joining them at Patreon.com. Credits: This episode was recorded live by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson

11.10: Idea, as Genre, with Nancy Fulda Mar 06, 2016

Show notes

Nancy Fulda joins us to talk about the Elemental Genre of Idea, and how to write stories driven by a sense of fascination.

11.09: Q&A on the Element of Wonder Feb 28, 2016

Show notes

Gama Ray Martinez joins us at LTUE to field questions on the Element of Wonder, which were submitted by members of our audience. Here are the questions: How do you create wonder in non-genre stories, where there are no super-powers, spaceships, or spellcasters? How do you avoid making the wonder stale? Are there stages of wonder, similar to the stages of grief? Does wonder come from the style of the prose, the pacing, or from other things? How would you foreshadow wonder?

11.08: Wonder as a Subgenre Feb 21, 2016

Show notes

If the Element of Wonder is the driving force behind "sense of wonder" science fiction and fantasy, then that same element can be used to give wondrous flavor to stories whose driving force lies among the other elemental genres. We talk about how to use wonder at smaller scales, how to create it with context, and how you might use it in support of the other themes of your story.

11.07: The Convention Survival Kit, with Gail Carriger Feb 14, 2016

Show notes

Gail Carriger joins us to talk about her Convention Survival Kit, which is full of things most of us wish we'd known to pack with us years ago.

11.06: The Element of Wonder Feb 07, 2016

Show notes

We've introduced the concept of Elemental Genre already. It's time to start digging in to the elements themselves, beginning with the Element of Wonder. We started with this one because "sense of wonder" is a term that gets used to describe what makes some science fiction stories work. In this episode we expand upon the word "wonder" a bit, making the shorthand of "elemental wonder" more useful, not to mention more descriptive. We then go on to detail some methods writers might use to evoke wonder, leveraging that element for the greatest effect in their work.

11.05: Writing and World Building for Role Playing Games Jan 31, 2016

Show notes

Michelle Lyons McFarland, Monica Valentinelli, and Shanna Germain join Howard and Dan at GenCon, and talk about the craft of world building for role playing games.

11.04: Newton’s Laws of Writing Jan 24, 2016

Show notes

Let's map Newton's Laws of Motion onto writing. Because a wordcount at rest tends to remain at rest...

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