Writing Excuses

Latest Episodes:

Writing Excuses 9.31: Critiquing “An Honest Death” Jul 27, 2014

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The fourth of the SHADOWS BENEATH critique episodes, in which Howard is stuck...

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Writing Excuses 9.30: Critiquing A Fire in the Heavens Jul 20, 2014

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The third of the SHADOWS BENEATH critique episodes, in which Mary schools us with Milford...

Writing Excuses 9.29: Part 2 of 2, Critiquing Sixth of the Dusk Jul 13, 2014

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The second of the SHADOWS BENEATH critique episodes, in which we thrash on a new Cosmere story from Brandon Sanderson so that he can fix it. Part 2 of 2.

Writing Excuses 9.28: Part 1 of 2, Critiquing Sixth of the Dusk Jul 06, 2014

Show notes

The first of the SHADOWS BENEATH critique episodes, in which we thrash on a new Cosmere story from Brandon Sanderson so that he can fix it. Part 1 of 2.

Writing Excuses 9.27: Pre-writing Jun 30, 2014

Show notes

Pre-writing: It's like pre-cooking, only with more abandoned prologues and fewer refried beans.

Writing Excuses 9.26: Adjusting Character Competence Jun 23, 2014

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In which we discuss adjusting how competent our characters appear...

Writing Excuses 9.25: Adjusting Character Sympathy Jun 16, 2014

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In which we discuss adjusting how sympathetic the reader is toward a particular character...

Writing Excuses 9.24: Side Quests Jun 09, 2014

Show notes

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 itself. We talk about the first type, and how to make sure they're in the book for the right reasons, citing examples from The Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit, Redshirts, The Way of Kings, and The Hollow City among other stories. In covering the second type, we talk about how ebooks have made ancillary, side-quest releases more common, and we cite the book trailers for the Partials series, the Glamourist Histories Christmas Stories, Steelheart, and the Schlock Mercenary Bonus Stories.