Writing Excuses

Latest Episodes:

Writing Excuses 7.41: Seven-Point Story Structure Oct 07, 2012

Show notes

Dan Wells walks us through the seven-point story structure format he uses, and then we demonstrate by brainstorming this on a sample story.

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Writing Excuses 7.40: Writing the Other Oct 01, 2012

Show notes

Maurice Broaddus joins us to talk about "writing the other" -- writing other cultures, races, genders -- basically anybody who isn't much like you.

Writing Excuses 7.39: Death Sep 23, 2012

Show notes

Killing characters for all the right reasons, and knowing what the wrong ones are.

Writing Excuses 7.38: Writing Love Scenes Sep 16, 2012

Show notes

Shanna Germain joins Brandon, Mary, and Howard for a frank discussion of love scenes.

Writing Excuses 7.37: Pantsing Sep 10, 2012

Show notes

Pantsing! What are we even talking about? We're talking about discovery writing, but apparently some folks think it's more fun to call it "seat-of-your-pants" writing. In this cast we cover this exhilarating process, and how it might best be applied. Mary uses the "yes-but, no-and" trick. Dan starts with an end in mind, and then ignores it in order to write today's chapter. Brandon, despite being a fairly rigid outliner, often finds himself discovery writing when under odd sorts of pressures. Howard likens discovery writing to improvisational music. Fundamentally, seat-of-your-pants writing is like seat-of-your-pants anything else: the more practice you have within that discipline, the more of the techniques you've mastered, the more likely you are to succeed in the endeavor.