Writing Excuses

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Writing Excuses 5.7: Avoiding Melodrama Oct 17, 2010

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Melodrama. What is it? What do people mean when they say something is too melodramatic? Usually they do NOT mean "it's too much like a classical melodrama," but it helps if we start with that definition: a melodrama is a story in which each character only expresses one emotion, and/or only has one trait. When we refer to melodrama, we're usually complaining about over-acting. So... how do we avoid it? How do we create characters in conflict without overdoing the conflict or the characterization. In many ways it comes back to something we say over and over (and over and over) again: make your characters into real people. But we're not going to leave it at that. We're not just going to repeat what we've been telling you for three years now. No, we've got good tools you can use for writing powerful, emotional moments without your readers whining about melodrama. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: The Tomb: Repairman Jack #1, by F. Paul Wilson Writing Prompt: Write a story in which you take a cliched, angsty hero in a completely new direction, so that it doesn't feel cliched. Dramatic Reading: Stick around after the 'cast for Howard's reading of Mike O's response to our "magical ink" writing prompt. This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http://AudiblePodcast.com/excuse for a free trial membership*. *Note: From the Audible website, here are the terms of the free membership. Read the fine print, please! Audible® Free Trial Details Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. A very small number of titles are more than one credit. Cancel your membership before your free trial period is up and you will not be charged. Thereafter, cancel anytime, effective the next billing cycle. Any unused audiobook credits will be lost at cancellation.

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Writing Excuses 5.6.01: Flash Fiction Oct 12, 2010

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Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss Flash Fiction in less time than it took you to read this excerpt.
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Writing Excuses 5.6: MicroPodcasts Oct 10, 2010

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Fast-paced Q&A with Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

Writing Excuses 5.5: Writing the Unfamiliar Oct 04, 2010

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Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss "Write what you DON'T know."

Parsec Acceptance Speech 2010 Sep 28, 2010

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Brandon, Dan, and Howard accept their 2010 Parsec Award a bit late, and offer an apology for missing the ceremony.

Writing Excuses 5.4: Creating Suspense Sep 27, 2010

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Suspense! What is it? What isn't it? What is the relationship between suspense and mystery, and for that matter horror, humor, and adventure? This 'cast is chock full of pithy quotes, useful advice, and anecdotal examples.

Writing Excuses 5.3: First Person Viewpoint Sep 19, 2010

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Bree Despain joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard for a discussion of writing in the 1st-person

WE 5.2: Character Quirks Sep 12, 2010

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Special guest Bree Despain of the Dark Divine trilogy joins us for a 'cast on character quirks. A character quirk, avoiding the tautological definition, is something that makes your character memorable. We talk about good quirks, bad quirks, and how to tell the difference. We also laugh a lot because it was late and we were punchy. We also discuss ways in which stereotype-breaking quirks can be employed without delivering humor, and reasons why we might do this. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain Regarding That "No Spoilers" Shouting-Match: If you haven't seen Avatar: The Last Airbender (animated) in its entirety yet, it's possible Bree gave something away in the last two minutes of the 'cast. Writing Prompt: A physical attribute that in some way influences the character's religion This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http://AudiblePodcast.com/excuse for a free trial membership*. *Note: From the Audible website, here are the terms of the free membership. Read the fine print, please! Audible® Free Trial Details Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. A very small number of titles are more than one credit. Cancel your membership before your free trial period is up and you will not be charged. Thereafter, cancel anytime, effective the next billing cycle. Any unused audiobook credits will be lost at cancellation.

WE 5.1: Third Person Limited Sep 07, 2010

Show notes

We've talked about point of view before, but only in general terms: this time we delve into third-person limited in detail, explaining how to use it and when to use it and why. We apologize for the lateness of the post, and the lameness of this episode description: this is what happens when all three of us go to conventions on the same weekend. Expect a cooler update soon. [ONE WEEK LATER] So... yeah, that original post pretty much sums it up. Why should you employ third-person limited, as opposed to first-person, or third-person omniscient, or third-person cinematic? What are the pitfalls, and how can you avoid them? Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: Soulless by Gail Carriger. Vampires, werewolves, and parasols in a steamy, punky, bodice-rippy, alternate-history London. Writing Prompt: Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Producer Jordo all walk through a room, and each of us sees the room differently. This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http://AudiblePodcast.com/excuse for a free trial membership*. *Note: From the Audible website, here are the terms of the free membership. Read the fine print, please! Audible® Free Trial Details Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. A very small number of titles are more than one credit. Cancel your membership before your free trial period is up and you will not be charged. Thereafter, cancel anytime, effective the next billing cycle. Any unused audiobook credits will be lost at cancellation.

Writing Excuses 4.34: Q&A at Dragons & Fairy Tales Aug 29, 2010

Show notes

The last of our three recorded-live episodes is also the last episode of Writing Excuses Season 4. We took questions from the audience, and answered them with ABSOLUTE APLOMB. Questions asked include: How did we, as beginning writers, manage to write while holding down day-jobs and/or going to school? What is the process for getting published? How do you portray the various dynamics of an ensemble cast? How do you keep tension up when death isn't a problem for your characters? How do you make the transition from writing fan-fiction to writing original fiction? How important is it for an author to stay in touch with the fans online and at events? What do you do when your cast of characters has grown too large for you to manage it? What was the biggest stumbling-block for our creativity, and how did we overcome it? You want the answers? Have a listen! Writing Prompt: You walk out of a bookstore into torrential rain, and Howard attacks you with the POWER OF THUNDER.

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