Episoder
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What separates the way we experience a game versus the way we experience a prose narrative? Erin Roberts has written for many games, and she loves games particularly because they give the person experiencing the narrative more choice and more direct agency over what happens. This changes the way that we experience story. When youâre writing a game, the main thing you have to figure out is the actions: what are the potential things that could happenâand therefore, what are the verbs? We dive into decision, audience buy in, and ultimately try to answer the question: what does gaming teach us about making and finding meaning?
Homework: Take a project youâre working on and imagine that someone is making a game of it. What would that game be? What would be the actions that the characters would be doing? What would be the part of the world that the game would be focused on? Feel free to look at examples of this (like the games that were made based on Lord of the Rings.)
P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In Mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Dan Wells, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Our hosts explore how to write compelling confrontationsâwhether physical fights or emotional argumentsâin a live episode recorded on the Writing Excuses Cruise. Building off Dan Wells' class Why Your Fight Scene Is Boring, our hosts break down reactions into four elements: focus, physicality, thought, and action. The discussion dives into how newness, character history, and anticipation shape these moments, and how effective confrontations reveal both character and motivation. Plus: sword fighting, puppetry, and driving on black ice.
Thing of the Week: Death and Other Details (on Hulu)
Homework: Watch an action scene in a movieâsomething that you really like. Then, to underline how different books are as a medium, transcribe itâ blow for blow, step for step, and see how long you can get into that before you tear your own hair out because it becomes incredibly boring. Then, after you've proven that the blocking and the blow-by-blow doesn't work, rewrite that scene in a way that does, in a way that translates to and uses the medium of prose.
P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In Mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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How can listening inform the way you write? We decided to ask Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prizeâwinning journalist and bestselling authorâbest known for The Power of Habit and most recently released Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, a compelling guide that explores the art and science of meaningful conversation.
We talked with Charles about myriad elements of writing, speaking, and listeningâthat is, communication in all its forms! We explored how passion and clarity are key parts of both pitching and book proposals. Charles also introduced us to active listening techniques, such as "looping for understanding," which can foster stronger connection in conversations. These effective and meaningful exchanges can help you showcase your projectâs vision and voice.
Thing of the Week: Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
Homework: Charles has two pieces of homework for us!
1. First, tomorrow, ask someone a deep question that you might not usually ask a deep question of. Instead of asking, âHow was your day?â ask them, you know, âI noticed that you really like Jasper. What do you admire about Jasper?â
2. Write one paragraph is terrible, but you feel like indulges some aspect of your voice. Maybe it's funny, maybe it's wry, maybe it's sad. Just do something completely pointless. Set that paragraph aside for a couple of days. And when you come back to it, you are going to see something in there that surprises you at how good it is. And that is a pebble on the path to finding your voice.
P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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How does a room sound? Does your childhood have a taste? What is the smell of summer?
In this episode, we dive into the sensory layers that anchor worldbuilding, character, and perspective. We explore how invoking smell, sound, touch, and taste can transport readers more powerfully than sight alone. What makes a setting feel real and lived in on the page? How do the where and the when hit our reader's and character's sensesâ and how real is too real?
Thing of the Week: Darkfield
Homework: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 exercise from C. L. Polk: list five things your character can see, 4 things they can hear, 3 things they can touch, 2 things they can smell, and 1 thing they can taste.
P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Time isn't just a backdropâitâs a powerful tool in storytelling. In this episode, we explore how time shapes narratives, beyond just plot structure. From magnifying moments in a fight scene to revealing a characterâs morals through temporal shifts, we unpack how timing, pacing, and the passage of time can deepen emotional impact, build tension, and elevate a scene's resonance.
We discuss practical techniques like character memory, flashbacks, and sensory shifts, while also considering how time reveals inner worldsâthrough fear, anticipation, or even a late-night zoomie session with a talkative cat. Whether you're writing action scenes or quiet reflections, this episode offers practical insights for using time as a dynamic storytelling tool.
Homework: Change the time at which a scene takes place. Try to move something from day to night, or spring to fall. What do you notice?
P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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This week, weâre digging into contextâwhat it is, why it matters, and how it can totally transform your storytelling. Whether you're working in fantasy, sci-fi, or anything in between, the details you choose to include (or leave out) can make your world feel rich, real, and emotionally resonant.
We talk about using context to deepen conflict, sharpen stakes, and land those emotional beats. And yes, we also get into puppets, geology, and the perils of overbuilding your world. (Spoiler: nobody needs to know how many toes your goblins have. . . unless it really matters.)
Homework: Take a context, some piece of world building that you've done, and come up with three different narratives that you could write that use that context. Then separately, make a narrative that you have written and come up with three new contexts in which that narrative would succeed.
Show Notes: Learn more about how Campfire can help you outline your novel, organize your world building, and publish your story!
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today weâre talking about setting, which in speculative fiction is often called worldbuilding. But once youâve finished building the world, how do you convey that world on the page? That is, how do time and place shape your storyâand your characters?
In this episode, weâre talking about the power of setting through the lens of âwhere and when.â From daily life details like transportation and sanitation to larger societal pressures like war or peace, we explore how characters are shaped by their environment. Whether youâre building a brand new world or writing alternate history, setting isn't just a backdropâitâs a driving force in your storytelling.
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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What does cooking have to do with writing? In this episode, we explore how the creative choices we make in the kitchenâwhether itâs improvising with missing ingredients or following a beloved recipeâmirror the choices we make on the page. From frozen dinners to fine dining, we discuss how all forms of creativity have value, how skills can be learned, and how the act of makingâfood or fictionâis, at its core, an act of nourishment.
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, 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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This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/)
While on a boat in Mexico, Erin Roberts was joined by Marshall Carrâour incredible recording engineer who is also a teacher during the school yearâ and author Mark Oshiroâwho also teaches both kids and adults! For those who donât know, our host Erin is a Creative Writing professor at UT Austin.
We wanted to record an episode with these three educators to give them a platform to talk about the artâand complexity and passionâof teaching. They discussed how they came to teaching, what they get from teaching as a writer, and why they continue to teach.
Thing of the Week: All This and More by Peng Shepherd
Homework: This homework is from Marshall! If youâre considering teaching, think of something youâre passionate about (it doesnât have to be writing). Then, create a lesson for that thing that would work for your younger self.
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mark Oshiro, Marshall Carr, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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This season, weâve been exploring different approaches to writing through the lens of other crafts and their respective toolkits. We had the pleasure of speaking with furniture-maker, writer, and publisher Christopher Schwarz. Christopher is an incredible artist, writer, and is also the founder of Lost Arts Press, which publishes books on hand tool woodworking.
We talked with Christopher about his creative trajectory, and the intersection of tools, methods, and crafts.
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song and Howard Tayler. Your guest was Christopher Schwarz. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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People often think of first person POV as the most intimate voice. But in a way, we think second person might be more intimate. With second person, youâre forcing the readerâs subjectivity into the fiction itself. You are integrating the person who is reading the story into the experience of being in the storyâ in a way that can be a little disorienting (or fun) for the reader.
In the world of POVs, the second person can sometimes feel like a chaotic perspective. There are several different versions, depending on who the âyouâ is addressing. Is it the reader? Is it another character? What happens when âyouâ appears in a letter within a story? Second person often appears in conversation and on social media because itâs a way to draw your conversational group into the experience that you personally had. So, when should you use it in your writing, and how can you use it to help advance or deepen your story?
Homework: Write something in the second person, and think of something youâre getting across in the scene. Now, try to convey it with a âyouâ thatâs directed towards another character. Then, as a âyouâ in a letter. Finally, write it again where the âyouâ is the reader themselves.
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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With todayâs episode, we are continuing our discussion on proximity by focusing on another POV: third person omniscient. In omniscient POV, the narrator can see all and move into any character's head. It's sometimes seen as old fashioned, like Jane Austen. But writers like John Scalzi and Liza Palmer are using it to good effect as a way of exerting control over exactly what the audience sees in ways that are similar to a filmmaker. So why is it so hard to do well? And what does it allow the writer to do that no other voice does?
Homework: Describe a street scene where your main character is walking down the street. Move us through this scene through the perspective of 5-6 bystanders observing this happening. Focus on sensory details: what is everybody seeing/ smelling/ looking at? And how does this establish where your main character is in the scene?
P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 60% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Third person limited is one of the most popular storytelling lenses. Yet it is often understood differently by various authors and readers. So today weâre diving into the complexities, intricacies, and beautiful constraints of third person limitedâdonât worry, weâll be tackling third person omniscient in our next episode!
With third person limited POV, you get to use some of the tools of first person, while being able to back away from the character a little. Weâre going to address the various levels of interiority and proximity that characters are afforded, why this matters, and what it would look like in your own writing.
Homework: Take a scene that youâve written and write it in the closest third person limited that you can possibly stand. Then, write it again at a slightly more distanced, but still limited, third person. Look at these two scenes side-by-side and ask yourself: what did I do differently in each? What did I emphasize? Then, figure out which perspective you want to use when actually writing this scene.
P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Weâre now going to have a few episodes focusing on the lens of proximityâspecifically, how close you are to a character. Today, weâre talking about first person. First person seems like it would be one of the most natural forms of storytelling, because it's the one we use when talking about our own actions. But how do we use first person effectively? How close we are to the character and how much we get to know of their motivation and reaction can be controlled through interiority and embodiment. This often ends up defining the POV that we use in our stories. We'll talk about which tools are specific to first person, as well as flag pitfalls to watch out for.
Homework: Go pick up a book that you love. Find a scene that you think is really great that is not in first person. Then, rewrite that scene in first person from the POV of a character in the scene.
P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today, weâre returning to different personal metaphors for how we all think about writing and storytelling. In this episode, weâre talking about how DongWon uses fashion as a helpful metaphor to think about storytelling. For both fashion and writing, whether you know it or not, you are already engaging with it every single day of your life. You are writing emails, you are communicating with the people around you, youâre dressing yourself, youâre wearing certain things and not others, and youâre ordering pizza! But whatâs the difference between ordering a pizza and performing a poem? Well, lots of things, but mostly intention and deliberateness.
Note: In this episode, we mention cooking as a metaphorâthis episode hasnât aired yet but will in May!
Homework: Take one article of clothing from your closet and build three different looks around it. One for everyday wear, one for a family function, and one for a night out
P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/.)
While on a boat in Mexico, we were joined by author Mark Oshiro and literary agent Kate McKean. In addition to our hosts, they answered questions that were asked by our cruise attendees. Our answers included things such as how much space a character should take up and how to find the balance between plot-focused and character-focused novels. We also tackled questions about worldbuilding, motivation, and deadlines.
Homework: Ask someone a question about writing, either to learn more about what they're working on or to work through a project of your own.
P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Sandra Tayler, Mark Oshiro, and Kate McKean. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Today we have the pleasure of talking with author (and longtime listener!) Chuck Tingle. We invited him on the podcast to talk about breaking the rulesâboth in terms of how to publish and what to publish. Chuck told us about the business and creative rules that he has upendedâhe doesnât do readings, he is anonymous (during our interview he wore a pink bag over his head), and he thinks you should tell and show. Chuck then shares some of his favorite failures, what he learned from them, and how failures actually arenât real. Also featured on todayâs episode: puppet bloopers, approaching art, and why LOVE IS REAL.
You can learn more about Chuck Tingle here.
Chuckâs Thing of the Week: The FrankenStand (a vegan hotdog stand in LA that serves horror-themed hot dogs)
Homework: Choose a section from your current Work In Progress (WIP). Think of the writing rule that youâre treating as the North Star of Writing At Large (what would the English Department hammer into you?). Try to rewrite that section without that rule or doing the opposite of the rule. Then, look at it and see what changes that makes. Is there a version of your writing where you can use this as a tool, and not a rule?
P.S. Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dongwon Song, and Howard Tayler. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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What do emotional beats and action scenes have in common? Well, they both need to land with your audience in order for your story not to fall flat. On todayâs episode, weâre talking about the importance of reaction. Everything from portraying your charactersâ reactions to letting readers sit withâand witnessâ these reactions. The actions that a character takesâor doesnât takeâ as a part of their reaction let the audience know what they are thinking and feeling. And this lets the audience react alongside the character, even if they havenât experienced (in their own life) what just happened to the character. Weâll give you tips and tricks for building this level of resonance between your characters and readers.
Homework: Look at one of your charactersâ reactions and flip it. If they take an action that escalates a situation, how would that scene play if their reaction de-escalated the situation? Can you still get to the end point that you want?
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
P.P.S. Are you tired of ads?! You can join our $5 tier on Patreon and receive ad-free episodes each week!
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Dongwon Song, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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This week, weâre continuing our conversation about the lens of who. On last weekâs episode we talked about a characterâs motivation and goals. Now, weâre starting to think about tension in the form of a characterâs stakes and fears. The fears that a character has and the stakes that they face create the story that exists around them. These tensions also help move them through the story.
So, how can you use stakes and fears to startâ and buildâ your story? The answer may surprise you. Hint: you may not want to open with your character dangling off a cliff.
Homework: Make a list of all the major fears that your main character has. Take your MC (main character), and draw a map of all the characters that your MC is connected to. Now, describe those relationships in one sentence or less. Now, compare this list of relationships with the list of fears. See if these two lists are in conversation with each other. Are they supporting each other or are they completely disconnected? If they are disconnected, start thinking about how you could bring these two lists closer together to establish a feedback loop between relationships and fears.
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Dongwon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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Do you know what your characters want? And is there a deeper desire underneath that one?
A character's motivations can help make them "relatable," drive the story's momentum, and create obstacles. Additionally, characters/ desires can serve different parts of themselves, which can help make them complex and multifaceted. But what is a good character motivation and how do you share it with your readers?
Homework: Write a scene from a secondary POVs character. Pick a concrete goal for them that is NOT the protagonist's goal. How does that change the way they react in the scene?
P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.
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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Dongwon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
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