Writing Excuses

Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss what an alpha reader is, is not, and where one might find these marvelous creatures.

We begin our discussion of Urban Fantasy with a discussion of definitions, which quickly devolves into an argument over what we are actually supposed to be talking about. Moving right along, we explore what sorts of things we find in an Urban Fantasy, and what sorts of rules these stories usually abide by. Dan tells us how he set about writing the John Cleaver books, which certainly qualify as Urban Fantasy, Howard tackles the burning question of where one might start in the project of building a mythos, and Brandon explains his own Urban Fantasy projects, including one failure from which we can all learn an important lesson. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: The Dresden Files Book One: Storm Front, by Jim Butcher, narrated by James Marsters. Writing Prompt: . Give us an Urban Fantasy in which the point of origin for your crossover is big box store retail spaces which somehow breach the boundary between our world and the magical one. This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http

Sarah Eden and Robison Wells join Dan and Howard at LTUE to talk about writing romance. Sarah writes in the romance genre, but we're not focusing on the genre -- we're talking about writing romance within the context of whatever else we might happen to be putting on the page. We lead with how to do it wrong, because nothing is as much fun to talk about as bad romance. It's also educational. More importantly (and more usefully) we talk about formulas for doing romance correctly. One of the most practical is to pair characters up by finding emotional needs that these characters can meet for each other. We look at examples from each of our work: Sarah's The Kiss of a Stranger, Dan's I Don't Want To Kill You, Howard's The Sharp End of the Stick, and Rob's Variant. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: I Don't Want To Kill You, by Dan Wells, narrated by Kirby Heyborne. It's true, this book has some great romance in it. Also, murder. Writing Prompt: Create a character, and then cre

Dan and Howard are joined by Larry Correia and Robison Wells, and with the enthusiastic support of a live audience at LTUE they discuss writing action.

We were fortunate enough to record two episodes with Tracy Hickman and Dave Wolverton at Life, The Universe, and Everything XXIX. In this second installment these masters of the craft school us on the subject of rewrites.

David Farland and Tracy Hickman discuss electronic publishing with Dan and Howard.

Sherrilyn Kenyon joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard for a discussion of persevering as a writer.

Sherrilyn Kenyon tells us all how to make readers fear for the characters in her books.

So, you want to write a Star Wars book? Kevin J. Anderson joins Brandon, Dan, and Howard to tackle writing in other people's universes.

Kevin J. Anderson discusses author productivity with Brandon, Dan, and Howard.

Mary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton again join Dan and Howard, and this time we're talking about holidays in fantasy and science-fiction. This 'cast was recorded at Superstars Writing Seminars, and  Moses Siregar III of Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing captured us on video as we recorded. What sorts of things result in holidays? Historically we see them at the solstices and the equinoxes, planting and harvest, and commemorations of important events. We talk about all of these, and how to work them into your own writing without sounding like you're just filing the serial numbers off of Christmas, Halloween, and Mardi Gras. So of course we also talk about how to do this wrong. Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: METAtropolis: Cascadia, by Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Elizabeth Bear, Ken Scholes, Karl Schroeder, and Tobias Buckell, and narrated by Rene Auberjonois, Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, and Jay Lake. Writing Prompt: Make up a holiday that isn't b

Mary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton join Dan and Howard for a discussion of movie considerations and formulas.

Mary Robinette Kowal and Eric Flint join Howard and Dan for a discussion of Alternate history - what, why, and how.

Brandon, Dan, and Howard critique some dialog-only writing exercises from listeners.

Brandon, Dan, and Howard give examples of making, keeping, and breaking promises to your readers.

Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss avoiding unnecessary offense as writers.

Brandon, Dan, and Howard critique some tagless dialog submissions.

Late last season we took a look at Brandon's first novel and did some line-editing and critiquing. It was so much fun we decided that Dan needed to take a turn in the dunking booth. He totally gets wet. In the course of dunking Dan we cover beginnings, descriptions, character development, pacing, and viewpoint as we tear into the first couple of pages of this novel. Brandon and Howard argue a bit over stylistic approaches, and of course Dan doesn't get a say in things because he drowned. (Note: Dan does get a say in things, but mostly because he is not defending his old work at all.) Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: I Shall Wear Midnight, by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs Writing Prompt: Take an idiomatic expression and make it literal (not as a pun.) For instance, "the crack of dawn" as an actual crack in the sky through which dawn's light shines. Word That Is Not A Word But Totally Should Be: Discontiguity: [dis-kon-ti-gyoo-i-tee] - noun. A break in a series of things in continu

Brandon, Dan, and Howard each offer sage advice to their earlier selves.

Scott Westerfeld joins Brandon and Howard for a discussion of Steampunk.