Writing Excuses 5.23: Life Day!

Feb 7, 2011

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INSIGHT

Holidays Rooted in Environment

Holidays often arise from natural environmental markers like solstices or harvests.
Using these natural events as a basis helps ground fantasy holidays in believable, cultural relevance.

ADVICE

Vary Character Holiday Reactions

Give characters diverse reactions to holidays for richer cultural portrayal.
Avoid having everyone respond the same way to prevent a flat, unidimensional culture.

ANECDOTE

Border Cultures Clash on Holidays

Mary lived on the U.S.-Mexico border where Halloween and Día de los Muertos collide.
This cultural overlap created vividly different celebrations side-by-side, enriching the atmosphere.

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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 based on anything you've seen. Exclamation Howard Thought He'd Never Use: Bone Puppet Day! 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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