Writing Excuses

Debut author John Brown discusses avoiding self-insertion in writing, known as the 'Mary Sue' concept. The hosts explore crafting unique character voices, developing distinct characters, and creating the 'Anti-Mary Sue' character by drawing inspiration from diverse individuals.

Humorous banter and jokes at a Parsec Award acceptance speech, including discussing being played off stage, copyright fees for music, William Shatner throwing punches, and light political comments. The hosts express gratitude to the Parsec Awards, past guests, and listeners for their support.

Mary Robinette Kowal joins us again, live at WorldCon 67 in Montreal! This time we fell back on that tried-and-true "Questions from the Audience" format, so the topic is pretty much what the audience asks for on the fly. If the questions were all over the map, our answers require a new school of cartography. It all kind of fits under "process," though, so for categorization purposes, we're calling it that. Also, we failed to discover the Northwest Passage. Maybe we'll find it next week, when Mary joins us for a third episode for more questions from the WorldCon 67 crowd. In completely unrelated news, something cool happened to us at Dragon*Con on Saturday. We'll talk about it in an upcoming 'cast.Our Sponsors:* Check out Gusto: https://gusto.com/WX* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wxSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Professional puppeteer and award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal shares insights on puppetry principles applied to writing, including controlling reader attention and conveying emotion through breath and rhythm. She explores the act of storytelling as telepathy and parallels the illusion of 'muscle' in puppetry to creating believable characters in writing.

In this episode, the hosts delve into the challenges of using dialects in writing, discussing techniques to maintain readability. They explore examples from 'The Name of the Wind' and 'Firefly' to showcase the impact of in-world jargon on storytelling. The discussion emphasizes how accents and jargon can enrich character development in literature.

Exploring the importance of subplots in storytelling, how they enhance character development and world-building. Discussing how to balance subplots with the main narrative to keep readers engaged. Delving into the issue of subplots overshadowing the main plot and the ideal number of subplots in a novel. Emphasizing the correlation between subplots, characters, and viewpoint characters in writing.

In this podcast, the hosts discuss the importance of trimming your manuscript to improve conciseness and impact. They provide tips on tightening prose, reducing word count, and maintaining the story's integrity. Strategies for cutting repetitive information and improving pacing are shared, along with a writing prompt challenge to condense a story by fifty percent.

Learn the dos and don'ts of attending writing conventions, including tips on networking, professionalism, and engaging with established professionals. Hear anecdotes and celebrity encounters, and get advice on maximizing opportunities at events like the World Science Fiction Convention.

Discover the different types of conventions for genre-fiction writers, from literary cons like WorldCon to media cons like Comic-Con. Learn why it's essential to attend conventions to network with editors and agents. Explore the value of engaging with the writing community at events like WorldCon and gaining inspiration from literary conventions.

In this podcast, the hosts analyze what Star Trek did right in terms of plot, character development, and setting. They discuss how the writers engaged the audience, created relatable characters like Kirk and Spock, and evolved the setting throughout the series. Spoiler alert - full of insights and writing prompts to learn from this iconic franchise.