* How do you get readers to like a character who is a jerk? In this episode we talk about our own tricks, and the tricks we’ve seen others use. In this episode we spoke with our guests Bart Smith and Ben Hewett, about the “unsexy” (read: possibly boring but don’t be deceived) side of the … Continue reading 13.46: The Unsexy Side of Space, with Bart Smith and Ben Hewett →, Write a story in which a budget analyst and a procurement intern save the day, The Martian, by Andy Weir, about which we have gushed repeatedly, Your Hosts: Brandon, Valynne, Dan, and Howard You had questions about fixing character problems. * What’s the best way to discuss a character’s underlying motivations without expressly stating them in narrative or dialog? Season 7. How can we use this information to believably motivate characters? 13.51: Wrap-up on the Year of Character. [Laughter] [Brandon] I was about to say none of us can compete with Mary, but that was pretty good. She is also the parent of three, one of whom suffers from mental illness. Well, you guys, get out there and knock on some doors. We also talk about the more formal act of interviewing people¹, and how to deal with the attendant complexities. In this episode a large part of what we’ll focus on is person-vs-environment as opposed to person-vs-person. Here are the questions: How do you make planned power increases not seem like an ass-pull¹? Your Hosts: Howard, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Amal Many of us write characters who know more than we know, and/or who think faster than we do. We begin in Houston, TX, on September 13; we’ll visit Cozumel, Georgetown, and Falmouth, and end up back in Houston again on September 22. Interview some people! For now: 1. Writing Excuses is a weekly podcast by Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary, Dan Wells, and Mary Robinette Kowal —formerly a recurring guest host and now an official full-time host as of Season 6. Or maybe it’s three elephants. We look at the shapes of these arcs, how they progress in our narratives, and the tools we use to get them to function properly in the context of our larger works. a guest Sep 16th, 2015 5,719 Never Not a member of Pastebin yet? Season 8. Each of these characters are experiencing the same scene differently, and some of them are lying about it. Cheeto McFlair: Who are they, and why are they asking questions of the Writing Excuses team? As promised, this episode is going to be super-useful to new writers, but it’s going to be extra-super-useful to one new writer in particular, Brandon’s nameless friend who listened to 9 hours of Writing Excuses podcasts and is now too overwhelmed to write. Read “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare (it’s just 250 words). If you’re scared of it, Amal is here to tell you that it’s okay to feel that way, Maurice is here with the encouraging words “consequence-free.”. Your Hosts: Brandon, Valynne, Dan, and Howard For our purposes, the term “flat character” refers to a character who lacks the depth required to maintain reader interest. Liner Notes: you’ll be hearing from Amal and Maurice during the second week of each month of 2018. Credits: This episode was recorded by Andrew Twiss, and mastered by Alex Jackson. All the transcripts. The word “genre” has a lot of weight to it. Take a character motivation and express it via free indirect speech. #1. Howard: Because you’re in a hurry, Dan: and we’re not that smart. 732 . Season 8. Season 13: Character. 15.04: Revision, with Patrick Rothfuss. Listen to Season 14 – Writing Excuses with fifty-one episodes, free! (And let’s talk about how to write them.). Q: Do you guys have certain questions about characters you have to answer for yourself before you can start writing about that character? Home‎ > ‎ Season 13: Character. Season 6. We're going to be talking about character all season long. Sure, some are, but a great many of them are on paths that will end in an abrupt fatality of one kind or another, and in this episode we’ll talk about how we choose which characters to … Continue reading 13.48: Character Death and Plot Armor →. Make your protagonist a secondary character, and make a secondary character your protagonist. Then write a scene in which that disorder informs the character’s behavior without actually naming the disorder. She is also the parent of three, one of whom suffers from mental illness. Take something you’ve already written, and write a prequel set forty years or so earlier. Treat that line, with its ups and downs, as the narrative curve for a character arc. The Black Tides of Heaven, and The Red Threads of Fortune, by J.Y. Now write the backstory. This topic is, in and of itself, weighty. You are likely to find reasons like toddler trouble, age, illness, time, little knowledge, to creativity blocks still making headlines in the writing community as the biggest launchers to writing excuses. Credits: This episode was recorded by Dan Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson, Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard, with special guest Wendy Tolliver Wendy skis, and snowboards, and writes YA novels. Writing those characters is tricky. Season 7. Change the sexual identity of a character in a scene of yours. Sitemap. Their fine work was obscured from public view by the careless hands of Howard Tayler. Play with The Sorting Hat Chats, and sort yourself. Credits: This episode was recorded by Dan Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson. →. Credits: This episode was recorded at WXR 2017 in the Baltic Sea by Bert Grimm, and mastered on dry land by Alex Jackson. Beginning with addressing the question “wait, aren’t they all the same person?” Because that’s the elephant in the room. Random Access Memorabilia, written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, with colors by Travis Walton This year we’re dividing the year into “master classes” or “intensive courses.” We’re kicking it off with Brandon’s episodes, which are all about the business of writing, and the first of those is this one! Home‎ > ‎ Season 13: Character. Aliette de Bodard will be co-hosting several of these week-three episodes, … Continue reading 13.3: What Writers Get Wrong, with Aliette de Bodard →, List the subject matter experts in your life. * What are the drawbacks to making your villain a POV character? [Dan] Because you're in a hurry. It is an educational podcast that helps novelists/writers. Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard When Mary says we could do fifteen different episodes on character arcs, she’s being conservative. How much needs to be in the manuscript itself? [Brandon] I wanted to start with kind of a defining episode, where we talk about the differences between a hero, a protagonist, and a main character. Credits: This episode was recorded by Andrew Twiss, and mastered by Alex Jackson, both of whom understand that environmental noise is a key external conflict driving their narratives. By lizbusby, April 2, 2018. 1. Your Hosts: Howard, Mary Robinette, and Dan, with special guests Bart Smith and Ben Hewett When we talk about space travel we’re usually talking about rocket scientists and astronauts. Mary’s relationship axes are Role, Relationship, Status, and Competence. “El is a Spaceship Melody,” by Maurice Broaddus. Credits: This episode was recorded by Dan Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson. Episode 13.40 looks interesting!I like this idea of having many teams answering the same questions, so I hope this works out. Writing Excuses, Season One. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie, Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, and Dan, with Kjell Lindgren Spoiler Alert! * How can you tell if a character is, in fact, the problem? Huff-Duff – noun The common pronounciation of the acronym HF/DF meaning high frequency direction finder. The class was just that good. Topics! Liner Notes: Mary references her interviewing of rocket scientists and astronauts, which we just talked about last week. Relax! Writing Excuses Talks to an Astronaut, with Special Guest Kjell Lindgren : Season 4. You can find all the other info, including our incredible guest list, here. Dive deeply. We cover characters who move stories forward, who make decisions that influence plot-critical events, and whose actions draw the reader into the book. Take those grammar rules and apply them to dialog from one of your characters. Writing Excuses notes, Season 6 Yeah, I can't think of a lead-in this time. mbarker. They are part of a story that begins here. If there’s just one technical term worth bringing home from this episode, it’s “expeditionary behavior.” It’s the sort of thing that can make us all richer for the experience. Bonus1 - Gary Gygax . This week, the hosts looked at writing active characters and first reaction out of the box for me: “Holy cow! Maureen Johnson, Robison Wells, Wendy Tolliver, and mastered by Alex Jackson and parent, talks us.: Brandon mentioned Howard ’ s talk about how we shake off our of! Believe a character ’ s Voice three, one of your characters interview. If your villain is more fun for you 03:50 pm: Wrap-up the... That happen to other people pick a mental disorder that you think pop culture has informed you about experiencing same. Focus on character, so we ’ re discussing protagonists who, per writer,. Generally don’t want a full Wheel of time ( 400,000 words ) Welcome to 2021, and cards... A palate-cleanser, try watching “ you just don ’ t show Up until late in the manuscript itself may! 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