Tracy Hickman joins us again at "Life, The Universe, and Everything," and in this episode we let Brandon ask him random questions while Dan and Howard chime in with comments that hopefully don't detract from the discussion. During the interview Tracy mentions his latest project, XDM: Extreme Dungeon Mastery, but he doesn't mention the very latest news about it. That news is that Tracy and Curtis Hickman (the authors) have contracted with Howard Tayler to illustrate and publish it. So that bit ab...
Mar 24, 2009•18 min•Season 2Ep. 24
We took Writing Excuses on the road last month for "Life, The Universe, and Everything," the symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy at Brigham Young University. The Guests of Honor were Tracy and Laura Hickman, and poor Tracy agreed to join us for a podcast or two, recorded in front of a live audience. After the initial introductions we dig into clichés, starting with characters - specifically, how to avoid these kinds of problems in our characters. What's the difference between a cliché and a...
Mar 16, 2009•16 min•Season 2Ep. 23
"Branding," not "Brandon," just so we're clear. Brand-ING. We open with the definition of "branding," talking about what it is, and (just as importantly) what it is not. With that out of the way we forge ahead and talk about author brands, brand messaging, and why any of this really matters. We throw down a few examples, and use them to help the listener arrive at a decent author-branding strategy. Writing Prompt: Pick your favorite author and in 50 words or less write down what you think their ...
Mar 09, 2009•18 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Rob Wells joins the Writing Excuses crew for a second 'cast, this time dealing with fight scenes. We talk about good blocking versus a bad blow-by-blow, and cover a few of the factors that may dictate the right style of description for that wicked-cool fight you've pictured in your head. This episode is fast-paced and, well... punchy. No, really, it is. Seriously, that seemed like the right word there, pun notwithstanding. Writing Prompt: Write a fight between two people who have never been in a...
Mar 02, 2009•16 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Howard takes the moderatorial lead on this episode in which he, Brandon, and Dan are joined by Rob Wells for a discussion of marketing. What is marketing? What's the difference between marketing and PR? What's the difference between a marketing manager and a publicist? How can knowing this help a creator position his or her work? We'll answer these questions and more... Writing Prompt: Come up with 25 words that distill everything you want to say about your next work. Our Sponsors: * Check out H...
Feb 23, 2009•18 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Brandon and Dan met during a creative writing class at Brigham Young University, and Brandon went on to get a Master's Degree in the field. Howard has no formal training in the field. This begs the question... do creative writing classes help? Are they worth the time? Short answer: Yes, but maybe not in the way you were expecting. We discuss not only the formal education aspects of creative writing, but also the value of informal education -- attending conventions and sitting in on panel discuss...
Feb 16, 2009•17 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Let's get back to world-building, and dig into a tough one: government. In this case we're talking about government as part of the backdrop, rather than political intrigue as part of the plot. Are you going to create a monarchy, a democracy, or perhaps some crazy, experimental sort of rigidly constitutional representative republic? City-states? Confederations? Empires? What's it going to be, and (more importantly) why? Oh, and how do you do it right? Writing Prompt: Create a government by starti...
Feb 09, 2009•16 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Our producer Jordan Sanderson joins us for this week's installment, in which we likely make all kinds of enemies among the authorial community by exposing the many things they're doing wrong with their websites. The fact that you, fair listener, are here reading content on our website shows that you have fine taste in these things, and trust us to lead you right. And we will! We'll do you proper on blogging, domain names, hosting, connecting with fans and editors, and taking care regarding your ...
Feb 02, 2009•16 min•Season 2Ep. 17
The Writing Excuses crew returns to world-building, this time to discuss the creation of non-human races. Why do genre-fiction writers use aliens and monsters, short folk, tusked folk, or any other variation on "people" who aren't human? Can new writers successfully recycle the classic Tolkien races and use dwarves, elves, orcs, goblins, and trolls? If not, how can new races best be created? How can races be made "three-dimensional?" What are the common pitfalls? How much religion, culture, and ...
Jan 26, 2009•17 min•Season 2Ep. 16
When do you know when you're ready to begin? What does that question even mean? Apparently Brandon gets asked it a lot, though, so he posed it for the group. How do you know when that story in your head is ready for you to start writing it? Or maybe, how do you know you're ready to start writing that story that's up in your head? Or perhaps, when do you know when in that story in your head you should begin writing it, assuming you're ready? Confused yet? If you're ready to begin listening, we're...
Jan 19, 2009•16 min•Season 2Ep. 15
We get asked a lot about our writing habits. So your Writing Excuses hosts spend the whole 'cast discussing their schedules, their work environments, and the things they do to make themselves more productive while keeping themselves creative. Peace and quiet? Clothing? Distractions? Pants? We answer these questions and more. Will any of this work for you? You tell us! The comments are a great place to discuss. Howard mentioned PeopleWare, by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister. You can buy it here. O...
Jan 12, 2009•16 min•Season 2Ep. 14
All three of your Writing Excuses hosts include a measure of violence in their written work. So Brandon, Dan, and Howard decide to clear the air a little bit. Why do we write about violence? What does it bring to a work of fiction, and what challenges does it pose? Is there a morally appropriate way to write about violence? How does it impact the theme of your work? Is there a difference between writing about violence and writing comedic mayhem? Writing Prompt: Have some fun in the worst possibl...
Jan 05, 2009•17 min•Season 2Ep. 13
For the first time in eleven episodes, we have a "normal" one. No special guests, no special locations, and no new format tricks. This episode grows out of Howard's ignorance - remember back in Episode 10 when Howard called "can of worms" on "theme?" Well, we open the can for this entire episode. What is theme? Is it something the author must consciously include? Is it something the reader must successfully identify? How can writing to a particular theme help your work? How can it hurt? How can ...
Dec 29, 2008•16 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Dave Wolverton joins us for a third and final episode, and the Writing Excuses team pumps him for information before letting him escape. We find out why he uses two names (David Farland and Dave Wolverton), how to name characters, and why writers don't jump between genres much. Dave discusses the state of the genre-fiction publishing business, and prognosticates a bit on its future. As a special treat, Dave explains how he broke into the industry, so be the first to listen to that bit and get a ...
Dec 22, 2008•15 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Dave Farland, aka Dave Wolverton again joins the Writing Excuses team, and helps us discuss boredom. Specifically, we cover how to deal with it, how to go about writing those "boring parts" that come between the exciting bits that fuel your writing passion. We talk about skipping ahead, switching viewpoints, following the pain, and trying to do this in a first-person narrative. And for an episode that claims to be about the "boring parts" this one is fairly action-packed. Finally. Writing Prompt...
Dec 15, 2008•17 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This week (and for the following two weeks) the Writing Excuses crew is joined by author Dave Wolverton, who also writes under the name David Farland. This week's topic? ROMANCE. What can four adult males possibly have to say about the subject? The answer: We tell you absolutely everything we know in just sixteen minutes and fifty-one seconds. And there was time left over in there to stick in an advertisement. This week's Writing Excuses is brought to you by Rokit Fuel. That ad Howard recorded w...
Dec 08, 2008•17 min•Season 2Ep. 9
With Brandon still mysteriously missing, Professor Bob Defendi returns to take Dan and Howard on a magical journey through the three-act format: every step, every element, every nuance of this very common and very helpful writing structure. The only way you could conceivably learn more is in a magic school bus, and frankly we don't think that's very likely. This week’s episode is brought to you by Bob's podcast audiobook Death by Cliché, by Robert J. Defendi. No matter how hilarious you think th...
Dec 01, 2008•18 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Howard, Dan, and guest Bob Defendi open this episode with some high literary humor. Bob fills in for Brandon as we discuss formulas writers use in crafting stories. But how do we prevent those stories from feeling formulaic? Can the formulas themselves help? We discuss (at a high level) the three-act format, the hero's journey, the romance, the two-act format, try-fail cycles, and others. This week's episode is brought to you by the podcast audiobook Death by Cliché, by Robert J. Defendi. We did...
Nov 24, 2008•17 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Episode 6, recorded live at Dragon's Keep opens with monkey noises and greeting-card pith, and ends with... well, we'll just let you listen. Is it a storybook ending? What IS a storybook ending? What is a whiz-bang ending? Is the ending the ending, or is the ending followed by a denouement? How important is a good ending? Writing Prompt: Take whatever you're working on right now, look at the ending you have planned now and then come up with two other endings and write all three. This week Writin...
Nov 17, 2008•16 min•Season 2Ep. 6
So you've got a fantastic idea for a book or a short story, but where do you go from there? Who can give the incentive to write, the support to keep going when it gets hard, and the tough love to let you know when it sucks? The answer: a writing group. Writing groups can be difficult to put together and manage, but when everything clicks the rewards can be invaluable. This week we discuss all the ins and outs of how to find fellow writers, organize your group, interpret their advice, and overcom...
Nov 11, 2008•17 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Eric James Stone joins us for our final Mountain-Con episode. This Q&A covers writing part-time (and Dan disqualifies himself from answering this question in future episodes), setting deadlines for yourself, writing plot twists, and providing character description within that character's viewpoint. Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES * Check out Talkiatry: https://Talkiatry.com/WX * If you’re struggling with ...
Nov 03, 2008•17 min•Season 2Ep. 4
No matter how grand your setting, how intense your conflicts, or how tight your plot, at some point you're going to need characters. Join us as we discuss what makes a character interesting, memorable, and unique. Once again, the team is joined by Brandon Mull of "Fablehaven" fame. Brandon Mull’s website This week Writing Excuses is brought to you by the Writing Excuses Season One Collection on CD. Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass: https://ma...
Oct 27, 2008•17 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Kids these days with their long hair and their love of reading. It's like, get off my lawn, am I right? But in other news, kids (meaning anything from chapter books to mature YA) read a TON, and somebody has to write those books, and it might as well be you. Learn how to write for children with the Writing Excuses team and special guest star Brandon Mull, author of the wildly successful Fablehaven series. Brandon Mull's website This week Writing Excuses is brought to you by the Writing Excuses S...
Oct 20, 2008•20 min•Season 2Ep. 2
We talk among ourselves about some episodes of this podcast being "crunchy" and others being "fluffy." "Crunchy" episodes are the ones where we have hard advice about writing. "Fluffy" episodes are the ones where we talk a little more philosophically about the profession. This episode takes "fluffy" to a new, flufftastic level. Here are twenty minutes excerpted from almost sixty minutes we recorded in line at the Hero of Ages book release and signing event at the BYU Bookstore. It's almost like ...
Oct 17, 2008•21 min•Season 2Ep. 1
You didn't think we'd just keep going with the same old stuff forever, did you? Well, actually we are, but now we're calling it Season 2. This season begins with a series of episodes recorded at Mountain Con in Layton, UT, each of them rife with wisdom and wonder. This week Writing Excuses is brought to you by the Writing Excuses Season One Collection on CD. Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES * Check out Talkiat...
Oct 13, 2008•16 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Everyone says you can't teach style--each writer just has to figure it out on his or her own. Well, we here at Writing Excuses have never met an ultimatum we didn't immediately challenge, so today we take it head on. Can you teach style? Can you learn tone? What makes each writer's voice unique? Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES * Check out Talkiatry: https://Talkiatry.com/WX * If you’re struggling with OCD or ...
Oct 06, 2008•17 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Like all right-thinking people, we loved The Dark Knight--but because we are also writers obsessed with the craft of storytelling, we liked it for very specific, very nerdy reasons. Join us as we take a journey through What The Dark Knight Did Right: strong characters, excellent dialogue, a layered plot that blended perfectly (and unexpectedly) with the central themes, and more. Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSE...
Sep 29, 2008•16 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Just as no burger is complete without its fries, no protagonist is complete without his sidekick, or his mother, or his entomologist, or whatever side character you decide to give him. This week we talk about why side characters are important, and how to do them well. Liner Notes Elantris Mad Prince Deleted Scenes Dan's Bunny Book (AKA Blacker Darkness) (Word 2003 format) Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES * Che...
Sep 22, 2008•16 min•Season 1Ep. 33
In this, the last of our WorldCon 66 episodes, Brandon, Dan, and Howard interview Name of the Wind author Patrick Rothfuss. We discuss exposition, and how not to bore people as you move them through the learning curve. We start by covering some "don'ts" - including the essay, the police-artist sketch, and the thesis statement. And then we work into the "do's" - show-don't-tell, focus on character, and don't write stuff the readers don't care about. This week's Writing Excuses is brought to you b...
Sep 15, 2008•19 min•Season 1Ep. 32
One of the biggest areas of professional creative writing these days is game writing, and who better to talk to about it than Steve Jackson--yes, THE Steve Jackson. We start off trying to talk about game adaptations, and the challenges they present for writers, but then we devolve into a more straightforward discussion of writing for games. This week's Writing Excuses is brought to you by The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe: https://www.homeserve.com * C...
Sep 08, 2008•16 min•Season 1Ep. 31
