Writing Excuses

So what exactly does an editor, do, anyway? We've already talked about the process of submitting to an editor; today we talk about the millions of vital things that happen after an editor says "I want to buy your book." Not only that, but we get to hear it all straight from the mouth of Lou Anders, the Hugo-nominated editor from Pyr Books, who this year alone helped create a Hugo-nominated book and two Campbell-nominated authors. In other words: when this man talks about editing, you listen. Lou Anders Pyr Books

This is the first of five episodes recorded on location at WorldCon 66 in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Brandon, Dan, and Howard are joined by Phil and Kaja Foglio, and we discuss writing for webcomics... no, wait... writing for "sequential picture-assisted storytelling." Phil and Kaja are the creators of Girl Genius, the web's foremost hunk' o' steampunk -- and we here at Writing Excuses are big fans. During our short time together they help us understand the nuances of creating Girl Genius pages, writing to the outline of the story, and crafting their dialog. The Foglios (and Howard) have a little bit of advice for folks looking to start their own webcomic, too. (Mmmmm.... Grizzly Bear Soup!)

The Writing Excuses team sits down to talk about religion as a world-building device: your characters probably believe in something, so what is it? How does it affect their lives? How does it change their thoughts and motivations (and swear words)? And when you're developing a fake religion, how do you avoid religious bias and keep from offending people? Is it best to develop something completely new, or make a few changes to a real Earth religion?

What is horror? Why is it scary? HOW is it scary? Forced by their grandfather's will to spend an entire night in his spooky mansion, our podcasters gather to discuss the nuts and bolts of what horror is (and isn't) and how it works behind the scenes. Here's a hint: as with pretty much everything else in writing, the secret comes down to compelling conflicts with engaging characters. Be warned: Howard is going to say something scary, so don't listen to this podcast alone and/or in the dark. This week's Writing Excuses is brought to you by something close to Dan's heart.

We are pleased to present the second half of "Viewpoint and Tense,"  which, as we all know, is Tense. Part 1 was Viewpoint. It's not two podcasts that both talk about tense and viewpoint, it's two totally different podcasts that share a title for some reason. Why didn't we just do two separate podcasts, one on tense and one on viewpoint, instead of trying to connect them like this? Because, as we tell you every week, we're not that smart. This week's Writing Excuses Book of the Week: Warbreaker, by some hack.

How much research do you do? Howard's answer: "Just enough to get by." In this podcast we talk about why we research, how we research, and when we feel like we've researched enough. We also discuss hiding a lack of knowledge, and finding ways to get by without doing truly exhaustive research. Listen closely and you'll learn why you'll never be able to know enough, why the epic fantasy horse is a lot like a motorcycle, and whether or not one of us really needs therapy. This week's Writing Excuses Book of the Week: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

You've heard about viewpoint, but do you really know what it means? Discover along with Howard the magic world of person, tense, and omniscience, and how you can use them to tell your story. It's a short journey, as quests go, but we'll all learn a valuable lesson about writing--and about ourselves.* *Heartfelt lessons about ourselves not guaranteed. Contents non-refundable.

As a writer it's sometimes difficult to decide between doing things the readers want, and things that are right for the story. But as Dan says, writers can get away with doing things to readers that readers would never do to themselves. Beware! This podcast contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings, Return of the Jedi, and Serenity (the statute of limitations should have passed on all of these) as well as for the current week of Schlock Mercenary. This Week's Episode is brought to you by one of our favorite causes, "Buy Dan Bacon." Mmmm, bacon.

Enough of this highbrow literary crap--make with the funny! Or, if you're Howard, do both. In this this episode we talk about why to write humor, how to write humor, how to recognize humor in others, how to steal from learn from what they do, and, in the end, what makes things funny in the first place. This week, Writing Excuses is sponsored by The Well of Ascension: Book Two of Mistborn Mass Market Paperback by Brandon Sanderson, which is good but really not all that funny.

Writer Eric James Stone joins the Writing Excuses crew for our third Conduit installment. We tackle questions from the audience again (except for when Brandon throws a question AT the audience, which still had Mike Stackpole in it.) Are plot twists necessary? How does the web change the market for writers? How do you make protagonists as interesting as the villains are? How much should you charge for your work? We ran a little long on this one. "Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we can't count to fifteen without getting to eighteen first." Liner Notes: Eric's Website Bob Defendi's Website Anthology Builder http://www.ralan.com/ This week's episode is sponsored by Hold on to Your Horses, by Sandra Tayler

Michael Stackpole, author and podcaster, joined us at CONduit, and the four of us tackled plot twists in front of a live audience. Whether you write from a solid outline or discover your plot as you go, we've got tricks and tools for you. We talk about "surprising yet inevitable," the fine art of making our characters miserable, and the importance of foreshadowing (but not telegraphing) the twist. Liner Notes: Michael Stackpoles' official website, and the site where he hosts his podcasts.

While at CONduit, we recorded three episodes of Writing Excuses in front of an audience, and this is the first of those. In this episode we have Dan Willis join us as we take questions from the crowd. The four of us discuss voicing characters, naming things, writing Act II, and how you set about finishing your book. Oh, and for all of you who have complained that fifteen minutes is not long enough... we ran clear out to 17:30 on this one. Enjoy! Liner notes: You can find Dan Willis' website here: http://www.dansrealm.com/Dans_Realm/Home/Home.html Orson Scott Card's Essays on naming: http://www.hatrack.com/writingclass/lessons/2003-03-05-1.shtml and http://www.hatrack.com/writingclass/lessons/2003-03-05-2.shtml And this week, Writing Excuses is sponsored by The Well of Ascension: Book Two of Mistborn Mass Market Paperback by Brandon Sanderson.

The Writing Excuses crew tackles writer's block again, this time approaching the "This Sucks And I'm A Horrible Writer" mindset. Dan relates his Neil Gaiman anecdote, Brandon explains why he'd written so many books before getting published, and Howard throws down the gauntlet on neverending Chapter One revisions. If you're stuck because you think your current book sucks, this is the podcast for you. This week from our sponsor Tor, check out Escapement by Jay Lake.

Howard kicks this off with his own sure-fire cure for Writers' Block, "BIC HOK:" Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard. The Writing Excuses team takes off from there, discussing the different kinds of Writers' Block, and how to overcome each of them. We cover free-writing, re-reading and reviewing, and focusing on your motivations for writing... and for NOT writing, which is often the heart of the problem. This week from our sponsor Tor, check out Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.

This week the Writing Excuses team discusses magic again, this time focusing on the cost of magic. Whether or not your magic system has internally-consistent rules your readers can follow (per Sanderson's First Law and last week's 'cast) you need to consider the ramifications of using magic in the worlds you create. Or at least, that's what we think. Have a listen and find out why. Also, this week Howard attempts to create "Tayler's First Law" using a donkey. It can't have gone too well, since by the end of the podcast he's willing to give the donkey away. This week from our sponsor, Tor: Jack: Secret Histories , by F. Paul Wilson

Does magic need rules? Sometimes yes and sometimes no; our intrepid podcasters talk about how to know which situation is which, and explore the pros and cons of each method. We'll also yak for a while about the differences between Superman and Gandalf, which makes us, if nothing else, huge nerds. Liner Notes: Sanderson's first law This week from our sponsor, Tor: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two B ,by Ben Bova (Editor)

In part two of our chat with editor Stacy Whitman, we discuss more about how to interact with editors: how to approach them at cons, how to inquire about work you've already submitted, and how to butter them up by asking about their current projects. To cap it off, we ask Stacy about her current projects. This week from our sponsor, Tor: The Wolfman , by Nicholas Pekearo

This week, special guest Stacy Whitman joins us from Mirrorstone books (an imprint of Wizards of the Coast). Stacy works there as an editor, and helps us understand the submission process, including acting like a professional, doing your research, following submission guidelines, and all sorts of things NOT to do with your submissions. Stacy also shares her story about Holes, and how you have to know the rules to break them. Liner Notes: We've got a lot of links for you this week. First of all, Stacy keeps a blog on LiveJournal (slwhitman.livejournal.com), and she works for Mirrorstone, whose submission guidelines can be found here. Mentioned in the podcast: Kristen Nelson's Blog (You Know You Have Tired YA When...), the Hallowmere series, and Hallowmere's author Tiffany Trent. And this week from our sponsor Tor, Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow

So... you're ready for the big-time. You're a writer, and the writing is almost paying the bills. Hurray! Now, how do you balance your life so that you can make the jump to writing full-time? How do you manage your time? How do you keep your artistic side from accusing you of selling out? The Writing Excuses Crew answers these questions and more, as we explore the business side of writing. Also if you listen closely you'll hear Smart Howard somewhere in this podcast. We think he's like Howard's evil twin. And this week from Tor, The SFWA European Hall of Fame

Pacing... it's all about keeping the tension up, keeping things snappy, and keeping the reader interested. This week the Writing Excuses crew delivers some tips, tricks, and tools you can use to get your story flowing in all the right ways. Also, on Sunday The Salt Lake Tribune posted an article about Podcasting in Utah. Jordan Sanderson and Howard Tayler were interviewed for this article. You can read it here. Writing Excuses, with quotes from Howard, is mentioned near the end of the article. And this week from Tor, The Hidden World, by Paul Park