Mary Kowal - Podcast Details

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Writing Excuses20.04: Puppetry as a Writing MetaphorFor our 20th season, we are focusing on this belief: that the lived experience that we all have affects the way we think about writing. We’ve all heard Mary Robinette talk about puppetry for seventeen (or so) seasons. Today, she dives into puppetry as a metaphor that helps her understand writing– specifically character, voice, and genre. And she invites you to start thinking about metaphors you can use and make in your own life to help you think about writing in a new way. Homework: Watch a puppet show. P.S. Want to come write...2025-01-2633 min

Writing Excuses20.02: Q&A Aboard the Writing Excuses Cruise, with Mark Oshiro and Kate McKeanThis episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/.) While on a boat in Mexico, we were joined by author Mark Oshiro and literary agent Kate McKean. In addition to our hosts, they answered questions that were asked by our cruise attendees. Our answers included things such as how much space a character should take up and how to find the balance between plot-focused and character-focused novels. We also tackled q...2025-01-1224 min

Writing Excuses19.49: Getting to Know YouAs we wrap up our Close Reading Series, we’re shifting our focus towards helping you integrate what you’ve learned. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes designed to help you make measurable progress on a writing project. So dust off your current work-in-progress, or pull out your brainstorming documents—we’re here to help you finish the year strong.What can we learn from romances? Today we’re talking about using elements of romance in your story (even if you have no romance in your current WIP!) Character relationships and dynamics are often at the...2024-12-0822 min

Writing Excuses19.39: A Close Reading on Tension: Tying It All TogetherThis episode, we’re talking about how important tension is in creating a world where your readers feel fully immersed. We talk about the importance of using tropes and techniques while also using variation in order to make your story less predictable. We dive into the difference between tension and conflict, and talk about how you can use the former to help the ladder. Tension can be found in movement, but also in inaction. We touch on tension's effect on try-fail cycles, inverted pyramids, and worldbuilding. Thing of the Week: The Night Guest by Hild...2024-09-2922 min

Writing Excuses19.32: An Interview on Character with CL ClarkWe sat down with CL Clark to talk about character—specifically, how they build different POV characters in the compressed space of a short story. We dive into plot processing (a tool CL Clark has learned from Mary Robinette!), how to specify the stakes of your world, and how to build distinct characters. Thing of the Week: Reasons Not To Worry: How to be Stoic in Chaotic Times by Brigid DelaneyHomework: “4 Scenes About Power” — Write four scenes: (1) a scene in which your protagonist does something to someone else, (2) a scene i...2024-08-1133 min

Writing Excuses19.30: A Close Reading on Character: Agency vs. ChoicesWe have a theory that we want to work through on today’s episode: agency is the ability to take action, whereas choices are more about the interior life of the character. We use Mary Robinette’s talking cat, try-fail cycles, and C.L. Clark’s Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home in order to examine this theory and its underpinnings. Thing of the Week: Marginalia by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine) Homework: Create a scene in which your cha...2024-07-2823 min

Writing Excuses19.29: A Close Reading on Character: Barriers vs. StakesOur episode today focuses on C.L. Clark’s short story “You Perfect Broken Thing” for how the character's stakes shape the barriers facing her. We use this story to examine how to tell the difference between barriers versus stakes. We also examine how to do this in a compressed space– whether that’s a short story, a single scene, or a compressed timeline. Thing of the Week: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley JacksonHomework: Write a short scene in which your character has to deal with a...2024-07-2122 min

Writing Excuses19.28: A Close Reading on Character: Internal vs External IdentityToday, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it's a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you can still understand their internal landscapes by what they seee and notice. How do these external indicators help us understand the internal worlds of the characters? We mention two infographics during the episode– “Intersections of Self (Trauma Points)" and “Axes of Power." These are available on Patreon (they’re...2024-07-1424 min

Writing Excuses19.12: A Close Reading on Voice - Red's Perspective - Muscular ProseToday, we are doing a very close read of Red's opening narration and how Red’s voice communicates both character and world in an effective and efficient way. We read several sections aloud and dive into what each sensory detail is doing. Also Mary Robinette talks about what she thinks is the most effective way to draw your readers attention to something. Thing of the Week: Planet Crafter Homework: Take a sentence from your work in progress and rewrite it to adjust the age of the character to make them a child. Do it again to m...2024-03-2426 min

Writing Excuses18.49: Giving Your Story A VoiceWhat does it mean if your writing is voice-y? How do you give your character a natural voice? We approach this question from the high-level perspective of craft, and the granular level of word choice and sentence structure. Erin talks about the research she did about Appalachian English for her short story Wolfy Things. And Mary Robinette Kowal tells us what it’s like to be an audiobook narrator, and how this helps her bring characters to life on the page. Just a reminder that our final episodes of the year will be guided by t...2023-12-0324 min

Writing Excuses18.48: NaNoWriMo Week 5 - Writing EndingsWelcome to the last week of National Novel Writing Month! It’s okay if you aren’t going to finish your book, and it’s also okay if you don’t have 50,000 words! You still did a thing—you created a story that didn’t exist We want to talk about endings. How do you even write the end of a book? How do you do NaNoWriMo? There’s no right way! But there are several elements that can help you figure out how to write the end of your book. Our hosts give you guidance fo...2023-11-2623 min

Writing Excuses18.47: NaNoWriMo Week 4 - Climaxes, or OH MY GOD NOIt’s week four of NaNoWriMo! Or, National Novel Writing Month, which happens every year for the month of November. This week, we are talking about how to write climaxes, how to write resolutions, and what exactly the three-quarter mark is. How do you write a climax scene? How to keep your tension going while also finding some resolution. How do you keep track of what you promised your reader at the start of your book? Our hosts dive into these topics and share examples from their own published writing. We talk about how to...2023-11-1922 min

Writing Excuses18.45: NaNoWriMo Week 2 - Inciting IncidentWelcome to the first official week of National Novel Writing Month (or, almost the end of this week)! In this episode, we dive into how to write an inciting incident. What is an inciting incident? It is often the thing that goes wrong in your story. Within the first page, writers should have something go wrong. But what should this thing be? Our writers have some advice for questions you can ask yourself in order to understand your novel’s inciting incident. Also, Dan shares a recipe for an inci...2023-11-0522 min

Writing Excuses18.35: How to Organize Your Writing, or Managing the Mega-ArcLet’s talk about organization! This week, we’re talking about how and what to keep track of— characters, places, names, etc. How do you organize a book? How do you outline a novel? And don’t worry, we dive into the messy question, what is worth keeping track of in your writing? We also hear about how Howard and Mary Robinette have turned their planning tools (and research!) into money. Homework: Build a tool (spreadsheet, wiki, whatever) for tracking things in the universe of your writing. Start by thinking of three things to track—th...2023-08-2722 min

Writing Excuses18.29: Collaboration And PartnershipWhat are the best practices for collaboration? How do you write in an established intellectual property (IP)? How do you write a new story in an established world? We dive into working with an individual or a group. We hear stories from our hosts about how they have navigated creative endeavors with different types of collaboration.Homework:Grab something on your TBR (to be read) pile and pick a random paragraph from it. Use that as the opening for a short story.Also prepare for our upcoming Deep Dive (starting in two episodes...2023-07-1630 min

Writing Excuses18.23: Our Advice on Giving Advice“Show don’t tell” is probably the most famous advice given to writers. But. . . we don’t necessarily agree. In our final episode of our deep dive into publishing, we tackle advice: How do you give it? When do you not? Our hosts tell us about the advice they wish they followed and the things they don’t tell their students. Also: Mary Robinette teaches us a trick about puppet fingers. Homework:Write a letter to yourself a year ago describing what kind of skills are they going to need in order to confront the challenges that are com...2023-06-0432 min

Writing Excuses18.15: Building a Mystery, Now With More ToolsBack in February, with Episode 18.8, we began exploring the process of writing a mystery story. That episode led us into a series of six episodes about tension, and the tools we use to create and manage it. And now, with this episode (and a toolbox full of tension) we're ready (we hope!) to revisit the creation of mystery stories. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com...2023-04-1021 min

Writing Excuses18.14: Heavy Lifting with MicrotensionLet's take all our tension tools and apply them in tiny ways. A big application of tension might be an argument between two characters about a course of plot-important action. Microtension might be those characters arguing about how long to boil eggs. In this episode we'll explore some favorite applications of microtension, and the ways in which it can be layered to ramp up the larger, plot-focused tension. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.2023-04-0317 min

Writing Excuses18.13: Finding the Core ConflictIn our ongoing exploration of tension, the time has come to examine conflict. It can be shaped and delivered in numerous ways, but you have to know the core conflict before you can make anybody feel tense about it. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2023-03-2719 min

Writing Excuses18.12: The Long Shadow of Unanswered QuestionsOur continuing exploration of tension has taken us to a favorite technique: unanswered questions. Sure, this obviously applies to mysteries, but consider the question posed in romances: “will they get together?” In its simplest form, the unanswered question that forces a page-turn is "what happens on the next page?" In this episode we explore how to use unanswered questions to drive tension, and how to avoid some common pitfalls. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackso...2023-03-1921 min

Writing Excuses18.11: Turning Up the Contrast With JuxtapositionOur deconstruction and categorization of tension continues this week with an exploration of Juxtaposition, which is a contrast between two elements that supplies tension by allowing the reader to insert themselves. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2023-03-1220 min

Writing Excuses18.10: Anticipation is More Than Just Making Us WaitLast week we talked about tension, and promised that we'd be breaking it down into more pieces. This week we're discussing one of those pieces: Anticipation. We sub-divided it as follows: Surprise Suspense Humor Promises We talk about how to create anticipatory tension well, where the pitfalls are, and how this fits into the creation of our stories. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wri...2023-03-0618 min

Writing Excuses18.08: Building a MysteryAfter last week's deep dive into The Spare Man we're ready to talk more generally about mysteries, and the tools we use to write them. Obviously we can't cover all of that in just one episode, but don't worry. In upcoming episodes we'll explore more of these tools in detail. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com...2023-02-2023 min

Writing Excuses18.07: Deep Dive into THE SPARE MANSpoiler Alert! This week is our deep dive into Mary Robinette Kowal's The Spare Man. It's a sci-fi mystery novel often described as "The Thin Man in space." Deep dive episodes are necessarily full of spoilers because we ask all kinds of how and why questions specific to the writing of the work in question. If you haven't yet read The Spare Man, you might consider doing that before listening to this episode. We're not the boss of you, but we believe you'll get more out of this episode and the novel if you read the novel first. Credits: Y...2023-02-1332 min

Writing Excuses18.06: An Interview With Howard TaylerYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler In this episode we interview Howard Tayler, one of the founding members of the podcast, and the creator of Schlock Mercenary. The first question: how did this twenty-year ride change you? And a later question: what comes next? Liner Notes: We'll eventually do a deep dive on the final three books of the Schlock Mercenary saga. You can read for free starting here. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redc...2023-02-0620 min

Writing Excuses18.05: An Interview with Mary Robinette KowalYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler In this episode Howard Tayler conducts our interview with Mary Robinette Kowal, leading with a wide-open question: "Where did you even?" Mary Robinette talks to us about how she came to the world of writing, and some of the amazing things she picked up along the way. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: http...2023-01-3021 min

Writing Excuses18.04: An Interview With Dan WellsYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler In this episode Erin Roberts very enthusiastically launches our interview with "OG" Dan Wells with a delightfully difficult question, paraphrased thusly: "is there advice you gave back in the early days that you still stand by today?" There are lots of other questions, including one about bacon! Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: http...2023-01-2321 min

Writing Excuses18.02: An Interview with DongWon SongYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler As we announced in last week's episode (and in this press release), DongWon Song and Erin Roberts are joining us as permanent cast members. In this episode we conduct an interview with DongWon Song, plumbing a few depths, and learning a bit more about what they can teach all of us. Liner Notes: DongWon Song's newsletter, Publishing is Hard, can be found at publishingishard.com. It's free, but paid subscriptions are available. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jacks...2023-01-0923 min

Writing Excuses18.01: Twenty Twenty-Three, By Way of IntroductionYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler We begin 2023 with some big changes, and in this episode we'll discuss those, starting with some changes to the core cast. DongWon Song and Erin Roberts are joining us as permanent cast members, and Brandon Sanderson is stepping aside with "emeritus" status. But the episode isn't just announcements. We each talk about where we are career-wise, what we're working on, and what we're excited to bring to the podcast this year. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson 2023-01-0224 min

Writing Excuses17.41: Picture Books are Books Too, with Special Guest Seth FishmanYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, and Howard Tayler, with special guest Seth Fishman Seth Fishman, author of seven picture books (as well as lots of longer-form stuff), joins us to talk about writing picture books, including some of the business and publication aspects. No-Context Pull Quote: "Your art is so bad we're going to hire someone to draw badly for you." Credits: This episode was recorded live by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/br...2022-10-1018 min

Writing Excuses17.40: Questions & Answers About Structure, with Special Guest Peng ShepherdYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, and Howard Tayler, with special guest Peng Shepherd Peng Shepherd joined us aboard Liberty of the Seas for WXR 2022, and returned with us to the topic of story structures. In this episode we answer questions from our live audience. The questions include: How do you make sure you've got the right number of plot threads? How do you spread the structure of a given plot line across multiple books? How do you avoiding having subplots distract readers from the main plot? What are some strategies you can use to better a...2022-10-0324 min

Writing Excuses17.39: Writing Bodies and Intimacy, with K.M. SzparaYour Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, Dongwon Song, Piper J. Drake, & Howard Tayler, with special guest K. M. Szpara CONTENT WARNING: this episode is about adult acts and adult bodies, and we won't be using euphemisms. K.M. Szpara joined us at WXR 2022 for this discussion of writing bodies and intimacy, with a particular focus on which kinds of words to use for things. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr. before a live audience aboard Liberty of the Seas. It was mastered by Alex Jackson. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations 2022-09-2619 min

Writing Excuses17.38: Oh No I Lost The ThreadYour Hosts: Howard Tayler, C.L. Polk, Marshall Carr, Jr., and Mary Robinette Kowal Oh no! You've put the project down for long enough that you've lost your place in it! Whatever will you do? For starters, you can listen to this episode. We've been there, and one of us is there right now. We talk about the different problems you're likely facing, and how to overcome them in order to find the thread and get moving again. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — htt...2022-09-1919 min

Writing Excuses17.37: Science and Fiction—It’s Not Just Science FictionYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Cady Coleman The fictional side of science and the scientific side of fiction are part of the discipline of science communication, often called SciComm. In this episode Cady Coleman joins us to talk about how science fiction fits into the field of SciComm, and how the stories we tell can affect the people who read them. Credits: This episode was recorded before a live audience by Rob Kowal, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/b...2022-09-1219 min

Writing Excuses17.36: Space for EveryoneYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Cady Coleman Chemist, USAF Colonel, and NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman joins us to talk about actual travel to actual space, and how that's a thing which is increasingly available to people who are not in the employ of government space agencies. Also, we discuss how the demographics of space travelers are changing, and how this is creating safer space travel for everyone. Credits: This episode was recorded before a live audience by Rob Kowal, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations 2022-09-0519 min

Writing Excuses17.35: Nuances of DialogYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler We wrap up our eight-episode dialog master class with a discussion of nuance, which is difficult to describe in a blurb because it's... well, nuanced. That may sound a bit recursive, but our discussion dives deep into the meta. Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2022-08-2919 min

Writing Excuses17.34: Developing SubtextYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler We begin this episode with a quick exploration of the terminology, and what we mean when we say "text," "context," and "subtext." Subtext exists between text and context. It's the information which isn't actually in the text, but which we are able to divine based on the context. And in this episode we talk about how to use context and text to provide subtext to the reader. Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https...2022-08-2219 min

Writing Excuses17.33: Building TensionYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler Tension! In this episode we discuss the ways dialog can build and/or maintain tension, especially when placed in context with the rest of the scene. Liner Notes: A great article about tension for those who (like Howard) may need a solid working definition -Toward a general psychological model of tension and suspense Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsP...2022-08-1518 min

Writing Excuses17.32: Everything is About ConflictYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler Everything is about conflict? Really? Well, yes. Maybe not in the action-movie sense, but conflict is everywhere, even among people whose goals, objectives, and methodologies are in alignment. This, of course, means that it exists among your cast of characters, and it will inform the way the talk to one another. Liner Notes: We mentioned this famous Monty Python sketch about wanting to have an argument. Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redci...2022-08-0817 min

Writing Excuses17.31: Everyone Has an AgendaYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler We've mentioned "area of intention" earlier in this dialog master class, but now the concept gets the spotlight. If all of your characters have their own agendas, their own areas of intention, then the dialog between them should reflect that. Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2022-08-0120 min

Writing Excuses17.30: Know Your CharactersYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler How well do you know your characters? Sure, you might know their age, nationality, and perhaps wardrobe, but how well do you know their internal characteristics? Do you know them well enough that you can write dialog that sounds like them? In this episode we discuss how you might approach this problem. Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPriva...2022-07-2519 min

Writing Excuses17.29: The Job of DialogueYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler We're back with Maurice Broaddus for the second in our eight-episode mini-master-class on writing dialogue. This time around we're addressing the question of dialogue's "job." What's it for? Why is this particular bit of dialogue in this scene, this chapter, this book? Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2022-07-1820 min

Writing Excuses17.28: Keys to Writing DialogYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler Writer, teacher, and community organizer Maurice Broaddus joins us for an eight-episode mini-master-class on writing dialogue. In this episode he walks us through his three keys: pay attention to how people speak, write in a way that evokes how they speak, and write dialogue that makes individual characters distinctive. Liner Notes: We mention Descript transcription software in this episode. Here's a link! Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations 2022-07-1118 min

Writing Excuses17.16: Miscellaneous StructuresYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Thus far we've attempted to organize our discussion of sub-, micro-, and other alternative structures with specific categories, but this domain is a lot larger than that. This final episode with our guest host Peng Shepherd has been titled "Miscellaneous Structures" because, y'know, sometimes the last bucket in your row of carefully, taxonomically-labeled buckets needs to be "miscellaneous." Liner Notes: Howard mentions "LTUE" during the episode. Hey, guess what! The next few episodes following this one were (will have been?) recorded at LTUE! Credits: This episode was re...2022-04-1818 min

Writing Excuses17.15: Storytelling in the FootnotesYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler You probably already know what footnotes are¹, but have you ever seen a story told through the footnotes²? It's similar to the story-within-a-story structure, but there's more to it than that. In this episode our guest host Peng Shepherd explores footnote storytelling³ with us. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson ——— ¹ This is an example of a footnote. ² This is not an example of footnote storytelling. ³ With the addition of a third footnote, maaaybe there's a beginning, middle, and end, and therefore...2022-04-1121 min

Writing Excuses17.14: Structuring for Disordered or Order-less Reading OrderYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Guest host Peng Shepherd leads our discussion of "order-less reading order" (after we get past the business of "having too much fun with the episode title"). But what do we even mean by "order-less" or "disordered?" At one level, we mean you can just pick up the story anywhere and start reading. Kind of like TV series prior to the advent of the fully serial series. But kind of unlike it, because how does this work within just one book? Liner Notes: For good examples of non-order-dependent s...2022-04-0421 min

Writing Excuses17.13: Structuring Around a ThingYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Our exploration of sub- and micro-structures continues with guest host Peng Shepherd. This week we're talking about how a story can be structured around a "thing." The simplest explanatory example would be structuring around a map, which is where we start the episode... kind of like how The Lord of the Rings starts in The Shire. This episode does not end with even one of us climbing a volcano. Liner Notes: Tower of Babel, by Josiah Bancroft The Storyteller's Tarot Spread Credits: This episode was recorded by Mar...2022-03-2819 min

Writing Excuses17.12: Structuring a Story Within a StoryYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler One common structure—both macro and micro—is the "story within a story," or "framing story" structure, and yet somehow we've never really explored it on Writing Excuses. Guest host Peng Shepherd is here to help us set things right. Liner Notes: Here are some examples of story-within-a-story structure... Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons Neverending Story, by Michael Ende One Thousand and One Nights Sun the Moon and the Stars, by Stephen Brust Ten Thousand Doors of Januar...2022-03-2020 min

Writing Excuses17.11: Structuring with Multiple TimelinesYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Guest host Peng Shepherd continues to lead our exploration of sub- and micro-structures by taking us into the scaffolding of in media res, flashbacks, and other tools for structuring a story by telling it out of chronological order. We also cover how to do this without breaking the flow of the story. Liner Notes: The "trousers of time" book Howard referenced was Jingo, by Terry Pratchett. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — http...2022-03-1319 min

Writing Excuses17.10: Structuring with Multiple POVsYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler In our second micro-structure episode, Peng Shepherd leads us into an exploration of the ways in which the use of multiple point-of-view characters can create a framework within the larger framework of the story. Liner Notes: In one example we contrasted the single POV Killing Floor, by Lee Childs with its multiple-POV TV adaptation in season 1 of Reacher. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inqu...2022-03-0718 min

Writing Excuses17.9: Let’s Talk About StructureYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler We're beginning another eight-episode deep-dive series, and this time it's a fresh approach to story structure, led by our guest host Peng Shepherd. Join us as we zoom right through the overarching frameworks defined via things like the Hero's Journey, Freytag’s Triangle, Save The Cat, and Seven Point Story Structure to look at the microstructures which both define and obscure these general narrative shapes. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcirc...2022-02-2817 min

Writing Excuses16.50: Worldbuilding Finale: Making Deliberate ChoicesYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Fonda Lee, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler Here at the end of our 8-episode intensive series on Worldbuilding we discuss stepping away from the defaults, the clichés, and the tropes, and choosing every element deliberately. There's nothing inherently wrong with the tropes. We're just suggesting that they be included only after deciding we actually want them. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out...2021-12-1318 min

Writing Excuses16.49: Magic and Technology: Two Sides of the Same CoinYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Fonda Lee, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler Magic and technology are tools that we, as writers, use to tell interesting stories, and they're very, very similar tools. In this episode we'll examine some ways in which both magical and technological elements can be used in our stories. Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2021-12-0620 min

Writing Excuses16.48: Believable Worlds Part 2: Creating TextureYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Fonda Lee, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler As we do our worldbuilding with similarity, specificity, and selective depth (per the previous episode), we should take care to apply these things throughout our stories. In this episode we discuss how these elements we've world-built can become "textures." Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2021-11-2918 min

Writing Excuses16.46: World and Plot: The Only Constant is ChangeYour Hosts: Dan Wells, Fonda Lee, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler In our world, the ostensibly "real" one (simulation theory notwithstanding), stuff is changing all the time. Why, then, do we see so many fantasy worlds whose once-upon-a-times seem timeless? A more important question: how might we, as writers cognizant of the ubiquity of change, work that understanding into our writing? Can we make our fictional worlds more believable while retaining the elements of those worlds which first attracted us to them? Credits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson Liner Notes: The...2021-11-1521 min

Loquate PodcastsA Bridge Over The Holocaust | Mary KowalMary Kowal will speak on faith as a bridge. Hear her family’s inspiring war time faith journey as survivors of the holocaust. She said: Only through faith did we make it”. Inspired by the Little Flower, hear how her faith leads her as a volunteer to daily small works of charity. The post A Bridge Over The Holocaust | Mary Kowal appeared first on Loquate.tv. 2019-02-2813 min

Loquate PodcastsA Bridge of Faith | Mary KowalMary Kowal will speak on faith as a bridge. Hear how her faith helped her care for her late husband, Bob. Inspired by the Little Flower, hear how her faith leads her as a volunteer to daily small works of charity. The post A Bridge of Faith | Mary Kowal appeared first on Loquate.tv. 2019-02-2713 min

Season 13 – Writing ExcusesNaNoWriMo 2018 Mini-Episode 2Your Mini-Episode Hosts: Amal El-Mohtar and Maurice Broaddus, with Special Asides from Mary Robinette Kowal We’re a week in to NaNoWriMo. 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.”2018-11-0702 min

Season 13 – Writing Excuses13.30: Project in Depth, THE CALCULATING STARS, with Kjell LindgrenYour Hosts: Brandon, Mary, and Dan, with Kjell Lindgren Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t yet read The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel, by Mary Robinette Kowal, you may wish to rectify that prior to listening. In this episode we go into great depth on Mary’s novel with the expert technical help of NASA astronaut … Continue reading 13.30: Project in Depth, THE CALCULATING STARS, with Kjell Lindgren →2018-07-3031 min

Writing Excuses13.30: Project in Depth, THE CALCULATING STARS, with Kjell LindgrenYour Hosts: Brandon, Mary, and Dan, with Kjell Lindgren Spoiler Alert! If you haven't yet read The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel, by Mary Robinette Kowal, you may wish to rectify that prior to listening. In this episode we go into great depth on Mary's novel with the expert technical help of NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, who was one of Mary's consulting readers. Like most of our project-in-depth episodes this one runs long. Longer still because we were at JSC in Houston, which was incredibly cool for all of us, so nobody was watching the clock. Liner Notes...2018-07-3031 min

Season 13 – Writing Excuses13.26: Character RelationshipsYour Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard Our characters become far more interesting when they begin interacting with each other. These interactions—these relationships—are often how our stories get told. In this episode we explore ways in which we can fine tune relationships in service of our stories. The tools include the Kowal Relationship Axes (Mind, … Continue reading 13.26: Character Relationships →2018-07-0221 min

Season 12 – Writing Excuses12.32: Structuring a Short PieceYour Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard We begin our exploration of short story structure with a re-cap of the MACE quotient (Milieu, Ask/Answer, Character, Event). Then we apply that tool to how we structure the pieces we write—specifically the short ones. Liner Notes: Here’s “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal And here’s a handy MICE quotient chart! Credits: … Continue reading 12.32: Structuring a Short Piece →2017-08-0722 min

Writing Excuses12.32: Structuring a Short PieceYour Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard We begin our exploration of short story structure with a re-cap of the MACE quotient (Milieu, Ask/Answer, Character, Event). Then we apply that tool to how we structure the pieces we write—specifically the short ones. Liner Notes: Here's "Evil Robot Monkey" by Mary Robinette Kowal And here's a handy MICE quotient chart! Credits: this episode was recorded in Cosmere House Studios by Dan Dan the Audioman Thompson, and mastered by Alex JacksonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brand...2017-08-0722 min

Writing Excuses12.1: Variations on First PersonYour Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard We're beginning a new season, and during 2017 we will be focusing our topics on structure. We are also going to shake things by expanding our cast a bit. You'll be hearing some new voices soon! They belong to: Wesley Chu Piper J. Drake Mary Anne Mohanraj We'll post more on that in a few days, but we've already begun updating our "About" page. This week your hosts are Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. We spend a few minutes on the administrative stuff above before jumping into January's struc...2017-01-0123 min

Season 11 – Writing Excuses11.44: Project in Depth, GHOST TALKERS, by Mary Robinette KowalSpoiler Alert! If you haven’t yet read Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal, this episode will spoil great swathes of book for you. Also, you probably won’t get as much out of it. This week’s episode is a Project in Depth discussion focusing on Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. We begin with the difference … Continue reading 11.44: Project in Depth, GHOST TALKERS, by Mary Robinette Kowal →2016-10-3033 min

Writing Excuses11.44: Project in Depth, GHOST TALKERS, by Mary Robinette KowalSpoiler Alert! If you haven't yet read Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal, this episode will spoil great swathes of book for you. Also, you probably won't get as much out of it. This week's episode is a Project in Depth discussion focusing on Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal. We begin with the difference between the catalog pitch and the pitch given to editors, and how critical that distinction is. Mary then talks to us about the decisions she made while plotting the book, and the things she did in order to best execute on the story she s...2016-10-3033 min

2015 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 10.22: Project-in-Depth—Of Noble FamilySpoilers ahead! We dig into Of Noble Family, by Mary Robinette Kowal, focusing on language, culture, and the extensive research Mary did.2015-06-0130 min

Season 10 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 10.22: Project-in-Depth—Of Noble FamilySpoilers ahead! We dig into Of Noble Family, by Mary Robinette Kowal, focusing on language, culture, and the extensive research Mary did.2015-06-0130 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 10.22: Project-in-Depth—Of Noble FamilySpoilers ahead! We dig into Of Noble Family, by Mary Robinette Kowal, focusing on language, culture, and the extensive research Mary did.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2015-06-0130 min

Season 08 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 8.20: The Short Story, with Mary Robinette KowalMary Robinette Kowal walks us through writing short stories.2013-05-1917 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 8.20: The Short Story, with Mary Robinette KowalMary Robinette Kowal walks us through writing short stories.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2013-05-1917 min

Season 08 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 8.20: The Short Story, with Mary Robinette KowalMary Robinette Kowal walks us through writing short stories.2013-05-1917 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.51: Brainstorming with MaryMary invites Brandon, Dan, and Howard to brainstorm a story with her.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2012-12-1218 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.51: Brainstorming with MaryMary invites Brandon, Dan, and Howard to brainstorm a story with her.2012-12-1218 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.50: Outlining the Mary WayMary Robinette Kowal schools Brandon, Dan, and Howard with her outlining system.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2012-12-1018 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.50: Outlining the Mary WayMary Robinette Kowal schools Brandon, Dan, and Howard with her outlining system.2012-12-1018 min

Writing ExcusesNaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Episode 4, with Mary & BrandonBrandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal provide last-minute writing advice to you NaNoWriMo'ers out there...Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2012-11-2903 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesNaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Episode 4, with Mary & BrandonBrandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal provide last-minute writing advice to you NaNoWriMo'ers out there...2012-11-2903 min

Writing ExcusesNaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Mini-Episode 1, with Brandon & MaryBrandon and Mary take time out from World Fantasy to encourage everyone participating in NaNoWriMo.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2012-11-0802 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesNaNoWriMo 2012: Bonus Mini-Episode 1, with Brandon & MaryBrandon and Mary take time out from World Fantasy to encourage everyone participating in NaNoWriMo.2012-11-0802 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.28: Project in Depth– Glamour in GlassMary Robinette Kowal talks in depth about her novel Glamour In Glass, fielding questions from Brandon, Dan, and Howard.2012-07-0923 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.16: Continuing with Mary’s OutlineIn this second part a VERY SPECIAL two-part session of Writing Excuses Brandon, Dan, and Howard continue to tear into Mary's first novel outline.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2012-04-1625 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.16: Continuing with Mary’s OutlineIn this second part a VERY SPECIAL two-part session of Writing Excuses Brandon, Dan, and Howard continue to tear into Mary's first novel outline.2012-04-1625 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.15: Editing Mary’s OutlineIn this outlining demonstration Mary reads from an early outline, then Brandon, Dan, and Howard brutally dissect it.2012-04-0922 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.15: Editing Mary’s OutlineIn this outlining demonstration Mary reads from an early outline, then Brandon, Dan, and Howard brutally dissect it.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2012-04-0922 min

Season 07 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 7.5: Sensory WritingSam Sykes joins Dan Wells and Mary Robinette Kowal for a discussion of sound, smell, taste, and touch in prose.2012-01-3017 min

Season 06 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 6.28: Interstitial ArtEllen Kushner and Delia Sherman from the Interstitial Arts Foundation join Mary Robinette Kowal and Dan Wells to talk about the gaps between genres.2011-12-1219 min

Writing ExcusesNaNoWriMo Pep-Talk from MaryMary Robinette Kowal offers encouragement to the 2011 NaNoWriMo crowd.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy 2011-11-1701 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 5.23: Life Day!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, a...2011-02-0715 min

Season 05 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 5.23: Life Day!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 … Continue reading Writing Excuses 5.23: Life Day! →2011-02-0700 min

Season 05 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 5.22: Film ConsiderationsMary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton join Dan and Howard for a discussion of movie considerations and formulas.2011-01-3100 min

Season 05 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses 5.21: Alternate HistoryMary Robinette Kowal and Eric Flint join Howard and Dan for a discussion of Alternate history - what, why, and how.2011-01-2422 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses Season 3 Episode 17: Characters & Worldbuilding Q&A with Mary Robinette KowalMary is back! We still had a Mary Robinette Kowal episode from WorldCon 67, and now you have it too! We take questions from the audience, and then answer them. Here are the questions: What do you do if your characters revolt and start to take over the story? When you became a writer what most surprised you with its difficulty? How do you build the history for the worlds your books are set in? Three huge questions, TWELVE answers. Enjoy! Oh... and your writing prompt: write about The Predestined Monkey.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.co...2009-09-2117 min

Season 03 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses Season 3 Episode 17: Characters & Worldbuilding Q&A with Mary Robinette KowalMary is back! We still had a Mary Robinette Kowal episode from WorldCon 67, and now you have it too! We take questions from the audience, and then answer them. Here are the questions: What do you do if your characters revolt and start to take over the story? When you became a writer what … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 17: Characters & Worldbuilding Q&A with Mary Robinette Kowal →2009-09-2100 min

Season 03 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue EpisodeJohn Brown, debut author of Servant of a Dark God, joins us for this discussion of the avoidance of self-insertion. In polite company we call this the “Mary Sue,” because it’s difficult to say “self-insertion” in polite company, much less with a straight face. In broader terms, what we’re covering is voice, and how to … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue Episode →2009-09-1400 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue EpisodeJohn Brown, debut author of Servant of a Dark God, joins us for this discussion of the avoidance of self-insertion. In polite company we call this the "Mary Sue," because it's difficult to say "self-insertion" in polite company, much less with a straight face. In broader terms, what we're covering is voice, and how to make our characters sound like themselves rather than us. This week's Writing Excuses is Brought to you by Servant of a Dark God by John Brown.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com...2009-09-1417 min

Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses Season 3 Episode 15: Writing Process Q&A, with Mary Robinette KowalMary 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...2009-09-0716 min

Season 03 – Writing ExcusesWriting Excuses Season 3 Episode 15: Writing Process Q&A, with Mary Robinette KowalMary 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. … Continue reading Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 15: Writing Process Q&A, with Mary Robinette Kowal →2009-09-0700 min

Writing Excuses3.14: The Four Principles of Puppetry, with Mary Robinette KowalAside from being a delightful author and a Campbell award winner, Mary Robinette Kowal is a professional puppeteer. She joined us at WorldCon 67 in Montreal, and totally schooled us in front of a live audience. I mean it. TOTALLY SCHOOLED. If you want to learn something new about writing, and I mean something really NEW you need to listen to Mary talk about puppetry. You can't see the perpetual looks of astonishment and epiphany us jaded professionals wore during this recording, but I assure you they were there. We learned so much from Mary we decided to record two...2009-08-3114 min

Season 03 – Writing Excuses3.14: The Four Principles of Puppetry, with Mary Robinette KowalAside from being a delightful author and a Campbell award winner, Mary Robinette Kowal is a professional puppeteer. She joined us at WorldCon 67 in Montreal, and totally schooled us in front of a live audience. I mean it. TOTALLY SCHOOLED. If you want to learn something new about writing, and I mean something really … Continue reading 3.14: The Four Principles of Puppetry, with Mary Robinette Kowal →2009-08-3100 min