Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.13: Finding the Core Conflict

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In 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.

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Write a conflict twice, changing the POV character’s underlying emotional needs. See how the scene changes.

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by David Graeber & David Wengrow

Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.12: The Long Shadow of Unanswered Questions

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Our 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 Jackson.

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What questions have you, in your current work-in-progress, posed for the reader? Can you pose more? Look for ways to ask questions to which the story can give multiple answers.

Ted Lasso (Apple TV)

Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.11: Turning Up the Contrast With Juxtaposition

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Our 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.

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Try to add tension to a scene in your work-in-progress by inverting or juxtaposing elements.

When Franny Stands Up, by Eden Robins —MRK

Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.10: Anticipation is More Than Just Making Us Wait

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Last 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.

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Look at your current WIP. Are there genre tropes that you can subvert? Can you pay off reader anticipation by delivering something other than what the genre has led the reader to expect?

Dead Country, by Max Gladstone

Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.09: Unpacking the Tension

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For the next several episodes we’ll be talking about tension. That may seem like a lot of time to spend on just one word, but as we unpack that word we see that there’s plenty of material to work with, and there’s a generous supply of tools in that material.

For our purposes, we’ve categorized the tension subcategories as follows:

  • Anticipation
  • Juxtaposition
  • Unanswered Questions
  • Conflict
  • Microtension

Your own taxonomy may differ, and that’s fine, but having a taxonomy is important because when we name our tools we’re better at using them.

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.

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In this episode we covered five types of tension: Anticipation, Juxtaposition, Unanswered Questions, Conflict, and Microtension. Look at your current WIP (or something that you are reading) and identify examples of each of these.

Dark One: Forgotten, by Brandon Sanderson & Dan Wells
This will be featured in an upcoming “Deep Dive” episode.

Announcements & News

Register now for the 2023 Alaskan Cruise!

Set against a backdrop of mountains and water are the words, “The Writing Excuses Workshop and Retreat: Time to Write. It's a writing workshop, wrapped inside an Alaska cruise, with Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, Erin Roberts, and DongWon Song. Sept. 3-11.

This September, Writing Excuses is thrilled to invite you on a journey to Alaska aboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas. You can register for the event by clicking here.

We will gather together in Seattle on September 3rd and depart for a September 4-11 Alaskan cruise that will provide the perfect blend of writing classes, critique groups, community building, and luxurious vacation.

This year’s cruise will be hosted by Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and guest instructors Mahtab Narsimhan and Fonda Lee.

What does the cruise include?

Glad you asked! You can read the full event description and register for the cruise on the Eventbrite page.

The event begins in Seattle on September 3rd with an orientation and a stay at a local hotel. On September 4th, the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas will depart from Seattle, Washington and visit stunning locations like Skagway, Icy Strait Point, and Dawes Glacier.

In addition to taking in the breathtaking Alaskan landscape (both on the ship and off), the event will include:

  • Writing seminars, workshops, and breakout sessions designed to help you hone your craft.
  • Retreat-style time for relaxation, writing, and self-care.
  • Opportunities to network, game, and be in community with fellow writers.

If you’d like to join us, click here to see the full breakdown of the event and register for your spot.

Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.08: Building a Mystery

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After 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.

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Give yourself some context for the upcoming episodes. Read a mystery!

The Glass Onion (Netflix)

Demonstration, Project in Depth, Season 18, Theory and Technique

18.07: Deep Dive into THE SPARE MAN

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Spoiler 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: 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.

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Do you like murder mysteries? Write down the elements that must be present for a murder mystery to be satisfying for you.

The Thin Man (1934)