Monthly Archives: October 2013

Archive Seasons 7-10, Guest, Live Audience, Season 08

Writing Excuses 8.43: Realistic Melee Fighting with Wesley Chu

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Wesley Chu joins Brandon, Mary, Howard, and a live audience at GenCon Indy for a discussion of writing realistic melee fights. Wes has lots of martial arts experience, he learned rope-dart fighting from Scorpion, he has worked as a stunt man, and his latest book, The Deaths of Tao, is out this week!

He talks to us about melee fighting. What sorts of things knock us out (ahem) of the story? How can we realistically portray combat without losing the heroic, incredible edge we want in our story?

Out of Order Episode Moment: Scott Lynch’s episode was mentioned, but has not aired yet. It’s okay. We’ll get to it.

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Write a scene in any world where a pirate actually can beat a ninja.

The Lives of Tao, by Wesley Chu, narrated by Mikael Naramore

Archive Seasons 7-10, Career and Lifestyle, Season 08

Writing Excuses 8.42: The Internal Heckler vs. The Internal Editor

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Mary pitched this subject to us — it’s a discussion of the difference between that voice that says “this will make your story better” and the voice that says “nothing can save this story because you’re awful and should quit forever.”

You’ve probably heard the staple bit of sage advice that which says, in essence, “silence your internal editor.” Some of us need that internal editor, though, and the distinction between the editor and the heckler is critically important. And some of us need to train up those voices in our heads so that they say something useful.

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Oh no! We forgot to give you a writing prompt! Fine… Your internal heckler turns out to be a real person/entity/being/whatever. Not everybody’s internal heckler—yours. Why?

The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, an anthology edited by John Joseph Adams, narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Mary Robinette Kowal, Justine Eyre

Archive Seasons 7-10, Career and Lifestyle, Q&A, Season 08

Writing Excuses 8.41: Out of Excuses Retreat Microcasting

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At the Out of Excuses Retreat we took some questions from our listeners, and then answered them before a live audience. Here are the questions:

  • How do you find beta readers?
  • Legal and IP issues? Should you copyright your work before submitting?
  • Advice for a discovery writer?
  • As a fan, what is the best way to pay my favorite authors?
  • Can chapters be too short?
  • How much time do you spend reading?
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:03 — 12.4MB)

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“Neon sniper gnome.”

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake, narrated by August Ross.

Archive Seasons 7-10, Career and Lifestyle, Guest, Season 08

Writing Excuses 8.40: Publishing with Bill Schafer

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Bill Schafer, co-publisher at Subterranean Press joins us for a discussion of publishing. He talks to us about how this small press fits into the overall market, and why they’re thriving in spite of the current market disruptions.

Bill explains to us what the publisher’s role is. We’ve spoken with plenty of agents and editors, but Bill’s our first publisher, and the distinction is an important one. We also talk about why it’s important for you, as a writer, to understand this. He also weighs in on the future of publishing, and puts a couple of stakes in the ground.

Steelheart Tweeting Thingy: Per the episode intro from Howard, we’re giving away three more Steelheart audiobooks, courtesy of our sponsor Audible.com. Tweet us your epic power, and how it will enable you to win this contest! Here’s the format:

“{MY EPIC POWER, AND HOW IT WILL HELP ME CLAIM} the STEELHEART audiobook from @WritingExcuses.”

Obviously you’ll want to replace the stuff between the {braces} with something clever. You have ninety-four characters with which to hone your message. Also, you should follow @WritingExcuses on Twitter so we can Direct Message you if you happen to be one of our three lucky winners.

Start tweeting now. We’ll cut things off Wednesday morning (our time – Mountain) and then we’ll announce the winners by the end of the day Thursday.

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Your main character is a small-press publisher, and his storeroom has been flooded.

Legion, by Brandon Sanderson, narrated by Oliver Wyman