Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.
This month’s syllabus topic is story structure, and we’ll be starting with the part we start with. And that part usually isn’t the beginning — that’s where the story starts for the reader. We’re going to talk about where the story starts for you. It’s the answer to questions like…
Recorded live in front of the Out of Excuses students, a crowd of savvy readers if ever there was one, we talk about how to effectively write for readers who are familiar with the genre or story structure in which we’re writing. It’s a tricky problem, since genre fiction is…
Registration is now open for the 2015 Out of Excuses Writing Workshop and Retreat. For the last two years the event has had a very limited size, and as a result has sold out very quickly. For 2015 we have moved to a new venue, removed the attendance limit, and…
A Q&A episode with Eric James Stone
Announcing the 2nd annual “Out of Excuses” Workshop and Retreat! Registration opens on January 18th, and the event will likely sell out very quickly.
How do we break our books into chapters, and how to we build those chapters to begin with?
Robison Wells joins Brandon, Dan, Mary, and Howard to talk about health — especially the mental kind.
Mary Robinette Kowal schools Brandon, Dan, and Howard with her outlining system.
It’s microcasting time! This week we take a crack at the following listener questions: What percentage of a rough draft makes it into print? What are the pitfalls of jumping from novels to short fiction, and vice versa? Do you need to start with short fiction first? (This answer involves…
Dan Wells walks us through the seven-point story structure format he uses, and then we demonstrate by brainstorming this on a sample story.
