How do you know which bits of your story have to come first?
Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.
Any discussion of story structure must necessarily take a look at that big, long bit between the beginning and the end, that piece where almost everything actually happens. In this episode we talk about the middles of stories, and how formulaic structures will help you get them to do all of…
Wes Chu joins us again for a Q&A about this month’s topic: story structure! Here are the questions: Do you make a conscious decision about how to structure your story before you begin writing? Is it necessary to use multiple structures (three-act, Hollywood formula, etc) in order to ensure that…
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…
Our character-focused month continues with an exploration of the challenges involved in building a cast for your story. Whether you’re building a large or small cast, you need to know why you’re putting these people in the book, whether they’re main characters, secondary characters, or spear-carriers, and what purpose each…
In which Max Gladstone introduces us to the concept of the Magical 1%
Does your draft have a boring main character? You’re not alone! Also, the problem can be solved.
At the Out of Excuses Workshop and Retreat we premiered the Season 10 concept, and we invited our attendees to give us the questions we need this month. (They’ll also be the ones providing our questions for February, but we’ll cast our net wide for questions in March.) Ideas are hard!…
Cherie Priest joins us for a discussion of Lovecraftian horror.
Writing Excuses Season 10, the podcasted master-class, continues with this exploration of that critical second step: what do do once you’ve got an idea that has story-legs. (Note: When we say “two weeks ago” over and over, that’s just bad math. You haven’t missed an episode.) We talk about our…