Tag Archives: Big Reveal

Archive Seasons 11-15, Season 11, Theory and Technique

11.25: Elemental Mystery is Everywhere

2 Comments

Per our Elemental Genre theme, this week we further explore elemental mystery. Elemental mystery can be found in any work in which our curiosity is what keeps us turning pages. The type of satisfaction we feel at the reveal may also reveal the elemental genre in which the element of mystery has been embedded.

Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson. 

 

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:25 — 12.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Put a mystery into whatever it is you’re working on. Look at what your character knows they need, and then remove that knowledge. Force the character to figure out WHAT they need.

Thud, by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs

Archive Seasons 1-6, Season 03, Theory and Technique

Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 23: How to Write Without Twists

31 Comments

Question: Can you write a good book without a plot twist?

Better question: is it a good book if your readers predicted what was coming?

Best question: is a podcast about predictable prose itself predictable?

No, seriously… the best question is “how can we use predictable, formulaic plotting effectively?” We actually answer that one.

Writing Prompt: “Sense & Sensibility & Terrorists”

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS