We’re now going to have a few episodes focusing on the lens of proximity—specifically, how close you are to a character. Today, we’re talking about first person. First person seems like it would be one of the most natural forms of storytelling, because it's the one we use when talking about our own actions. But how do we use first person effectively? How close we are to the character and how much we get to know of their motivation and reaction can be controlled through interiority and embodiment. This often ends up defining the POV that we use in our stories. We'll talk about which tools are specific to first person, as well as flag pitfalls to watch out for.Homework: Go pick up a book that you love. Find a scene that you think is really great that is not in first person. Then, rewrite that scene in first person from the POV of a character in the scene. P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreatsSign up for our newsletterCredits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Visit kinsta.com to get your first month free when you sign up today!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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26:22
20.12: Fashion as a Writing Metaphor
Today, we’re returning to different personal metaphors for how we all think about writing and storytelling. In this episode, we’re talking about how DongWon uses fashion as a helpful metaphor to think about storytelling. For both fashion and writing, whether you know it or not, you are already engaging with it every single day of your life. You are writing emails, you are communicating with the people around you, you’re dressing yourself, you’re wearing certain things and not others, and you’re ordering pizza! But what’s the difference between ordering a pizza and performing a poem? Well, lots of things, but mostly intention and deliberateness. Note: In this episode, we mention cooking as a metaphor—this episode hasn’t aired yet but will in May!Homework: Take one article of clothing from your closet and build three different looks around it. One for everyday wear, one for a family function, and one for a night outP.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreatsSign up for our newsletterCredits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Visit kinsta.com to get your first month free when you sign up today!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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29:02
20.11: Kit Lit. Q&A Aboard the WX Cruise, with Mark Oshiro, Kate McKean, and Sandra Tayler
This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/.) While on a boat in Mexico, we were joined by author Mark Oshiro and literary agent Kate McKean. In addition to our hosts, they answered questions that were asked by our cruise attendees. Our answers included things such as how much space a character should take up and how to find the balance between plot-focused and character-focused novels. We also tackled questions about worldbuilding, motivation, and deadlines. Homework: Ask someone a question about writing, either to learn more about what they're working on or to work through a project of your own.P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreatsSign up for our newsletterCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Sandra Tayler, Mark Oshiro, and Kate McKean. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Visit kinsta.com to get your first month free when you sign up today!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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21:57
20.10: Interview with Chuck Tingle: Breaking the Rules
Today we have the pleasure of talking with author (and longtime listener!) Chuck Tingle. We invited him on the podcast to talk about breaking the rules—both in terms of how to publish and what to publish. Chuck told us about the business and creative rules that he has upended—he doesn’t do readings, he is anonymous (during our interview he wore a pink bag over his head), and he thinks you should tell and show. Chuck then shares some of his favorite failures, what he learned from them, and how failures actually aren’t real. Also featured on today’s episode: puppet bloopers, approaching art, and why LOVE IS REAL. You can learn more about Chuck Tingle here. Chuck’s Thing of the Week: The FrankenStand (a vegan hotdog stand in LA that serves horror-themed hot dogs)Homework: Choose a section from your current Work In Progress (WIP). Think of the writing rule that you’re treating as the North Star of Writing At Large (what would the English Department hammer into you?). Try to rewrite that section without that rule or doing the opposite of the rule. Then, look at it and see what changes that makes. Is there a version of your writing where you can use this as a tool, and not a rule? P.S. Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here. P.P.S. Are you tired of ads?! You can join our $5 tier on Patreon and receive ad-free episodes each week! Sign up for our newsletterCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dongwon Song, and Howard Tayler. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Visit kinsta.com to get your first month free when you sign up today!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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20.09: The Reaction of Who?!
What do emotional beats and action scenes have in common? Well, they both need to land with your audience in order for your story not to fall flat. On today’s episode, we’re talking about the importance of reaction. Everything from portraying your characters’ reactions to letting readers sit with—and witness— these reactions. The actions that a character takes—or doesn’t take— as a part of their reaction let the audience know what they are thinking and feeling. And this lets the audience react alongside the character, even if they haven’t experienced (in their own life) what just happened to the character. We’ll give you tips and tricks for building this level of resonance between your characters and readers.Homework: Look at one of your characters’ reactions and flip it. If they take an action that escalates a situation, how would that scene play if their reaction de-escalated the situation? Can you still get to the end point that you want? P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here. P.P.S. Are you tired of ads?! You can join our $5 tier on Patreon and receive ad-free episodes each week!Sign up for our newsletterCredits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Dongwon Song, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Visit kinsta.com to get your first month free when you sign up today!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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