Writing Excuses

Brandon, Dan, and Howard discuss what an alpha reader is, is not, and where one might find... more

Your Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, Cassandra Khaw, Dan Wells, James L. Sutter, and Howard T... more

*Time-Sensitive* Our final WXR cruise is almost sold out, grab your spot before June 4th, ... more

Today, we explore why writers place information in the order they do. From broad-to-narrow... more

Today, our hosts discuss how to make every part of your story feel connected through causa... more

Today, we are joined by Margaret Dunlap as we dive into the three-act structure. This trad... more

Today we zoom out from moment-to-moment tension and look at how escalation and de-escalati... more

Today, we’re talking about tension and release as a kind of call and response, and how tha... more

Today, we’re talking about how to use contrast to make key moments in your story hit harde... more

Today, we’re talking about the “try-fail cycle” and why failure is essential to making the... more

Today, we’re taking on the idea of the “soggy middle” and why stories start to lose moment... more

When writing feels harder than it should, the problem might not be the story— it might be ... more

Sometimes the fastest way to hook a reader is to start with something exploding. In this e... more

Grounding a reader starts in the very first lines of a story. Where are we? Who are we wit... more

In this episode, we explore what it really means to set reader expectations at the beginni... more

To celebrate Mary Robinette’s birthday today (!!), she is taking us inside the craft (and ... more

In this episode, our hosts dive into what makes a strong beginning and why it matters so m... more

Today, our hosts dig into how stories can feel fresh without losing what readers love. The... more

Our hosts take on the Hero’s Journey—where it came from, why it endures, and why it can ma... more

Plot isn’t a set of commandments—it’s a collection of patterns we’ve learned to recognize.... more

This week, we turn our attention to one of the most stubborn traps writers fall into: assu... more

Season 21 kicks off with a new theme, a fresh tagline, and a renewed focus on what Writing... more

As our 20th season comes to a close, we reflect on the end of 2025 and a major transition ... more

A workflow that made daily writing (and comics) possible—Howard Tayler takes us through tw... more

2 quick reminders: Scholarship applications for our 2026 cruise are open now until Decembe... more

This week, Mary Robinette pulls back the curtain on some of fiction’s sneakiest power tool... more

In this episode, DongWon digs into one of the business topics of our upcoming craft book: ... more

Dan shares his experience of rebuilding and reinventing his writing career from his sectio... more

In this episode, Erin returns with the final two “rules” from her section of our forthcomi... more

In this episode, Erin shares a sneak peek from her section of our forthcoming book, Now Go... more