Writing Excuses31 Aug 2025

20.35: Deep Dive into “All the Birds in the Sky” - Using the Lens of Where

If you still want to read All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, you can purchase it here! Today we’re talking about places and place-moments. We’re looking at how Anders uses context, details, and relationships to create a deep, familiar, and authentic reading experience for us, even if we’ve never been to the locations in the story. In this episode we’re also analyzing how Anders creates lived-in locations by including non-essential sensory details that imply the rest of the world. Homework: List all the locations in your WIP (work in progress). Next to each one, describe its story functions: grounding, wondrous, plot-logical, and/or worldbuilding. P.S. Want to come write with us in September 2025 (we know that’s soon)?! 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. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson. Join Our Writing Community! Writing Retreats Newsletter Patreon Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Facebook Our Sponsors: * Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/EXCUSES for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com * Check out Talkiatry and use my code talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Episoder(1007)

21.38: Rules, Tools, and History’s Fools

“Tools, not rules” gets flipped on its head this week. Our hosts revisit the Turkey City Lexicon, a snarky collection of writing “rules” that circulated widely among speculative fiction writers in 198...

20 Sep 23min

21.37: Barrier Breaking: The World Is on Fire

How do you keep writing when the world is on fire? This week, our hosts talk about protecting our narrative energy when the news, social media, or our own lives feel overwhelming. We explore boundarie...

13 Sep 28min

21.36: Twists: How to Make the Unexpected Feel Inevitable

A great twist shouldn’t just surprise us—it should make us rethink everything that came before. This week, our hosts explore reader expectations, misdirection, and hiding clues in plain sight. We look...

6 Sep 23min

21.35: The Four Acts of Kishōtenketsu

This week, our hosts explore kishōtenketsu, an Asian story structure that appears under different names in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Unlike the Western three-act structure, it isn’t built arou...

30 Aug 21min

21.34: Knowing the Distance

How close is your reader to the story? Should they be closer? Today, our hosts get nerdy about narrative distance: the space between reader, narrator, character, and world. We talk POV, sensory detail...

23 Aug 23min

21.33: When To Shift Gears

A story doesn’t always need the same tools from beginning to end. In this episode, we talk about recognizing when it’s time to shift gears—and how to make those changes feel intentional rather than ab...

16 Aug 22min

21.32: Barrier Breaking- Time Constraints

There never seems to be enough time to write—but is time really the problem? Our hosts explore the reality of working within limited hours, changing life circumstances, and competing priorities. We sh...

9 Aug 27min

21.31: Deconstructing Save the Cat

Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder was published in 2005 and is widely popular because it offers a reliable, repeatable storytelling framework. Today we are ...

2 Aug 27min