How does a room sound? Does your childhood have a taste? What is the smell of summer? 

In this episode, we dive into the sensory layers that anchor worldbuilding, character, and perspective. We explore how invoking smell, sound, touch, and taste can transport readers more powerfully than sight alone. What makes a setting feel real and lived in on the page? How do the where and the when hit our reader's and character's senses— and how real is too real?

Thing of the Week: Darkfield  

Homework: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 exercise from C. L. Polk: list five things your character can see, 4 things they can hear, 3 things they can touch, 2 things they can smell, and 1 thing they can taste. 

P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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Time isn't just a backdrop—it’s a powerful tool in storytelling. In this episode, we explore how time shapes narratives, beyond just plot structure. From magnifying moments in a fight scene to revealing a character’s morals through temporal shifts, we unpack how timing, pacing, and the passage of time can deepen emotional impact, build tension, and elevate a scene's resonance. 

We discuss practical techniques like character memory, flashbacks, and sensory shifts, while also considering how time reveals inner worlds—through fear, anticipation, or even a late-night zoomie session with a talkative cat. Whether you're writing action scenes or quiet reflections, this episode offers practical insights for using time as a dynamic storytelling tool.

Homework: Change the time at which a scene takes place. Try to move something from day to night, or spring to fall. What do you notice?

P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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This week, we’re digging into context—what it is, why it matters, and how it can totally transform your storytelling. Whether you're working in fantasy, sci-fi, or anything in between, the details you choose to include (or leave out) can make your world feel rich, real, and emotionally resonant.

We talk about using context to deepen conflict, sharpen stakes, and land those emotional beats. And yes, we also get into puppets, geology, and the perils of overbuilding your world. (Spoiler: nobody needs to know how many toes your goblins have. . . unless it really matters.)

Homework: Take a context, some piece of world building that you've done, and come up with three different narratives that you could write that use that context. Then separately, make a narrative that you have written and come up with three new contexts in which that narrative would succeed. 

Show Notes: Learn more about how Campfire can help you outline your novel, organize your world building, and publish your story! 

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. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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Today we’re talking about setting, which in speculative fiction is often called worldbuilding. But once you’ve finished building the world, how do you convey that world on the page? That is, how do time and place shape your story—and your characters? 

In this episode, we’re talking about the power of setting through the lens of “where and when.” From daily life details like transportation and sanitation to larger societal pressures like war or peace, we explore how characters are shaped by their environment. Whether you’re building a brand new world or writing alternate history, setting isn't just a backdrop—it’s a driving force in your storytelling.

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. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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What does cooking have to do with writing? In this episode, we explore how the creative choices we make in the kitchen—whether it’s improvising with missing ingredients or following a beloved recipe—mirror the choices we make on the page. From frozen dinners to fine dining, we discuss how all forms of creativity have value, how skills can be learned, and how the act of making—food or fiction—is, at its core, an act of nourishment.

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. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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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, Erin Roberts was joined by Marshall Carr—our incredible recording engineer who is also a teacher during the school year— and author Mark Oshiro—who also teaches both kids and adults! For those who don’t know, our host Erin is a Creative Writing professor at UT Austin.  

We wanted to record an episode with these three educators to give them a platform to talk about the art—and complexity and passion—of teaching. They discussed how they came to teaching, what they get from teaching as a writer, and why they continue to teach. 

Thing of the Week: All This and More by Peng Shepherd 

Homework: This homework is from Marshall! If you’re considering teaching, think of something you’re passionate about (it doesn’t have to be writing). Then, create a lesson for that thing that would work for your younger self. 

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. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mark Oshiro, Marshall Carr, and Erin Roberts. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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This season, we’ve been exploring different approaches to writing through the lens of other crafts and their respective toolkits. We had the pleasure of speaking with furniture-maker, writer, and publisher Christopher Schwarz. Christopher is an incredible artist, writer, and is also the founder of Lost Arts Press, which publishes books on hand tool woodworking. 

We talked with Christopher about his creative trajectory, and the intersection of tools, methods, and crafts. 

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. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song and Howard Tayler. Your guest was Christopher Schwarz. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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People often think of first person POV as the most intimate voice. But in a way, we think second person might be more intimate. With second person, you’re forcing the reader’s subjectivity into the fiction itself. You are integrating the person who is reading the story into the experience of being in the story– in a way that can be a little disorienting (or fun) for the reader. 

In the world of POVs, the second person can sometimes feel like a chaotic perspective. There are several different versions, depending on who the “you” is addressing. Is it the reader? Is it another character? What happens when “you” appears in a letter within a story? Second person often appears in conversation and on social media because it’s a way to draw your conversational group into the experience that you personally had. So, when should you use it in your writing, and how can you use it to help advance or deepen your story?  

Homework: Write something in the second person, and think of something you’re getting across in the scene. Now, try to convey it with a “you” that’s directed towards another character. Then, as a “you” in a letter. Finally, write it again where the “you” is the reader themselves. 

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. 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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With today’s episode, we are continuing our discussion on proximity by focusing on another POV: third person omniscient. In omniscient POV, the narrator can see all and move into any character's head. It's sometimes seen as old fashioned, like Jane Austen. But writers like John Scalzi and Liza Palmer are using it to good effect as a way of exerting control over exactly what the audience sees in ways that are similar to a filmmaker. So why is it so hard to do well? And what does it allow the writer to do that no other voice does?

Homework: Describe a street scene where your main character is walking down the street. Move us through this scene through the perspective of 5-6 bystanders observing this happening. Focus on sensory details: what is everybody seeing/ smelling/ looking at? And how does this establish where your main character is in the scene? 

P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 60% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats

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Credits: 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.

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Third person limited is one of the most popular storytelling lenses. Yet it is often understood differently by various authors and readers. So today we’re diving into the complexities, intricacies, and beautiful constraints of third person limited—don’t worry, we’ll be tackling third person omniscient in our next episode! 

With third person limited POV, you get to use some of the tools of first person, while being able to back away from the character a little. We’re going to address the various levels of interiority and proximity that characters are afforded, why this matters, and what it would look like in your own writing. 

Homework: Take a scene that you’ve written and write it in the closest third person limited that you can possibly stand. Then, write it again at a slightly more distanced, but still limited, third person. Look at these two scenes side-by-side and ask yourself: what did I do differently in each? What did I emphasize? Then, figure out which perspective you want to use when actually writing this scene. 

P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats

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Credits: 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.

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