So... you're ready for the big-time. You're a writer, and the writing is almost paying the bills. Hurray! Now, how do you balance your life so that you can make the jump to writing full-time? How do you manage your time? How do you keep your artistic side from accusing you of selling out? The Writing Excuses Crew answers these questions and more, as we explore the business side of writing. Also if you listen closely you'll hear Smart Howard somewhere in this podcast. We think he's like Howard's evil twin. And this week from Tor, The SFWA European Hall of Fame

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Pacing... it's all about keeping the tension up, keeping things snappy, and keeping the reader interested. This week the Writing Excuses crew delivers some tips, tricks, and tools you can use to get your story flowing in all the right ways. Also, on Sunday The Salt Lake Tribune posted an article about Podcasting in Utah. Jordan Sanderson and Howard Tayler were interviewed for this article. You can read it here. Writing Excuses, with quotes from Howard, is mentioned near the end of the article. And this week from Tor, The Hidden World, by Paul Park

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This week we continue our discussion on Science Fiction with a discussion of various Sub-genres, why they're different, and what you can do to make sure you know your audience. Sub-genres covered: Space Opera, Military, Hard SF, and Cyberpunk. Sub-genres not covered: Dystopia, Steam-punk, and whatever it is Philip K. Dick writes. Ad: Tor Book Of the Week Keeper Of Dreams

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In the first of our series on genres, we discuss why people write Sci-Fi, what you need to know to write Sci-Fi, and how much we all love unicorns.

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If you're new to Writing Excuses, or if you're just curious about some of the terminology we use, let us break it down for you. These are the rules/tricks that we use to keep ourselves on task.

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Are flaws necessary for villains? What traits make for a really good (err... evil?) villain? What's the difference between Sauron and Gollum? ("That's the LAST time I send you out shopping for Gollums, son...") Liner Notes: The Evil Overlord List, a handy reference for tropes to avoid (or, as the case may be, exploit...)

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Is there a difference between the two? How do you use each appropriately in your writing? And how lovable can a group of mercenaries be?

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Brandon, Howard and Dan talk about their first exposure to RPG games, Gary Gygax and the influence he had on them and the industry.

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What makes a good hero? Why is Dirk Pitt so cool? Why do people like Superman? And why does Howard-with-a-chest-cold start to sound like Barry White? Some of these questions are answered in this episode while others are better left unexplained. LINER NOTES: Howard repeatedly invoked John August's blog post about heroes, protagonists, and main characters. Here it is.

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The first line of any story is the most important. People get drawn in to a book because of the first line. Brandon, Howard and Dan talk about how to start a book and what's important about the first line.

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