Writing Excuses

Just a reminder that we will be talking about a lot of spoilers, so if you haven’t read The Fifth Season, go and do so now! As we dive into N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, we wanted to tell you why we chose this work to examine the importance of structure. The structure of the book is the device through which we are understanding this world, in a way that feels radical in relation to what we normally see in fiction. We chose this novel because the structure is visible and active in a way that many other works aren’t. Jemisin’s structurally audacious novel is punctuated by perspective shifts, parallelism, and innovative approaches to the forward movement inherent in stories. How does the structure affect the way we take in narrative, and what can you learn from this? 

P.S. Do you want a signed special edition copy of The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin? Preorder The Orbit Gold Edition set before November 19th to get 20% off! Visit orbitgoldeditions.com to order. 

Thing of the Week: Rest In Pieces 

Homework: Look at the Table of Contents of The Fifth Season and, without opening the book again, write down the one important thing you remember from that chapter. As we talk through things, refer back to this list and see what you need to add.

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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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We sat down with the author of Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark, in order to wrap up our close reading of tension. We talked with Clark about his influences, which ranged from Birth of a Nation to Beyonce’s “Formation.” We dive into contextual vs. narrative tension, why food is the unsung hero of worldbuilding, and Clark’s unconscious desires that helped this novella come to fruition. 

Thing of the Week: The Terror (on Netflix) 

Homework: Watch Midnight Mass on Netflix. Notice how it builds various areas of tension. How did this happen? What were the different areas of tension, and how were they distinct from each other? Now use this in your own writing. 

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

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This episode, we’re talking about how important tension is in creating a world where your readers feel fully immersed. We talk about the importance of using tropes and techniques while also using variation in order to make your story less predictable. We dive into the difference between tension and conflict, and talk about how you can use the former to help the ladder. Tension can be found in movement, but also in inaction. We touch on tension's effect on try-fail cycles, inverted pyramids, and worldbuilding.  

Thing of the Week: The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir (a novella translated by Mary Robinette Kowal) 

Homework: Take a look at your outline and move one of the major conflict points to a different act forward, and then try and move it to a later act. Consider how this changes the pacing and tension.

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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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When you’re subverting your readers’ expectations, do you need to do the exact opposite of what they’re anticipating? Today, we dive into this question, using various examples of books and movies. We then examine how P. Djèlí Clark does this throughout Ring Shout– does he subvert our expectations completely? Not always. In fact, sometimes he does the opposite. 

Thing of the Week: White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link 

Homework: Write a scene listening to three different piece of music that move you in different ways.

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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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Today, we’re using music as an entry-point for tension. Howard introduces us to the power of the half-step, and other musical metaphors that can help you to incorporate tension in a new way to your writing. And then DongWon updates the metaphor with an electronic dance music analogy. 

We also dive into questions you can ask as you weave tension into your work in progress, such as, “what does your character have to gain by withholding their secret?” 

Thing of the Week: Clueless (the movie!) 

Homework: Write a scene three times. Same scene, and make sure to write it from scratch three times. But listen to different music each time.

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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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Today, we’re talking about the tension that is actually happening on the page, and the contextual tension is what the reader is bringing to the table. Ring Shout lives in a place of contextual tension and we are excited to dive into how you can use both types of tension in your own writing. Your readers will always bring their own context to your work; and if you think about this, you can use tension in both big and small ways in your work. 

Thing of the Week: Random Friday - Solar Fields (Album) 

Homework: Take a scene you’re working on, and put a piece of information at the start that is only meant for the reader. Then, revise the scene, believing that the reader has that information. 

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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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Compared to This is How You Lose The Time War, which we read earlier this year, Ring Shout deals with a very real world. This discordance, where authors make their audience uncomfortable by creating things that shouldn’t go together, is part of the power of this novella, and part of the reason we chose to dive into tension! Our favorite metaphor about tension from this episode comes from Howard: potential movement (imagine a rock at the top of a hill). 

Note: this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers! 

Thing of the Week: Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix) 

Homework: Take a movie or a book you've read that you find highly suspenseful and write an outline covering the major plot beats. Look at where tension is created and where it is released, and build a map of how it evolves over the course of the story

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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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Today we have a wildcard episode for you! We are talking about all the different ways you can sustain your writing career. Our host, Erin Roberts, has done an incredible job of applying for grants, fellowships, and residencies. So, we put her on the spot and got her to dole out advice and insights to help you sustain and develop your writing. 

Thing of the Week: “Extreme Economies: What Life at the World's Margins Can Teach Us about Our Own Future” by Richard Davies 

Homework: Write a one-paragraph personal artistic statement.

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers! 

Liner Notes: 

Resources related to grants and fellowships:  

Creative Capital's monthly list of Artist Opportunities: https://creative-capital.org/category/artist-opportunities/

Philanthropy News Digest's lists of RFPs, which can be filtered to just those for Arts & Culture: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rfps 

→ Link to the filtered list here: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rfps/(search)/?tags_interest[]=arts+%2F+culture

The Create Daily's Opportunity Roundup Newsletter (requires a sign up at the link below):  https://www.thecreatedaily.com/community

For residency opportunities, the Open Calls list from Artist Communities Alliance: https://artistcommunities.org/directory/open-calls

Profellow list of fellowships:

https://www.profellow.com

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

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Today we’re taking a break from our Close Reading Series to discuss writing workshops and retreats! We dive into how to find and prepare to attend a workshop or a retreat and what to think about for organizing your own. 

Thing of the Week: Solo RPGs! (Strider Mode, Star Trek Adventures, Mythic Game Master) 

Homework: Go find 3 writing retreats you are interested in attending. 1 retreat-focused, 1 workshop-focused and 1 combination. Then think about what your expectations would be for each one.

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers! 

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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Sandra Tayler, and Sarah Sward. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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We sat down with CL Clark to talk about character—specifically, how they build different POV characters in the compressed space of a short story. We dive into plot processing (a tool CL Clark has learned from Mary Robinette!), how to specify the stakes of your world, and how to build distinct characters. 

Thing of the Week: Reasons Not To Worry: How to be Stoic in Chaotic Times by Brigid Delaney

Homework: “4 Scenes About Power” — Write four scenes: (1) a scene in which your protagonist does something to someone else, (2) a scene in which someone does something for someone else, (3) a scene in which your protagonist has something done to them, and (4) a scene in which your protagonist does something with someone else. 

Liner Notes: 

Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin 

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Tension! Starting September 1, we’ll be diving into Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. Please note, this novella uses tools from the horror genre to add tension, and this can be intense for some readers! 

Sign up for our newsletter: 

https://writingexcuses.com

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

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Our Sponsors:
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* Check out Talkiatry and use my code talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com
* Check out Tin Can and use my code tincan.com/WX for a great deal: https://tincan.kids


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