Writing Excuses

Today, we’re taking a higher view on the techniques we’ve been talking about over the last four episodes and focusing on how you can use our takeaways in your own writing. We’ll go over our final thoughts on C.L. Clark’s short stories (until next week’s episode, when we interview them!). We’ll also try to summarize the lessons we've learned from Clark and our favorite bits of their writing. 

Thing of the Week: Rude Tales of Magic (podcast) 

Homework: Write a character study in which two characters meet twice. Something momentous has happened in between the meetings. Imply it by the way those characters have changed.

Liner Notes: 

Axis of Power (available on Patreon) - Ability, Role, Relationship, Status

DREAM from Elizabeth Boyle - Denial, Resistance, Exploration, Acceptance, Manifestation

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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We have a theory that we want to work through on today’s episode: agency is the ability to take action, whereas choices are more about the interior life of the character. We use Mary Robinette’s talking cat, try-fail cycles, and C.L. Clark’s Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home in order to examine this theory and its underpinnings. 

Thing of the Week: Marginalia by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine) 

Homework: Create a scene in which your character has very little agency, but still must make a choice. Do your best to make that choice still feel critical.

Liner Notes: 

Fluent pet buttons - Elsie the talking cat

“We Are the Mountain: A Look at the Inactive Protagonist” by Vida Cruz

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

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Our episode today focuses on C.L. Clark’s short story “You Perfect Broken Thing” for how the character's stakes shape the barriers facing her. We use this story to examine how to tell the difference between barriers versus stakes. We also examine how to do this in a compressed space– whether that’s a short story, a single scene, or a compressed timeline. 

Thing of the Week: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Homework: Write a short scene in which your character has to deal with a mundane obstacle, then rewrite it as if that small obstacle has life-or-death stakes. How did you shift it to make the stakes clearer?

Liner Notes: 

Sandra Tayler's new book, Structuring Life To Support Creativity. Preorder your copy today at sandratayler.com! 

And help fund Mary Robinette Kowal’s Silent Spaces, a collection of short stories on Kickstarter here: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mary-robinette/silent-spaces?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=silent%20spaces%20

(Or go to kickstarter.com and type in “Silent Spaces”) 

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

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Today, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s  “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it's a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you can still understand their internal landscapes by what they seee and notice. How do these external indicators help us understand the internal worlds of the characters? 

We mention two infographics during the episode– “Intersections of Self (Trauma Points)" and “Axes of Power."  These are available on Patreon (they’re posted publicly, so anyone can view them!) Feel free to use them in your own writing, and let us know if you find them helpful! 

Thing of the Week: “Bodies” (on Netflix) 

Homework: Pick a major character in your story and write two short summaries of the character arc, one using your original motivation and goal, and a second with a different motivation but the same goal.

Liner Notes: 

Sandra Tayler's new book, Structuring Life To Support Creativity. Preorder your copy today at sandratayler.com! 

And help fund Mary Robinette Kowal’s Silent Spaces, a collection of short stories on Kickstarter here: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mary-robinette/silent-spaces?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=silent%20spaces%20

(Or go to kickstarter.com and type in “Silent Spaces”) 

Sign up for our newsletter: 

https://writingexcuses.com

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

Join Our Writing Community! 

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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
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Today we introduce our next close reading series—we’re focusing on character through the lens of three of C.L. Clark’s short stories:  “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home”. They are all hyperlinked above and available online for free through Uncanny Magazine. 

We are so excited to shift our focus to short stories! We love the compressed form, and C.L. Clark’s stories exemplify the freedom that exists within the genre itself. They masterfully combine light world-building with deep character development. We’re excited to dive into each story over the next five episodes, ending with an interview with C.L. Clark! 

We recommend reading these short stories ahead of time, but this episode is fine to listen to as a primer for why you should read them!  

Thing of the Week: Monster of the Week (a tabletop role-playing game) AND Sandra Tayler's new book, Structuring Life To Support Creativity. Preorder your copy today at sandratayler.com.

Homework: Write the sentence "[Character] is someone who...." with different endings for an entire page. Read them over and pick one that surprises or intrigues you, then write a short scene showcasing that trait.

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

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Today we are joined by the incredible falconer Krista Hong Edwards. Krista was kind enough to take our hosts out with her falcons, and we had the most amazing time! Krista sat down with us to talk about falcons, literature, and much more. Check out our liner notes (below) for all of the texts we reference! 

Thing of the Week: Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey: A Novel Book by Kathleen Rooney

Homework: Look up your local falconry club and see if you can attend their next event!

Liner Notes: 

See more of Krista, her falcons, and her mission on Instagram at @kristafeather and @feathersforthought

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 

“The Goshawk” by T.H. White

“H is for Hawk” by Helen McDonald

“Untethered Sky” by Fonda Lee

To find Krista’s Articles: Hawkchawk Magazine & Pursuit Falconry 

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Character! Starting July 7, we’ll be diving into three short stories by C.L. Clark. These are all available for free through Uncanny Magazine. 

Character: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by CL Clark (starting July 7) 

And a sneak peak on the rest of the year… 

Tension: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (starting September 1) 

Structure: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (starting October 13) 

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

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Learning is great, but how do you translate it into doing without getting overwhelmed? What is the difference between learning in the classroom and executing when you're on your own?

Marshall, our incredible recording engineer, just finished an MFA program. Congrats, Marshall!! On today’s episode, we gril Marshall in order to understand his takeaways from the program. Specifically, we are interested in how he takes everything he learned in the classroom and turns it into actionable things he’s doing on the page. We talk community, motivation, and how to consistently make time for your writing. 

Thing of the Week: The Fall of the House of Usher, TV show created by Mike Flanagan

Homework: Take a turn being the teacher– how would you teach a group of people about a concept you’re struggling with in your own work, and what homework would you give them to better understand it? 

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Character! Starting July 7, we’ll be diving into three short stories by C.L. Clark. These are all available for free through Uncanny Magazine. 

Character: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by CL Clark (starting July 7) 

And a sneak peak on the rest of the year… 

Tension: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (starting September 1) 

Structure: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (starting October 13)

Sign up for our newsletter: 

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

Join Our Writing Community! 

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


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We've spent the last month talking about "A Memory Called Empire, and now, we are so excited to welcome the author, Arkady Martine, to the show! On today's episode, we talk with Arkady about the origins of her novel, and dive into how she navigated the dense and intricate world-building. Arkady gives us advice on what not to do, where to look for your first ideas, and what her writing process looks like. 

Thing of the Week: 

“The Shamshine Blind” By Paz Pardo

Homework:

Using the character and the story you are currently working on, look at the nearest building you can see out your window, and describe it from their point of view. What does that say about the world that you are in and the world that they are in? 

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Character! Starting July 7, we’ll be diving into three short stories by C.L. Clark. These are all available for free through Uncanny Magazine. 

Character: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by CL Clark (starting July 7) 

And a sneak peak on the rest of the year… 

Tension: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (starting September 1) 

Structure: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (starting October 13) 

Sign up for our newsletter: 

https://writingexcuses.com

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

Join Our Writing Community! 

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


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Today, the gang talks about their final thoughts on Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire.” We conclude with some lessons we’ve learned through analyzing her work, and we share our favorite bits! 

Thing of the Week: Pasión de las Pasiones

Homework: Find a piece of world building that you love and come up with another way to use it in your work in progress. 

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Next up is Character! Starting July 7, we’ll be diving into three short stories by C.L. Clark. These are all available for free through Uncanny Magazine. 

Character: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by CL Clark (starting July 7) 

And a sneak peak on the rest of the year… 

Tension: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (starting September 1) 

Structure: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (starting October 13) 

Sign up for our newsletter: 

https://writingexcuses.com

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

Join Our Writing Community! 

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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
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The imago technology lies at the heart of this novel thematically and narratively. How does this technology create a world, delineate Mahit's culture from Teixcalaan, and ask enormous questions about identity and empire?

Thing of the Week: “Rotten” (Documentary Series available on Netflix)

Homework: Come up with three technological or magical approaches that would raise questions about what it means to be you, to be an individual. Take one of these, and then write a scene wherein two characters argue about it.

For those of you just joining us, here's what our close reading series has covered, and what lays ahead!

Close Reading Series: Texts & Timeline

Voice: This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar (March 17) 

Worldbuilding: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (May 12) 

Character: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home” by CL Clark (July 7) 

Tension: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (September 1) 

Structure: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (October 13)

Sign up for our newsletter: 

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

Join Our Writing Community! 

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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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