The word “genre” has a lot of weight to it. Arguments about whether a particular work is, or is not, part of a given genre are long, and tedious. Season Eleven will not be engaging in those arguments. We’re giving all that a wide miss by adding an adjective, and defining a new term: Elemental Genre.

During 2016 we are going to explore what we write, why we write, and how we write in much the same way as previous seasons have, but our guidepost this year will be this concept of Elemental Genres. In January we’ll stay high-level and firm up the framework. Starting in February we’ll drill down on each of the Elemental Genres, and explore the writing process.

Here’s what the year will look like, month-by-month:

January: Introduction

February: Wonder

March: Idea

April: Adventure

May: Horror

June: Mystery

July: Thriller

August: Humor

September: Relationship

October: Drama

November: Issue

December: Ensemble

We’re really excited about this year’s format, and we’re confident that by examining our writing in this way we’ll learn (and perhaps even teach!) some new things.

Note: 2016 is a leap year, but this episode was recorded in 2015. When we said “it’s not a leap year” we were confused. 

Ellen Kushner joins us for the last episode of Season 10. Per the title, folks, it's time to be done. What does "done" mean? How do you go about declaring a project "finished" when you know there are still things wrong with it? How do you clear your head, your work space, and your life for the next thing you need to do? Out of Excuses: Per Brandon's plug in the episode, registration is open for the 2016 Out of Excuses WritingWorkshop and Retreat!

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Ellen Kushner joins us for the last episode of Season 10. Per the title, folks, it’s time to be done.

What does “done” mean? How do you go about declaring a project “finished” when you know there are still things wrong with it? How do you clear your head, your work space, and your life for the next thing you need to do?

Out of Excuses: Per Brandon’s plug in the episode, registration is open for the 2016 Out of Excuses WritingWorkshop and Retreat!

Daniel José Older joins us for a Q&A on showing your work around. Here are the questions, which were submitted by attendees at the Out of Excuses workshop: What's the best way to meet editors and agents at conventions? How do you write a good query letter? What do you mention as credentials in your query letter? You didn't cover self publishing at all this month. Self publishing is legit, right? Can you submit the same work to more than one agent or editor at a time? Can you re-submit a revised work to an agent who previously rejected the piece?

Our Sponsors:
* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES
* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wx


Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations

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Daniel José Older joins us for a Q&A on showing your work around. Here are the questions, which were submitted by attendees at the Out of Excuses workshop:

* What’s the best way to meet editors and agents at conventions?

* How do you write a good query letter?

* What do you mention as credentials in your query letter?

* You didn’t cover self publishing at all this month. Self publishing is legit, right?

* Can you submit the same work to more than one agent or editor at a time?

* Can you re-submit a revised work to an agent who previously rejected the piece?

Marco Palmieri and Michael Underwood took the stage with Howard and Dan at GenCon Indy 2015 to discuss hand-selling manuscripts. Marco Palmieri is a senior editor at Tor, and Michael Underwood is an author, and is also the North American Sales and Marketing manager for Angry Robot Books. We begin with a list of the things to avoid doing, including the classic mistakes like chasing editors into restrooms, but we quickly move on to where you get started, and what your task list is going to look like. We cover resources like Literary Marketplace, Locus, and Publishers Lunch, and the not-so-secret-anymore #MSWL hash-tag.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES
* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wx


Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're at the end of our Season Ten Master Class, and if you've been diligent about the homework, you may very well have a finished manuscript in your hands. What do you do with it? Daniel José Older joins us for a bit of reminiscence. We talk about some of our first submissions, and what we did right, wrong, and weirdly. We cover our criteria for selecting publishers to whom we'd like to send our stuff, and we include the shiny intangibles in that list. This episode was engineered aboard The Independence of the Seas by Bert Grimm, and mastered in an abandoned missile silo by Alex Jackson.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES
* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wx


Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We’re at the end of our Season Ten Master Class, and if you’ve been diligent about the homework, you may very well have a finished manuscript in your hands. What do you do with it?

Daniel José Older joins us for a bit of reminiscence. We talk about some of our first submissions, and what we did right, wrong, and weirdly. We cover our criteria for selecting publishers to whom we’d like to send our stuff, and we include the shiny intangibles in that list.

 

This episode was engineered aboard The Independence of the Seas by Bert Grimm, and mastered in an abandoned missile silo by Alex Jackson.

Spoiler Alert! We'll be discussing the latest John Cleaver book from Dan Wells with author, podcaster, and unrepentant bacon-lover Dan Wells! If you haven't read it, and you want to be surprised by it, stop listening and grab a copy now!

Our Sponsors:
* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES
* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wx


Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Spoiler Alert! We’ll be discussing the latest John Cleaver book from Dan Wells with author, podcaster, and unrepentant bacon-lover Dan Wells! If you haven’t read it, and you want to be surprised by it, stop listening and grab a copy now!

If you have read it, we apologize on Dan’s behalf for any emotional scarring you may have experienced. Now… give the episode a listen, and learn how Dan managed to do that to you.

 

This episode was engineered aboard The Independence of the Seas by Bert Grimm, and mastered in an orbital communications array by Alex Jackson.