Writing Excuses

Mette Ivie Harrison joins us to discuss creative non-fiction, the genre in which the tools of creative writing are applied to factually accurate narratives. Her latest book, Iron Mom, tells the story of how and why Mette  became a triathlete. We talk about how those tools are applied, and where the line between fiction and non-fiction might be drawn.

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes the stars align and serendipity is made manifest. And sometimes Mercedes Lackey happens to be hanging around at the same convention you're recording podcasts at, and sits herself down to answer questions with you. Or rather with us.

Here are the questions. You'll need to listen to the podcast for the answers:

* (For Mercedes) How do you stay relevant through the numerous changes in the industry?

* How do you go about creating a title for a project?

* Is blending 1st-person and 3rd-person viewpoints cheating?

* (For Howard) Should marketing research be done before launching an online story?

* When, where, and how do you end chapters?

* How can you tell if you're overusing narrative language?

* How should a young writer balance their writing time against other activities?

* What are the parts of being an author that you hate (specifically the non-writing parts)?

* (For Mercedes) What advice do you have for finding alpha & beta readers?

* Is it distracting to write out a character's accent?

 

Joel Shepherd joined Brandon, Mary, and Howard before a live audience at GenCon Indy to talk about writing hard science fiction where the science in question is social science. He's studied international relations, interned on Capitol Hill, and is working a PhD in the field. His books reflect this background.

If hard science fiction is an exploration of what is technically, physically possible given a set of circumstances, hard social science fiction is no different. Further than that, however, good research in the social sciences will allow an author to build complex and realistic plots, stories in which character motivations go much further than picking a side.

Recorded live at GenCon Indy, Sam Logan of Sam & Fuzzy joins Brandon, Mary, and Howard to talk about long-form storytelling. Sam's webcomic has been running for eleven years now, and has evolved over time into something of an epic.

Sam talks to us about how he got started, and how the strip morphed from its gag-a-day origins into what it is today (is this similar to what happened with Howard and Schlock Mercenary? Maaaaaybe.) He also talks about his planning process, and the manner in which he structures the smaller stories to fit inside the larger ones.

If you're looking for a good starting point for Sam and Fuzzy, Sam says that point is right here.

Scott Lynch, author of The Republic of Thieves, joins Brandon, Howard, and Mary before a live audience at GenCon Indy to talk about roguishness.

Why do we like rogues? What can a roguish character accomplish in terms of story purposes? Can the rogue accomplish things a more classically moral character cannot? Most importantly, what do authors need to do in order to help readers like the rogues, rather than just thinking they're awful people?

Aeryn Rudel, publications manager (it's like the editor-in-chief) of Privateer Press's Skull Island X imprint, joins us to talk about editing. Obligatory disclaimer -- Aeryn is Howard's boss when Howard writes things like "Extraordinary Zoology."

Aeryn begins by explaining to us what it is that he's looking for in works, in the authors with whom he works, and how writers might prepare themselves for this kind of work, but his real job here on the 'cast is to talk to us about the role of the editor. Much of that role deals with continuity of to the setting and the tone of the piece, but there's plenty more.

Wesley Chu again joins Brandon, Mary, Howard, and a live audience at GenCon Indy, this time for a Q&A. The audience handed us the following questions:

* How do you write 1st-person POV from a gender other than your own?

* Do you have a set schedule for writing time?

* How do you boost your word count without padding, AND without adding characters?

* How can prose be used to convey emotion without stating character feelings outright?

Those are the questions. Listen to the episode for the answers!

Tom Doherty, founder, publisher, and president of Tor books, joins us to talk about publishing. If you've ever wondered what a publisher does -- not the company, the human being to whom the editors report -- this is the episode for you. Whether you want to work as an editor, want to find the right editor, or just have a burning curiosity about this industry, Tom has the answers. He talks to us about the history of the industry, the changes it's currently undergoing, and the direction it may take in the future.

Wesley Chu joins Brandon, Mary, Howard, and a live audience at GenCon Indy for a discussion of writing realistic melee fights. Wes has lots of martial arts experience, he learned rope-dart fighting from Scorpion, he has worked as a stunt man, and his latest book, The Deaths of Tao, is out this week!

He talks to us about melee fighting. What sorts of things knock us out (ahem) of the story? How can we realistically portray combat without losing the heroic, incredible edge we want in our story?

Out of Order Episode Moment: Scott Lynch's episode was mentioned, but has not aired yet. It's okay. We'll get to it.

Mary pitched this subject to us -- it's a discussion of the difference between that voice that says "this will make your story better" and the voice that says "nothing can save this story because you're awful and should quit forever."

You've probably heard the staple bit of sage advice that which says, in essence, "silence your internal editor." Some of us need that internal editor, though, and the distinction between the editor and the heckler is critically important. And some of us need to train up those voices in our heads so that they say something useful.