Writing Excuses

This podcast references episode 9.13 where we introduce a three-slider model for characters. Here we talk about character sympathy, or rather the sympathy that the reader will have for the character, and how we as writers go about adjusting that sympathy -- moving the slider, if you will. We also talk about why we want to make that adjustment, whether we're dealing with villains, side-characters, or protagonists.

Some of our tricks for moving the slider include changing the characters around them, controlling the distance between the reader and the character, showing character weaknesses, and using humor to mask the unsympathetic moments. We talk about how we've deployed these tools in our own work, and how we've seen it done well in the work of others.

Side quests come in a couple of forms -- they may be something inside the book that takes the characters away from the main plotline, or they may be adventures that take place outside of the book itself.

We talk about the first type, and how to make sure they're in the book for the right reasons, citing examples from The Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit, Redshirts, The Way of Kings, and The Hollow City among other stories.

In covering the second type, we talk about how ebooks have made ancillary, side-quest releases more common, and we cite the book trailers for the Partials series, the Glamourist Histories Christmas Stories, Steelheart, and the Schlock Mercenary Bonus Stories.

Can you use a character with a limited viewpoint to introduce a reader to the fantastic elements of the world you're building? Even if from that character's point of view, those elements are not fantastic? In short, how do you get a fish to tell you about water?

This question came from a listener, and before we set about attempting to answer it, we need to establish that this is really difficult. It is one of the grand achievements of well-written genre fiction. There are lots of hacks we use to get around the problem, but what we try to do in this cast is answer the question without any of those tricks. Of course, we also want to cover the hacks, because we use them.

Microcasting! It's a Q&A, with each question serving as its own little micro-podcast. This week's questions:

* Should you include your prologue as one of the three chapters you send in a submission packet?

* How do you get out of the spot where your protagonist has no motivation?

* What's the best way to prove to a spouse that your writing is more than a hobby?

* How do you get back into a project after taking a break from it?

* Where do you start research for historical fiction?

* Let's say you sold your first book. How do you tackle book 2 in a series?

* How do you go about writing an overarching setting, like Brandon's "Cosmere?"

* What part about being a writer do you most enjoy, besides the actual writing?

Those are the questions. You'll have to listen for the answers. Fortunately they're not hidden or anything. We just come right out and say them.

Brandon has some rules about magic systems -- rules he uses as guideposts for his own writing. In his own words, "I name them Sanderson's Laws partially out of hubris..."

Sanderson's third law states, in effect, that a thorough exploration of a single magical ability is better than the creation of lots of different abilities--going for depth rather than breadth. And to immediately break that rule, we explore the wider application of this rule in other arenas.

We talk about how we apply this principle--depth rather than breadth--in many aspects of our own work, and then we drill back down (*ahem*) on its application in the creation of magic systems.

 

 

Let's poke the Internet!

Of course, we may want to just sit on our hands for a few minutes and think before we poke...

Enough thinking. Let's talk about talking about things. As 21st-century writers, we often spend time writing the things we think on assorted topics. We might blog these things, tweet them, or post comments to other people's blogs. And before we do those things, we should consider the consequences, and not just the possible fallout from what we're saying -- all the consequences.

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't express our opinions, of course. This is just a reminder that choosing to express is also choosing a bunch of other stuff.

And on the outside chance you find yourself needing to apologize for something you've said, well, here's a link to Scalzi's Whatever regarding Apologies.

Dave Farland's Writing Workshops sponsored us for this bonus episode! Both Brandon and Dan have studied under Dave, and we're all happy to wholeheartedly recommend his workshops to you. If you can't fly to his place, well, visit MyStoryDoctor.com and take the online course.

 

 

We talk about characters a lot, which is fitting since characters are what make things go in most of our favorite books. Brandon introduces a new model for examining characters in which three primary attributes - Competence, Proactivity, and Sympathy - are contrasted. We treat each one as if controlled by a fader or slider, like on a mixing console, and we look at what the relative positions of those sliders do to a character.

It's only a model, obviously, and it's not how we go about starting a character, but it has proven useful in troubleshooting characters who aren't accomplishing the story purposes we want them to accomplish.

Aaand we're microcasting again! A Q&A episode by any other name would sound as neat. Also neat? Eric James Stone joins us again!

* What writing rule do you break the most?

* When you review your novel do you print it out and mark it up, or do you edit on the computer?

* How long do you wait between finishing a novel and starting the editing process?

* What is the number-one issue that you have to overcome each day in order to put words to paper?

* How do you feel with the fear of screwing up when you're writing the other?

* When giving a book as a gift, how do you decide on a book to give?

* Any advice for people wanting to write a grand, universal story for their fantasy novel?

* Is there a place you go to be inspired to write?

* Do you ever have trouble writing characters out of the story (you know, by killing them)?

* How do you strike the balance between too little description and too much?

A Note Regarding The Audio: Brandon's microphone died just before we started, and we didn't catch it, so if he sounds echoey it's because we had to get his track from the other three microphones in the room.

 

 

 

Microcasting! It's what we call our Q&A episodes, because they're like multiple mini-casts. Eric James Stone joins us to help out. Here are the questions we field:

* Should a pantser rewrite their book once they know the whole story?

* What do you find most useful from an editor?

* Story creation is cool, but can Writing Excuses talk more about sentence-level work?

* What advice do you have for pitching to agents and editors?

* What's the worst writing advice you've ever gotten?

* How do you encourage a writer-friend who is down on their work?

Give episode 9.11 a listen for our answers.

Nancy Fulda joins us for a discussion of engaging characters. We begin by explaining how engaging characters don't need to be sympathetic, but certainly can be, and then we head into why we find particular characters engaging. We also talk about how this plays into the villain problem, where the villain is more interesting than the hero is.