Characters are the focus of the Writing Excuses Master Class during February, and we lead off with an exploration of a common problem: the main character is often the least interesting person in the story. And of course, in the process of exploring the problem, we look at the sorts of things you can do in order to solve them. It something each of the hosts has struggled with, and we talk about the solutions we've arrived at (insomuch as we've managed to solve the problem.)

Sidebar: In Season 9 we talked about character attributes using a slider metaphor. If you want to catch up on that, here are links to Episode 9.1 (the three-prong model), Episode 9.25(sympathy), Episode 9.26 (competence), and Episode 9.32 (proactivity.)

Writing Excuses 10.5: What Do You Mean My Main Character is Boring?

Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.

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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!

Writing Excuses 10.52: Moving On, with Ellen Kushner

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?

Writing Excuses 10.51: Q&A on Showing Your Work, with Daniel José Older

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.

Writing Excuses 10.50: How to Hand-Sell Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors, with Michael Underwood and Marco Palmieri

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.

Writing Excuses 10.49: What Do I Do With This Thing Now?

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.

Writing Excuses 10.5: What Do You Mean My Main Character is Boring?

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