20.05: The Lens of Who

Writing Excuses

Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

Fiction, Business, Careers

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today we are introducing the “lens of who” – which means talking about characters. We try to break big character ideas down into their elements. For instance, what do terms like "relatability" or "depth" of character really mean?

One of the main take-aways from this episode is that your characters each have different sets of experiences, which *should* mean they could each describe the same exact thing differently. And you should know how to write this.

Homework: Interview two friends and yourself, asking them the questions below. Write down their answers (and yours) as completely as possible.

1) The most pain they've had

2) The happiest memory they think of first

3) A description of a person and circumstance that positively and dramatically influenced them *before the age of 18*. Family member, teacher, boss at 1st job, etc.

P.S. Want to come write with us in 2025?! Our retreat registration is open, and we are starting to fill up! We are going to unlock our creative processes in Minnesota and explore Story Refinement as we cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Learn more here.

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

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Transcript

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0:00.0	We're excited to announce that our 2025 retreats are open for registration.
0:05.4	Join us in Minnesota, June 15th through the 21st for a regenerate retreat where you will learn new skills, generate new ideas, or focus on your writing.
0:16.4	With lots of opportunities for restoration and networking, you'll leave refreshed and reinvigorated.
0:22.2	Tickets start at $1,500 per person. You can also sail the high seas, September 18th through 26th.
0:30.4	We'll sail out of Los Angeles on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas and explore the Mexican Riviera while refining our writing. Whether you're
0:40.1	revising a story, reworking a character arc, or tweaking your prose, you'll leave more confident
0:45.5	in your current story. Tickets start at 2650 for writers and 2350 for family members. To learn more,
0:53.9	visit writingexcuses.com slash retreats.
0:57.2	This episode of writing excuses has been brought to you by our listeners, patrons, and friends.
1:03.1	If you would like to learn how to support this podcast, visit
1:06.0	www. patreon.com slash writing excuses.
1:12.5	Season 20, episode 5.
1:16.9	This is writing excuses.
1:19.5	The Lens of Who?
1:21.2	I'm Mary Robinette.
1:22.7	I'm Howard.
1:23.6	I'm Don Juan.
1:24.4	I'm Erin.
1:25.3	And we've got a whole bunch of episodes
1:27.5	queued up for you
1:28.8	talking about the lens of who.
1:32.0	And I want to introduce this tool,
	...

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