20.06: History and Community

Writing Excuses

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

Fiction, Business, Careers

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you ever wondered how much you need to know about a specific character before you start your story? Do you need to have an entire outline of their childhood before you can start writing in depth about them? We don’t think so! But it is important to listen to these questions as they emerge. This can help you figure out how to incorporate facets of each character’s identity that have narrative weight, instead of crowding the story with small facts that might not be necessary. This can help you layer and backfill as you build out – and discover– your story. Homework: Identify something from your character's life before your story begins - write a scene in which that element of the character weighs on the scene but is never explicitly mentioned. 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. Our Sponsors: * Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/WX * Visit kinsta.com to get your first month free when you sign up today! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Writing doesn't have to be a solitary activity. That's why we host in-person retreats and workshops.
0:07.0	At the writing excuses retreats, you'll get access to classes, one-on-one office hours, critique sessions, and activities to keep you inspired and motivated.
0:16.0	Become a more engaging storyteller and learn how to navigate the publishing landscape.
0:20.0	As you make meaningful
0:21.4	progress on your stories, you'll also build connections with your fellow writers that will last for
0:26.3	years to come. Check out our upcoming events at writingexcuses.com slash retreats.
0:33.5	This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by our listeners, patrons, and friends.
0:39.0	If you would like to learn how to support this podcast, visit www.com.
0:45.3	S.W.w.com slash writing excuses.
0:48.8	Season 20, episode 6.
0:52.9	This is writing excuses.
0:55.6	History and community.
0:57.6	I'm Mary Robinette.
0:58.8	I'm Aaron.
0:59.6	I'm Dongwon.
1:00.4	And I'm Howard.
1:02.2	And today we are going to continue our discussion of the lens of who by talking about what your character brings with them from who they are, their identity
1:13.4	at its core, the communities that they came up in. Like, how much do you need to know, a question
1:19.7	for the group, about who your character was before they entered the story in order to tell it
1:24.8	effectively? I find that I often don't know the answer to that when I start writing,
1:30.3	that sometimes I will be writing and will discover a thing later as I go,
1:37.4	that then I have to go back and layer into the early part of the story
	...

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