20.21: The Lens of Context

Writing Excuses

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

Fiction, Business, Careers

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, we’re digging into context—what it is, why it matters, and how it can totally transform your storytelling. Whether you're working in fantasy, sci-fi, or anything in between, the details you choose to include (or leave out) can make your world feel rich, real, and emotionally resonant.

We talk about using context to deepen conflict, sharpen stakes, and land those emotional beats. And yes, we also get into puppets, geology, and the perils of overbuilding your world. (Spoiler: nobody needs to know how many toes your goblins have. . . unless it really matters.)

Homework: Take a context, some piece of world building that you've done, and come up with three different narratives that you could write that use that context. Then separately, make a narrative that you have written and come up with three new contexts in which that narrative would succeed.

Show Notes: Learn more about how Campfire can help you outline your novel, organize your world building, and publish your story!

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.

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, and DongWon Song. 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	Would it be so nice if you could outline your novel, organize your world building, write your book,
0:05.8	format your ePUB, and publish it on the same website? You're in luck. Campfire is the all-in-one
0:12.2	platform for authors, offering both a full-featured writing software and KDP-style publishing,
0:17.5	but with 80% royalties, and none of the predatory practices you're stuck with
0:21.4	with a few other competitors. Campfire's tools feature versatile panels that make creating
0:27.5	characters as simple as moving note cards around a cork board, only much more organized, convenient,
0:33.3	and without the inherent dangers of working with thumbtacks. Its wide range of tools include
0:38.3	templates for creating settings, a magic system builder, and more, all of which are connected
0:43.3	to a word processor that makes it easy to reference your notes as you write. When you're ready,
0:48.5	publish your book on Campfire's eBook shop and include artwork, world building notes, short stories,
0:52.9	and more for readers who want to
0:54.4	explore your setting in more detail. Try Campfire today at campfirewriting.com and bring your book to life.
1:01.9	This episode of... Between drafting your new novel, building your lore, Bible, or meeting with your
1:06.4	critique group, who has time to stress about website security. As a writer, your website is your digital
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	...

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