20.41: DongWon Song’s Personal Writing Process

Writing Excuses

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

Business, Careers, Fiction

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We’re continuing our episodes focusing on our hosts’ personal writing practices. Like Mary Robinette’s. DongWon’s involves a bit of… chaos. DongWon’s day job as a literary agent is demanding and unpredictable, so they often have to fit in their writing process into their free time. They are also often collaborating with other authors and friends (often writing for games)—so how does all of this inform their unique writing process? Well, first DongWon thinks a lot about the time and space that surrounds their writing– how can they make a simple, low-stimulation environment so that they can better focus? And then when they’re ready to begin, they don’t start with an outline. Instead… well, we’ll let you listen and hear them explain it to you. Homework: Go sit somewhere. Don’t bring your phone or your headphones. Sit there until you feel the itch of irritation of doing nothing, and then push through it a little bit longer. Cultivate your boredom. Then, sit down and write. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson. Join Our Writing Community! Writing Retreats Newsletter Patreon Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Facebook Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe and use my code homeserve.com/excuses for a great deal: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out Talkiatry and use my code Talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	For more than a decade, we've hosted Writing Excuses at Sea, an annual workshop and retreat on a cruise ship.
0:08.2	You're invited to our final cruise in 26. It's a chance to learn, connect, and grow, all while sailing along the stunning Alaskan and Canadian coast.
0:19.4	Join us, the hosts of writing excuses, and spend dedicated time
0:23.6	leveling up your writing craft. Attend classes, join small group breakout sessions, learn from instructors
0:29.8	one-on-one at office hours, and meet with other writers from around the world. During the
0:35.1	week-long retreat, we'll also dock at three Alaskan ports,
0:38.8	Juno, Sitka, and Skagway, as well as Victoria, British Columbia. Use this time to
0:44.4	write on the ship or choose excursions that allow you to get up close in person with glaciers,
0:49.4	go whale watching, and learn more about the rich history of the region, and more.
0:56.0	Next year will be our grand finale after over 10 years of successful retreats at sea. Whether you're a long-time alumni
1:01.4	or a newcomer, we would love to see you on board. Early bird pricing is currently available,
1:07.2	and we also offer scholarships. You can learn more at writingexcuses.com
1:12.7	slash retreats. I'm no tech genius, but I knew if I wanted my business to crush it,
1:19.1	I needed a website now. Thankfully, Bluehost made it easy. I customized, optimized, and monetized
1:25.1	everything exactly how I wanted with AI. In minutes, my site was up.
1:29.1	I couldn't believe it. The search engine tools even helped me get more site visitors.
1:33.4	Whatever your passion project is, you can set it up with Bluehost. With their 30-day money-back
1:38.0	guarantee, what do you got to lose? Head to bluehost.com. That's B-L-U-E-H-O-S-T-com to start now.
1:46.4	This episode of writing excuses has been brought to you by our listeners, patrons, and friends.
1:52.2	If you would like to learn how to support this podcast, visit www.com.
1:58.5	...writing excuses.
2:01.5	Season 20, episode 41.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.