21.05: The Same But Different

Writing Excuses

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

Business, Careers, Fiction

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, our hosts dig into how stories can feel fresh without losing what readers love. They explore the idea of “same but different” across genres, sequels, and series—looking at how small shifts in structure, context, tone, or theme can create meaningful novelty. Drawing on examples from novels, film, television, and games, we unpack how patterns, expectations, and core questions shape reader experience. Our conversation also widens to encompass the larger question of how writers can evolve while still feeling recognizably like themselves. Homework: Choose two works from the same franchise or series. Break down what stayed the same and what changed, then reflect on which choices felt satisfying, surprising, or off-putting—and why. ANNOUNCEMENTS: 2/15 Cruise Prices Increase The final WXR cruise* sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—get your tickets now before prices increase on February 15th! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Erin Roberts, DongWon Song, and Mary Robinette Kowal. 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

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0:00.0	This episode of writing excuses has been brought to you by our listeners, patrons, and friends.
0:05.6	If you would like to learn how to support this podcast, visit www.com.
0:11.8	www.com slash writing excuses.
0:15.3	Season 21, episode 5.
0:19.3	This is writing excuses.
0:21.9	The same, but different.
0:24.1	Tools, not rules.
0:25.3	For writers, by writers.
0:27.4	I'm Mary Robinette.
0:28.5	I'm Don Juan.
0:29.4	I'm Aaron.
0:30.8	And this week, we're going to talk about one of a topic that I'm deeply fascinated by,
0:36.2	and I think one of the trickier things to figure out,
0:39.4	when you're talking about genre writing, when you're talking about series writing in particular,
0:43.4	but, you know, I think it's really true of the entire publishing process, right?
0:47.6	And that is, how do you write something that feels original, but still accomplishes meeting the reader's expectations.
0:57.6	And that can be down to meeting the same genre expectations.
1:01.3	That can be down to writing a sequel that feels in conversation with the original,
1:07.2	but is its own thing and is unique, right?
1:10.2	I mean, again, we are creatures of pattern recognition,
1:12.6	right? We want certain beats. We want a certain feeling from our romance or fantasy or science
1:18.9	fiction or mystery or thrillers, right? Like, there's this idea of fiction being tropey or
	...

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