21.08: Setting Expectations

Writing Excuses

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

Business, Careers, Fiction

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we explore what it really means to set reader expectations at the beginning of a story. We talk about how openings communicate the shape of what’s to come — from genre and tone to the kind of emotional ride we’re inviting our readers onto. We dig into practical tools for building reader trust early: making (and fulfilling) small promises, letting readers feel clever, answering questions before raising bigger ones, and controlling tone so the story delivers on what it signals. Because when readers check the label on page one, we want to be sure we can deliver. Homework: Review the first chapter of your work in progress and make a list of all the story promises you’ve made. Keep that list somewhere visible so you can track how—and when— you fulfill them. ANNOUNCEMENTS: FEBRUARY 15th: 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	slash writing excuses.
0:15.3	Season 21, episode 8.
0:19.3	This is writing excuses.
0:22.1	Setting expectations.
0:23.7	Tools not rules.
0:24.8	For writers, by writers.
0:26.5	I'm Mary Robinette.
0:27.6	I'm Donglan.
0:28.2	I'm Erin.
0:29.4	And today we're going to talk about setting expectations.
0:33.0	So we have been looking at the things that you need at the beginning of a story.
0:38.4	And after taking a little break to go dive into my short story, we are back and we are talking about one of the specific things that you need to try to accomplish in the beginning, which is to set the expectations of a reader. So when we say expectations, like, what does that
0:56.7	cover? I mean, I think that covers everything from what is the shape of this story. I think that's
1:02.8	the thing I say the most when talking about openings is this didn't communicate to me what the
1:10.2	shape of the story is to come.
1:11.8	What kind of things are we doing?
1:13.9	Is this, and that includes genre, but that also includes sort of just like a hint of overall
1:19.6	plot structure, you know?
1:21.7	And so those expectations for me are really like, what kind of ride am I about to go on?
1:26.7	I think of it as a roller coaster,
	...

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