21.09: Grounding The Reader

Writing Excuses

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

Business, Careers, Fiction

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Grounding a reader starts in the very first lines of a story. Where are we? Who are we with? What kind of story are we in? Our hosts explore how emotion, context, and sensory detail work together to create immersion, and why action alone isn’t enough without an emotional lens. From relatable sensory cues to carefully chosen specifics, they break down how small details can anchor even the biggest explosions. When readers step into a story, we want them oriented, invested, and ready to follow. Homework: Take the opening of your work in progress and write out only the physical actions — what is happening and what the character is doing. Then annotate it with the emotions you want attached to each moment, and rewrite the scene integrating both action and emotion. Final WXR Cruise! Our final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—get your tickets here! 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 9.
0:19.4	This is writing excuses.
0:22.4	Grounding the reader.
0:24.0	Tools, not rules.
0:25.4	For writers, by writers.
0:27.4	I'm Mary Robinette.
0:28.6	I'm Dongwan.
0:29.7	I'm Erin.
0:30.9	And today we are going to be talking about how to ground the reader in the story from the very
0:36.4	beginning.
0:40.1	And what we mean by sort of grounding the reader in the story, at least what I mean, is making them feel like they are fully engaged
0:45.6	and fully immersed in the story. And I think that's true, whether it's a short story or a novel.
0:50.9	A lot of times we talk about novels as being more immersive, but even if you're only
0:55.8	reading a 300-word flash piece, you want to feel like in some ways you are in it and you
1:02.8	understand where the character is in it. But I have two questions to start y'all off with. One is,
1:09.0	what are you actually trying to ground the reader in? Is it the place? Is it the time? Is it the emotion? What do you think is the most important? Yes. Okay, good. Love that. Emotion. I think starting with how the character feels is the most important for me. I mean, but I'm always like very emotion forward and how I think about storytelling. And then if I know how the character feels is the most important for me. I mean, but I'm always
1:27.5	like very emotion forward and how I think about storytelling. And then if I know how the character
1:31.4	feels about the environment they're in, feels about the situation they're in, then starting to
1:35.3	build out all of that around them, that comes secondarily to me. But you had a different opinion.
	...

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