21.10: The Cold Open- Voice

Writing Excuses

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

Business, Careers, Fiction

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A cold open can hook a reader with nothing more than voice. In this episode, our hosts explore what makes a voice-driven opening work — cadence, rhythm, authority, and a clear reason to care. We break down how aesthetic voice differs from mechanical POV, how to avoid purple prose, and why strong openings often act as both filter and lens for the right reader. From epic poetry to pop songs, from audiobook accents to grocery-store monologues, we share practical ways to hear your prose more clearly. Voice, used with intention, can pull readers in before a single thing explodes. Homework: Choose three distinct voices you know well — for example, a celebrity with a strong cadence, someone in your life who tells great stories, and another recognizable personality. Write a simple scene (like going to the grocery store to buy eggs) in each voice. Notice what changes in rhythm, word choice, focus, and emotional framing. 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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.
0:15.0	Season 21, episode 10.
0:19.3	This is writing excuses.
0:21.9	The cold open voice.
0:23.9	Tools not rules.
0:25.4	For writers by writers.
0:27.4	I'm Mary Robinette.
0:28.4	I'm Don Juan.
0:29.3	I'm Erin.
0:30.5	And I'm super excited to talk today about voice as a way to open a novel, a story, a whatever you're writing. We've been talking a little bit
0:40.5	about the idea that there's a difference between an action-focused opening and a voice-focused
0:46.8	opening. And of course, those are a spectrum, but if it is a spectrum, I prefer to be on the far
0:52.5	voice side of things. So I'm interested to find out,
0:56.4	why am I doing that and what am I gaining from it? Mary Robinette, you're the one who sort of
1:00.9	introduced this like interesting balance that we're standing on. So what would you say a voice
1:06.1	driven opening has in it? So I have to give credit that I became aware of the distinction from
1:12.3	Donald Moss. I took one of his classes on openings and he talked about this as the thing that is
1:19.5	kind of one of the pieces that is hooking the reader and bringing them in. And in action-driven opening,
1:24.7	it is, which we'll talk about in depth next week, it is, there's a character who's doing a thing and that pulls you into the story, an interest in what they're doing.
1:35.4	But with a voice-driven opening, the thing that pulls you in initially is the sound, the cadence, the rhythm, all of those things for the voice.
	...

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.