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indeed, is all you need. is

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on a mission to have you not leave

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ones who get it done. of Writing

3:02

Excuses has been brought to

3:04

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visit www.patreon.com slash Writing

3:16

Excuses. Season 20,

3:18

episode 1. This is Writing Excuses.

3:21

Welcome to 2025. I'm

3:23

dong on. I'm Mary Robinette. I'm

3:26

Dan. I'm Aaron. And I'm Howard.

3:28

And it's a whole new year. So

3:30

we have an exciting season prepared

3:32

for you. This season is going

3:34

to be very focused on your toolbox.

3:37

One of the things we've been

3:39

saying for a couple of years

3:41

is that it's about the tools,

3:43

not the rules. So we want to

3:45

make sure that you have a

3:47

really nice set of tools to

3:49

use this year. We're going to be

3:51

looking at a couple of specific

3:53

things. We're going to be thinking

3:55

about these tools in terms of

3:57

the lenses that we use to

3:59

approach. story. So this season you're

4:02

going to be looking at

4:04

questions of who, where, when,

4:06

and why. Where's what? What

4:08

and how are going to be things

4:10

we look at in a later

4:13

season because we're going to be

4:15

looking at lenses this time and

4:17

what and how are more about

4:19

the execution. Well, the

4:22

lens does affect the way you use

4:24

things. This is what we're going to

4:26

be focusing on. The execution comes

4:28

at the end. The execution.

4:30

Yes. Don't, don't, don't. And

4:32

then I've got some other exciting

4:35

stuff that I'm going to tell you

4:37

about when we get to the end

4:39

of the episode for things to look

4:41

forward to for later in the season.

4:44

But right now, I wanted to say,

4:46

since we're at the beginning of 2025.

4:48

And this is our 20th season, which

4:51

is wild. We want to talk a

4:53

little bit about the lenses

4:55

that we're using and the

4:57

way we're thinking about the

4:59

next year coming up for

5:01

us all individually. You know,

5:03

that's funny. I really, so I love

5:05

the, just to get a little bit

5:08

back to like the. who, not what,

5:10

where, when, why, and how. This is

5:12

a framework that I love to think

5:14

about when I think about writing, because

5:16

it's something that lets you, make sure

5:18

that you're not missing any aspect of

5:20

writing. Like, who are the people in

5:22

your story? What is the, like, what

5:24

is happening? Where and when is that

5:26

going on? Why are you even telling

5:28

this story, and how are you going

5:30

to get it across? But I also

5:32

think that you can use that in

5:34

your actual life. Like, who are the people

5:36

that you want to, like, be a part

5:38

of your year? What are the activities that

5:40

we want to be doing? Like, where and

5:43

when? Like, are there places that you want

5:45

to go? Are there places that you want

5:47

to go? Are there perspectives from the past

5:49

or the future that you want to bring

5:51

into your life? And then how are you

5:53

going to get there? So I don't know

5:56

that I have an answer to it, but

5:58

it, but it just occurred to me. in 2024

6:00

I relocated I moved across the

6:02

country and so I find myself

6:04

in a new location and thinking

6:06

of the who is like a

6:08

very important question for me right

6:10

now is I'm looking to build

6:12

new community right find new friends

6:14

and you know find a way

6:16

to start developing roots in this

6:18

new location as I look towards

6:20

the future and trying to figure

6:22

out what's next for me. Yeah,

6:24

I also had a big move

6:26

in 2024 that was not entirely

6:28

an expected move. We had to

6:30

move to help with some family

6:33

stuff. And for me, one of

6:35

the things that is really exciting

6:37

is also thinking about the why

6:39

of things. And sometimes the why

6:41

is not a thing that is

6:43

in your control. And this is

6:45

a thing that a lot of

6:47

times as writers. We let the

6:49

why can be both empowering and

6:51

also a barrier. And so for

6:53

me, it's like... Okay, so I've,

6:55

the why has happened. Who can

6:57

I find now? How can I

6:59

embody the place that I'm in

7:01

in my writing career and all

7:03

of these other aspects? You know,

7:05

for years, I've had this formula

7:07

for writing back cover copy, which

7:09

is character, conflict, setting, and hook.

7:11

And I just realized that those

7:13

mapped very cleanly onto, you know,

7:15

who, who, who's the character. conflict,

7:17

character, when a thing happens, where's

7:19

it happening, is the setting, and

7:21

hook, is why should you buy

7:23

this book, and maps perfectly. And

7:25

it's not that mapping it, and

7:27

this, I think, reflects right into

7:29

why we play with these tools

7:31

instead of rules, maps perfectly into

7:33

helping me rethink my code for

7:36

back cover copy. because especially with

7:38

you know hook is not the

7:40

why of the story it's the

7:42

why of the decision to get

7:44

the reader to buy the book

7:46

because that's what back cover copy

7:48

is for and so by applying

7:50

another layer of words to a

7:52

tool that I thought I already

7:54

understood. I actually understand it better

7:56

and I'm better prepared to apply

7:58

it. Yeah, I'm really actually extremely

8:00

grateful to you for saying that

8:02

because I've been trying to figure

8:04

out how to explain hooks to

8:06

people forever and the why do

8:08

we care why do we want

8:10

to invest is like, oh, that

8:12

is way more actionable than... Yeah,

8:14

the word. And I like that.

8:16

It's a why internal story too.

8:18

It's why is this story, right?

8:20

Like the hook should be the

8:22

thing that is motivating and pulling

8:24

you into the story, both in

8:26

terms of your relation to the

8:28

reader, but in the story itself,

8:30

too, I think. So, something that

8:32

I'm thinking about, which takes it.

8:34

away from this conversation and back

8:36

to me. Uh, it's... Where? Let's

8:39

talk about it anymore. Yeah. No,

8:41

I've been thinking a lot, like,

8:43

just to be, like, completely real,

8:45

a lot of what I'm thinking

8:47

about currently is, who am I

8:49

as a writer? I write a

8:51

lot of different things. I write

8:53

games. I write short fiction. I

8:55

write, you know, in different, I

8:57

write scripts sometimes. And it's like,

8:59

who am I? Because, for me,

9:01

the when comes into play. when

9:03

I am writing, what am I

9:05

focusing on? Am I focusing on

9:07

my own work? Am I focusing

9:09

on other people's IP? Like am

9:11

I focusing on, you know, which,

9:13

why? Because they pay me. Love

9:15

you all. But you know, but

9:17

you know, like really thinking about

9:19

that, and I'm thinking maybe the

9:21

beginning of the year is like,

9:23

who are you as a writer?

9:25

Because I think you can sometimes

9:27

get into a kind of like

9:29

a snowball rolling downhill where you're

9:31

just doing action after action because

9:33

it's the action in front of

9:35

you. But you're not actually thinking

9:37

about like, why am I taking

9:39

this action as opposed to a

9:42

different course? Yeah, I mean, you

9:44

know, beginning of the year is

9:46

a time that everyone's talking about,

9:48

New Year's resolutions, right? We're all

9:50

thinking about like, what do we

9:52

want to change for this year?

9:54

What are our goals for this

9:56

year? But what I love about

9:58

this approach of tools, not rules,

10:00

it's stepping away from resolutions, which

10:02

I always struggle with, because then

10:04

it's like, oh, if I didn't

10:06

going to the seven days a

10:08

week by the end of January

10:10

that I've failed at life and

10:12

now I feel terrible. But like,

10:14

instead of thinking about what are

10:16

the specific concrete goals, thinking about

10:18

these questions in terms of who

10:20

am I reflecting on that, how

10:22

do I want to be in

10:24

the world, how do I want

10:26

to engage in my creative practice,

10:28

and then when, what are my

10:30

expectations for this year in a

10:32

certain way? And so shifting away

10:34

from like concrete resolutions that you

10:36

have to stick to to you

10:38

know, practices and tools, I think

10:40

is a really lovely way to

10:42

think about it. I could expect

10:45

to that Dolly Parton quote that

10:47

you love so much. Figure out

10:49

who you want, who you figure

10:51

out what you're good at and

10:53

then do it on purpose. Or

10:55

figure out who you are and

10:57

then do it on purpose. That's

10:59

what it is. Figure out who

11:01

you are and then do it

11:03

on purpose. Yeah. I picked a

11:05

word, stability, which I thought was

11:07

very laughable, very fast. But what

11:09

was interesting though was that within

11:11

the chaos that was happening, when

11:13

I was offered a choice, which

11:15

it was like, how can I

11:17

find stability within this thing that

11:19

is happening? And that allowed me

11:21

to find stability, even though last

11:23

year was fairly chaotic. And I

11:25

think this is also true, like

11:27

when you're thinking about your writing,

11:29

I talk a lot with my

11:31

students about thinking about what is

11:33

the intention behind this, what is

11:35

the why, who are you telling

11:37

this story for, and thinking about

11:39

that as just... a word. Sometimes

11:41

I have people just write down,

11:43

what is the emotion? What is

11:45

the emotion you want people to

11:48

leave the story with? They can

11:50

have different emotions during the story,

11:52

but where do we linger when

11:54

we get to the end? Yeah,

11:56

I mean, I think approach. the

11:58

year with intention, approaching your work

12:00

with intention, all are incredibly important

12:02

and then like having nothing to

12:04

focus on in terms of like

12:06

where are you trying to get

12:08

people to, where are you trying

12:10

to get yourself to, right? I

12:12

think all that can be really

12:14

important things to be bringing in

12:16

as you're looking down the road

12:18

of this year. So why don't

12:20

we take a little break? You

12:22

all can listen to our lovely

12:24

sponsors while you also think about

12:26

what and who you want to

12:28

be. Take a little bit of

12:30

thinking for intention. Then we're going

12:32

to talk to you more. Hey

12:34

friends, the 2025 retreat registration is

12:36

open. We have two amazing writing

12:38

retreats coming up and we cordially

12:40

invite you to enroll in them.

12:42

For those of you who sign

12:44

up before January 12th, 2025, how

12:46

is that even a real date?

12:48

We're off. Your

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14:04

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14:10

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14:17

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14:24

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14:26

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for the ones who get it

15:36

done. I

23:55

am in 2025 as we are

23:57

recording this. for transparency we're recording

23:59

in 24, I'm going to be

24:01

out from contract for the first

24:03

time since I sold Shades of

24:05

Milk and Honey. So my goal

24:07

this year is to write a

24:09

book that's just for me. I

24:11

love that. I love that. Kind

24:13

of on a little bit of

24:15

a parallel note, for me, you

24:17

know, it's looking at 2024. Like

24:20

I said, I've relocated a kind

24:22

of new location and, you know,

24:24

kind of stepping back and looking

24:26

at my career. I'm very lucky

24:28

that my career is like... feels

24:30

in a pretty solid place right

24:32

now. You know, I have a

24:34

place where I have certain things

24:36

that have worked really well and

24:38

kind of feels like I have

24:40

a foundation that I can make

24:42

a couple new moves. And so

24:44

looking at in 2025, what areas

24:46

in terms of, you know, my

24:48

role is an agent that I

24:50

want to move into and trying

24:53

to take on some new projects

24:55

and consider some new things. So

24:57

it's been a real period of

24:59

of building and growing and then

25:01

like trying to like stabilize the

25:03

past few years was me like

25:05

really trying to like firm things

25:07

up a little bit so a

25:09

little bit more of a foundation

25:11

to build on and feel like

25:13

it's time for some moves. You

25:15

should talk to Mary Robinette about

25:17

choosing stability as a word. We're

25:19

moving out of stability needed growth

25:21

that's what it is. There was

25:24

this discussion online a few days

25:26

before we recorded this episode about

25:28

what it takes to be a

25:30

web cartoonist. And I expressed long

25:32

and I think very profound opinions

25:34

about that, which is basically you

25:36

create a comic and you put

25:38

it on the internet. Boom, done.

25:40

What does a writer do? They

25:42

write. Boom, you're a writer. Painter?

25:44

You paint. Web cartoonist? Make a

25:46

cartoon and put it on the

25:48

web. I've been a web cartoonist

25:50

for 20 plus years, except I'm

25:52

not doing that now. And so

25:54

this whole, you know, the idea

25:57

of a resolution being... not what

25:59

you're going to do but who

26:01

you're going to be. I am,

26:03

I am. currently at a loss

26:05

and so rather than rather than

26:07

resolving on who I'm going to

26:09

be I'm going to resolve on

26:11

what I'm going to look for

26:13

and what I'm going to look

26:15

for is an answer to that

26:17

question because I need to hurry

26:19

up and find it. I think

26:21

for me I work a lot

26:23

as we know and so I

26:25

think that I want to embrace

26:27

play as an intention for 2025.

26:30

And really, and I think part

26:32

of answering that question about who

26:34

I am as a writer is

26:36

playing a little more in all

26:38

the different spaces that I enjoy

26:40

and trying to figure out what

26:42

like brings me the most joy

26:44

and then go from there and

26:46

the work will follow. I love

26:48

this film. This is so good.

26:50

So the homework that I have

26:52

for you, dear listeners, we're going

26:54

to be talking about tools this

26:56

year. And I want you to

26:58

make a list of the tools

27:01

that you already have in your

27:03

toolbox. And then, as an intention,

27:05

I want you to think about

27:07

an area that you want a

27:09

tool for. And then over the

27:11

course of this year, we're going

27:13

to try to help you find

27:15

that tool. This has been writing

27:17

excuses. You're out of excuses. Now

27:19

go right. Writing

27:22

Excuses has been brought to you

27:24

by our listeners, patrons, and friends.

27:27

For this episode, your hosts were

27:29

Mary Robinette Kowal, Dong Wan Song,

27:31

Aaron Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard

27:34

Taylor. This episode was engineered by

27:36

Marshall Carr Jr., mastered by Alex

27:39

Jackson, and produced by Emma Reynolds.

27:41

For more information, visit Writing excuses.com.

28:16

Don't wait any longer. Speed

28:18

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28:20

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28:22

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28:25

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28:29

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28:31

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28:36

And support our show

28:38

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28:40

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28:42

and conditions apply. Hiring,

28:44

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28:47

tension repeats noisers. Set your alarm for

28:49

the oddly specific sleep problem sale. We

28:51

have just the right mattress for you

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29:04

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29:06

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29:13

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29:16

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29:30

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29:32

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29:35

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apply. Hiring, indeed, is

29:59

all you need. and help correct

30:01

issues. And the sweetest part is,

30:03

everyone gets a product that's as

30:05

safe to eat as it is

30:08

delicious. Call 1-800-granger, click-granger.com or just

30:10

stop by, Granger, for the ones

30:12

who get it done. For

30:15

a limited time at Verizon, you can get

30:18

our best price ever for a single line.

30:20

Just $45 per month when you bring your

30:22

phone. Which is less than you spend on

30:24

too tired to cook takeout every week. Get

30:27

one line on unlimited welcome for $45 per

30:29

month with auto pay plus taxes and fees.

30:31

Visit your local Columbus Verizon store by April

30:34

2nd to save. 20-dollar monthly promo credits applied

30:36

over 36 months with a new line on

30:38

unlimited welcome. In times of congestion unlimited 5G

30:40

and 4G LT may be temporarily slower than other

30:43

traffic. Domestic data roaming at 2G speeds. Additional terms

30:45

apply. apply.