Writing Excuses

• 20.50: Dan Wells’ Personal Writing Process

  2 quick reminders: Scholarship applications for our 2026 cruise are open now until December 31st, 2025. You can learn more and apply here. AND early bird pricing for this cruise (going to Alaska in September 2026) ends on February 15th! Get your tickets here!This week, Dan Wells opens up about how depression reshaped his writing process—and what rebuilding that process has looked like in the years since. The conversation ranges from tiny, mechanical steps to full-on cognitive reframing, with the hosts comparing notes on mindfulness, spectating, trauma responses, and even puppy-training techniques for rewiring your brain. They explore how environment, routine, and self-compassion can make the difference between staring at a blank screen and finding a way back into the work. Expect honesty, humor, and a lot of practical wisdom for how to care for your mental and emotional landscape while still trying to make art.Homework:Be kind to yourself—and extend that compassion to at least one person in your life who may be struggling, too. Then take a close look at your own rhythms, spaces, and habits to identify when and where you work best, and experiment with those ideal conditions this week.ANNOUNCEMENTS: Last Annual CruiseThe final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—don’t miss your chance to be part of it. Learn more and sign up here.*Scholarship applications for our cruise are open now until December 31st, 2025. You can learn more and apply here. Call for Writing BreakthroughsHave you had a breakthrough in your writing because of Writing Excuses? If so, we want to hear about it. Fill out this Writing Breakthroughs Google Form for a chance to be featured in a WX Newsletter! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! Writing RetreatsNewsletterPatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wxSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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• 20.49: Using Tone and Mood

  This week, Mary Robinette pulls back the curtain on some of fiction’s sneakiest power tools: tone and mood. Drawing from a recent craft class she taught for her Patreon, Mary Robinette breaks down how these elements shape a reader’s emotional experience—and why they deserve as much attention as plot or structure. DongWon, Erin, and Howard jump in to poke at the definitions, debate where tone and mood collide, and explore how contrast, character reactions, and even sentence rhythm can totally change a scene. Expect examples ranging from Wizard of Oz to Mike Flanagan as we dig into practical ways to use tone and mood to supercharge your storytelling.Homework: Take a five-part mystery structure (crime → investigation → twist → breakthrough → conclusion) and write a story that uses that structure but is not obviously a mystery.ANNOUNCEMENTS: Last Annual CruiseThe final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—don’t miss your chance to be part of it. Learn more and sign up here.*Scholarship applications for our cruise are open now until December 31st, 2025. You can learn more and apply here. Call for Writing BreakthroughsHave you had a breakthrough in your writing because of Writing Excuses? If so, we want to hear about it. Fill out this Writing Breakthroughs Google Form for a chance to be featured in a WX Newsletter! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Erin Roberts, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! Writing RetreatsNewsletterPatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wxSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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• 20.48: Now Go Write- How to Pitch Your Work

  In this episode, DongWon digs into one of the business topics of our upcoming craft book: pitching. How do you talk about your work so other people immediately understand its category, vibe, and why it matters? They break pitching into two parts—content (what you say) and presentation (how you say it)—and share concrete tools like comp titles, short taglines, and simple back-cover formulas to sharpen your pitch. You’ll hear how iteration, audience-awareness, and practicing aloud (think karaoke for pitches) turn a clumsy elevator spiel into something that lands. Tune in for hands-on advice you can use next time an editor, agent, bookseller, or potential reader asks, “So, what’s it about?”Homework:Write three short, 2–3-sentence pitches for your book (or other WIP) that each take a different angle—one focused on worldbuilding, one on character, one on plot. Then read them aloud to someone and watch where they light up, glaze over, or lean in, so you can see which pitch actually works.ANNOUNCEMENTS: Last Annual CruiseThe final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—don’t miss your chance to be part of it. Learn more and sign up here.*Scholarship applications for our cruise are open now until December 31st, 2025. You can learn more and apply here. Call for Writing BreakthroughsHave you had a breakthrough in your writing because of Writing Excuses? If so, we want to hear about it. Fill out this Writing Breakthroughs Google Form for a chance to be featured in a WX Newsletter! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! Writing RetreatsNewsletterPatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wxSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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• 20.47: Now Go Write- All the Eggs in All the Baskets

  Dan shares his experience of rebuilding and reinventing his writing career from his section of our forthcoming book Now Go Write. Our hosts walk through practical ways that writers can diversify their work— from writing for RPGs and video games to writing in a new genre like middle grade or nonfiction — and why having multiple, truly separate revenue streams matters. They also dig into the psychological work of redefining yourself as a writer (not only a novelist), staying flexible when setbacks hit, and protecting time for the projects that keep your heart in the work. Listen for concrete strategies and encouragement to lean into new formats without losing sight of why you write.Homework: Write something in a genre or format you’ve never tried before — a single TV episode scene, a short RPG adventure, a tie-in short story, a script, or a 500–1,000-word nonfiction piece. And see how it feels! ANNOUNCEMENTS: Call for Writing BreakthroughsHave you had a breakthrough in your writing because of Writing Excuses? If so, we want to hear about it. Fill out this Writing Breakthroughs Google Form for a chance to be featured in a WX Newsletter! Last Annual CruiseThe final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—don’t miss your chance to be part of it. Learn more and sign up here.*Scholarship applications for our cruise are open now until December 31st, 2025. You can learn more and apply here. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Dan Wells, Erin Roberts, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! Writing RetreatsNewsletterPatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wxSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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• 20.46: Now Go Write- Break All The Rules (Part 2)

  In this episode, Erin returns with the final two “rules” from her section of our forthcoming book Now Go Write—and why it might be worth breaking them. With DongWon and Mary Robinette, Erin explores the classic advice to “show, don’t tell,” and the debate over whether magic needs a system. We unpack when these conventions can strengthen a story—and when they can get in your way.Homework: Choose one of the four rules Erin covered across both “Break All The Rules” episodes (20.45 & 20.46) and rewrite a scene from your own work to deliberately break it. See what changes when you do.ANNOUNCEMENTS: Call for Writing BreakthroughsHave you had a breakthrough in your writing because of Writing Excuses? If so, we want to hear about it. Fill out this Writing Breakthroughs Google Form for a chance to be featured in a WX Newsletter! Last Annual CruiseThe final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—don’t miss your chance to be part of it. Learn more and sign up here.Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Erin Roberts, Mary Robinette Kowal, and DongWon Song. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! Writing RetreatsNewsletterPatreonInstagramThreadsBlueskyTikTokYouTubeFacebookOur Sponsors:* Check out MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/EXCUSES* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wxSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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