Writing Excuses Transcripts

Writing Excuses 7.19: Q & A at UVU

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2012/05/06/writing-excuses-7-19-qa-at-uvu/

Key Points:
Q: Why do books in a series become different as they go along?
A: Characters, stories, and stakes change. The writer grows.
Q: How do you approach the paragraph?
A: Each paragraph has a mini-arc, beginning, middle, end. Use topic sentences.
Q: When do you start thinking about a prequel?
A: When the backstory deserves it. But beginning writers should stick to in-late, out-early.
Q: How do you plot?
A: [James] Premise, brainstorming major events, major plot twists, and then I get so excited that I start writing. [Brandon] I write a little bit. Something sparks, is exciting, and I write that scene. Then I look at where do I go from this, what is a great ending, what's exciting about it, and work backwards to the start.
Q: How do you craft endings that are highly satisfying and leave the reader wanting more?
A: Answer all the questions set up in the beginning, then raise a new question. People live before and after the story -- point to that.
Q: How do you keep a really compelling and convincing villain from taking over the book?
A: Make the hero more proactive. Make sure the hero has a great scheme to achieve something awesome, so they are doing things, not just waiting to respond to the villain.
( The details... )
[James] Okay. One day, you have a bunch of crazy people come to your house and kidnap you, and put you at a place called... It's an asylum for the criminally sane. [Laughter]
( cutting out )

Writing Excuses 5.34: Story Bibles

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/04/24/writing-excuses-5-34-story-bibles/

Key points: Use the tool that works for you and your project. Consider the scale, who needs to use it, what works for you. Story bibles can help you get the ending correct. They can help you avoid continuity errors. They can help you remember and keep track of all the details. Worldbuilding, and your story bible, need to match the story you are writing. Story bibles are where you infodump for yourself, to inform your writing. And keep the infodumps out of your books.
( the long, long, long paragraphs )
[Brandon] Dan. Writing prompt?
[Dan] Yes. Writing prompt.
[Brandon] Save us from long boring paragraphs.
[Dan] Okay.
[Brandon] Come on. Do it fast.
[Dan] Well, I had one until you threw me off. Okay. What I want you to do is write a story in which there is a...
[Brandon] A character doing something?
[Dan] A character that's doing something. No. Someone is a were-animal that is the kind of animal you would never be a were-anything.
[Brandon] Oh? Good.
[Dan] We have werewolves and werebears and all that stuff. I want to see like a were-banana-slug, some ridiculous thing.
[Brandon] Okay. Well. This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, kind of. Now go write.

Writing Excuses Season Two Episode 29: How Not to End Your Book

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2009/04/26/we-talk-about-how-not-to-end-books-with-the-goal-of-helping-you-fix-them/

Key points: good endings go beyond the reader expects. You need to fulfill promises that you made in the first part of the book. Get help identifying promises that you have made. Avoid the third act Hollywood wimpout -- big action set pieces are not automatically good endings. A book in a series should fulfill its promises while opening up new problems for the future. Make your plots fit your books first. Bad endings usually mean bad foreshadowing. Revise to fit.
( the meat )
[Brandon] This has been Writing Excuses. Writing prompt?
[Dan] Write an ending in which everybody dies and it works.
[Brandon] Start your book with an ending where everyone dies. This has been Writing Excuses. Thanks for listening.