Writing Excuses Transcripts

Writing Excuses 11.Bonus-03: Some Books Have Maps in the Front, with Maurice Broaddus, Mur Lafferty, and James Sutter

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2016/11/03/11-bonus-03-some-books-have-maps-in-the-front-with-maurice-broaddus-mur-lafferty-and-james-sutter/

Key Points: A map is often the first step in worldbuilding. Maps help with blocking a story, because you know how to get from A to B. Borders, resources, maps help you understand the setting. How do you make a map? Cheat! Use an existing map (research), or even parts of maps. Take a look at Google Maps/Earth, and the pattern of things, then mash several parts together. Make coastlines shaky, rivers flow downhill, and so forth. Different cultures put cities together differently! Technology like a rotary sprinkler can shape farms. Small towns and mountainsides have a different shape, too. Cities grow for a reason, and roads. Now, put a map in the front of your book!
( Turn right at the first street after the church that burned last year... )

[Dan] This is a dual-purpose podcast. Awesome. So. We need to stop. We… But we do have one last little bit, that James is going to give us some homework to do.
[James] Yeah. I'd say, take two of your favorite books, and take a big idea from each of them, whether that's part of the setting or a character or whatever, and mash them up so you get something new.
[Dan] Awesome. Well, thank you very much. Thank you to Mur and James and Maurice. We loved having you on the show. Everyone else, you are out of excuses. Now go write.

Writing Excuses Season Four Episode 15: Visual Components of Storytelling

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/04/18/writing-excuses-4-15-visual-compenents-of-storytelling/

Key Points: Cohesive? Lazy shortcuts and a dash of signature elements. Lots of cool stuff, but find a way to connect them together. Underlying commonalities, like the circle template. The design of the book, maps, cover art, and other visual elements are a kind of prelude to the book, that can help set the feeling before you start reading.
( on the sketchpad )
[Howard] OK, writing prompt. First a little bit of backstory. I had Brook West design ship plans for the Integrity which was the ship that Tagon's Toughs ended up acquiring. In designing the ship plans, we arrived at some really fun anomalies where if you were to shut off the gravity, the water would suddenly flow through the ship and make a huge mess. I got a lot of mileage out of that. So your writing prompt, in order to be visual, sit down and draw yourself a spaceship. Draw some interesting bits of a spaceship. Sketch, skritch it out, whatever. Draw something, and then find interesting aspects about what you drew and work them into the story.
[Brandon] All right. This has been writing excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.