Writing Excuses Transcripts

Writing Excuses 7.23: Time Travel

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2012/06/03/writing-excuses-7-23-time-travel/

Key Points: 12 Monkeys: past is set, no changes. Doc Brown: branches galore. Sound of Thunder: changes in the past are reflected in the future you return to. "Paradoxes are often what time travel stories are about." [Brandon] Don't use time travel just as a MacGuffin to save the day, use it because it is interesting, it provides a conflict, or to grapple with character. Be aware that there is a lot of history of time travel stories. Don't try to use time travel just as a geewhiz factor. Be careful of ramifications and cliches. Make sure to put your own spin on it!
( Is today the tomorrow you dreamed about yesterday? )
[Brandon] Interesting. Yeah. All right. We are completely out of time. So we're going to leave you with the writing prompt that I gave you before, and dare you to write the story before one of us does, because we may actually do it. That is, only... You can only go back in your own time, and they find something catastrophic has happened a hundred years ago. They need a team of...
[Dan] Super old dudes.
[Brandon] Super old...
[Howard] Dudes and dudettes.
[Brandon] Probably dudettes, statistically. To be trained like as Navy SEALs and go back and stop it.
[Mary] Yeah. I should say that this is a novel I'm working on. Thanks, Brandon.
[Dan] That exact one? Okay.
[Mary] Close.
[Dan] Then do it differently than Mary.
[Mary] I'm kidding, because even if they write it exactly the same, it'll be a different novel.
[Dan] They have to grant sentience to one of those giant turtles because they're like 300 years old.
[Brandon] You're totally out of excuses, now go write.