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20.08: Character Stakes and Fears
Season 20 Episode 8
This week, we’re continuing our conversation about the lens of who. On last week’s episode we talked about a character’s motivation and goals. Now, w…
1 year, 6 months ago
20.07: Motivation and Goals
Season 20 Episode 7
Do you know what your characters want? And is there a deeper desire underneath that one?
A character's motivations can help make them "relatable," dr…
1 year, 6 months ago
20.06: History and Community
Season 20 Episode 6
Have you ever wondered how much you need to know about a specific character before you start your story? Do you need to have an entire outline of the…
1 year, 6 months ago
20.05: The Lens of Who
Season 20 Episode 5
Today we are introducing the “lens of who” – which means talking about characters. We try to break big character ideas down into their elements. For …
1 year, 7 months ago
20.04: Puppetry as a Writing Metaphor
Season 20 Episode 4
For our 20th season, we are focusing on this belief: that the lived experience that we all have affects the way we think about writing. We’ve all hea…
1 year, 7 months ago
20.03: Polishing Your Writing Lens
Season 20 Episode 3
One of the most important tools that a writer brings to their work is their own personal lens. This is shaped by your hobbies, your job, your history…
1 year, 7 months ago
20.02: Q&A Aboard the Writing Excuses Cruise, with Mark Oshiro and Kate McKean
Season 20 Episode 2
This episode was recorded live at our 2024 Writing Excuses Cruise. (Did you know that we host a writing retreat on a cruise every year!?! You can lea…
1 year, 7 months ago
20.01: Welcome to 2025!
Season 20 Episode 1
For our 20th season, we are focusing on your toolbox. We’re going to be thinking about tools in terms of the lenses that we use to approach a story. …
1 year, 8 months ago
19.52: End of Year Reflections: Navigating Speedbumps
Season 19 Episode 52
Today, we’re reflecting on 2024. Individually, all of us went through a lot throughout the year—we encountered myriad speed bumps that slowed us down…
1 year, 8 months ago
19.51: And That Was That
As the end of Season 19 approaches, we want to help you integrate what you’ve learned over the year. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes design…
1 year, 8 months ago