Just as no burger is complete without its fries, no protagonist is complete without his sidekick, or his mother, or his entomologist, or whatever side character you decide to give him. This week we talk about why side characters are important, and how to do them well.

Writing Prompt: Bring a side character from the future, bring them back to the past and write a story about them.

This week’s Writing Excuses is brought to you by Schlock Mercenary: The Teraport Wars  by Howard Tayler

Liner Notes

Elantris Mad Prince Deleted Scenes

Dan’s Bunny Book (AKA Blacker Darkness) (Word 2003 format)

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 33: Side Characters [15:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7021)

Writer Eric James Stone joins the Writing Excuses crew for our third Conduit installment. We tackle questions from the audience again (except for when Brandon throws a question AT the audience, which still had Mike Stackpole in it.)

Are plot twists necessary? How does the web change the market for writers? How do you make protagonists as interesting as the villains are? How much should you charge for your work?

We ran a little long on this one. “Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we can’t count to fifteen without getting to eighteen first.”

Liner Notes:

Eric’s Website

Bob Defendi’s Website

Anthology Builder

http://www.ralan.com/

This week’s episode is sponsored by Hold on to Your Horses, by Sandra Tayler

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 20: More Q&A from Conduit [18:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7360)

Michael Stackpole, author and podcaster, joined us at CONduit, and the four of us tackled plot twists in front of a live audience. Whether you write from a solid outline or discover your plot as you go, we’ve got tricks and tools for you. We talk about “surprising yet inevitable,” the fine art of making our characters miserable, and the importance of foreshadowing (but not telegraphing) the twist.

Liner Notes:

Michael Stackpoles’ official website, and the site where he hosts his podcasts.

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 19: Plot Twists [15:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9069)

Does magic need rules? Sometimes yes and sometimes no; our intrepid podcasters talk about how to know which situation is which, and explore the pros and cons of each method. We’ll also yak for a while about the differences between Superman and Gandalf, which makes us, if nothing else, huge nerds.

Liner Notes:

Sanderson’s first law

This week from our sponsor, Tor: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two B ,by Ben Bova (Editor)

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 14: Magic Systems and their Rules [15:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (11291)

This week, special guest Stacy Whitman joins us from Mirrorstone books (an imprint of Wizards of the Coast). Stacy works there as an editor, and helps us understand the submission process, including acting like a professional, doing your research, following submission guidelines, and all sorts of things NOT to do with your submissions. Stacy also shares her story about Holes, and how you have to know the rules to break them.

Liner Notes:

We’ve got a lot of links for you this week. First of all, Stacy keeps a blog on LiveJournal (slwhitman.livejournal.com), and she works for Mirrorstone, whose submission guidelines can be found here.

Mentioned in the podcast: Kristen Nelson’s Blog (You Know You Have Tired YA When…), the Hallowmere series, and Hallowmere’s author Tiffany Trent.

And this week from our sponsor Tor, Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 12: Submitting to Editors Part 1 [15:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7851)

So… you’re ready for the big-time. You’re a writer, and the writing is almost paying the bills. Hurray!

Now, how do you balance your life so that you can make the jump to writing full-time? How do you manage your time? How do you keep your artistic side from accusing you of selling out? The Writing Excuses Crew answers these questions and more, as we explore the business side of writing.

Also if you listen closely you’ll hear Smart Howard somewhere in this podcast. We think he’s like Howard’s evil twin.

And this week from Tor, The SFWA European Hall of Fame

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 11: Business of Writing [16:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7464)

This week we continue our discussion on Science Fiction with a discussion of various Sub-genres, why they’re different, and what you can do to make sure you know your audience.

Sub-genres covered: Space Opera, Military, Hard SF, and Cyberpunk.

Sub-genres not covered: Dystopia, Steam-punk, and whatever it is Philip K. Dick writes.
Ad: Tor Book Of the Week Keeper Of Dreams

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 9: Sci-Fi Sub-genre [16:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8331)

In the first of our series on genres, we discuss why people write Sci-Fi, what you need to know to write Sci-Fi, and how much we all love unicorns.

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 8: Sci-Fi Genre [13:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8885)

Are flaws necessary for villains? What traits make for a really good (err… evil?) villain? What’s the difference between Sauron and Gollum? (“That’s the LAST time I send you out shopping for Gollums, son…”)

Liner Notes: The Evil Overlord List, a handy reference for tropes to avoid (or, as the case may be, exploit…)

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 7: Villains [14:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8454)

Is there a difference between the two?  How do you use each appropriately in your writing?  And how lovable can a group of mercenaries be?

 

 Writing Excuses Episode 6: Flaws vs Handicaps [16:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9137)