By Writing Excuses | December 13, 2009 - 11:30 pm - Posted in Characters, Narrator, Plot

This episode totally would have updated earlier if I’d only known sooner that it was ready to go. Jordo says he emailed me early this evening, but if he HAD then you’d have been listening to this by 8:00pm Sunday.

So… how much of that do you believe? Is the Narrator lying to you, or is he just wrong?  Maybe he is lying to himself, and thinks he’s being honest with you.

Most importantly, though, how does any of this apply to your writing? Well, that’s what the podcast is for…

Writing Prompt: Have an event occur, and then provide five different character perspectives on the event… none of which are completely accurate.

Note: this episode updated a little late because I wanted an object lesson in the write-up, not because I was relaxing on the couch until 11:15pm.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

 
icon for podpress  Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 30: Unreliable Narrators [16:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9914)

By Writing Excuses | September 13, 2009 - 4:54 pm - Posted in Characters, Guest

John Brown, debut author of Servant of a Dark God, joins us for this discussion of  the avoidance of self-insertion. In polite company we call this the “Mary Sue,” because it’s difficult to say “self-insertion” in polite company, much less with a straight face.

In broader terms, what we’re covering is voice, and how to make our characters sound like themselves rather than us.

This week’s Writing Excuses is Brought to you by Servant of a Dark God by John Brown.

 
icon for podpress  Writing Excuses Season 3 Episode 16: The Anti-Mary Sue Episode [17:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9981)