writing excuses

[guessingo]

Started listening to this and I really like it. I like how it is short and gets to the point quickly.

Anyway, how did this get started? What is the rationale for doing it? Is it mainly advertising for the authors to get their name out more?

[Inkthinker]

I think it's more of round-table discussion where Brandon, Howard and Dan bounce theories and technique back and forth. They actually don't have guest authors on very often, and the only book promos they do are usually  in the middle (and frequently not for their own books).

It's definitely my favorite sausage-making podcast at the moment. Mike Stackpole had a good thing going with The Secrets, but I think he's largely folded his talks from that into the Dragonpage podcast (which is also good... it's how I discovered Brandon, for one).

[Shivertongue]

It's definitely my favorite sausage-making podcast at the moment. Mike Stackpole had a good thing going with The Secrets, but I think he's largely folded his talks from that into the Dragonpage podcast (which is also good... it's how I discovered Brandon, for one).

The Secrets was good, but I found it lacking something that Writing Excuses has. Energy. Stackpole gives great advice, but the way he speaks - very mellow and even - doesn't hold my attention completely. Not to mention the round-table aspect, I think, does a much better job of conveying the information than the more lecture-y style of The Secrets.

[Inkthinker]

It's certainly more fun to listen to, and I think Stackpole acknowledges that by concentrating on the team he's working with over at Dragonpage, where there's more of a Q&A thing with the authors. I still miss his lectures, though. I like his mellow delivery, I find him easy to listen to.

The other thing that I really like about WE is the length. 15-18 minutes is a sweet spot... long enough to be full of information (excellent for commuting), not so long that it gets dull or you have to listen to it in chunks because things happen outside of your headphones.

[Shivertongue]

It's certainly more fun to listen to, and I think Stackpole acknowledges that by concentrating on the team he's working with over at Dragonpage, where there's more of a Q&A thing with the authors. I still miss his lectures, though. I like his mellow delivery, I find him easy to listen to.

The other thing that I really like about WE is the length. 15-18 minutes is a sweet spot... long enough to be full of information (excellent for commuting), not so long that it gets dull or you have to listen to it in chunks because things happen outside of your headphones.

Too easy to listen to for me. I start to zone out a bit, then snap back and realize I missed something XD. I'll have to check out the Dragonpage thing. His guest-spot on Writing Excuses is one of my favourites, which makes me think he possibly does better in the group structure. Or maybe I just learn better when listening to multiple people rather than just one.

The 15-minute timeframe also keeps it fast-paced. Combined with the energy and forth-and-back between Dan, Howard and Brandon, and the amount of information they manage to cram into those fifteen minutes, it forces you to pay attention to keep from missing something.

Not to mention they're hilarious.

[guessingo]

why do they do it? They talk about business? Is it mainly to market themselves?

[Fireborn]

Well, I suppose publicity is a part of it, but I think that these guys honestly like helping new writers.  Dan because he mostly is a new writer, who's first book just barely hit the US.  Brandon teaches a writing class at Brigham Young University in Utah, where he interacts a lot with newbs and sees their frequent struggles with coming into their own as an author.  Howard...I can't think of any specific reason he'd probably want to do it other than it being lots of fun, but probably so he can bounce ideas around with the other two.

Compared to other podcasts, they actually have a ton of guests, at least a half dozen a season so far.

I dunno about the length, it seems that once they really get into the swing of a subject that have to cut to the next part, which bugs me.  But it is very convenient.

[Shivertongue]

I think Howard does it because it's fun, but also because he's learned quite a bit about writing himself from doing it. Not to mention he has great nuggets of wisdom himself. He might not write novels, but he does write, and provides excellent advice on pacing, humour, trimming and a whole variety of topics.

I expect they'll eventually revisit some topics at a later date. Fifteen minutes forces them to give the basic information required without going off into other topics, but I think they know they can't cover every aspect of a specific issue in fifteen minutes.

[Inkthinker]

I actually find Howard's input vital, because his material has him approaching the subject of writing from a completely different angle. It helps to illustrate the common factors inherent to multiple disciplines.

[Fireborn]

I sincerely enjoy Howard's take on the issues presented every week, he's also hilarious.  I agree with your thoughts on why, as I can tell that he does know the value of what he's doing to himself and others, I just couldn't pin down a really specific reason or two.

Also, I laugh myself silly every time I listen to episode 632.