We’re now going to have a few episodes focusing on the lens of proximity—specifically, how close you are to a character. Today, we’re talking about first person. First person seems like it would be one of the most natural forms of storytelling, because it's the one we use when talking about our own actions. But how do we use first person effectively? How close we are to the character and how much we get to know of their motivation and reaction can be controlled through interiority and embodiment. This often ends up defining the POV that we use in our stories. We'll talk about which tools are specific to first person, as well as flag pitfalls to watch out for.

Homework: Go pick up a book that you love. Find a scene that you think is really great that is not in first person. Then, rewrite that scene in first person from the POV of a character in the scene.

P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats

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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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Today, we’re returning to different personal metaphors for how we all think about writing and storytelling. In this episode, we’re talking about how DongWon uses fashion as a helpful metaphor to think about storytelling. For both fashion and writing, whether you know it or not, you are already engaging with it every single day of your life. You are writing emails, you are communicating with the people around you, you’re dressing yourself, you’re wearing certain things and not others, and you’re ordering pizza! But what’s the difference between ordering a pizza and performing a poem? Well, lots of things, but mostly intention and deliberateness.

Note: In this episode, we mention cooking as a metaphor—this episode hasn’t aired yet but will in May!

Homework: Take one article of clothing from your closet and build three different looks around it. One for everyday wear, one for a family function, and one for a night out

P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats

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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Erin Roberts. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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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 learn more at https://writingexcuses.com/retreats/.)

While on a boat in Mexico, we were joined by author Mark Oshiro and literary agent Kate McKean. In addition to our hosts, they answered questions that were asked by our cruise attendees. Our answers included things such as how much space a character should take up and how to find the balance between plot-focused and character-focused novels. We also tackled questions about worldbuilding, motivation, and deadlines.

Homework: Ask someone a question about writing, either to learn more about what they're working on or to work through a project of your own.

P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats

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Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Sandra Tayler, Mark Oshiro, and Kate McKean. Our guest was Chuck Tingle. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

Join Our Writing Community!

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Bluesky

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