20.14: Third Person Limited

20.14: Third Person Limited

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler April 6, 2025 Duration: 26:35
Third person limited is one of the most popular storytelling lenses. Yet it is often understood differently by various authors and readers. So today we’re diving into the complexities, intricacies, and beautiful constraints of third person limited—don’t worry, we’ll be tackling third person omniscient in our next episode! With third person limited POV, you get to use some of the tools of first person, while being able to back away from the character a little. We’re going to address the various levels of interiority and proximity that characters are afforded, why this matters, and what it would look like in your own writing. Homework: Take a scene that you’ve written and write it in the closest third person limited that you can possibly stand. Then, write it again at a slightly more distanced, but still limited, third person. Look at these two scenes side-by-side and ask yourself: what did I do differently in each? What did I emphasize? Then, figure out which perspective you want to use when actually writing this scene. P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 50% sold out! Secure your spot today at www.writingexcuses.com/retreats Sign up for our newsletter 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. Join Our Writing Community! Patreon Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Facebook Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe and use my code homeserve.com/excuses for a great deal: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out Talkiatry and use my code Talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s a common piece of advice: if you want to be a writer, you should write. But what happens when you’re staring at the blank page, or when the business side of publishing feels like a maze? That’s where Writing Excuses comes in. Each week, hosts Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler gather not just to talk about writing, but to dissect it. They move quickly, respecting your time while packing episodes with actionable discussions on technique, from character voice to plot structure. But this podcast understands that a writing life isn’t just about craft-it’s also a career. So conversations naturally pivot to the practicalities of the business, navigating careers, and sustaining creativity in a demanding field. You’ll hear five distinct professional perspectives blending into a single, focused conversation designed to get you past excuses and back to your work. It’s like a regular, invigorating workshop session delivered directly to you, meant to equip you with tools for both your manuscript and your professional path.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 500

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Podcast Episodes
13.17: What Writers Get Wrong, with Jamahl Crouch [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:18
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard, with Jamahl Crouch Jamahl Crouch (Illusmm1 on Instagram) joined us at the GenCon Indy Writers Symposium to talk about what writers get wrong about street art. Jamahl is many th…
13.16: Avoiding Flat Characters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:43
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Duration: 19:05
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13.14: Character Nuance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:46
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Amal, and Maurice Let's talk about characters who have conflict built right into them; characters whose attributes and attitudes might seem to contradict one another; characters who like, y'kno…
13.13: Character Voice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:40
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard Character voice, the flow, order, and feel of words that is unique to a particular character, is extremely useful in defining characters for the reader. In this episode we discu…
13.12: Q&A on Heroes, Villains, and Main Characters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:14
Your Cast: Brandon, Valynne, Dan, Howard You had questions about heroes, villains, and main characters. We have answers! Here are the questions: * How do you make planned power increases not seem like an ass-pull¹? * Wha…
13.11: Writing Secondary Characters, with Charlaine Harris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:14
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard, with special guest Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris joined us in front of a live audience at the GenCon Writers Symposium to talk with us about secondary characters—why they'r…
13.10: Handling a Large Cast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:14
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13.9: Quick Characterization [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:16
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard How do you go about defining a character for your readers when you don't have many words to devote to the project? What are the tricks for quickly establishing someone's individ…
13.8: Making Characters Distinctive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:21
Your Hosts: Brandon, Valynne, Dan, and Howard What do we do to make our characters distinctive? Often we categorize the distinctions as flaws or quirks, and in this discussion we use those as our starting points. Credits…