20.15: Third Person Omniscient

20.15: Third Person Omniscient

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler April 13, 2025 Duration: 25:28
With today’s episode, we are continuing our discussion on proximity by focusing on another POV: third person omniscient. In omniscient POV, the narrator can see all and move into any character's head. It's sometimes seen as old fashioned, like Jane Austen. But writers like John Scalzi and Liza Palmer are using it to good effect as a way of exerting control over exactly what the audience sees in ways that are similar to a filmmaker. So why is it so hard to do well? And what does it allow the writer to do that no other voice does? Homework: Describe a street scene where your main character is walking down the street. Move us through this scene through the perspective of 5-6 bystanders observing this happening. Focus on sensory details: what is everybody seeing/ smelling/ looking at? And how does this establish where your main character is in the scene? P.S. Our Writing Excuses cruise is over 60% 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

Writing Excuses
Podcast Episodes
15.19: As You Know, This Episode Is About Exposition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:47
Your Hosts: Brandon, Victoria, Dan, and Howard "As you know, Bob..." is the trope-tastic line we use to refer to expository dialog which has no function beyond exposition. We get lots of listener questions about how to u…
15.18: Finding a Community, with Shauna Hoffman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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15.16: Balancing Plot and Character [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:21
Your Hosts: Brandon, Victoria, Dan, and Howard We're often asked how to balance character arcs with the intricacies of the plots we create. In this episode we talk about the various ways in which we do this. Credits: Thi…
15.15: Dialog [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:41
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard Listener questions drove this episode, and there are only two of them but they were pretty good drivers. Here they are: * Is it a problem that all my dialog ends up as…
15.14: Agent Query Trenches [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:16
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15.13: Using Elections in Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:23
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15.12: Writing the Other—Being an Ally [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:32
Your Hosts: Piper, Tempest, DongWon, with special guest Erin Roberts What can we do to be allies to members of marginalized groups? Many of us want to find ways to help others have safe, comfortable places within our com…
15.11: Digital is Different, with Cory Doctorow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:03
Your Hosts: Mary Robinette, Piper, Howard, and special guest Cory Doctorow "How do you break in?" is one of those questions we always get asked in some form or another, and it's also one for which those of us who "broke…
15.10: Evaluating Ideas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:27
Your Hosts: Brandon, Victoria, Dan, and Howard We've talked in the past about how ideas are cheap, and that it's execution upon those ideas which is what really matters. In this episode we'll talk about how we evaluate t…