20.26: Gaming as a Writing Metaphor

20.26: Gaming as a Writing Metaphor

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler June 29, 2025 Duration: 26:07
What separates the way we experience a game versus the way we experience a prose narrative? Erin Roberts has written for many games, and she loves games particularly because they give the person experiencing the narrative more choice and more direct agency over what happens. This changes the way that we experience story. When you’re writing a game, the main thing you have to figure out is the actions: what are the potential things that could happen—and therefore, what are the verbs? We dive into decision, audience buy in, and ultimately try to answer the question: what does gaming teach us about making and finding meaning? Homework: Take a project you’re working on and imagine that someone is making a game of it. What would that game be? What would be the actions that the characters would be doing? What would be the part of the world that the game would be focused on? Feel free to look at examples of this (like the games that were made based on Lord of the Rings.) P.S. Our 2025 writing retreat (on a cruise! In Mexico!) is over 50% sold out! Learn more and sign up here. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Dan Wells, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson. Join Our Writing Community! Writing Retreats Newsletter 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
14.41: History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:49
Your Hosts: Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mahtab Let's make history! In this episode we talk about doing exactly that—creating real-feeling histories for secondary world settings. We discuss the resources we turn to, the pit…
14.40: Deep vs. Wide [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:15
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard How do you decide between digging one really deep, narrow well, and digging one really wide, shallow ocean? In this episode we talk about our desires to build worlds w…
14.39: Positioning Your Book in the Marketplace [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:54
Your Hosts: Howard, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Dongwon "Positioning feels like the most important question in all of publishing." — DongWon Song In this episode we talk about how to ask and answer the question of positioni…
14.38: Volunteer Opportunities for Writers, with Jared Quan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:13
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard, with special guest Jared Quan Jared Quan serves as a volunteer on several non-profit boards, and joined us to talk about the opportunities that exist for writers. Adm…
14.37: Outlandish Impossibilities [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:59
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard Some science fiction and fantasy stories arise from a premise which, under even just rudimentary examination, appear utterly ridiculous. And some of these stories are…
14.36: Languages and Naming [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:36
Your Hosts: Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mahtab How do we come up with names? How do we do it in ways that enhance our worldbuilding? What are the elements that give our invented naming schemes (even the zany ones with lots…
14.35: What You Leave Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:32
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard The advice commonly given to writers is to worldbuild an iceberg, but only to show the reader the tip. This is still too much work. Icebergs are big. In this episode w…
14.34: Author Branding [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:22
Your Hosts: Howard, Mary Robinette, Dan, and DongWon Authors have brands whether they want to have them or not. It's a simple principle of marketing, and the better we understand that principle, the better able we are to…
14.33: Writing Imperfect Worlds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:38
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Margaret, and Howard How do you write a setting in which the status quo is one with which you deeply disagree? How do you create a conflict of this sort without being overtly pedantic…
Worldbuilding Gender Roles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:26
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Margaret, and Howard Let's talk about worldbuilding with gender roles. Most of us have grown up with a very strongly defined binary, that distinction need not be how we craft the worl…