20.38: An Interview with Charlie Jane Anders

20.38: An Interview with Charlie Jane Anders

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler September 21, 2025 Duration: 35:03
We had the absolute joy of sitting down with Charlie Jane Anders, the author of the book we’ve focused on for our last four episodes (All the Birds in the Sky). We talked with Anders about POV, tone, and how she played around with humor —partly by occasionally using an omniscient POV! Anders also explained how to incorporate humor and whimsy, and what it feels like to take risks as an author in today’s literary landscape. Thing of the Week: Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders Homework from Charlie Jane Anders: Take a scene you’ve already written and add five or six narrative asides that are providing information that the characters in the scene couldn’t possibly know. Ads: If you’re interested in the Whodunit Murder Mystery cruise (which you heard a teaser for at the start of this episode)—you can visit whodunitcruises.com to learn more! The next cruise is February 6th, 2026 and leaves from Los Angeles! For 20% off Scrivener, you can the code “EXCUSES” for at www.literatureandlatte.com. Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal and DongWon Song. Our guest was Charlie Jane Anders. 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
13.27: Characters as Foils [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:53
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Amal, and Maurice A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another character. The foil might be a sidekick, an antagonist, a romantic interest, or really any other character who gets e…
13.26: Character Relationships [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:24
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard Our characters become far more interesting when they begin interacting with each other. These interactions—these relationships—are often how our stories get told. In this episod…
13.25: Our Journey With Character [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:26
Your Hosts: Brandon, Valynne, Dan, and Howard Brandon wanted to ask us how our perspectives on character have changed since the very beginning of our writing. It's a difficult question to answer, and a very soulful sort…
13.23: Internal Conflicts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:46
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Amal, and Maurice Internal conflicts, simply put, are problems your characters have with themselves. In this episode we address the ways in which writers can build stories and subplots around i…
13.22: Character Arcs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:10
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard When Mary says we could do fifteen different episodes on character arcs, she's being conservative. Notwithstanding, we set out to talk meaningfully about character arcs in one e…
13.21: Q&A on Character Depth and Motivation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:08
Your Hosts: Brandon, Valynne, Dan, and Howard Our listeners submitted some great questions! * How do you fairly and even-handedly write a deeply compelling character you deeply dislike? * What's the best way to discuss a…
13.20: Fear and Writing, with Emma Newman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:42
Your Hosts: Dan, Mary, Aliette, and Howard, with special guest Emma Newman Emma Newman, author, audio book narrator, and podcaster, joined us on the Baltic sea for WXR 2017, where, six days after a brilliant presentation…
13.19: Backstories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:33
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Amal, and Maurice Character backstories: these are the tales that describe how the characters in your story became who they are by the time they arrive in the book. How much backstory needs to…
13.18: Naturally Revealing Character Motivation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:02
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard What motivates us? What really motivates us? Why? (Note: our motivations are probably not in service of some overarching plot.) How can we use this information to believably mot…