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 MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/excuses * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/wx * Check out Talkiatry: https://talkiatry.com/wx * If you’re struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15 minute call to get started: https://learn.nocd.com/wx 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: 100

Writing Excuses
Podcast Episodes
19.50: All Systems Go [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:56
As the end of Season 19 approaches, we want to help you integrate what you’ve learned over the year. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes designed to help you make measurable progress on a writing project. So dust o…
19.49: Getting to Know You [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:14
As we wrap up our Close Reading Series, we’re shifting our focus towards helping you integrate what you’ve learned. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes designed to help you make measurable progress on a writing pro…
19.48: Beginning With A Thrill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:56
As we wrap up our Close Reading Series, we’re shifting our focus towards helping you integrate what you’ve learned. For December, we’ll be releasing episodes designed to help you make measurable progress on a writing pro…
19.47: Final Thoughts on Our Close Reading Series [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:37
We reminisce on when we were on a writing retreat on a cruise in 2023, planning this close reading series. We have loved how this series grounded our conversations, allowing us to dive into works that were complex in spe…
19.46: An Interview on Structure with N.K. Jemisin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:00
We had the pleasure of sitting down with N.K. Jemisin to talk about the structures and processes that helped create The Fifth Season. We talk about outlines, multiple plotlines, and planets as characters. Jemisin lets us…
19.45: A Close Reading on Structure: Tying It All Together [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:21
We’ve loved doing our close reading series throughout 2024, and The Fifth Season has been no different. Today, we’re reflecting on what we learned in our episodes focusing on N.K. Jemisin’s incredible work. We reflect on…
19.44: A Close Reading on Structure: Tradition and Innovation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:12
Today we’re zooming out to see where N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season fits into the canon of fantasy literature. How does Jemisin interact with magic, words, and the expectations of the genre? And what expectations do the…
19.43: A Close Reading on Structure: Parallelism and Inversion [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:27
The structure of The Fifth Season features both mirroring and inversion. How do these structural shifts interact with the three POVs? On today’s episode, we talk about the parallelism of the perspectives and the linguist…
19.42: A Close Reading on Structure: Whose Perspective is it Anyways? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:56
Structure and POV (point of view) are often intertwined. In N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, we see this in the myriad perspective shifts. In this episode, we talk about the importance of these shifts on the structure of…