21.03: Deconstructing Plots

21.03: Deconstructing Plots

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler January 18, 2026 Duration: 20:44
Plot isn’t a set of commandments—it’s a collection of patterns we’ve learned to recognize. This episode kicks off the season’s deep dive into deconstructing plots, asking what different story structures are really doing beneath the surface and why they work (or don’t). Our hosts unpack plot as a toolbox rather than a formula, exploring action plots vs. emotion plots, Western vs. non-Western structures, and how audience expectations shape everything from middles to endings. This conversation reframes plot as a way to pull readers through a story—not to box writers in. Homework: Pick a story you enjoy and gently reverse-engineer it. Go scene by scene and label each one simply as “good thing happened” or “bad thing happened.” Look for patterns you didn’t realize were there. ANNOUNCEMENTS: 2/15 Cruise Prices Increase The final WXR cruise* sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—get your tickets now before prices increase on February 15th! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Erin Roberts, DongWon Song, and Mary Robinette Kowal. 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
12.40: Structuring a Novel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:54
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard What makes something a novel, rather than just a serialized collection of stuff that happens? How do we use structure to turn collections of stuff into something more cohesive?…
12.39: Q&A on Short(er) Fiction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:03
Your Hosts: Brandon, Piper, Dan, and Howard Our listeners sent us some questions about writing shorter fiction. Here are the questions: * How do you market short stories today? * Has ebook self-publishing made novellas m…
12.38: What Do Editors Really Want, with Toni Weisskopf and Cat Rambo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:14
Your Hosts: Dan and Howard Toni Weisskopf and Cat Rambo joined Dan and Howard to discuss what it is that editors "really want." Question To Help You Decide Whether Or Not To Send Your Editor Bad News: "Will this news get…
12.37: Subplots [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:33
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Mary Anne, and Wesley What makes a plot a subplot? Must subplots and main plots be linked by something more binding than the actual binding of the book? In this episode we answer these question…
12.36: Structuring a Mid-Length Piece [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:51
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard Larger than a short story, smaller than a novel... there's quite a bit of space between those two thresholds, and in this episode we discuss the ways in which we go about fillin…
12.34: Fulfilling the Reader’s Fantasy, with Brian McClellan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:10
Your Hosts: Brandon, Piper, Dan, and Howard Brian McClellan joins us for a discussion on fulfilling the promises we make to our readers—specifically the genre-specific promises made by the simple fact of where the book i…
12.33: How to be Brief, Yet Powerful [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:36
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Mary Anne, and Wesley We've talked about some of the structural guidelines for short stories. In this episode we'll discuss how to write in the short form while still putting down enough words…
12.32: Structuring a Short Piece [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:05
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary, Dan, and Howard We begin our exploration of short story structure with a re-cap of the MACE quotient (Milieu, Ask/Answer, Character, Event). Then we apply that tool to how we structure the piec…
12.31: What Makes a Good Monster, with Courtney Alameda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:49
Your Hosts: Howard, Mary, and Dan, with guest host Susan Chang Courtney Alameda joined us at LTUE 2017 to talk monsters, and what makes the best ones so good. We discuss some of our favorites, and how the criteria we app…