21.07: Deep Dive- “With Her Serpent Locks”

21.07: Deep Dive- “With Her Serpent Locks”

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler February 15, 2026 Duration: 23:48
To celebrate Mary Robinette’s birthday today (!!), she is taking us inside the craft (and emotional engine) of her short story “With Her Serpent Locks,” using it as a case study in beginnings, control, and creative “leveling up.” Our hosts dig into grounding the reader through myth, pattern, and delayed information, and how a familiar framework can make readers feel both clever and cared for. The conversation unpacks how intentional choices—like withholding names, structuring scenes around question words, and planting details early—create trust and momentum. Along the way, we talk honestly about what it feels like when craft skills become internalized and a story finally clicks into ease. Homework: Take a strong emotion you’ve felt recently and describe it as a metaphor. Then use that metaphor as a writing prompt. Final WXR Cruise! Our final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—get your tickets here! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Marshall Carr, 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
15.09: Choose Your Own Adventurous Publishing Path [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:39
Your Hosts: Dan, DongWon, Piper, and Howard "Should I go self-pub? Should I go traditional? Can I do both? How do I decide where my book fits?" In this episode we'll cover these, and many more questions as best we're abl…
15.08: Q&A on a Ship [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:39
Your Hosts: Dan, Mary Robinette, DongWon, and Howard At WXR 19 we recorded live, and took audience questions aboard the ship. Here they are! (You'll have to listen to the episode for the answers.) * What have you learned…
15.07: Creating Chapters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:19
Your Hosts: Brandon, Victoria, Dan, and Howard How do you create chapters? What are the rules for carving your manuscript into numbered chunks? Is chaptering part of your outline, is it something you discover while you w…
15.06: Prose and Cons, with Patrick Rothfuss [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:45
Your Hosts: Dan, Mary Robinette, Howard, with special guest Patrick Rothfuss How do you write beautiful prose? How do you set about telling a story with words that sing (and dance, and tell jokes) instead of just conveyi…
15.05: Setting Goals for Your Career [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:04
Your Hosts: Brandon, Victoria, Dan, and Howard What kind of career goal-setting do you do? We had a discussion in this vein with DongWon a few weeks ago, but neither Brandon nor Victoria participated then, so it's worth…
15.04: Revision, with Patrick Rothfuss [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:06
Your Hosts: Dan, Howard, and Mary Robinette, with special guest Patrick Rothfuss We begin our discussion of revision by addressing a question we hear a lot: How do you know what needs to be changed? We talk about our var…
15.03: Self Publishing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:14
Your Hosts: Howard, with special guests Victorine Lieske, Tamie Dearen, Bridget E. Baker, and Nandi Taylor Howard leads this discussion with four guests who are doing well with self publishing. They share some numbers wi…
15.02: Writing Between the Lines [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:53
Your Hosts: Brandon, Victoria, Dan, and Howard Victoria Schwab, who also writes as V.E. Schwab, joins us this year, and in this episode she helps us cover that deep concept of "theme," and how we as authors can state our…
15.01: Evolution of a Career [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:46
Your Hosts: Dan, DongWon, Mary Robinette, and Howard Season 15 is going to be a bit broader than the previous seasons have, at least in the abstract. We're going to focus on your questions. In this episode we tackle the…