21.11: The Cold Open- Action

21.11: The Cold Open- Action

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler March 15, 2026 Duration: 23:20
Sometimes the fastest way to hook a reader is to start with something exploding. In this episode, our hosts dig into the promise — and the pitfalls — of opening with action, and why survival alone is rarely enough to make us care. We explore how voice, worldbuilding, and character stakes must all be doing work beneath the punches and gunfire, especially in prose where readers can’t “see” the cool factor. From The Matrix to hockey rinks to fantasy prologues gone wrong, we look at how action can function as a delivery system for tension, authority, and emotional investment. The goal isn’t just spectacle — it’s giving readers a reason to turn the page. Homework: Choose an action cold open from a movie. Write down everything it’s doing beyond the visible action — how it builds the world, establishes stakes, defines character, and makes you feel. Then rewrite that scene in prose, making those elements explicit on the page. 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 Erin Roberts, DongWon Song, 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
18.22: On Mentorship: Sending the Elevator Back Down [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:36
Mentorship, education, and how to support marginalized creators and professionals Homework: What's one thing that you can do to make someone else's path easier? Can you take a step towards doing this this week? Thing of…
18.20: So You Want To Work In Publishing? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:32
Have you ever thought of being a publisher, but don't know if it's the right choice for you? In this episode, DongWon (an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency) walks you through this world and gives you some tips for…
18.19: What is Publishing For, Anyway? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:45
In this episode, we unpack what the publishing industry is, what exactly it does, and why it does it. We also outline the first steps for preparing to talk to an agent or publisher.Homework: If you had to sit down with a…
18.18: Launching an Author Newsletter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:11
Through all the tumultuous evolution of various social media platforms one thing has remained stable: email. In this episode we talk about how to design and deploy author newsletters. Credits: Your hosts for this episode…
18.17: Build Your Author Brand, 2023 Edition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:40
Dolly Parton once said "figure out who you are, and then do it on purpose." One of DongWon Song's newsletter installments riffs on this, and in this episode we riff further, exploring good principles of author branding a…
18.16: Deep Dive: Publishing is Hard, by DongWon Song [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:34
Publishing is hard. Also, Publishing is Hard is a newsletter from DongWon Song. They launched it in 2019 as an outlet for their experiences in the publishing industry. In this episode we explore this outlet, and grill Do…
18.15: Building a Mystery, Now With More Tools [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:44
Back in February, with Episode 18.8, we began exploring the process of writing a mystery story. That episode led us into a series of six episodes about tension, and the tools we use to create and manage it. And now, with…
18.14: Heavy Lifting with Microtension [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:15
Let's take all our tension tools and apply them in tiny ways. A big application of tension might be an argument between two characters about a course of plot-important action. Microtension might be those characters argui…
18.13: Finding the Core Conflict [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:32
In our ongoing exploration of tension, the time has come to examine conflict. It can be shaped and delivered in numerous ways, but you have to know the core conflict before you can make anybody feel tense about it. Credi…