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
17.44: Bodies, Why? (Part II: Working Through Disability) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:11
Your Hosts: Mary Robinette, Fran Wilde, C.L. Polk, and Howard Tayler Let's talk for a bit about writing while disabled. This can mean anything from scheduling your craft around doctor's appointments, to learning to opera…
17.43: Bodies. Why? (Depicting Disability) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:04
Your Hosts: Mary Robinette and Howard Tayler, with special guests Fran Wilde, C.L. Polk, and William Alexander Whether or not you're writing from your own experience, depicting disability in fiction is fraught. In this e…
17.42: Eight Embodied Episodes About Disability [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:10
Your Hosts: Mary Robinette and Howard Tayler, with special guests Fran Wilde, C.L. Polk, and William Alexander For the next eight episodes we'll be talking about bodies, and how they don't all work the same way, and how…
17.41: Picture Books are Books Too, with Special Guest Seth Fishman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:36
Your Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, and Howard Tayler, with special guest Seth Fishman Seth Fishman, author of seven picture books (as well as lots of longer-form stuff), joins us to talk abou…
17.39: Writing Bodies and Intimacy, with K.M. Szpara [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:20
Your Hosts: Mary Robinette Kowal, Dongwon Song, Piper J. Drake, & Howard Tayler, with special guest K. M. Szpara CONTENT WARNING: this episode is about adult acts and adult bodies, and we won't be using euphemisms. K.M.…
17.38: Oh No I Lost The Thread [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:08
Your Hosts: Howard Tayler, C.L. Polk, Marshall Carr, Jr., and Mary Robinette Kowal Oh no! You've put the project down for long enough that you've lost your place in it! Whatever will you do? For starters, you can listen…
17.37: Science and Fiction—It’s Not Just Science Fiction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:21
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Cady Coleman The fictional side of science and the scientific side of fiction are part of the discipline of science communication, often called SciComm. In this episode Ca…
17.36: Space for Everyone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:50
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Cady Coleman Chemist, USAF Colonel, and NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman joins us to talk about actual travel to actual space, and how that's a thing which is increasingly avai…
17.35: Nuances of Dialog [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:31
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Maurice Broaddus, and Howard Tayler We wrap up our eight-episode dialog master class with a discussion of nuance, which is difficult to describe in a blurb because it's... wel…