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
14.31: Cultural Setting as Conflict [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:19
Your Hosts: Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mahtab In this episode we talk about how to put characters in conflict with their setting, and how to structure our work so that these conflicts arise organically rather than feeling…
14.30:  Eating Your Way to Better Worldbuilding [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:23
Your Hosts: Piper, DongWon, Amal, and Maurice We like food, and we like to talk about food. Our hosts this week talk about how this influences their fiction, (not to mention how incredibly complex [and interesting, and d…
14.29: Field Research [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:13
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Margaret, and Howard So, you're going to go someplace and learn something you can't learn in any other way. Maybe it's location research for setting. Maybe you're off to interview an…
14.28: Warfare and Weaponry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:43
Your Hosts: Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mahtab How do you write about warfare in your stories when you've never fought in a war? How do you describe brilliant tactics when you're completely untrained in military movements?…
14.27: Natural Setting as Conflict [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:14
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard In this episode we stories with the "Person-vs-Setting" structure. These are stories where nature fills the role of antagonist, and may also be what governs the pacing…
14.26: Lessons from Aristotle, with Rob Kimbro [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:04
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, and Dan, with special guest Rob Kimbro Rob Kimbro joins us this week to talk about Aristotle's elements of tragedy, and how they might be applied to our writing. The six elements are…
14.25: Choosing Your Agent [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:07
Your Hosts: Howard, Mary Robinette, Dan, and DongWon Guest-host Dongwon Song joined us at WXR 2018 as an instructor, and gave great advice regarding the business side of working as an author. In this episode he takes us…
14.24: Political Intrigue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:07
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Margaret, and Howard Political Intrigue stories are less about "politics" (as colloquially defined by pop culture) and more about mysteries. Per Mary Robinette, they're often like hei…
14.23: Governments Large and Small [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:55
Your Hosts: Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mahtab What kinds of governmental systems do you live within? What kinds do you implement? Answering these questions can help you with the worldbuilding of political power structures…
14.22: Characters out of Their Depth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:51
Your Hosts: Brandon, Mary Robinette, Dan, and Howard Sherlock Holmes has his Watson for a reason. Readers need a character to whom some things must be explained. In this episode we talk about how we create these gateway…