21.19: Getting Everything Connected

21.19: Getting Everything Connected

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler May 10, 2026 Duration: 24:21
Today, our hosts discuss how to make every part of your story feel connected through causal chains, thematic resonance, and reader pattern recognition. We take the idea that each action in a story should lead naturally to the next and pair it with how readers instinctively search for meaning and connection (even in randomness). Along the way, our hosts discuss concepts like Edgar Allan Poe’s “unity of effect,” the Kuleshov effect, emergent narrative in games, and the role of thematic consistency in stories that may appear plotless on the surface. They also share techniques for creating narrative momentum, planting meaningful details, and leaving space for readers to actively participate in building the story’s meaning. Homework: Take a story you’re working on and write each scene on an index card. Shuffle the cards, pick two at random, and write a new scene that could connect them through either a causal chain or a shared thematic effect. 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 Mary Robinette Kowal, Erin Roberts, and DongWon Song. 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
17.14: Structuring for Disordered or Order-less Reading Order [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:19
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Guest host Peng Shepherd leads our discussion of "order-less reading order" (after we get past the business of "having too much fun with the e…
17.13: Structuring Around a Thing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:35
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Our exploration of sub- and micro-structures continues with guest host Peng Shepherd. This week we're talking about how a story can be structu…
17.12: Structuring a Story Within a Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:45
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler One common structure—both macro and micro—is the "story within a story," or "framing story" structure, and yet somehow we've never really expl…
17.11: Structuring with Multiple Timelines [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:56
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler Guest host Peng Shepherd continues to lead our exploration of sub- and micro-structures by taking us into the scaffolding of in media res, fla…
17.10: Structuring with Multiple POVs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:13
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler In our second micro-structure episode, Peng Shepherd leads us into an exploration of the ways in which the use of multiple point-of-view chara…
17.9: Let’s Talk About Structure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:49
Your Hosts: Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Peng Shepherd, and Howard Tayler We're beginning another eight-episode deep-dive series, and this time it's a fresh approach to story structure, led by our guest host Peng She…
17.8: The Alchemy of Creativity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:17
Your Hosts: Howard Tayler, Kaela Rivera, Sandra Tayler, and Megan Lloyd How do you translate things from the spark of inspiration into a work that someone else can consume? Like, instead of turning a movie into a book, y…
17.7: Dissecting Influence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:40
Your Hosts: Howard Tayler, Kaela Rivera, Sandra Tayler, and Megan Lloyd What are your influences? What pieces of art, music, literature, or other media have inspired you? In this episode we'll talk about making that insp…
17.6: Hitting Reset Without Getting Hit Back [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:03
Your Hosts: Howard Tayler, Kaela Rivera, Sandra Tayler, and Megan Lloyd Oh no! You're in the middle of a thing (a novel, a series, a career) and you suddenly realize that the expectations you set early on are not the exp…
17.5: The Promise of the Brand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:56
Your Hosts: Howard Tayler, Kaela Rivera, Sandra Tayler, and Megan Lloyd Your brand—your name, the cover art for your book, and even the typeface for the title—set expectations for the book's contents. That advice about n…