Writing Excuses 8.1: Microcasting

We're back for 2013 and Season 8, so let's start it off by answering all your questions! That's right, it's time for a fast-paced, lightning round of microcasting! It's like eight very, very short podcasts in one. * Why do some authors only ever come out with one or two books? * What's your process for writing fast under artificial deadlines (NaNoWriMo)? * How do you avoid getting bogged down in explanation? * What happened to your Hero of a Thousand Faces episode? (Whoops! See below.) * Are there concerns or pitfalls regarding the use of metaphors and similes in genre fiction? * What are some pitfalls to writing short stories? * How do you write sex scenes? (Note: This particular question resulted in an entire episode back in Season 7. Shanna Germain to the rescue!) * Have any of you included original poems in your work? Whoops! We lock-stepped this episode to the release of A Memory of Light, but we ALSO locked it to air after our Hero of a Thousand Faces discussion. Crass commercialism trumps continuity! You'll get the hero's journey next week. Incidentally: If you're eligible to nominate things for the 2013 Hugo Awards, here's a list of the things we've done which are eligible.