Writing Excuses 8.3: Pets

We called it "Pets" because it's pithy, but what we're really talking about here is how to give your story's animals -- horses, dogs, cats -- a personality. Why is this important? Why might it be useful? What are the tropes and the common pitfalls? What is the difference between tortoise-shell, calico, and piebald? (We don't actually answer that last one.) Whether you're using animals as a sounding board, for raising the stakes, or as an early-warning system (or as all three) you'll want to give this a listen.