21.34: Knowing the Distance

from Writing Excuses · host Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

How close is your reader to the story? Should they be closer? Today, our hosts get nerdy about narrative distance: the space between reader, narrator, character, and world. We talk POV, sensory detail, and familiarity—and how each can zoom a reader in or pull them back. From The Lord of the Rings to Severance, we look at what changes when we experience one person’s pain up close versus an entire battle from afar. Homework: Write an action scene where the heroes violently dispatch their enemies. Then rewrite it with a perspective and distance shift so it becomes a horror scene about those enemies being miserably dispatched. WAITLIST for our Final WXR Cruise! Our final WXR cruise is sold out, but you can join our waitlist here! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, DongWon Song, and Erin Roberts. 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 Talkiatry and use my code talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 23, 2026

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21.34: Knowing the Distance

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This episode was published on August 23, 2026.

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