Since this year’s Penguicon, which I was sadly unable to attend, I’ve been collecting episodes of the Writing Excuses podcast. Two writers whom I admire were guests in those episodes, so I started downloading. I would eventually get around to listening to them.

I finally copied the files over to my phone last night, and began listening while I was on the way to pick up my might-as-well-be-biological sister in preparation for her holiday return to Delaware. As an aside, I still dig my cassette tape adapter.

There’s something to be said about listening to writers talk about writing, when you’re a writer. (Write.) I didn’t lack motivation before I started to listen again, but I’m finding that I have more of it now that I did. It reminds me of listening to Mur Lafferty‘s I Should be Writing podcast. Which, now that I go and visit the site, seems to have included video.

If you are writing, want to write, or want to improve your writing, I would recommend both of these podcasts. They give us access to those that are going through the same trials and tribulations that we are, or those that already have. They give us ideas and writing prompts that may take us in a direction that we would never have thought to take. And, if we’re lucky enough to pick up on it, they might even give us perspective.