21.35: The Four Acts of Kishōtenketsu

Writing Excuses by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

Aug 30, 202621:43Arts

This week, our hosts explore kishōtenketsu, an Asian story structure that appears under different names in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Unlike the Western three-act structure, it isn’t built around conflict. Instead...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from Writing Excuses.

21.36: Twists: How to Make the Unexpected Feel Inevitable

Sep 6, 2026 - 23:47

A great twist shouldn’t just surprise us—it should make us rethink everything that came before. This week...

21.34: Knowing the Distance

Aug 23, 2026 - 23:35

How close is your reader to the story? Should they be closer? Today, our hosts get nerdy about narrative...

21.33: When To Shift Gears

Aug 16, 2026 - 22:30

A story doesn’t always need the same tools from beginning to end. In this episode, we talk about recogniz...

21.32: Barrier Breaking- Time Constraints

Aug 9, 2026 - 27:51

There never seems to be enough time to write—but is time really the problem? Our hosts explore the realit...

21.31: Deconstructing Save the Cat

Aug 2, 2026 - 27:22

Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder was published in 2005 and i...

21.30: Chapter Breaks Soon

Jul 26, 2026 - 27:56

A lot of times people want to know what the "ideal length" is for a chapter. But chapters can range from...

21.29: How to Make a Scene

Jul 19, 2026 - 28:58

What makes a scene feel like a scene? This week, we unpack one of storytelling's most basic building bloc...

21.28: Narrative Transitions

Jul 12, 2026 - 26:48

How do you move readers from one scene to the next without losing momentum? Our hosts dig into different...