In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Q&A on Beginnings, we answer some of your questions on the matter. Here are some of the questions:

• What are there differences between the beginnings in different forms?
• How do you begin in media res when you’re not writing action?
• What’s the biggest mistake that can be made when plotting the beginning?
• I see a lot of big-name author beginnings that aren’t all that strong. Why should I spend time making my beginning awesome?
• How do you balance the need to have something happening right away against the need to have the reader know something about the characters?
• In creating a character, where do you start in the development process, and what do you begin revealing first?

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Alice Arneson watched madness blossom in two interlude chapters. This week, Carl Engle-Laird, watches science mixed with a little madness, flourish on the Shattered Plains.

The Rithmatist is on sale in the UK on Kindle (and may be price-matched at other vendors) until May 4th. I have country-specific links in the tabs here. And for everyone else (including those in the UK), my novella Perfect State came out a few weeks ago, if you missed the news.

My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter posts archive for April.