Podcast Episodes

Men In Black (archive)

Season 17

Season 5 kicks off with Men in Black. Valerie is studying plot structure, and Melanie is studying resonance. Now, admittedly, plot structure doesn't …

7 hours ago

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The Devil Wears Prada (archive)

Season 17

Sometimes, studying a story that you love can be a bit scary. What if it turns out that the story is rubbish, and what you really like is the soundtr…

1 week ago

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Dirty Dancing (archive)

Season 17

Does the nickname "baby" bother us? Why yes, yes it does. But we've got to admit, Dirty Dancing is an excellent example of the heroine's journey, as …

2 weeks ago

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Conclave: a masterclass in nuanced characters

Season 17 Episode 1707

Wowzers! This is a terrific movie. If you're writing a thriller (any sub-genre), or a story with nuanced and complex characters, this episode is for …

3 weeks ago

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Do this to Hook an Agent - Interview with Kathleen Foxx

Season 17

What does a literary agent look for in the sample writing pages of a query? In this special bonus episode, I speak with agent Kathleen Foxx (The Righ…

3 weeks, 5 days ago

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Mulholland Drive: trippy

Season 17 Episode 1706

Valerie asked me, “How are you going to explain this?” 

Trippy. 

It’s David Lynch and it’s trippy. 

It’s also an antiplot story with characters who h…

4 weeks ago

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Darkest Hour: darkest villain

Season 17 Episode 1705

Calling historical fiction writers, memoirists, and anyone writing a "David and Goliath" style story! In this episode, I do a deep dive into the Spee…

1 month ago

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Amour: looks easy, but isn't

Season 17 Episode 1704

HEADS-UP! Amour is beautiful but heavy (have the tissue ready!).

Do you want to write gritty stories that leave readers grief struck long after they …

1 month, 1 week ago

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Amour: looks easy, but isn't!

Season 17 Episode 1704

HEADS-UP! Amour is beautiful but heavy (have the tissue ready!).

Do you want to write gritty stories that leave readers grief struck long after they …

1 month, 1 week ago

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Invitation to a Murder: there's no plot!

Season 17 Episode 1703

Stories need both characters and a plot. That sounds obvious, I know...but you'd be surprised. In this week's episode, Melanie and I examine a film t…

1 month, 3 weeks ago

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