Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchStory 101: Quibbling Over Semantics
Season 6
The biggest problem facing writers who are trying to understand theory and learn how stories work, is that there is no standard lexicon. This leads t…
2 years, 10 months ago
10 Things I Hate About You: what not to do
Season 6 Episode 602
This may not be the worst movie ever made, but it's certainly among them. The filmmakers have completely ignored storytelling basics and boy, does it…
2 years, 10 months ago
The King's Speech: try this trick
Season 6 Episode 601
On this brand new season of the podcast Valerie and Melanie are diving deeply into EMPATHY and STAKES. How did the makers of The King's Speech get us…
2 years, 10 months ago
Our Best Advice: story form + resonance
Season 5 Episode 511
Are you writing a novel with more than one protagonist and/or plotline? Are you using flashbacks or writing a series? If so, this is an episode you s…
2 years, 11 months ago
Gatsby: who's the protagonist?
Season 5 Episode 510
The shape of this story (the film version, anyway) changes dramatically depending on who you think the protagonist is. It's Jay Gatsby, right? Ah, ma…
2 years, 11 months ago
When Harry Met Sally: quasi antiplot huh?
Season 5 Episode 509
Seriously, what the heck is a quasi antiplot story? It sounds pretty fringe; like some crazy, obscure little bit of story theory that writers will ne…
2 years, 11 months ago
Star Wars Ep7: the face plant
Season 5 Episode 508
As we saw in the Aliens episode, resonance is a powerful tool for anyone developing a series. But what happens when resonance is used ineffectively? …
2 years, 11 months ago
Wayne's World: party on, story nerds!
Season 5 Episode 507
Well this is one wild ride of an episode! Wayne's World is an antiplot story that offers up plenty of writing lessons that surprised the heck out of …
3 years ago
Aliens: writing a series
Season 5 Episode 506
If you're writing a series (no matter what the genre), this is one episode you won't want to miss. How did James Cameron use Resonance to create a se…
3 years ago
Nashville: writing multiple POVs
Season 5 Episode 505
Hold on to your hats! Robert Altman's 1975 classic, Nashville, has 24 main characters and more storylines that you can count. If you're writing a sto…
3 years ago