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    story grid

    Explore " story grid" with insightful episodes like "Our Best Advice: beginnings/endings + sequences", "Bend It Like Beckham", "Genres: best advice for authors", "The Power of the Dog: the epitome of a blended genre story" and "The Courier: when is a spy story not a spy story?" from podcasts like ""Story Nerd", "Story Nerd", "Story Nerd", "Story Nerd" and "Story Nerd"" and more!

    Episodes (100)

    Our Best Advice: beginnings/endings + sequences

    Our Best Advice: beginnings/endings + sequences
    To wrap up Season 3, we're doing a rundown of everything we've learned in the past ten episodes about the beginnings and endings of stories (and how they work as a unit), and sequences. Be sure to bookmark this episode so you can return to it whenever you need a quick refresher!For information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinars For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircle To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.au Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

    Bend It Like Beckham

    Bend It Like Beckham
    You can't go wrong with a performance story; it's a crowd-pleaser every time. With this genre, the opponent is usually the sole antagonist. But this film has a whole host of antagonists working together to complicate the plot and make life for the heroine very, very difficult. How did the writers weave together multiple forces of antagonism so seamlessly? Tune in to find out. For information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinars For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircle To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.au Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

    Genres: best advice for authors

    Genres: best advice for authors
    In this episode, Valerie and Melanie review their key takeaways from the ten films they studied this season. Tune in to learn their best advice for authors, ah-ha moments and resource recommendations. For information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinars For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircle To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.au Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

    The Power of the Dog: the epitome of a blended genre story

    The Power of the Dog: the epitome of a blended genre story
    If you plan to blend genres in your novel, then do yourself a favour and tune in to this week's episode of Story Nerd. Maybe it's a western and maybe it isn't. Maybe it's something entirely new. Jane Campion and the entire team of professionals brought their A-Game to this one!For information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinars For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircle To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.au Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

    The Courier: when is a spy story not a spy story?

    The Courier: when is a spy story not a spy story?
    In this episode, Melanie takes us on a deep dive of spy stories, their conventions and subgenres. It turns out that what we usually think of as spy stories might not be spy stories at all! Meanwhile, Valerie examines the testing plot and offers advice about how to write historical fiction that works.For information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinars For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircle To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.au Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

    Late Night: a story is about one thing

    Late Night: a story is about one thing
    A story makes one point. If your story is about everything, then it's about nothing. Understanding genre is a vital skill for writers because everything in a story flows from it; it's the key to telling a story in an entertaining and effective way. Can you boil your story down to one idea? Does your choice of genre help your story make its point?For information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinars For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircle To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.au Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

    Season Three Preview

    Season Three Preview

    This season on the Story Grid Writers’ Room podcast, Leslie and Valerie are doing a full Story Grid macro analysis of A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. We'll review the Editor’s Six Core Questions and look at each of the acts in detail.

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. Valerie and Leslie analyze stories and scenes to help you understand how to apply Story Grid tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Gone Girl - Key Takeaways

    Gone Girl - Key Takeaways

    Stay tuned to discover the final takeaways from Valerie and Leslie’s  deep study of Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel, Gone Girl. Find out what they’ve learned from applying Story Grid’s Editor’s Six Core Questions and breaking down each quadrant of this compelling Psychological Thriller. 

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. This season Valerie and Leslie will spend six episodes analyzing Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to help you understand how to apply Story Grid’s macro tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Gone Girl - Ending Payoff

    Gone Girl - Ending Payoff

    Wonder how to deliver a powerful and satisfying finish to your story? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie analyze the ending payoff of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl to unpack what makes this story work so well. 

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. This season Valerie and Leslie take six episodes to analyze Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to help you understand how to apply Story Grid’s macro tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Gone Girl - Middle Build Two

    Gone Girl - Middle Build Two

    Feeling stuck in the middle of your story? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie analyze the middle build 2 quadrant of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl to unpack what makes this story work so well.

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. This season Valerie and Leslie take six episodes to analyze Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to help you understand how to apply Story Grid’s macro tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Gone Girl - Middle Build 1

    Gone Girl - Middle Build 1

    How can you keep readers turning pages through the middle build of your story? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie find out by analyzing the middle build 1 quadrant of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. This season Valerie and Leslie will spend six episodes analyzing Gone Girl to help you understand how to apply Story Grid’s macro tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Gone Girl - The Beginning Hook

    Gone Girl - The Beginning Hook

    What makes the opening of Gillian Flynn’s 2012 Psychological Thriller, Gone Girl, so compelling? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie analyze the beginning hook to find out.

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. This season Valerie and Leslie will spend six episodes analyzing Gone Girl to help you understand how to apply Story Grid’s macro tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Gone Girl - Editor's Six Core Questions Analysis

    Gone Girl - Editor's Six Core Questions Analysis

    Follow the clues this week to uncover the genius behind Gillian Flynn’s 2012 Psychological Thriller, Gone Girl. Valerie and Leslie analyze the macro story by applying Story Grid's Editor’s Six Core Questions. They identify the global genre, the conventions and obligatory moments of the genre, point of view and narrative device, objects of desire, the controlling idea, and the beginning hook, middle, build, and ending payoff.

    The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the Story Grid method so you can put it to work. This season Valerie and Leslie will spend six episodes analyzing Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to help you understand how to apply Story Grid’s macro tools to masterworks and your own story.

    Click here for the full show notes.

     

    Roundtable Reissue - Gone Girl E6CQA

    Roundtable Reissue - Gone Girl E6CQA

    Ever since the Story Grid Editor Roundtable started three years ago, we've been asked to apply the Story Grid method to a novel. Well, this is it! This season we're doing a full Story Grid macro analysis of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. We'll review the Editor’s Six Core Questions in the first episode. Haven't read it yet? Grab a copy of the novel now and follow along with us on December 9, 2020, when we'll post the first episode of the new season.

    To whet your appetite, we’re sharing our Story Grid Editor Roundtable analysis of the 2014 film adaptation.

    Click here for the full show notes of this "Roundtable Reissue" episode.

     

    Season One Wrap-Up

    Season One Wrap-Up

    It’s a wrap! In this episode, Valerie and Leslie close out the first season of the Story Grid Writer’s Room Podcast with a review of takeaways and lessons learned.

    This season we're analyzing scenes from novels, short stories and films because scenes are the basic building blocks of story. To be able to write a story that works, you must be able to write a scene that works.

    Click here for the full show notes.

    Exposing the Criminal Scene - The Body in the Library

    Exposing the Criminal Scene - The Body in the Library

    In the Writers’ Room this week, Valerie and Leslie find out whodunit and how in the Core Event of The Body in the Library  by Agatha Christie. The 1942 Cozy Mystery features a classic "summation gathering" scene when Miss Jane Marple reveals how she discovered the killer’s identity. 

    We're focusing on scenes this season because scenes are the basic building blocks of story. To be able to write a story that works, you must be able to write a scene that works.

    Click here for the full show notes.

     

    Hero at the Mercy of the Villain - The Girl on the Train

    Hero at the Mercy of the Villain - The Girl on the Train

    In the Writers’ Room this week, Valerie and Leslie unpack the many points of conflict from different perspectives in the Core Event of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. The 2015 Psychological Thriller culminates in an extended Hero at the Mercy of the Villain scene that features a “Tug of War” where life hangs in the balance. Learn about unreliable narrators and shifting points of view, and don’t forget to check out the the list of progressive complications in the show notes.

    This season we're analyzing scenes from novels, short stories and films because scenes are the basic building blocks of story. To be able to write a story that works, you must be able to write a scene that works.

    Click here for the full show notes.

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