Avsnitt
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Novellas are the ace up your writerly sleeve! They enable you to practice all of the principles of storytelling in a shorter, more manageable form. That's going to make you a much better novelist because your story will be focused and you won't get lost in your manuscript. And oh, the best part? Novellas are on the rise. - V.
*Script note: In the episode, I mention that Jenna Bush recommended two novellas in her March 2024 bookclub. That is incorrect. She recommended one — THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET (Sandra Cisneros)
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Crazy Rich Asians pitches two female leads against each other - sounds excellent right? Not so fast… This should set up an epic battle of wills as one fights against traditions she doesn’t understand while the other fights to retain order and tradition. This week, I find out what happens when the protagonist doesn’t plausibly match, then surpass, the antagonist. Valerie discusses how superficial innovation doesn’t hide questionable male characters or Asian stereotypes.
"When I watched Rachel and Eleanor this week, I found Eleanor more fascinating and as a result, Rachel’s victory using game theory was hard to believe." - Melanie Hill
RELATED STORY NERD EPISODES
August Osage County (Season 8, Episode 1)
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (Season 7, Episode 6)
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For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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This movie was way ahead of its time. It's a brilliant example of the heroine's journey and Melanie walks us through all 10 phases as outlined in Maureen Murdock's THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY: A WOMAN'S QUEST FOR WHOLENESS. Thanks to its excellent use of setups and payoffs, it also has an ending that is both surprising and inevitable.
"One of our most hardwired expectations is that anything that reads like the beginning of a new pattern, that is a setup, will, in fact, be a setup with a corresponding payoff." - Lisa Cron
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The marketing for this film highlights Judi Dench, but she's barely in it at all. As fans of hers, Melanie and I were disappointed. The movie is ok but it wasn't what we expected and that soured our experience of the story. Melanie still did a study of female archetypes and I still studied setups and payoffs, but the real lesson this week is what happens when a story doesn't meet audience (or reader) expectations. -V.
"Female characters don't have to be based on female archetypes, and vice versa for male archetypes and male characters." - Melanie Hill
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For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
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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 well as female archetypes and how women are presented in stories. It also happens to be, structurally, an excellent film. It's not a complex story, but it's well-told. -V.
"In the first half of your story, you're planting seeds that will bear fruit in the second half of your story." - Valerie Francis
Related Story Nerd Episodes
Beginnings and Endings (Season 3)
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War stories are often the domain of ‘dick lit’ male protagonists, but is this a true representation of history and does the experience of women in war differ? In this episode, I reference historical female warriors and examines how the experiences of Maya, the protagonist in Zero Dark Thirty, compares with her wartime service. Valerie explores what happens when the scope of a story is too wide, and the impact scope has on setups and payoffs. -M
"What is interesting to me, is how women are portrayed in war movies, are they portrayed as masculine or weak, are they given due credit for their skill and experience, and how does this compare to my own experience?" - Melanie Hill
Related Story Nerd Episodes
Rogue One (Season 1, Episode 8)
Skyfall (Season 4, Episode 6)
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We're kicking off a brand new season with two new story concepts. Melanie will be studying female characters and how women are presented in modern stories (her work in this episode is reeeeally interesting!), and I'll be investigating something I learned from Steven Pressfield, which is that we shouldn't introduce anything new after Act 2.
"Setups and payoffs are questions asked and answered." Valerie Francis
Related Story Nerd Episodes:
Lady Bird (Season 8, Episode 9)
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This bonus episode was prompted by a chat I saw on Threads. It started with the question, what excites you most about having an agent? Offline, Melanie and I began to literary agents and what they do. We decided to hit record and share what we know with you. Enjoy! - V.
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Left-brained stories (mysteries, crime thrillers, spy stories) are among the highest selling books on the market today. Readers can't get enough of them, and that means the bar for authors is really high because we have to create a puzzle that our readers haven't seen before. Add to this the fact that the fundamentals of storytelling work in a slightly different way than they do with other stories. In this episode, Melanie and I summarize all the lessons we've learned over the past 10 episodes and we share our greatest a-ha moments.
Our study of left-brained stories didn't stop with the podcast though. Offline we've been diving deeply into this genre that we both love. We've gathered up everything the writer of a left-brained story needs to know and we've put it in a webinar coming up on May 2, 2024. Don't miss it! To register, click here. - V.
"In a left brain story, the hook is an intellectual one, it's not an emotional one." - Valerie Francis
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For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
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Are you planning to use a twist at the end of your story? Have you ever wondered how M. Night Shyamalan pulled off this famous gotcha ending? If so, this episode is for you! Melanie does a deep dive into story twists and surprises so that you can craft an ending that delights your reader. I focused on the Central Dramatic Question which is a key part of creating Narrative Drive (and you must have brilliant Narrative Drive if your reader is going to get all the way to the end of your novel).
-V.
"Creating a good twist requires a deep understanding of human nature." - Melanie Hill
RELATED STORY NERD EPISODES
THE DRY (Season 9, Episode 2)
Story Form (Season 5)
The Hero's Gift Expressed (Season 2)
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis
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To be a career author, you must have a breakout book. And, a breakout book is one that contains a story that works. In this episode, I tell you the story of an author who didn't know the difference between a breakout book and words on a page. What happened to him will make your jaw drop.
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I just attended a training session with a literary agent who said that failure to write a breakout book is one of the most common mistakes writers make. Well sure, that's fine to say, but (1) what is a breakout book and (2) how do you write one? Well, believe it or not, that's exactly what I'm covering in the How Stories Work webinar on April 9. Maybe I should have called the webinar How to Write a Breakout Book! The important point here is that there's a tried-and-true way to do it, and those who understand how stories work, and who apply the principles, are well on their way to having vibrant writing careers. The How Stories Work webinar is on April 9. Click the link below to register.
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis
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Now this is the epitome of a left-brained story. THE LAST OF SHEILA has puzzles within puzzles, an intricate plot that has been expertly set up, and a cast of characters who aren't who they seem to me. There are so many amazing things about it, I hardly know which of them to highlight for you here so I'll give you a bit of trivia: this movie was Rian Johnson's inspiration for THE GLASS ONION. Oh, and if you solved the mystery before the murderer was revealed, tag me on IG/Threads and let me know. I didn't get anywhere close to solving it.
-V
"If you can work a secret that is juicy and high stakes into your story, you're well on your way to creating really great narrative drive." - Valerie Francis
RELATED STORY NERD EPISODES
Gosford Park (Season 9, Episode 8)
See How They Run (Season 9, Episode 5)
Knives Out (Season 1, Episode 7)
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
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If you're writing a novel or memoir, you're writing a story. Sounds obvious, right? That may be, but most authors don't know how to tell a story that works. If you don't believe me check out the stats: 97% of the books sent to literary agents are rejected, of the books that get published 0.08% hit a bestseller list. Those who choose to self-publish can expect to pour thousands of dollars into advertising and sales dry up the second they stop promoting. But what if you knew how to write a story that works? Ah well, then readers will tell their friends about your book, and you're off to the races. -V
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This film offers two hugely valuable lessons to writers of all genres. The first is about the inciting incident and when it needs to happen. The second is about unlikeable characters and how to handle them. In Gosford Park, it's the victim who is unlikeable and that adds an interesting dimension to the murder mystery storyline.
-V.
"Notice where your sympathy and empathy lie. And ask yourselves, how does the writer create this? And most importantly, does it work in the context of what they're trying to achieve?" - Melanie Hill
Related Story Nerd Episodes
No Way Out (Season 8, Episode 4)
Death on the Nile (Season 2, Episode 7)
Crooked House (Season 9, Episode 1)
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
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In our last episode about our most embarrassing literary moments, Melanie and I said that line writing (or prose writing) means learning to write a narrative. We also said that there are specific techniques involved in writing a narrative, but we didn't say what any of them are. So that's the purpose of this little mini episode. We reveal a line writing secret about one of the most valuable narrative techniques available to us as authors and storytellers.
-V
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No one is born knowing how to write great prose. Like any other kind of specialized writing (ex., newspapers, academia, web, etc.), writing prose is a particular skill that can, and must, be learned. While Melanie and I were meeting to discuss our upcoming webinar about line writing, we started to share (horror) stories from the early days of our own literary careers and boy, are they doozies! Hoping that our mistakes might help you avoid the same pitfalls (or maybe just give you a good laugh) we hit the record button. I even share a sample from my own early work and, oh my! I blush at the thought of you hearing it...
-V
"I received some crushing feedback from one of my tutors about my writing." - Melanie Hill
"There is zero tolerance in this business for poor prose skills." - Valerie Francis
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
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Readers are on a need to know basis. That means that, as storytellers, we only tell them what they need to know, and only when they need to know it. In this adaptation of John le Carre's novel, the filmmakers could have told us everything we needed to know about Issa in the first few minutes. Instead, they sprinkled the details a little bit at a time, and as a result, the audience's curiosity goes into overdrive.
Melanie and I still think the book is better (shocker, right?), but this is a great episode to discover how to control the flow of information in a story. -V
"It's really tempting to say that, 'Well, I have to start my novel or my memoir with three chapters of backstory'." - Valerie Francis
Related Story Nerd Episodes
See How They Run (Season 9, Episode 5)
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis
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There are two ways to write great stories. The first involves at least 20 years of reading, writing and being rejected. The second, which is much faster, involves learning story theory. (Big shocker that I'm saying that, right?) If option number two sounds good to you, then check out the Story Nerd Spring Webinar Series, which kicks off on March 28. Melanie and I will teach you the concepts you need to know, in a way that you can use, so you can craft better stories right away.
For more information, and to register, visit www.valeriefrancis.ca/spring2024
-V.
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
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The movie had both me and Valerie on the edge of our seats. When we come across a masterful movie we pull out as much as we can for you. This episode is chock-a-block full of info about point of view, narrative drive, clues, and liars. We also examine how the twist in The Good Liar is set up and pulled off. I continue to track the clues and motives this week...or should we say I track the lies. Valerie discusses how point of view and narrative drive work together to create this exciting thriller.
If you're building up to your twisty ending, this episode will have you speedwriting to get to the big reveal. -M
"When the whole meaning of a movie or a story changes, because of a vital piece of information REVEALED AT THE END then this is a device called a twist." - Melanie Hill
Related Story Nerd Episodes
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Season 9, Episode 4)
The Bourne Identity (Season 3, Episode 2)
REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES
For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.
To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.
Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis
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- Visa fler
