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Plot Blueprint - Podcast

Plot Blueprint

Writing a story? Here's a podcast where two story creators brainstorm about various aspects of plotting and characterization. We talk about openings, we talk about endings, we talk about unreliable narrators, we talk about character torture.... Join us for deep-dive conversations about the issues and interests working story-writers encounter.

Original music by Nick Weber and Heartland Heretics.

Tv & Film Writing Education Fiction Learning Story Books Storytelling Arts
Update frequency
every 6 days
Average duration
61 minutes
Episodes
27
Years Active
2020 - 2021
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Point of View in film

Point of View in film

We've talked about character viewpoint in written fiction. That's pretty fundamental, because fiction is created out of words-- words of description and thought and feeling, and it's usually a charac…

01:03:13  |   Thu 02 Dec 2021
Character Arc and Ending Questions

Character Arc and Ending Questions

 

Characters should change-- but gradually, in response to plot events. 

 

You can learn more and enroll here! Building Bolder Scenes with Alicia Rasley         

 

 

 

Email me about the course: buildingbol…

01:02:12  |   Thu 25 Nov 2021
Interactive Conflict

Interactive Conflict

There are 3 main conflicts in fiction:

External (outside) conflict

Internal (inside) conflict

Interactional (relationship) conflict.

 

We're talking about the interactional kind-- the conflict that change…

01:37:42  |   Thu 18 Nov 2021
Point of No Return example-- from Casablanca- La Marseillaise scene discussion

Point of No Return example-- from Casablanca- La Marseillaise scene discussion

Here we discuss "the most important nod in film". Oh, and "the greatest singalong in film." Same scene!  

This is the La Marseillaise scene from Casablanca, where:

  • Rick defies the Nazis
  • Laszlo risks his…
00:54:30  |   Thu 11 Nov 2021
Point of View Basics

Point of View Basics

POV basics podcast—Plot Blueprint Podcast

Main types of POV:

--

  1. 1st person
  2. Omniscient
  3. Third person

 

More here:

POV Basics-- just examples we discuss on the podcast

 

Questions to ask to help you choose what P…

01:32:21  |   Thu 04 Nov 2021
Gaming a Game

Gaming a Game

Gaming a game

James, the "game master (GM)" for different role-playing games, discusses building a world and a story in collaboration and in real-time.

 

Planning a collaborative TT-RPG  

World-building …

01:25:03  |   Thu 21 Oct 2021
Found Footage- Epistolary Stories Updated

Found Footage- Epistolary Stories Updated

"Found footage" refers to material, evidence, diaries, cassette tapes-- well, you'll have to listen! For story-writers, found footage can be a clever device to add a "meta" or postmodern layer to the…

01:37:17  |   Thu 14 Oct 2021
Setting as Character

Setting as Character

n some of the most popular stories, the setting-- the "where and when"-- is so PRESENT that it is almost another character-- one that causes changes in the plot and grows in response to plot events. …

01:16:09  |   Sun 10 Oct 2021
Listener Questions 4 acts

Listener Questions 4 acts

A listener asks, what if I don't have a three-act structure? What if I have 4 acts? How do I plot a story like that, with a lot of world-building and then a disaster in the middle?

Are you interested …

00:35:40  |   Thu 30 Sep 2021
Antiheroes

Antiheroes

Are you interested in a comprehensive course to help you plot your story from start to finish, all three acts and nine turning points, along with the major character developments? Then enroll in the

00:56:39  |   Thu 23 Sep 2021
Prologues

Prologues

"The past is prologue," said the Bard. What is a prologue? Why do so many readers love them? Why do so many editors hate them?

We'll discuss what a prologue is, what it can do, and when it can be effe…

00:43:53  |   Thu 16 Sep 2021
What's in a Name?

What's in a Name?

 

Some of us can't easily come up with character names. Some of us can't start a book without names for the character. What is in a name? Let's talk about how and when and what to name characters.

 

Are…

01:10:17  |   Thu 09 Sep 2021
Choice of Games

Choice of Games

There are all sorts of new ways to publish these days. Here's one that is a combination sort of == games and "choose your own adventure" books. It's called Choice of Games, and you can read more abou…

00:46:50  |   Thu 02 Sep 2021
Epistolary Storytelling: Letters, Diaries, Found Footage

Epistolary Storytelling: Letters, Diaries, Found Footage

Found footage, letters to a loved one, and many more are discussed in this episode about this classical but nontraditional method of storytelling.

 

Here we discuss different ways storywriters can use …

01:51:52  |   Thu 26 Aug 2021
Character Arc Questions

Character Arc Questions

01:02:12  |   Thu 19 Aug 2021
Listener Questions

Listener Questions

A listener asks about four-act plots.  This is the structure of most disaster films.

 

Sign up for our email list and get a free plotting article! http://bit.ly/AliciaRasleyStory

Check out our Plot Blue…

00:35:40  |   Thu 05 Aug 2021
What We Wrote today- One of us just starting, one revising

What We Wrote today- One of us just starting, one revising

Are you interested in a comprehensive course to help you plot your story from start to finish, all three acts and nine turning points, along with the major character developments?

Then enroll in the B…

00:46:14  |   Thu 05 Aug 2021
Foils

Foils

"Foils" refers to a pair of characters who have similar traits but different fates, like Hamlet and Laertes. You can use a foil to emphasize how a character's experiences, actions, and decisions chan…

00:18:38  |   Thu 22 Jul 2021
What We Wrote Today- Timed Exercise

What We Wrote Today- Timed Exercise

What We Wrote Today is just that-- we do a writing exercise and then discuss what we wrote. 

Sign up for our email list and get a free plotting article! http://bit.ly/AliciaRasleyStory 

Check out our P…

00:53:11  |   Thu 08 Jul 2021
Character Goals 2- Ending

Character Goals 2- Ending

This is the second part of the Goals discussion-- about how you can use goals to shape the ending of the story.

00:44:46  |   Thu 01 Jul 2021
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