Story Grid Writers' Room

Get a bird’s-eye view of A Wizard of Earthsea while Leslie and Valerie offer a macro analysis of this fantasy origin story using Story Grid’s Editor’s Six Core Question. The 1968 story was written by…

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 Que…

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 Q…

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 u…

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 …

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 …

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 fi…

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 Q…

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 anal…

Ever since the Story Grid Editor Roundtable podcast 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 ma…

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 f…

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 gath…

In the Writers’ Room this week, Valerie and Leslie look at internal conflict and character revelation in a Turning Point scene of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2002 Worldview Story, The Secret Life of Bees. See ho…

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 T…

In the Writers’ Room this week, we listen closely to the “I Have a Voice” scene in the 2010 film The King’s Speech. The Oscar-winning story was directed by Tom Hooper from a screenplay by David Seidl…

We slide into the Revolution Scene in the Writers’ Room this week as we analyze the 1911 novella Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. We look at the difference between cautionary and tragic tales and discus…

Don't know what to include in the sales copy for your book? How can you describe your story to appeal to the ideal reader? Shawn Coyne and Valerie Francis help you find your way in a special Toolbox …

This week we face the Hero at the Mercy of the Villain in the Writers’ Room as we analyze the core event of the 2005 novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. 

But that’s not all! …

It’s time for the Big Showdown in the Writers’ Room this week as we analyze the 1953 short story “3:10 to Yuma” by Elmore Leonard.

This season we analyze a scene from a novel, short story or film beca…

It’s the Big Choice plus perspective in the Writers’ Room this week as we analyze the 1961 short story “ I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen.

Each week this season, we'll analyze a scene from a nove…