Story Grid Writers' Room

We’re keeping one eye on superheroes this week as Leslie hammers home some insights about the epic-style Action story in Thor: Ragnarok. This 2017 Marvel blockbuster was written by Eric Pearson, Crai…

When the villain goes low, we go high with the classic Status Admiration story, A Little Princess. This 1905 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett was most recently adapted to film in 1995 by screenwriter…

Welcome to the Story Grid Masterwork Experiment!

In this ten-episode summer series, Shawn Coyne and author Anne Hawley are breaking a great masterwork down to the beat level to find out whether an ex…

Here’s a preview of the winning hand of stories the Roundtablers are getting ready to bring you in Season 5. Join us for Episode 0, where Anne, Kim, Valerie, Jarie and Leslie each reveal their first …

It’s 20 minutes of deep insight this time as Valerie Francis brings you a bite-size episode on Value Shift.

Here on the Roundtable we're dedicated to helping you become a better writer, following the…

It’s 20 minutes of deep insight this time as Kim Kessler bring you a bite-size episode on Vetting Your Book Idea.

Here on the Roundtable we're dedicated to helping you become a better writer, followi…

What is exposition, and why should novelists be leery of it? Turns out there's brain science behind “Show Don't Tell.” Editor Anne Hawley lays it all out in this 20-minute Bite Size Edition.

Here on …

This week, Kim and the other Roundtablers continue piecing together global internal genre stories with the 2018 independent film, Puzzle. The screenplay, an adaptation from a 2010 Argentinian film Ro…

It’s tradition versus change as Valerie and the Roundtablers examine dramatic irony in the British historical drama The Queen. This 2006 film examining events surrounding the death of Princess Diana …

Don’t call us stupid! Jarie and the team examine 1998’s *A Fish Called Wanda *for comedic dialogue. This heist comedy was directed by Charles Crichton from a screenplay by Charles Crichton and John C…

It’s bread, circuses, and action subgenre conventions this week as the Roundtablers look at The Hunger Games. This 2012 movie was written by Billy Ray, Gary Ross, and Suzanne Collins based on Collins…

Love is all around us this week as the Roundtablers sashay into the miniplot story structure with Love Actually. This 2003 all-star British romantic comedy was written and directed by Richard Curtis.

We’re in Nashville this week for Story Grid University’s second Editor Certification course. Join us for some lively interviews with the students who are about to join the exclusive club of Story Gri…

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but you are not well-read enough.”

It’s 20 minutes of professional inspiration for writers and editors this time as the Roundtablers interview Shawn Coyne on the criti…

This week, the team goes global with the foreign language film A Man Called Ove to study Global Internal Genres. This 2015 Swedish comedy-drama was written and directed by Hannes Holm.

Each week one …

Sit in a chair and watch the suspense unfold this week as Valerie and the other Roundtablers examine Rear Window.

Each week one of the Story Grid Editors—Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley,…

You betcha the Roundtablers are going to chip away at how set and setting drive dialogue in the 1996 Coen Brothers film Fargo. This dark comedy was directed by Joel Coen from the script he co-wrote w…

It’s international intrigue with comedy on the side on the Roundtable this week as Leslie continues to explore action plot conventions in The Spy Who Dumped Me. This 2018 action-epic-conspiracy film …

TV shows? Video Games? Choose Your Own Adventure? The Roundtablers take on "Bandersnatch" this week as Anne continues her exploration inot complex story forms. This 2018 episode of the Netflix series…

The fundamentals of global internal genre are under review this time as Kim pitches The Fundamentals of Caring, a 2016 independent film written and directed by Rob Burnett.

Each week one of the Stor…