Story Nerd
For novelists, memoirists and screenwriters who want to write stories their readers will love. Each week literary editors, Valerie Francis and Melanie Hill, use films to explain how to craft a story that hooks the reader on page one and holds their attention all the way to the end. The goal is simple: to learn from writers who have come before us...what worked well and what didn't work so well. If you're a writer who loves to write, this podcast is for you!
"The only thing that matters, and that ever will matter, is the story. That's it." - Tom Hanks (Oxford Union 2024)
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 35 minutes
- Episodes
- 199
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Our Best Advice: story form + resonance
Are you writing a novel with more than one protagonist and/or plotline? Are you using flashbacks or writing a series? If so, this is an episode you simply must check out. This week Valerie and Melani…
Gatsby: who's the protagonist?
The shape of this story (the film version, anyway) changes dramatically depending on who you think the protagonist is. It's Jay Gatsby, right? Ah, maybe! Or the protagonist could be Nick Carraway! An…
When Harry Met Sally: quasi antiplot huh?
Seriously, what the heck is a quasi antiplot story? It sounds pretty fringe; like some crazy, obscure little bit of story theory that writers will never, ever, need to know. Sure, story theorists can…
Star Wars Ep7: the face plant
As we saw in the Aliens episode, resonance is a powerful tool for anyone developing a series. But what happens when resonance is used ineffectively? In this episode, Melanie takes us on a deep dive i…
Wayne's World: party on, story nerds!
Well this is one wild ride of an episode! Wayne's World is an antiplot story that offers up plenty of writing lessons that surprised the heck out of Valerie and Melanie. It gave them the giggles too …
Aliens: writing a series
If you're writing a series (no matter what the genre), this is one episode you won't want to miss. How did James Cameron use Resonance to create a sequel that viewers love? And, how does understandin…
Nashville: writing multiple POVs
Hold on to your hats! Robert Altman's 1975 classic, Nashville, has 24 main characters and more storylines that you can count. If you're writing a story with two or more POVs and/or storylines, you ca…
The Shape of Water: kooky and clever
Melanie loves this film but it gives Valerie the creeps. They'll never see eye-to-eye on this one, but thanks to story theory, their subjective opinions don't get in the way of appreciating what this…
The Accidental Tourist: oh, so this is miniplot!
It's easy to think that a Miniplot story is simply one where the protagonist has a strong internal arc. But that's only part of it. There's much, much more to it than that. So if your novel features …
Lego Batman: holy product placement, batman
The marketing people at Lego are geniuses. In 2014 they released The Lego Movie, launching a lucrative movie franchise and driving sales of their product through the roof. The storytelling isn't fanc…
Men in Black: invasion lit is a thing?
Season 5 kicks off with Men in Black. Valerie is studying plot structure, and Melanie is studying resonance. Now, admittedly, plot structure doesn't sound very sexy but it's one of the first decision…
Story 101: Read Like a Writer
We've all heard this advice from A-List authors...if we want to be better writers we have to read more. What they don't tell us is that reading like a writer is an entirely different activity than re…
Best Advice: middles + subtext
That's a wrap for Season 4! In this episode, Valerie and Melanie pull out their a-ha moments from the past ten shows, and they give you their best advice about crafting the middles of stories (Act 2)…
The Devil Wears Prada: simply solid storytelling
Sometimes, studying a story that you love can be a bit scary. What if it turns out that the story is rubbish, and what you really like is the soundtrack, or the actor, or the costumes? Well, you can …
Story 101 : start your story right
How are you starting your story, and is your global inciting incident fulfilling its two most important functions? In this episode, Valerie fills you in on the key points you need to know about the I…
Four Weddings and a Funeral: saggy middles?
Want to keep the middle of your story from sagging? In this episode, Valerie reveals the one thing writers need to understand about the second act and its function in a story. While Valerie and Melan…
Announcing Story 101!
Thanks to you, our fellow story nerds, this little passion project of ours is growing by leaps and bounds. We're already in 76 countries and are nearing 1,000 downloads per week. And we're still in o…
La La Land: novelists make this mistake too
What on earth can novelists learn from a musical? Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. Cinematically, this is a beautiful film, there's oodles of subtext, and yes, the music is lovely. The story itsel…
Groundhog Day: groundhog day groundhog day