The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe
Zena Dell Lowe is a seasoned and engaging teacher with a passion for writers and storytellers. Her focused, concise, and practical episodes (all roughly 20 minutes) not only explore the nuts and bolts of the craft, but also dive deep into the inner life of the artist and the "why" behind creativity. If you believe that story matters, you'll want to give this podcast a listen.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 22 minutes
- Episodes
- 236
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Immediately Improve Your Ability to Set Goals and Meet Deadlines with This One Easy Tip
S2_E47: When Deadlines Aren't Enough
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last Week I gave you my 10 Essential Principles for creating an active hero. This week we go into the writer's dilemma of procrastination, or…
The Top Ten Indicators that Your Main Character is Driving the Action
S2_E46. The Top 10 Indicators that Your Protagonist is Driving the Action in Story
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week we discussed four things you must do if you've given your character the trait of "sel…
Four Critical Nuances to Incorporate When You Have a Selfish Protagonist
S2_E45: Four Critical Nuances to Incorporate When You Have a Selfish Protagonist
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - One of the things that comes up often in the work I critique is a main character who is fundament…
Not All Stories Need a Happy Ending: Daring to Make Others Uncomfortable for the Sake of Truthful Storytelling
S2_E44. EPISODE DESCRIPTION -Last week we spoke about confronting the issue of fear in writing. This week we will continue our series by differentiating ‘nice’ and ‘kind,’ and what it looks like to m…
Crucial Factors Writers Must Overcome to Successfully Engage Culture in Story
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S2_E43. EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week we discussed the importance of empathy. Not only for ourselves as writers, but for developing dynamic and engaging characters.
This week, we ta…
EMPATHY: The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
S2_E42. EMPATHY! The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week, I gave you the 5 dialogue tricks every writer needs to create a clear and dynamic stor…
Five Essential Dialogue Tricks to Help Clarify Your Storyline for Your Readers
S2_E41: Five Dialogue Tricks For a Clear Storyline
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week, we discussed the importance of getting to your main action and character quickly. This week I give you 5 dialogue tr…
What Writers Need to Do at the Start of Each Scene to Keep Their Reader Hooked
EPISODE DESCRIPTION -Today we are diving into #7 in our series of “Aha Moments,” that I’ve had both as a writer, and as a story coach. One mistake that I see happen with a lot of writers, is that the…
SPECIAL EPISODE: Zena Unpacks Critical Changes in the Marketplace that Impact the Types of Stories Being Sold as a Guest on Writer's Chat
S2_E38 This special episode replays Zena's recent presentation as a guest on Writer's Chat, where she was invited to speak on how writers can make their story ideas commercial. The answer, Zena says…
The Best Tip Ever on How to Reveal the Evolution of Important Character Relationships in Story
S2 E38. Today in our series of Aha Moments, Zena dives into TIP #6. In essence, the audience needs to see three encounters between characters before they will believe that the relationship has change…
Unlocking the Secret of How to Write Great Setups and Payoffs
S2_E37. Unlocking the Secret of How to Write Great Setups and Payoffs
One of the best things I ever learned in terms of setups and payoffs is how to make a setup ne barely noticeable. A truly good set…
Two Easy Tips to Immediately Maximize the Dramatic Potential of Each Scene
S2_E36
See the main points for this episode below. Or DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website.
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Today, I'm sharing tips number 3 and 4 of some of th…
How to Handle Coincidence and Avoid Red Herrings in Story
S2_E35
See the main points for this episode below. Or DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website.
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Today, I'm switching gears to share some of the aha …
Writing Funny: Why Comedy Feels Dangerous and How to Avoid Crossing the Line
S2_E34 – Why Comedy Feels Dangerous and How to Avoid Crossing the Line
In the conclusion of this series on Writing Funny, Zena addresses two final types of tools or comedic devices (puns/dad jokes and…
Writing Funny: My Three Favorite Tools to Create Comedic Moments in Story
S2_E33 – Three Favorite Tools to Create Comedy in Story
In this current series on Writing Funny, Zena shares three techniques that can specifically be used when working with cliches to create comedic …
Writing Funny: The Cardinal Rule of Comedy is Surprise
S2_E32 – The Cardinal Rule of Comedy is Surprise.
In this current series on Writing Funny, Zena has been breaking down Melvin Helitzer’s acronym THREES from his book, Comedy Writing Secrets, which id…
Writing Funny: 2 Rules and 3 Tools to Build Suspense and Create Anticipation in Comedy
In this continuation of of the Writing Funny series, Zena unpacks the last two letters in Melvin Helitzer's acronym, THREES, which make up the 6 primary ingredients of comedy writing.
Emotion refers …
Writing Funny: Good Humor is a Combination of Realism and Exaggeration
In this week's episode, Zena continues to unpack Melvin Helitzer's acronym THREES, which encompasses the six primary ingredients of all comedy. We've already covered the first two, target and hostil…
Writing Funny: The Presence and Purpose of Hostility in Comedy
S2_E29 – The Presence and Purpose of Hostility in Comedy
This week in our series on writing funny, we're talking about the second letter in Melvin Helitzer's acronym THREES, which makes up the six pri…
Writing Funny: How to Target the Subject of Your Joke Without Destroying it
S2_E28. How to TARGET the subject of your joke without utterly destroying it.
What are the principles and tools for comedy writing? This week we look at the "T" in Melvin Helitzer's acronym, T.H.R.E.E…