Story Nerd

If you're writing a quiet, character-driven story — especially if it deals with questions of morality — Juror #2 is a film you must watch. The storytelling craft is rock solid, and although it's a legal drama, it's also highly nuanced with complex characters and an unbelievably intriguing plot. There's no spectacle here. It's all substance. Check out this hook: What if a juror in a murder trial realized that he is the killer? -V.

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If you are wondering what kids mean when they say, “It’s cringe” then watch this movie. Otherwise save yourself some time. On paper everything about this movie should work, but, and it’s an enormous but, it doesn’t. It’s easy to identify why. This movie doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up - is it a romance, a spy or an action movie. On the upside, if you listen to this episode you will learn the difference between action stories and spy stories - I have very strong opinions about this. We also have l...

We've reached the end of another season and that means it's time for me and Melanie to give your our best advice, our a-has, and our key takeaways all about the core event and progressive complications. You'll want to bookmark this episode! -V.

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We’ve had a number of masterful movies this season and Women Talking is another one. Q: How do you tell a story when everything you’ve ever known is at stake? A: Consider the pros and cons using multiple protagonists. This is a great movie where the level of writing craft is high, and the core event provides more relief than you thought possible. If you can bear to watch this movie more than once, it will be worth it. -M.

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This movie looks like an innocent little story about seniors who want to make the most of their golden years, but the craft behind it will knock your socks off. It's a multiple POV, multiple plot film and believe me, this is NOT an easy format to pull off. So if you're writing a story with more than one protagonist and/or more than one plot line, do yourself a favour — listen to this episode and learn from these master storytellers. -V.

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Every-now-and-then we stumble across unassuming movies that blow our socks off. Anatomy of a Fall is one of these. There’s so much to love about this movie which is a masterclass in character, mystery, tension, and nearly every story telling principle we’ve discussed on the podcast. Of course, there’s a great deal to learn about progressive complications and the climatic moment. -M

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I think the filmmakers had good intentions when they made SHIRLEY, unfortunately, they failed to stick to the essentials of storytelling. In this episode, Melanie does a fantastic job of illustrating what happens to a story when writers fail to create obstacles that progressively complicate the plot. (Progressive Complications are a big deal - you're going to want to pay attention to this one.) And I do a deep dive into the core event (aka the climax) and explain why it doesn't work and how you can avoid making the same mistake in your novel. -V.

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The antagonist owned the progressive complications in this movie. Celine shows her best friend Alice what a fate worse than death could be. Valerie explains how the Core Event is linked to its genre and why it’s important to understand the difference between the core event in an action, horror, or thriller. -M

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If you're writing a character-driven story, or a story where society is the antagonist, or a story with broad societal issues, add Greenbook to your list of films to study. I know all about the controversy surrounding this film but our analysis this week is, as always, on the storytelling craft. And from a craft perspective, this movie does a whole lot of things right. - V.

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First of all I have to let you know that it’s a miracle that no podcasters were harmed during the making of this episode.

Bloody hell! What have I done? The cringe factor in this movie is off the charts - it’s worse than getting “sand up your clacker” (if you’ve watched this movie, you’ll get the reference). However, the opening scene does provide a reasonable example of progressive complications in action. Not surprisingly, Valerie’s study of the Core Event is hampered by, um, by, everything. -M

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It's a brand new season and that means two brand new story theory principles to discuss! This time around, I'm studying the core event (aka a story's climax) and Melanie is studying progressive complications. The writers of THE BANK OF DAVE definitely poured some sugar on this genuinely sweet, feel-good movie. It's rock solid. As an added bonus, it also features Def Leppard (seriously!). Let me know if you literally stand up and dance at the end of this movie. I did! -V.

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In this special bonus episode, I interview Brian Proctor, a bestselling author in the field of personal development. This might seem like an odd fit for the show until you realize that it's not our talent or ability that holds us back as writers, it's our mindset. In this interview we discuss  how to conquer procrastination, the truth about manifesting, and the mindset Brian used to become a bestselling author with his very first book. -V.

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While Melanie and I continue to beaver away in the background, we thought we'd pull PRETTY WOMAN from the archives for you. This movie is a fan favourite and here's the thing, it gets all the storytelling fundamentals exactly right. We can't wait to share our new project with you. Stay tuned for more! - V.

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While Melanie and I cook up something extra special for you, we're highlighting some past episodes that you might have missed. THE DRY is an Outback Noir that we studied back in season 9. We talk about the environment as an antagonist, character archetypes, and a whole lot more. Check it out! - V.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

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Behind the scenes, Melanie and I are cooking up something very special for you! While we work on that, for the next few weeks we'll be replaying some of our best episodes for you. This week it's WHIPLASH. This is one of my all-time favourites because it's an excellent example of every story principle (seriously). Enjoy! -V.

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What makes the Paddington franchise so popular with audiences? That's exactly what Melanie and I set out to discover as we take a deep dive into the first film in the trilogy in this brand new What Went Right episode. We look past the CGI and get straight to the heart of the story. -V.

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It's our second "what went wrong" episode and this time we're taking a deep dive into the 2011 film, GREEN LANTERN. Even Ryan Reynolds says this one is a dud, so where did the storytelling go wrong? Tune in to find out! -V.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

Follow Valerie on Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis

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That's a wrap on Season 13! Over the past eight episodes Melanie took a deep dive into one of the most important concepts in storytelling: tension. In this episode, she reviews the concepts of high and low tension, and highlights the principles you can use to create tension in your story. Meanwhile, I spent the season studying The 4 Story Questions. This is really important stuff. Trust me on this...if you can't answer these questions clearly and succinctly, your story might be in big trouble. -V.

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Valerie and I take a scalpel to some well loved movies this season. First there was the Nightmare Before Christmas and now Sleepless in Seattle. I’m not a believer in ‘magic love’ so I find the premise of the movie silly, but there are some good examples of tension. However, under the microscope of Valerie’s 4 Story Questions, this movie is lacking in some fundamental storytelling scaffolding. Without clear wants there isn’t anything meaningful at stake. The take away - the story could be better. There, I said it. I am the Scrooge of Valentine’s Day. -M

"Te...

Writers of quiet, character-driven or "literary" stories often ask me if all this story theory stuff applies to them, or if it's only for "commercial" fiction. Believe me when I say that it's even more important and in this episode of the podcast, I explain why. Meanwhile, Melanie conducted an experiment this week. She wanted to discover how knowing the ending impacted the tension of a story. Does it kill the tension or enhance it? What she learned may surprise you. -V.

"Our jobs, when we're writing a novel, is to grab our readers' attention early, as...

Frustration follows flaws! Can you create tension and conflict if the 4 Story questions haven’t been answered? The simple answer is “no”. I desperately wanted to love this movie because I’m writing a short story based on selkies. This is a sweet movie. It lacks some storytelling basics, which results in minimal tension and conflict. I know I’ve said it before, but learning from stories that don’t work is more valuable when you're learning to write.  -M

"Conflict relies on tension to make readers want to know what happens." Janice Hardy

Related Story Nerd Ep...

Melanie and I talk about Object of Desire all the time and boy, oh boy, this movie really drives home why it's so important. The writers didn't go for the obvious choice here and it makes the movie, and the protagonist, so much more interesting because what Judy wants more than anything in the world is not to perform, but to be with her kids. In terms of tension, it's hit-and-miss. Tune in to find out how you can emulate the tension-creating techniques and how you can avoid the pitfalls. -V.

"It's the conflict that creates tension...

I love it when Valerie and I study different theories and come to different conclusions about the movie. Crazy, Stupid, Love has great examples of slow/low tension and high/intense tension - it’s a great movie demonstrating how tension works. However, it doesn’t work so well when the 4 Story Questions are applied. Why? Because a multi-point-of-view story needs answers for all POV characters! Which POVs work and which don’t…dive into this episode and find out. -M

"Having your characters make stupid decisions is a great way to increase tension." -Melanie Hill

Relate...

In this archive episode, we revisit our study of FATAL ATTRACTION which first aired as episode 5 of season 7. I was studying character revelation and Melanie was studying worldbuilding, but what I find most fascinating about this movie is that, viewed through a modern lens, it's unclear who the antagonist really is. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode, until then, Happy New Year! -V.

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While I'm teaching my kids to surf during our summer beach holiday, and Valerie is shovelling out from a winter storm, we're bringing you a throwback episode from season 6 where we studied stakes and empathy. Based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", "10 Things I Hate About You" is packed with lessons about what not to do. We'll be back with a brand new episode on January 8. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays story nerds! - M.

"Stakes equals object of desire plus consequences." Melanie Hill

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The Nightmare Before Christmas is a favourite with both our families, and given that this is a Tim Burton film we expected that the storytelling would be rock solid. This is a great example of writers using the storytelling tools at their disposal to maximum effect. Ah, but since filmmakers have access to different tools than novelists, when you strip away the "spectacle" of stop-motion and musical numbers, how strong is the story itself? The answer may surprise you.

This is our last new episode before the holiday season. For the next two weeks we've selected two...

The tension starts with the title of this week’s movie - The Banshees of Inisherin. Banshees cry right before someone dies. That’s tension right there - who will it be? The anticipation about who is going to die is high because the outcome is unknown. Tension thrives with uncertainty. I also explore the idea of high and low tension in a story. Valerie is powering on with her study of the 4 Story Questions and showing why they are so important. 

If you don’t want to waste years writing in circles, this episode will help you hol...

Welcome to a brand new season! This time around I'm studying the 4 Story Questions and Melanie is focused on tension. This week we're looking at CALENDAR GIRLS. We love these actresses (I mean, honestly, what's not to love?) but the storyline threw us for a loop because when it felt like it was coming to a natural conclusion, we realized there was still another hour to go. What happened? And was that a good thing or not? Tune in to find out! -V.

"Making a sale or getting an agent hinges on your ability to describe your...

You want to get published, right? You want to see your book in bookstores, you want to hit a bestseller list, and maybe you want Reese Witherspoon to pick your book for her bookclub. Well, before any of that can happen you need an agent and an outstanding query letter is the key to getting one. That's why I developed my brand new course, THE ART OF THE QUERY. It includes everything you need to know and I even show you a super simple way to tackle the hardest part of the pitch. Grab the course now through Cyber...

We're trying something new this week! Writers are constantly asking me and Melanie to explain why a story seems weird to them. So to help you understand why some stories flop, at the end of each season we'll pick a film that doesn't work and we'll try to figure out why. In this inaugural episode, Melanie chose IN THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY because it got a whopping 4% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's an eye-opener, that's for sure! I'd love to hear if you agree, or disagree, with our assessment. -V.

"This movie failed because it didn't follow...

It's that time again! We've reached the end of the season and that means Melanie and I are wrapping up all our a-ha moments and lessons learned about writing exposition and creating character arcs. Plus we've got a special surprise coming for you and we talk about it in this episode to be sure to listen all the way to the end! - V.

"The closer a scene and its exposition are to real life, the easier it is to make it invisible." - Melanie Hill

Related Story Nerd Episodes

Season 12: Exposition + Character...

Up In The Air, boring or not, is this week’s question. Why do I find this movie interesting, and why does Valerie find it boring? Could the answer lie in Ryan Bingam’s character arc (and does he have one)? Could it lie in the small amount of exposition? Or could it be that George Clooney movies are boring? One thing is certain: this episode is the opposite of boring. -M

"Is this story interesting, entertaining and worthwhile if the protagonist doesn't have an internal worldview shift?" -Melanie Hill

Related Story Nerd Episodes:

Th...

This movie is almost entirely exposition, and while this isn't an approach I'd recommend for novelists, I can't imagine telling this particular story any other way. You might say that ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN is the exception that proves the rule. Master storyteller, William Goldman, pulls it off and that means there's a whole lot we can learn about how and when to use exposition when writing a story. When it comes to character arcs (Melanie's topic this season), neither of the protagonists change in this story but they change the world around them and what that reveals about...

Most stories are about change. However, there is also a place for stories when the protagonist doesn’t change. The outcomes can still be positive - just watch James Bond and Erin Brockovich!  There are also stories where the protagonist doesn’t change, and the outcome is ambiguous. This movie combines an ethical dilemma with a constant character to create a haunting outcome. The movie also has buckets of exposition. Is this a case of too much is way too much? Never fear, Valerie groups and summarises all the exposition into four key types. -M.

"Patrick's constant chara...

As Melanie and I prepared for this episode one question kept coming up ... Who is the protagonist? Melanie argues that the entire family is the protagonist, but I think that Olive (who is the Little Miss Sunshine contestant) is the protagonist. It's an interesting question and our discussion about it is even more interesting. If you're writing a multi-POV story, be sure to check out this episode! -V.

"Exposition is all about the facts that we need to convey to the reader so that they can follow a story without getting confused." Valerie Francis

Related...

This season, I am focused on stories with negative or neutral character arcs. Sometimes, finding out what a character doesn’t want is the first step to discovery. On the surface, Cathy Whitaker has a perfect life. However, it’s a shallow life. Cathy’s choices are symbolically represented by her husband, Frank, and her gardener, Raymond. The two male characters are interesting external representations of Cathy’s internal choices. There’s a small amount of exposition in Far From Heaven, but when it features, it’s done straightforwardly and with simplicity. -M

“The interesting events in Cathy’s arc ha...

Wowzers! I, TONYA is absolutely chock-full of exposition. It's a documentary-style film so at first blush it doesn't seem to offer up many story lessons for novelists. However, DAISY JONES & THE SIX is a documentary-style novel so this is an episode you might want to pay attention to — not just for their handling of exposition, but also for their portrayal of the character of Tonya Harding. -V.

"Introducing characters can only be done via exposition." -Valerie Francis

Related Story Nerd Episodes:

The Social Network (Season 12, Episode 1)

Dorian Gray (Season 12, Episode 2)

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The Rolling Stone’s song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want,’ is my earworm this season. This week, I started to pick apart how wants, needs and arcs are connected. Dorian Gray is a classic cautionary tale about selling your soul. Dorian arrives in London as a beautiful but naive young man and dies with a rotten and decrepit soul - he is unredeemable. Dorian gets what he wants, but he doesn’t get what he needs because there are no consequences for his actions. Understanding how wants, needs and character arcs is an essential story tool. Good expos...

It's a brand new season and this time Melanie is studying character arcs through 5 key questions: Where do the characters start, where do they finish, what do they want, what decisions do they make along the way that get them to the end, and do they get what they want or need?

Meanwhile, I do a deep dive into exposition. You've heard about "show, don't tell" right? Well, that's not always true. Sometimes telling your reader information through exposition is exactly the thing you need to do. -V.

"When exposition is done properly, you as...

Whoa. This season has been a heavy season. Narrative Drive and Conflict Triangles are two major concepts that can - and will - transform your writing. In this episode, Melanie and I summarize everything we learned this season. -V

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

Follow Valerie on Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis

Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor