Story Nerd

Hanna - women aren't small men

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I have been looking forward to this episode since the start of the season. I specifically selected Hanna so we could study fight scenes and weapons ha...

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: deus ex machina

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Quite often, stories that don't work have more to teach us than the stories that do. Maybe Maria Semple's novel (upon which this film is based), is si...

The Genius of Novellas

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Novellas are the ace up your writerly sleeve! They enable you to practice all of the principles of storytelling in a shorter, more manageable form. Th...

Crazy Rich Asians: when the antagonist is more compelling than the protagonist

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Crazy Rich Asians pitches two female leads against each other - sounds excellent right? Not so fast… This should set up an epic battle of wills as o...

Yentil: the heroine's journey

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This movie was way ahead of its time. It's a brilliant example of the heroine's journey and Melanie walks us through all 10 phases as outlined in Maur...

Red Joan: meeting reader expectations

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The marketing for this film highlights Judi Dench, but she's barely in it at all. As fans of hers, Melanie and I were disappointed. The movie is ok bu...

Dirty Dancing: the heroine's journey

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Does the nickname "baby" bother us? Why yes, yes it does. But we've got to admit, Dirty Dancing is an excellent example of the heroine's journey, as w...

Zero Dark Thirty: women in war zones

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

War stories are often the domain of ‘dick lit’ male protagonists, but is this a true representation of history and does the experience of women in...

Moonstruck: writing female characters

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're kicking off a brand new season with two new story concepts. Melanie will be studying female characters and how women are presented in modern sto...

What do agents do?

20 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This bonus episode was prompted by a chat I saw on Threads. It started with the question, what excites you most about having an agent? Offline, Melani...

Our Best Advice: left-brained stories

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Left-brained stories (mysteries, crime thrillers, spy stories) are among the highest selling books on the market today. Readers can't get enough of th...

The Sixth Sense: the art of the gotcha ending

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are you planning to use a twist at the end of your story? Have you ever wondered how M. Night Shyamalan pulled off this famous gotcha ending? If so, t...

Breakout Books v. Words on a Page

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To be a career author, you must have a breakout book. And, a breakout book is one that contains a story that works. In this episode, I tell you the st...

How to Write a Breakout Book

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I just attended a training session with a literary agent who said that failure to write a breakout book is one of the most common mistakes writers mak...

The Last of Sheila: soooo good

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Now this is the epitome of a left-brained story. THE LAST OF SHEILA has puzzles within puzzles, an intricate plot that has been expertly set up, and a...

How do stories work?

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you're writing a novel or memoir, you're writing a story. Sounds obvious, right? That may be, but most authors don't know how to tell a story that ...

Gosford Park: did he deserve it?

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This film offers two hugely valuable lessons to writers of all genres. The first is about the inciting incident and when it needs to happen. The secon...

One Line Writing Secret You Need to Know

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In our last episode about our most embarrassing literary moments, Melanie and I said that line writing (or prose writing) means learning to write a na...

Our Most Embarrassing Literary Moments

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

No one is born knowing how to write great prose. Like any other kind of specialized writing (ex., newspapers, academia, web, etc.), writing prose is a...

A Most Wanted Man: why now?

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Readers are on a need to know basis. That means that, as storytellers, we only tell them what they need to know, and only when they need to know it. I...

THIS is how your novel gets noticed!

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are two ways to write great stories. The first involves at least 20 years of reading, writing and being rejected. The second, which is much fast...

The Good Liar: surprise v twist

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The movie had both me and Valerie on the edge of our seats. When we come across a masterful movie we pull out as much as we can for you. This episode ...

See How They Run: wasted potential

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A comedic take on a murder mystery had so much potential, but unfortunately, the creators of SEE HOW THEY RUN wasted it with what can only be describe...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: when did Smiley know?

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's a long episode this week because there's a whole lot to talk about in this excellent adaptation of John le Carre's bestselling novel. Melanie giv...

The Game: why endings are important

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By the time we get to the end of our manuscript, we can feel drained creatively. The temptation to phone it in looms large. But be careful. No matter ...

The Dry: an introduction to outback noir

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Valerie and Melanie continue their study of left-brained stories. They step into the outback to discover how Australian crime writers create...

Crooked House: left-brained stories

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for a brand new season of the show and this time around, Valerie and Melanie are studying the same topic: left-brained stories. Never heard ...

Character Lessons from an Actor

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the past two seasons Valerie has been talking about character dimension and cast design. The key to understanding both concepts is to recognize th...

Our Best Advice: conflict + cast design

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week Valerie and Melanie round up their a-ha moments and the lessons they've learned over the past ten episodes. What are their key takeaways wrt...

The Lost Daughter: fisticuffs

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The one thing Valerie and Melanie agree on this week is that the execution of this film isn't as good as it could, or should, have been. They disagree...

Lady Bird: writing female protagonists

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you're writing a character-driven story with a female protagonist, or a female POV character, this episode is a must for you. With only one viewing...

Love, Simon: how (not) to arc a character

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you're writing a character-driven story, or if your protagonist has an arc, this episode is for you. This week, Melanie and Valerie continue their ...

Sex and the City: great world building, but meh

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Never has there been a better example of why world building is so important. Fans of Sex and the City love to live vicariously through Carrie Bradshaw...

The Gentlemen: conflict and a detour

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes the best way to understand a concept is to have a simple, but clear, example. In this episode, Melanie explains why The Gentlemen is such a ...

Little Women: why we do (or don't) love it

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's no question that Little Women is a classic that is beloved by generations, but why? What is it about this story that resonates with so many re...

No Way Out: conflict triangles

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode, Melanie introduces the concept of conflict triangles and honestly, if you use them in your work, your story will improve immed...

The Full Monty: writing comedic characters

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Valerie and Melanie both approached this week's episode with some trepidation. The Full Monty is a favourite film and sometimes those can be the most ...

The Woman King: when storylines compete

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Creating multiple storylines is a popular approach for novelists and for writers who know what they're doing, the end result is nothing short of maste...

August Osage County: one for your repertoire

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for a brand new season and this time around, Valerie is studying cast design (a concept which revolutionized her writing) and Melanie is stu...

Best Advice: character development + worldbuilding

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've reached the end of another season and that means it's time for us to round up our a-ha moments and best lessons learned about how to develop cha...

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain: externalize the internal

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This movie is all about the inner turmoil of Louis Wain. You may not recognize his name, but you'll recognize his art (it's worth Googling). If you ha...

Pretty Woman: a masterclass in the fundamentals

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This movie is so light and joyful that it's easy to dismiss it as fluff, but nothing could be further from the truth. Pretty Woman is a masterclass in...

Nanowrimo: how to win

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nanowrimo starts tomorrow and if you're going to win, you've got to have a strategy. It's no small task to write an entire draft of a novel in thirty ...

Don't Worry Darling: where did it go wrong?

29 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By popular request! So many of you have messaged Valerie about this movie, that she's finally decided to tackle it head on. All the questions you've s...

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas: writing historical fiction

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anyone writing historical fiction needs to pay particular attention to how they build the world for the reader/viewer. In this week's episode, Melanie...

Big: writing comedic characters

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's one thing to write a dramatic character, but what if you want to write a comedic one? Do the same storytelling principles apply, or not? And what...

Everything Everywhere All At Once: was there a script?

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ok, so basically, this movie is a bunch of action scenes strung together with expository dialogue. It's heavy-handed with theme (dare we say didactic?...

Fatal Attraction: who's the villain?

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hooboy, this movie gets better with age. Why? Because when we watch it through the lens of 2023 it has much more depth and nuance. Glenn Close's chara...

District 9: worldbuilding 101

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode you're going to want to bookmark because Melanie is offering up oodles of info about how to create a fictional world your readers w...

Bridget Jones's Diary: why we love her

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Because the novel is so funny and easy to read, and because the film is a romcom, it's easy to dismiss Bridget Jones's Diary as a simple story that He...

Story 101: Poetic Device

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Here's an episode that will help you improve your line writing. Yes, Melanie is focusing on the poetic devices of metaphor, simile, and allegory, but ...

Can You Ever Forgive Me: what's hiding under your bed?

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Very few movies make an adult afraid of what's hiding under her bed, but this is one of them...and it isn't even a horror movie. That's the power of e...

Ray: a product of his environment

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's a brand new season and that means brand new topics. For the next ten weeks, Valerie will study character development and Melanie will study world...

Death on the Nile: the moustache mystery (archive)

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This might be one of Agatha Christie's best known mysteries, but does it work for a modern audience? This week, Valerie and Melanie analyze Sir Kennet...

Skyfall: m is for mother? (archive)

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Melanie's study of subtext has revealed something odd (and slightly uncomfortable). It seems that, according to Skyfall at least, M s...

The Water Horse: keep subplots at bay (archive)

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's not uncommon for a subplot, or secondary character, to take over a story - especially when a writer is still learning the ropes. So, how do you k...

West Side Story: innovative or cliche? (archive episode)

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

West Side Story (2021) has been lauded for its depiction of race and racial tension, but how has it handled the love story? In his retelling of this a...

Wanted: AI Prompt Engineer

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For better or worse, Generative AI will change the job market. Some professions will disappear and new ones will be created. One of the new jobs poppi...

Alec Sokolow: the hero's journey

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hey, this is Valerie. I recently had the good fortune to study with Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Alec Sokolow. (Super cool, right!?) Somehow ...

Our Best Advice: empathy + stakes

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Valerie and Melanie wrap up season six with a look at all the lessons they've learned about creating empathy for a protagonist, and e...

Operation Mincemeat: truth is stranger than fiction

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Even though Operation Mincemeat hides its imperfections behind a star-studded cast, it's still a good example of how to raise the stakes in story. Min...

WALL-E: the basics, mastered

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's nothing fancy about the storytelling in Pixar's WALL-E. It's a solid story that relies on the fundamentals to engage its audience, and it's an...

Manchester by the Sea: I'm not crying, you're crying

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This movie does so many things well, it's a great one for both novelists and screenwriters to have in their repertoire of reference stories. We're stu...

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande: do you empathize?

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This one's coming to you by popular request! The #1 comment from women who've watched this movie is that it's too close for comfort, so that makes it ...

The Hate U Give: delete the first 28 minutes

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Well, they rushed this one. Given the subject matter, this film deserved to have much more care and attention given to it. Instead, it feels like the ...

Is AI good or bad for writers?

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone's talking about AI these days, and for good reason. Experts say that AI will have a bigger influence on our lives than electricity. So what d...

As Good As It Gets: creating unlikable characters

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Melvin Udall is not a nice man, but he sure is interesting and that's what makes this episode so important for writers. We concern ourselves with whet...

The Wife: sublime storytelling

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes we stumble upon a story that gets everything right - especially when to reveal information and when to hold back. Melanie and Valerie discus...

The Godfather: empathy for a mafia don?

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There is so much storytelling goodness to be learned from The Godfather, it kinda boggles the mind. Even if you're writing a light-hearted romcom, bel...

Story 101: Quibbling Over Semantics

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The biggest problem facing writers who are trying to understand theory and learn how stories work, is that there is no standard lexicon. This leads to...

10 Things I Hate About You: what not to do

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This may not be the worst movie ever made, but it's certainly among them. The filmmakers have completely ignored storytelling basics and boy, does it ...

The King's Speech: try this trick

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this brand new season of the podcast Valerie and Melanie are diving deeply into EMPATHY and STAKES. How did the makers of The King's Speech get us ...

Our Best Advice: story form + resonance

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 si...

Gatsby: who's the protagonist?

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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, may...

When Harry Met Sally: quasi antiplot huh?

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 nev...

Star Wars Ep7: the face plant

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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? I...

Wayne's World: party on, story nerds!

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 V...

Aliens: writing a series

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 seq...

Nashville: writing multiple POVs

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 stor...

The Shape of Water: kooky and clever

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 opinio...

The Accidental Tourist: oh, so this is miniplot!

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Lego Batman: holy product placement, batman

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The marketing people at Lego are geniuses. In 2014 they released The Lego Movie, launching a lucrative movie franchise and driving sales of their prod...

Men in Black: invasion lit is a thing?

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Season 5 kicks off with Men in Black. Valerie is studying plot structure, and Melanie is studying resonance. Now, admittedly, plot structure doesn't s...

Story 101: Read Like a Writer

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Best Advice: middles + subtext

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 adv...

The Devil Wears Prada: simply solid storytelling

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 soundtra...

Story 101 : start your story right

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How are you starting your story, and is your global inciting incident fulfilling its two most important functions? In this episode, Valerie fills you ...

Four Weddings and a Funeral: saggy middles?

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Announcing Story 101!

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 neari...

La La Land: novelists make this mistake too

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 subte...

Groundhog Day: groundhog day groundhog day

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Valerie and Melanie are both happily surprised (relieved?) to discover that there's much more to this movie than meets the eye. How did Harold Remis h...

Skyfall: m is for mother?

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Melanie's study of subtext has revealed something odd (and slightly uncomfortable). It seems that, according to Skyfall at least, M s...

Back to the Future: plot holes, schmot holes

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Back to the Future has plot holes. There, we said it. Does it matter? Nope. We've watched this film dozens (hundreds?) of times and only saw the holes...

Storm Boy: hugh jackman v. the pelicans

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Australian film, Storm Boy, uses a very complex story structure. It's nonlinear, with a framing story and flashbacks...definitely not for the fain...

Whiplash: why the villain has a point

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There are plenty of great reasons to study this film and chief among them is that it's a terrific example of why the antagonist in a story must have a...

Coraline: a horror story?

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller and his novel, Coraline, has been a favourite with young readers for two decades. The film version is a dazzling d...

Home Alone: wanna bend the rules?

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're kicking off a brand new season with a holiday classic. Home Alone might feature a 10-year-old in the starring role, but the writing in this film...

Our Best Advice: beginnings/endings + sequences

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

To wrap up Season 3, we're doing a rundown of everything we've learned in the past ten episodes about the beginnings and endings of stories (and how t...

Lost in Translation: wtaf?

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is one strange movie. While we can understand it from an intellectual level, and we can deconstruct it (and yes, it won lots of awards), Lost in ...

Toy Story: soooooo good, but why?

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There are a handful of stories that theorists use as great examples of the craft, and Toy Story is one of them. (Chinatown is another, but sheesh, eno...