Angie and Elizabeth, car packed to flee amidst the smoke of the Lightening Complex Fires, tackle what is too much plot? What is the difference between significant escalation in a story and the heaping on of chaos and disaster in the real world? Create meaning via choices and understand the ways events press on a character in need of a story journey. The conversation touches on multiple universes, individual stakes v. larger issues, immediate v. long-term danger, consequences, intersectional identities and vampires, not to mention MacGuffins, Casablanca, and Humphrey Bogart. What does it mean to write in a time of chaos, and how and where should we focus? There is no right or single answer, but let’s discuss! 

Explaining the Pandemic to My Past Self

Link to Professor Crunk

Jewelle Gomez The Gilda Stories

One Tin Soldier--Link to song from my friend Danielle

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival--everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.

The hosts:

Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.

Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.