Today, Angie and Elizabeth are sitting outside at a restaurant as they discuss how the 7 steps can be seen even in a short scene. They take an excerpt from The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai and look at how each beat is a different step, perhaps one through seven, or a waltz of one-two-three one-two-three. The level of details create a more precise picture, explaining how in this situation, with these individuals, the stakes remain incredibly high.

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Comin thro’ the Rye by Robert Burns

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

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.