Story Nerd

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 exposition is invisible. Valerie highlights how exposition is masterfully delivered and where it fails. Exposition is all about information management - the what and the how. -M

“Understanding wants and needs is important for story arcs because they determine the protagonist’s motivations and actions.” Melanie Hill

Related Story Nerd Episodes

The Woman King (Season 8 Episode 2)

The Social Network (Season 12 Episode 1)

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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 the audience member or the reader, you don't even notice it." -Valerie Francis

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

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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

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

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Eye in the Sky reminds me of the ‘greater good’ questions I discussed in class during high school - there’s no right or wrong answer but there are always consequences. This movie is an excellent example of how tension and escalating stakes combine with conflict triangles and narrative drive to create a compelling story. This isn’t an action movie but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for fear of missing something. Join us this week to discover how to craft stories that linger after the cover is closed. -M

“Eye in the Sky creates a fascinating amount of tension. It does this by setting up a situation at the beginning that has multiple courses of action and outcomes, and then it delays the decision until the last possible moment.” Melanie Hill

Related Story Nerd Episodes

The Woman King (Season 8 Episode 2)

Our Best Advice (Season 8 Episode 11)

The Help (Season 11 Episode 5)

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 X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis

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Your reader doesn't have to like the protagonist but she does have to empathize with him because if empathy is absent, your story is in trouble. In this episode Melanie and I study conflict triangles and narrative drive, but we also have an interesting side conversation about empathy and likeability. If you're writing an unlikeable character, or if you're writing a quiet, character-driven story, this episode is for you. -V

"The protagonist does not have to be likable, but you've got to be careful that you don't place the reader's empathy on another character." - Valerie Francis

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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Holy moly, this is a good movie! It's an especially good movie to study for anyone writing a quiet, character-driven story. THE WIFE originally aired as Episode 4 of Season 6 when Melanie was studying stakes and I was studying empathy. But honestly, this is one of those rare films that novelists (and memoirists!) can study to learn just about any storytelling principle. -V.

*Programming Note: In next week's episode we review the movie NYAD, not GONE BABY GONE as indicated in the intro.

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

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This movie is a masterclass on characters, character development, cast design and the relationships between characters. It honestly doesn't get any better than this. So no matter what kind of story you're writing, grab your notepad and dive in! -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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Melanie chose Lego Batman from the vault because, in addition to being a really well-written story, it made her laugh. And that, imo, is the mark of superior writing. This episode originally aired in Season 5 when Melanie was studying resonance. If you're curious about what that is, and how it can truly enhance your storytelling, be sure to give this episode a listen. - 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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Melanie and I are taking a short mid-winter/mid-summer break, so while we recharge our batteries we're reposting some of our favourite episodes starting this week with THE GODFATHER. Wow, there just aren't too many movies with this level of storytelling craft in them. I had a whole lot to say about this classic film and I know that no matter which genre you're writing in, there's something in this episode to help you. Enjoy! - 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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We visit the joys of multiplot stories this week. Valerie discovers (again) the issues with multiplot stories in movies, and I investigate how the different timelines impact the narrative drive. We both learnt what happens to a story when conflict triangles and curiosity and concern are absent - a cautionary tale for writers. -M

“A character can’t un-know something or completely ignore something that is right in front of them.” Melanie Hill. 

RELATED STORY NERD EPISODES

Nashville Season 5, Episode 5

As Good as it Gets Season 6, Episode 5 (Empathy)

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 X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francis

Follow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor