Skip to content
TrackPodcasts

Story Nerd

Melanie Hill, Valerie Francis

EN493 episodes
artsbookseducationtvfilm

For novelists, memoirists and screenwriters who want to write stories their readers will love. Each week literary editors, Valerie Francis and Melanie Hill, use films to explain how to craft a story that hooks the reader on page one and holds their attention all the way to the end. The goal is simple: to learn from writers who have come before us...what worked well and what didn't work so well. If you're a writer who loves to write, this podcast is for you!"The only thing that matters, and that...

Notable Guests

Episodes (493)

Your Opening Pages MUST do this

Story Nerd

Sep 4, 20261:04:07completed

Close Encounters: fixing saggy middles

Story Nerd

Sep 2, 202636:47pending

The Trick to Holding a Reader's Attention is...

Story Nerd

Aug 28, 202644:10pending

Sex and the City (archive)

Story Nerd

Aug 26, 202641:27pending

Prologues...Yes or No?

Story Nerd

Aug 21, 202648:54pending

Bridget Jones's Diary (archive)

Story Nerd

Aug 19, 202633:25pending

The AI Witch-Hunt (Part 2)

Story Nerd

Aug 17, 202650:03pending

The AI Witch-Hunt (Part 1)

Story Nerd

Aug 15, 202637:37pending

Using Flashbacks and Flashforwards

Story Nerd

Aug 14, 202650:55pending

The Good Liar (archive)

Story Nerd

Aug 12, 202644:03pending

Querying Too Soon?

Story Nerd

Aug 7, 202642:41pending

The Courier (archive)

Story Nerd

Aug 5, 202658:45pending

Worldbuilding in the Opening Pages

Story Nerd

Jul 31, 202639:56pending

Vertigo: does it live up to the hype?

Story Nerd

Jul 29, 202636:21pending

Knowing When to Query (this is a BIG deal)

Story Nerd

Jul 24, 202641:19pending

What Went Wrong: jason bourne

Story Nerd

Jul 22, 202635:23pending

How do agents see genre?

Story Nerd

Jul 17, 202641:22pending

Best Advice: protagonist types and premises

Story Nerd

Jul 15, 202621:12pending

Spielberg listens to Story Nerd

Story Nerd

Jul 10, 202631:56pending

Serenity: object of desire MIA

Story Nerd

Jul 8, 202632:10pending

What Agents Wish Authors Knew BEFORE They Query

Story Nerd

Jul 5, 20268:43pending

Choosing Comp Titles (it’s an art!)

Story Nerd

Jul 3, 202642:38pending

Birds of Prey: writing unlikeable characters

Story Nerd

Jul 1, 202629:33pending

Ronin: what is an antihero?

Story Nerd

Jun 24, 202628:52pending

Identifying Genre is Trickier than You Think!

Story Nerd

Jun 19, 202637:59pending

Hidden Figures: your reader’s expectations?

Story Nerd

Jun 17, 202625:58pending

Notting Hill: why we love it

Story Nerd

Jun 10, 202623:16pending

Is this a mystery?

Story Nerd

Jun 5, 202643:29pending

Mrs.Harris Goes to Paris: toothless antagonists

Story Nerd

Jun 3, 202641:15pending

Sicario: not what we expected

Story Nerd

May 27, 202638:49pending

Killer Opening Lines

Story Nerd

May 22, 202648:30pending

Murder She Said: sex or murder?

Story Nerd

May 20, 202632:33pending

What Went Right: anora

Story Nerd

May 13, 202628:42pending

The best time to send a query

Story Nerd

May 8, 202629:40pending

What Went Wrong: 80 for Brady

Story Nerd

May 6, 202648:39pending

Best Advice: heroes and villains

Story Nerd

Apr 29, 202619:41pending

AI in Writing and Publishing

Story Nerd

Apr 24, 202626:04pending

We have news! And it benefits you.

Story Nerd

Apr 23, 20261:50pending

Thunderbolts: 2 surprising twists

Story Nerd

Apr 22, 202644:24pending

Men In Black (archive)

Story Nerd

Apr 15, 202638:45pending

The Devil Wears Prada (archive)

Story Nerd

Apr 8, 202630:38pending

Dirty Dancing (archive)

Story Nerd

Apr 1, 202636:53pending

Conclave: a masterclass in nuanced characters

Story Nerd

Mar 25, 202630:03pending

Do this to Hook an Agent - Interview with Kathleen Foxx

Story Nerd

Mar 20, 202637:50pending

Mulholland Drive: trippy

Story Nerd

Mar 18, 202627:19pending

Darkest Hour: darkest villain

Story Nerd

Mar 11, 202640:25failed

Amour: looks easy, but isn’t

Story Nerd

Mar 4, 202629:44pending

Amour: looks easy, but isn’t!

Story Nerd

Mar 4, 202629:44pending

Invitation to a Murder: there’s no plot!

Story Nerd

Feb 25, 202630:56pending

Erin Brockovich: writing underdogs

Story Nerd

Feb 18, 202625:13pending
...