
Story Nerd
Melanie Hill, Valerie Francis
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...
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Notable Guests
Episodes (493)
The Dry: an intro to outback noir (archive)
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Whiplash: why the villain has a point (archive)
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What Went Right: paddington
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What Went Wrong: green lantern
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Our Best Advice: tension + 4SQ
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Sleepless in Seattle: relies on star power?
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Gifted: nowhere to hide
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The Secret of Roan Inish: sweet but weak
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Judy: why object of desire is essential
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Crazy Stupid Love: passive tension?
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Fatal Attraction: who's the villain? (archive)
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10 Things I Hate About You: what not to do (archive)
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The Nightmare Before Christmas: razzle dazzle
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The Banshees of Inisherin: when the mc breaks bad
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Calendar Girls: wait...it's over?
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BLACK FRIDAY - SAVE 89%
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What Went Wrong: the cold light of day
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Our Best Advice: writing exposition and creating character arcs
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Up in the Air: thiiiiin
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All the President's Men: masterful exposition
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Gone Baby Gone: writing a static protagonist
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Little Miss Sunshine: who's the protagonist?
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Far From Heaven: what your character doesn't want
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I, Tonya: don't try this at home
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Dorian Gray: what mick jagger said
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The Social Network: pacing, pacing, pacing
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Best Advice: Narrative Drive + Conflict Triangles
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Eye in the Sky: wonderfully nuanced storytelling
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NYAD: writing unlikeable characters
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The Wife: best movie ever
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August Osage County: simply masterful
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Lego Batman: ROTFL
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The Godfather: Valerie gets excited
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Nocturnal Animals: pretty, but no story
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The Help: put this on your list
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A Simple Favor: seriously, an evil twin?
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Belfast: active v passive protagonist
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What Lies Beneath: play the "let me guess" game
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Doubt: a "quiet story" masterpiece
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Our Best Advice: female characters + setups and payoffs
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Hanna - women aren't small men
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette: deus ex machina
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The Genius of Novellas
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Crazy Rich Asians: when the antagonist is more compelling than the protagonist
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Yentil: the heroine's journey
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Red Joan: meeting reader expectations
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Dirty Dancing: the heroine's journey
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Zero Dark Thirty: women in war zones
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Moonstruck: writing female characters
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What do agents do?
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