Story Nerd
de Valerie Francis, Melanie Hill, Kathleen Foxx
Último episodio
Best Advice: worldbuilding and saggy middles
Best Advice: worldbuilding and saggy middles
Sobre este podcast
For novelists, memoirists and screenwriters who want to write stories readers will love, and who want to work with a literary agent. Each week, 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. On alternate weeks, Valerie and literary agent Kathleen Foxx offer their professional feedback on query letters and writing samples submitted by Story Nerd listeners.
The goal is simple: to help writers realize their dreams of becoming published authors. If you love to write, and you love to tell stories, and you want to see your book out in the world, this podcast is for you!
”The only thing that matters, and that ever will matter, is the story. That’s it.” - Tom Hanks (Oxford Union 2024)
Episodios
Los 20 episodios más recientes de 100
- Best Advice: worldbuilding and saggy middles · 30 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1918How do you keep your reader from losing interest halfway through the book? This is what happens when a story "sags" in the middle and the fix is easier than you might expect!…
- Bombshell: irony masterclass · 35 min · Temporada 16 Episodio 1917If you want to know what irony is and how to use it, this episode is story gold. ‘I’m not a feminist,’ is Megyn Kelly’s catchcry in Bombshell, but she calls out misogyny…
- Fab Pages Failed Query · 32 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1916Here's why you need to invest time learning to write plot paragraphs: even if your sample pages are stunning, a weak query will sink the whole submission. Don't believe me?…
- The Birds: genre blend or bust? · 40 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1915What happens to a reader's attention when you blend or combine genres? The Birds starts out as an obsession love story and ends as a monster horror film. Yes, it's Hitchcock (a…
- Debut Writer Red Flags · 50 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1914What are the telltale signs of a first-time writer? (Yep, they exist and agents can spot them a mile away.) Are you making them? In this Hook Your Reader episode, Kathleen and I…
- The Northman: putting the history in historical fiction · 36 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1913When writing historical fiction, how important is historical accuracy? After all, it's fiction, right? Surely there's wiggle room, isn't there? This week, we study The Northman…
- Bait and Switch? · 44 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1912How do you know if your query letter is accurately representing the narrative within your manuscript? Yes, you have to hook the reader in the query, but what happens if the hook…
- Agent Spotlight: Kathryn Willms (The Rights Factory) · 51 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1911Meet Kathryn Willms (The Rights Factory, Toronto). Kathryn represents writers of both fiction and nonfiction. On the fiction side, her list is focused on cozy fantasy, women’s…
- Remarkably Bright Creatures: self-sabotage · 33 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1910How do you write a story where the protagonist is her own worst enemy? In other words, when the protagonist is also the antagonist. Well, it isn't easy, that's for sure. Luckily…
- Conflicting Opinions...Who's Right? · 47 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1909Why is it that when Kathleen and I read the same query letter and same sample pages, we had completely opposite opinions? One of us loved what we saw, the other, frankly, didn't…
- Agent Spotlight: Krista White (The Rights Factory) · 45 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1908If you want to get an agent, then this is for you! We know that researching agents can be hard because not all of them have a social media/online presence. So on these special…
- Spy Game: protagonist done right · 25 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1907Spy Games is not a perfect movie, but one thing it gets right is the main character Nathan Muir. Muir’s belief system is established early in the film via his actions, decisions…
- The AI-Proof Genre Is... · 57 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1906With all the chatter about AI-gen text (and whether a book was, or was not, generated by it), in this episode we talk about a genre that no machine or prompt will ever be able to…
- Say Anything: a masterclass in non-physical conflict · 44 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1905We know that stories need conflict and very often writers default to two kinds: physical fights and shouting matches. Far more interesting — and far more versatile — is the more…
- Writing a Powerful Memoir · 46 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1904If you're writing your memoir, or considering writing it, then this episode is a must because it offers an excellent example of both the query letter and the opening pages…
- Miss Peregrine: caution plot holes ahead · 43 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1903What happens when a story's logic falters? You end up with plot holes...and boy oh boy, does Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (film version) have plot holes! How could…
- Your Opening Pages MUST do this · 1 h 4 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1902Kathleen and I run the gamut of opening pages advice in this episode. We discuss the pros and cons of time travel stories (why we love them and why they're so prone to plot…
- Close Encounters: fixing saggy middles · 37 min · Temporada 19 Episodio 1901Ever heard of a story having a saggy middle? It's a real thing and this season, I'm revealing the fix for it! Meanwhile, Melanie is study story logic. I know, it sounds kinda…
- The Trick to Holding a Reader's Attention is... · 44 min · Temporada 18 Episodio 1828There are a whole lot of people writing memoir and the competition to get an agent is fierce! In this episode Kathleen and I discuss the story-related challenges to writing…
- Sex and the City (archive) · 41 min · Temporada 18 Episodio 1822Never has there been a better example of why world building is so important. Fans of Sex and the City love to live vicariously through Carrie Bradshaw so it's no surprise that…
