The marketing for this film highlights Judi Dench, but she's barely in it at all. As fans of hers, Melanie and I were disappointed. The movie is ok but it wasn't what we expected and that soured our experience of the story. Melanie still did a study of female archetypes and I still studied setups and payoffs, but the real lesson this week is what happens when a story doesn't meet audience (or reader) expectations. -V.

"Female characters don't have to be based on female archetypes, and vice versa for male archetypes and male characters." - Melanie Hill

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Does the nickname "baby" bother us? Why yes, yes it does. But we've got to admit, Dirty Dancing is an excellent example of the heroine's journey, as well as female archetypes and how women are presented in stories. It also happens to be, structurally, an excellent film. It's not a complex story, but it's well-told. -V.

"In the first half of your story, you're planting seeds that will bear fruit in the second half of your story." - Valerie Francis

Related Story Nerd Episodes

Beginnings and Endings (Season 3)

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War stories are often the domain of ‘dick lit’ male protagonists, but is this a true representation of history and does the experience of women in war differ? In this episode, I reference historical female warriors and examines how the experiences of Maya, the protagonist in Zero Dark Thirty, compares with her wartime service. Valerie explores what happens when the scope of a story is too wide, and the impact scope has on setups and payoffs. -M

"What is interesting to me, is how women are portrayed in war movies, are they portrayed as masculine or weak, are they given due credit for their skill and experience, and how does this compare to my own experience?" - Melanie Hill

Related Story Nerd Episodes

Rogue One (Season 1, Episode 8)

Skyfall (Season 4, Episode 6)

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We're kicking off a brand new season with two new story concepts. Melanie will be studying female characters and how women are presented in modern stories (her work in this episode is reeeeally interesting!), and I'll be investigating something I learned from Steven Pressfield, which is that we shouldn't introduce anything new after Act 2.

"Setups and payoffs are questions asked and answered." Valerie Francis

Related Story Nerd Episodes:

Lady Bird (Season 8, Episode 9)

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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 bonus episode was prompted by a chat I saw on Threads. It started with the question, what excites you most about having an agent? Offline, Melanie and I began to literary agents and what they do. We decided to hit record and share what we know with you. Enjoy! - V.

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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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Left-brained stories (mysteries, crime thrillers, spy stories) are among the highest selling books on the market today. Readers can't get enough of them, and that means the bar for authors is really high because we have to create a puzzle that our readers haven't seen before. Add to this the fact that the fundamentals of storytelling work in a slightly different way than they do with other stories. In this episode, Melanie and I summarize all the lessons we've learned over the past 10 episodes and we share our greatest a-ha moments.

Our study of left-brained stories didn't stop with the podcast though. Offline we've been diving deeply into this genre that we both love. We've gathered up everything the writer of a left-brained story needs to know and we've put it in a webinar coming up on May 2, 2024. Don't miss it! To register, click here. - V.

"In a left brain story, the hook is an intellectual one, it's not an emotional one." - Valerie Francis

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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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Are you planning to use a twist at the end of your story? Have you ever wondered how M. Night Shyamalan pulled off this famous gotcha ending? If so, this episode is for you! Melanie does a deep dive into story twists and surprises so that you can craft an ending that delights your reader. I focused on the Central Dramatic Question which is a key part of creating Narrative Drive (and you must have brilliant Narrative Drive if your reader is going to get all the way to the end of your novel).

-V.

"Creating a good twist requires a deep understanding of human nature." - Melanie Hill

RELATED STORY NERD EPISODES

THE DRY (Season 9, Episode 2)

Story Form (Season 5)

The Hero's Gift Expressed (Season 2)

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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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To be a career author, you must have a breakout book. And, a breakout book is one that contains a story that works. In this episode, I tell you the story of an author who didn't know the difference between a breakout book and words on a page. What happened to him will make your jaw drop.

REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIES

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