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Shawn often talks about the microscope and telescope versions of writing. We can go deep and look at individual scenes, or even beats within a scene. We can also pull back and look at the story in a macro view, as a whole. Switching back and forth can often break us free of problems we’re… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>The Story Grid Podcast
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What’s Urgent and What’s Important
I learned this from my friend Steven Pressfield and I’ve nodded my head in agreement for far too long without really applying his wisdom to my own professional life. Steve talks about the difference between “urgent” and “important” work. And to do the important work first. Urgent work is getting my income tax forms done… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>The Meeting With the Goddess
In this week’s episode of The Story Grid Podcast Tim and I talk about a very big moment in his work in progress. It features what Joseph Campbell called “The Meeting with the Goddess.” In strict “Hero’s Journey” terms, this is the moment in the story when the traditional male heroic figure meets with the… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>The Mini HATMOTV Scene
In this week’s episode of The Story Grid Podcast, Tim delivers the second Hero’s Journey action trial for Jessie in his middle build. I thought it was a very good choice because it takes Jessie inside the virtual world again, but without the formal supervision from her first exposure. That is, the climactic scene represents… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>Ratcheting Up The Tension
The past two The Story Grid Podcast episodes have been an exercise in Tim concertedly ratcheting up the tension in his novel. This process requires a keen understanding of progressive complications. When you are unsure of whether the stakes in your novel are getting larger as you progress, pull back your focus and think about… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>Problem by Problem
Tim and I are trying something weird. We’re trying to see if we can work together on his novel in a way that will require the least amount of stress and pain possible. To see if I can direct him down the right roads as he drives 65 miles per hour with limited visibility on… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>Organic Progress
What’s so fun about this deliberate writing practice experiment for me is in the way Tim’s work is evolving…organically. What I mean by that is that characters enter Tim’s story now with real purpose. They enter through necessity. For example, when Tim was grinding out the elements for his first challenge sequence of scenes in… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>Limitations Beget Innovation
As we work through Tim’s middle build, a theme has emerged. That theme “Limitations Beget Innovation,” simply means that the more restrictions you put on your scene work, the more innovation that is required to make them fresh. Writing a scene whereby the character is introduced to the magical world is a severe restriction. The… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>When in Doubt…
Go back to Genre. Think about what promises you are making your audience with the Genre choices you’ve made. Whenever you hit a wall, go back to that question. How can I streamline my work to best serve the people who love these kinds of stories? In this week’s episode of The Story Grid Podcast… Read more »
Read the Transcript >>Holding the Center
In this week’s episode of The Story Grid Podcast, Tim and I go through his revised outline for his middle build in detail. As you’ll recall, we’ve had some setbacks over the past few weeks which led to a segue into a review of setting and the necessity of the writer being crystal clear with… Read more »
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