Best Story Grid Podcasts (2024)

1
The Final Episode 35:26

1+ y ago35:26

35:26

This will be the final episode of the Story Grid Podcast for the foreseeable future. Tim gives some background on why this decision was made along with an update on his current writing project and other happenings around Story Grid.By Tim Grahl

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 4 - What Writers Can Learn 1:11:30

1+ y ago1:11:30

1:11:30

Access the full Story Grid analysis of Crazy Rich Asians at https://storygrid.com/crazy. What can writers learn from studying this 2018 film? This is the final in a four part series analyzing Crazy Rich Asians. The screenplay was written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim and the movie was based on a 2013 book of the same title written by Kevin Kwan.…

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 3 - Genre Conventions and Story Theme 1:00:04

1+ y ago1:00:04

1:00:04

Access the full Story Grid analysis of Crazy Rich Asians at https://storygrid.com/crazy. What can writers learn from studying this 2018 film? This is the second in a four part series analyzing Crazy Rich Asians. The screenplay was written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim and the movie was based on a 2013 book of the same title written by Kevin Kwan…

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 2 - 5 Commandments of Storytelling 37:50

1+ y ago37:50

37:50

Access the full Story Grid analysis of Crazy Rich Asians at https://storygrid.com/crazy. What can writers learn from studying this 2018 film? This is the first in a four part series analyzing Crazy Rich Asians. The screenplay was written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim and the movie was based on a 2013 book of the same title written by Kevin Kwan.…

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 1 - Is this a RomCom? 45:45

1+ y ago45:45

45:45

Access the full Story Grid analysis of Crazy Rich Asians at https://storygrid.com/crazy. What can writers learn from studying this 2018 film? This is the first in a four part series analyzing Crazy Rich Asians. The screenplay was written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim and the movie was based on a 2013 book of the same title written by Kevin Kwan.…

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 4 - What Writers Can Learn and Obligatory Moments 56:01

1+ y ago56:01

56:01

Access the full Story Grid analysis of John Wick at https://storygrid.com/wick. This is the final in a four part series analyzing the movie John Wick using the Story Grid methodology. This 2014 movie, written by Derek Kolstad, is a genre leading action movie. Story Grid Certified Editor Rachel Arsenault (https://www.rachel-arsenault.com) and Tim Gr…

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 3 - Genre Conventions and Five Commandments 39:05

1+ y ago39:05

39:05

Access the full Story Grid analysis of John Wick at https://storygrid.com/wick. This is the third in a four part series analyzing the movie John Wick using the Story Grid methodology. This 2014 movie, written by Derek Kolstad, is a genre leading action movie. Story Grid Certified Editor Rachel Arsenault (https://www.rachel-arsenault.com) and Tim Gr…

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 2 - Acts and Structure 41:25

1+ y ago41:25

41:25

Access the full Story Grid analysis of John Wick at https://storygrid.com/wick. This is the second in a four part series analyzing the movie John Wick using the Story Grid methodology. This 2014 movie, written by Derek Kolstad, is a genre leading action movie. Story Grid Certified Editor Rachel Arsenault (https://www.rachel-arsenault.com) and Tim G…

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 1 - Genre and Controlling Idea 38:01

1+ y ago38:01

38:01

Access the full Story Grid analysis of John Wick at https://storygrid.com/wick. This is the first in a four part series analyzing the movie John Wick using the Story Grid methodology. This 2014 movie, written by Derek Kolstad, is a genre leading action movie. Story Grid Certified Editor Rachel Arsenault (https://www.rachel-arsenault.com) and Tim Gr…

1
Line Edits: Putting the Final Touches on Eye Witness 1:01:39

2y ago1:01:39

1:01:39

We're down to line edits on Tim's iteration of the masterwork Eye Witness by Ed McBain. Shawn, Danielle, and Leslie provide final feedback on how to clean up the last few error messages still coming through. Click here to read Tim's scene: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yma-xAE77UnQMNAjTyOUPxF21P_DaFxuNXyQin-0gHo/edit?usp=sharing To see the tr…

1
Final Edits of a Short Story: Beat Construction and 624 Analysis 1:04:58

2y ago1:04:58

1:04:58

Now that Tim has had a breakthrough on his iteration of EYE WITNESS by Ed McBain, we're getting down to fixing individual Beats and checking to make sure he's adhered to the Story Grid 624 Analysis. You really see the Story Grid Tools shine in this episode as Leslie and Danielle apply them to Tim's writing to find places still left to fix. Click he…

1
Does Tim Actually Get It Right? How to Nail the Narrative Device 54:31

2y ago54:31

54:31

Does Tim Actually Get It Right? How to Nail the Narrative Device On Tim's 10th draft, he finally makes a breakthrough on his iteration of EYE WITNESS by Ed McBain! And it ended up being a simple practice that got him over the hump. Listen in as Shawn, Danielle, Leslie, and Tim discuss how to nail the narrative device. Click here to read Tim's scene…

1
How to Connect with Characters: Finding the Motivation and Shadow in Yourself 37:38

2y ago37:38

37:38

In this impromptu episode, Tim and Danielle discuss the ongoing problems with the work on the Ed McBain EYE WITNESS scene and why Tim can't connect with his characters.By Tim Grahl, Danielle Kiowski

1
Writing or Just Pretending? When there is Zero Flow and Everything is $h*t 1:05:10

2y ago1:05:10

1:05:10

Shawn takes a crack at rewriting Tim's scene to help him understand what he's missing on the Narrative Device. Then we hear Leslie and Danielle's edits and feedback on what he got right and wrong. When they ask Tim what he thinks of all this, lots of emotions start coming out including his feeling that he's not writing anymore... he's pretending to…

1
Conflict and Emotional Connection: Every Beat, Trope, and Scene Must Have These 1:02:27

2y ago1:02:27

1:02:27

There are lots of insights in this week's episode of the podcast. We look at the emotional connection between the hero and victim, ensuring there is conflict at every level of the story, and how better to lock in to the narrative device. Click here to read Tim's scene: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V6ja3HN4uKuS0J4x6pvWBUwkZUiE5uJov5jM3Gj-Yvw/…

1
Who's the Most Guilty Person in Your Story? Hero, Victim, and Villain - Part 2 1:09:22

2y ago1:09:22

1:09:22

Nobody is innocent in your story. Everyone is hiding something. You must adjust these levels correctly in order for your reader to connect with the right characters. This is the focus Danielle, Leslie, and Shawn take on Tim's scene this week. Click here to read Tim's scene: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_rP2ARaDQbSlGBmNRESszzYuNN-nrxa0pdJjt0…

1
Hero, Victim and Perpetrator: The Must-Have Relationships in Your Story 56:55

2y ago56:55

56:55

Who is the Hero, Victim, and Perpetrator in your story? What are the relationships between each of them? The more vague or ungrounded each of these relationships are, the more the story will not read as believable. This is the focus Danielle, Leslie, and Shawn take on Tim's scene this week. Click here to read Tim's scene: https://docs.google.com/do…

1
The Impact of a Story Theme: An Interview with Scott Mann and Randle Surles about the book Operation Pineapple Express 1:03:00

2y ago1:03:00

1:03:00

Figuring out your Story Theme is the key to unlocking the entire roadmap of your story. Scott Mann is the author of the new book → Operation Pineapple Express: The Incredible Story of a Group of Americans Who Undertook One Last Mission and Honored a Promise in Afghanistan. Randall Surles is a Story Grid Certified Editor and worked with Scott to dev…

1
Truth in Fiction: How to Write and Develop Believable Characters 1:12:55

2y ago1:12:55

1:12:55

How do you ground your characters in a reality that your reader will believe even though you are making the whole thing up? This week Tim makes the mistake of sterilizing his protagonist to the point where he is no longer interesting or believable. Shawn, Danielle, and Leslie walk him through the steps of using character development and a strong na…

1
Narrative Device: This Affects Every Single Word You Write 59:15

2y ago59:15

59:15

Who is telling your story? Who are they telling it to? Why are they telling it? This is the Narrative Device! The Narrative Device consists of three main components: Author: The Author is someone who is capable of telling the POP premise as a story to shed light on the problem another person has. SAM: The Single Audience Member is a person with a p…

1
Telling the Truth About Writing: Is this Podcast Worth Doing? 1:18:19

2y ago1:18:19

1:18:19

Shawn, Leslie, Danielle and Tim face a hard question... Is the Story Grid Podcast still worth doing? You might be surprised by what they have to say.By Shawn Coyne, Leslie Watts, Danielle Kiowski, Tim Grahl

1
Writing Emotional Pain: How to Care About Your Protagonist 1:07:53

2y ago1:07:53

1:07:53

What happens when you can't connect to your protagonist? This week Tim makes some progress on his scene, but it's still missing something. The soul in the writing isn't there. Shawn, Leslie, and Danielle talk through how to use emotional pain to connect into the story.By Shawn Coyne, Tim Grahl, Leslie Watts, Danielle Kiowski

1
Getting the Protagonist Right: When and How to Switch the Main Character 1:24:08

2y ago1:24:08

1:24:08

There are times in your story when you need to switch out the protagonist. This can even happen in the middle of a scene or short story. But how do you do it the right way? This week Shawn, Danielle, and Leslie look at Tim's draft to see how you can hand off the protagonist to a different character without confusion. Click here to read Tim's scene:…

1
Two Factor Problems: The Must-Have for Writing Captivating Stories 1:10:29

2+ y ago1:10:29

1:10:29

Great stories always answer two-factor problems. In this episode we see how Tim's mistake of choosing the wrong protagonist messes up the two factor problem. Shawn, Danielle, and Leslie help him sort out how to fix this problem. Click here to read Tim's scene: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yNGyDX5dkbchjT6UcrixUNv_2PI_WT7GrZn04H0nIh0/edit To s…

1
624 Break Down: The Surprising Mistake in Tim's First Draft 1:04:58

2+ y ago1:04:58

1:04:58

In this episode we start comparing the Story Grid 624 Analysis of the first draft of Tim's scene to EYE WITNESS by Ed McBain. Pretty quickly we see that Tim made one small mistake that ends up having a huge impact on the rest of the scene. In EYE WITNESS, the author switches the protagonist near the beginning of the scene. Tim doesn't do this and, …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Story Grid Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Story Grid Showrunners

Parul Bavishi, Melanie Naumann, and Randall Surles

1
Story Grid Writers' Room

Valerie Francis, Leslie Watts

1
Story Grid Writing Podcast

Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl

1
The Final Episode 35:26

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 4 - What Writers Can Learn 1:11:30

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 3 - Genre Conventions and Story Theme 1:00:04

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 2 - 5 Commandments of Storytelling 37:50

1
Crazy Rich Asians: Part 1 - Is this a RomCom? 45:45

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 4 - What Writers Can Learn and Obligatory Moments 56:01

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 3 - Genre Conventions and Five Commandments 39:05

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 2 - Acts and Structure 41:25

1
John Wick Analysis: Part 1 - Genre and Controlling Idea 38:01

1
Line Edits: Putting the Final Touches on Eye Witness 1:01:39

1
Final Edits of a Short Story: Beat Construction and 624 Analysis 1:04:58

1
Does Tim Actually Get It Right? How to Nail the Narrative Device 54:31

1
How to Connect with Characters: Finding the Motivation and Shadow in Yourself 37:38

1
Writing or Just Pretending? When there is Zero Flow and Everything is $h*t 1:05:10

1
Conflict and Emotional Connection: Every Beat, Trope, and Scene Must Have These 1:02:27

1
Who's the Most Guilty Person in Your Story? Hero, Victim, and Villain - Part 2 1:09:22

1
Hero, Victim and Perpetrator: The Must-Have Relationships in Your Story 56:55

1
The Impact of a Story Theme: An Interview with Scott Mann and Randle Surles about the book Operation Pineapple Express 1:03:00

1
Truth in Fiction: How to Write and Develop Believable Characters 1:12:55

1
Narrative Device: This Affects Every Single Word You Write 59:15

1
Telling the Truth About Writing: Is this Podcast Worth Doing? 1:18:19

1
Writing Emotional Pain: How to Care About Your Protagonist 1:07:53

1
Getting the Protagonist Right: When and How to Switch the Main Character 1:24:08

1
Two Factor Problems: The Must-Have for Writing Captivating Stories 1:10:29

1
624 Break Down: The Surprising Mistake in Tim's First Draft 1:04:58

Quick Reference Guide