How Spider-Man (And All Great Stories) Makes Us Laugh, Cry, and Feel the Feels

Your Next Draft

The magic of storytelling is in making your readers feel. Here’s how great stories capture emotion.
One of my favorite questions to ask writers is, “What does success mean to you?”
And usually, I hear some version of the following:
You want to make readers feel. You want them to fall in love with your book. You want to make them laugh, to make them cry, to make them feel fear and excitement and relief and catharsis.
Sound like you? You’ll love this episode.
In it, I’m taking a close look at one of my favorite movie moments. It’s a scene that captures emotion so powerfully that even a tiny clip out of context can give you chills.
You’ll learn:

• How Spider-Man packs so much emotion into 2 short minutes
• Why explosive action alone isn’t enough to make your readers feel
• The simple formula to create transcendent emotional experiences for your readers
• And more!

Don’t worry—this episode contains no spoilers for the newest Spider-Man movie. Listen to it completely spoiler-free.
(Then, go watch Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse for another masterclass in creating emotion!)
Links mentioned in the episode:

• Watch the clip here

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