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One of the phrases that’s been popularized in online storytelling discussions in recent years is the “sexy lamp test.”* This test is applied to a female character to judge whether the storyteller has given her an adequate presence in the story. A character fails the … read more »
It can be tricky to take a protagonist from blissfully ignorant to embroiled in a tense conflict between secret factions. That’s probably why I’ve encountered many manuscripts where a mysterious kidnapping or murder takes place and then a mentor shows up and tells the hero … read more »
Should a story, by and large, be predictable? Like should the audience more or less know what direction the story is going in, or should the story be more plot twisty and unpredictable? -Tucker Read more »
Hollywood has made the act of revisiting old fan favorites something of a gimmick. With a rising wave of returning franchises, classics like Star Wars, assorted horror and superhero movies, Star Wars, numerous 2D-animated films,* and Star Wars have made their way back to the … read more »
Writers often know where their stories start and end but draw a blank when it comes to all the stuff in between. And unfortunately, common plot structures like the hero’s journey aren’t as helpful as they seem. While they provide a rhythm of success and … read more »
In an ideal situation, the world and plot work together to create the story. Some storytellers build the world first and then see what plots fit within it. Others craft a plot and then build a world around it. Both methods are valid, as long … read more »
Turning points are critical to a good story. What’s a turning point, you ask? It’s the moment in a story’s climax when the situation changes, when the hero goes from losing to winning, or winning to losing if this is a story that ends poorly. … read more »
Hello. I’m working on an outline for a series where one of the themes I want to explore is the process of historical change. I’m still experimenting with how best to structure the story. One option is to structure it more or less conventionally, including … read more »
This episode is a podcast within a podcast within a podcast about plots within plots within plots. That’s right, today we’re talking about fractal plotting. What is fractal plotting, you ask? Listen and find out! We talk about the most basic parts that make up … read more »
We storytellers like to play games, and so it naturally follows that the characters in our plots would like to play games too. But what happens when the game becomes the plot? Is a great time had by all, or is everyone’s good day canceled … read more »