Episode 399: Stranger Things 4 A criminal waste of Winona Ryder. October 2, 2022October 2, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Adam Wik
Six Stories With Cheap Cop-Outs What happens when we don't keep our promises. September 24, 2022September 22, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis
Episode 397: The Sandman For want of a raven, the dream was lost. September 18, 2022September 16, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Emma Riley
Who Has the ANTS: Hawkeye, Moon Knight, or Ms. Marvel? Arrows, moons, and marvels oh my! September 17, 2022September 27, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis
Q&A: How Should I Fill In Backstory? Submitted by Kai, answered by Chris Winkle September 12, 2022September 7, 2022 in Storytelling, Writing
Episode 396: Always Be Solving Problems If the hero isn't doing anything, the reader will be bored. September 11, 2022March 13, 2023 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Svend Phillips
Five Tropes That Sound Cool but Rarely Work Some techniques are tempting, but dangerous. September 10, 2022September 15, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Storytelling
Can Framing Devices Be Better Than Terrible? Disconnected scenes are rarely worth keeping. September 2, 2022September 2, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Ten Reasons Characters Might Stop Communicating What to do when one conversation could ruin your plot. August 19, 2022August 18, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Inspiration
Your Story Needs Tension, Not Violence Create excitement on your own terms. August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Episode 391: Murderbot Hacking governor modules across the corporate rim! August 7, 2022August 7, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Alexa Johnson
The Five Reasons Prequel Stories Are So Difficult Prequels are usually bad, even when authors try their best. August 6, 2022August 4, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Storytelling
A Character Goal Isn’t a Story – But It’s Close This common model for stories can be helpful, but it can also hold writers back. July 29, 2022July 28, 2022 by Chris Winkle in Storytelling
Episode 388: Clashing Choices When the heart wants two different things. July 17, 2022July 17, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, Wes Matlock, and Svend Phillips
Five Stories With Clashing Choices Like a tug of war in the plot. July 16, 2022July 13, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis
Six Sloppy Character Arcs in Popular Stories What lessons are we supposed to learn here? July 9, 2022July 9, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis
The Myth of Conflict-Free Story Structures One weird trick vs. storytelling reality. July 2, 2022December 2, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Commentary, Storytelling
The Three-Act Structure Is a Mirage A structure no stronger than a sand castle. June 25, 2022December 2, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Commentary, Storytelling
Who Wins: The Martian, Artemis, or Project Hail Mary? One author enters, one author leaves. June 18, 2022September 27, 2022 by Oren Ashkenazi in Analysis
Q&A: Does My Hero Need a Specific Job? Submitted by Dave L, answered by Oren Ashkenazi June 13, 2022June 9, 2022 in Storytelling
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