Narrative First: where story is always king
66 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 11 ratingsUpdates & analysis of all things story. From screenplays to novels to deep theoretical story structure, this podcast is aimed at providing the secrets to great storytelling.
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Episodes
Predicting Who Will Listen to Your Story
August 24, 2016 01:04 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBAfter follow-up, we dive into an analysis of Hell or High Water, the new Western from Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan. Following that we take a look at the Dramatica story point known as Audience Reach. By combining the Main Character's Problem-Solving Style with the Story Limit, writers can accurately predict who will be sitting in the audience. Links and Show Notes Florence Foster Jenkins analysis - Deep thematic analysis of the film The Throughlines of Florence Foster Jenkins -...
Using Dramatica to Assess Narratives in the Real World
August 17, 2016 01:37 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MBWe're very excited to announce that we hired our first two employees here at Narrative First! The explosion in requests for our services over the summer kicked our plans into high gear. We look forward to providing not only a higher quality of service, but also unique and compelling services not available elsewhere. Story consultant Jon Gentry will be helping out with story analysis with an emphasis on real world narratives while vitality coach Summer De La Fuente will be using Dra...
9 Steps Towards Telling Your Story
August 10, 2016 00:34 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBDownload the action guide for this week's episode! Following up last week's conversation regarding what it takes to transform real life into an actual story, we now take time out to cover the first steps you want to take when building that narrative. Starting with basic plot elements and then moving to complex character issues, we reveal the same process we use to help individuals and organizations begin to think deeply about their stories. Links and Show Notes Last week's interv...
Transforming Real Life Into A Story and Disney's Moana
August 03, 2016 01:40 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBAfter a brief interlude for follow-up, we cover an effective technique for turning events in the real world into a full functional complete story. Understanding the deep thematic elements of your narrative is key to connecting with your Audience. -Transforming Real Life into a Story our article on how to do it Storyforming Screencast Series screencasts designed to show you how to use Dramatica to analyze a story The Dark Horse deep Dramatica analysis of this great film The Tende...
Star Trek: The Case for Writing a Screenplay with Dramatica
July 27, 2016 01:08 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBIn this episode we explore the Dramatica theory of story and how its ability to predict the intuition of a writer could possibly be the sole remaining piece of magic left on the planet. We then turn our attention to the latest Star Trek movie and wonder why they didn't use Dramatica to construct an emotionally fulfilling narrative. Also. Epic music! Links and Show Notes Links and Show Notes Operation Solace: My 17-year old son's epic Soundcloud channel. Dramatica: Secrets of th...
The Difference Between Star Trek and Star Wars
July 20, 2016 01:52 - 21 minutes - 19.4 MBIn this episode we look at the differences between Star Trek and Star Wars from a Dramatica point-of-view; looking at the structural differences in their narratives. We also explain why the Overall Story Throughline for The Fugitive is in Situation--not Activity as one would think. Links The Narrative First Podcast - leave a message, listen to past episodes The Throughlines of Kramer vs. Kramer The Character Arc Snapshot videos Four videos showing how character arc works from a ...
Supercharging the Conflict in Your Story
July 13, 2016 20:15 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBIn this episode, we offer some insight into how to really use Dramatica to increase the level on conflict in every story. Also, an analysis of the Angry Birds movie, and follow-up! Dramatica analysis of Kramer vs. Kramer Dramatica Users Group Six Basic Emotional Arcs research on subjective StoryWeaving When Backstory is Not Backstory article on backstory in Memento and Batman Begins Screenwriting: Beating the Odds more silly subjective research Understanding Dramatica's Comple...
Batman vs. Superman vs. Deadpool
July 06, 2016 00:49 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBIn this episode we take a look at two blockbuster comic book movies...without actual stories. Why then did one do better than the other? Also, a recap on last week's Zootopia analysis and a brief look at Pixar's Finding Dory and the excellent short that plays with it, Piper. This is also the first Narrative First podcast with a featured audio clip. Co-creator of the Dramatica theory Chris Huntley explains the Native American concept of 1,2,3,many and how it applies to Dramatica's q...
Zootopia and Batman Begins
June 28, 2016 19:37 - 34 minutes - 32 MBNew format here for the Narrative First Podcast: a sort of rough-draft of ideas and thoughts on story and story structure. This week's analysis will cover Zooptopia--which had a bit of a story structure problem--and Batman Begins. I've been waiting 10 years to figure out the storyform and I finally did it. Hope you enjoy. Two Sides of the Same Coin -- montage of "You and I" moments between Main and Influence Character Narrative First RoadMap -- let me translate Dramatica for you a...
Making Things Uncomfortable for Your Main Character
June 02, 2016 21:44 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBMain Characters don't grow on their own--they need someone to come along who sees the world in a completely different light. They need an Influence Character. In this episode we take a look back at an article from the Vault, A Good Impact Character Makes Things Uncomfortable and take in our deep analysis of 99 Homes. The Narrative First RoadMap A Good Impact Character Makes Things Uncomfortable Our Analysis of 99 Homes
How to End Writer's Block Forever
May 26, 2016 03:39 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBHow do you end writer's block forever? Know what it is you want to say and learn to use a tool that keeps you on the straight & narrow as you write that first draft. In addition, we take a deep thematic look at the movie Brooklyn from 2015. Original article: How to End Writer's Block Forever Our flagship Dramatica Mentorship Program Our Analysis of Brooklyn Melanie's presentation on Dramatica: Past, Present, Future, and Beyond Our class on Learning How to Use Dramatica in a Day...
Discovering the Story You Never Knew
May 14, 2016 02:30 - 40 minutes - 36.6 MBIn addition to taking a deep dive into Ryan Cooler's Creed, we also take another look at the Narrative First Playground Exercises--a strong and resilient system for looking at narrative makes it easier to play at writing. Our flagship Dramatica Mentorship Program -- Rid yourself of writer's block. Forever. Our Narrative First RoadMap service--an outline to start writing from in less than a week New classes & workshops from Narrative First & Dramatica co-creator Melanie Anne Phill...
Finding Your True Self Through Writing
May 03, 2016 03:03 - 10 minutes - 9.36 MBContinuing last week's article on generating story ideas, we take a look at how to get up close and personal with your deepest intentions. Using a tool known as the Playground Exercises, we discuss how you can use Dramatica to dive deep into your own subconscious and discover something honest for your to write. Finding Your True Self Through Writing - original article Dramatica Mentorship Program - a focused and specialized course designed to teach you how to do the exercises disc...
The Power of the Playgrounds
April 25, 2016 22:02 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBIn this episode we cover an introduction to the Playground Exercises--a fun and effective way to quickly produce richly thematic storylines. Links discussed: Generating an Abundance of Story Ideas Finding Your True Self through Writing Introducing The Narrative First RoadMap--a quick and easy way to have a fully formed outline of your story idea--in less than one week. Have that first draft finished in less than two months with our personalized outlines.
Analysis of Inside Out
April 19, 2016 18:34 - 6 minutes - 6 MBNarrative First analysis of Inside Out Update on the original analysis of Inside Out - We had one teensy weensy story element that was out of place. This corrects that.
The Problem with Reverse-Engineering Dramatica
March 07, 2016 20:37 - 7 minutes - 7.31 MBOur first blogcast episode! Here we explore the problems with opening the hood of the Dramatica story engine and why you're better served taking what the application gives you on trust...and then get back to writing. This article originally appeared on the Narrative First website under the title The Problem with Reverse-Engineering Dramatica. Hundreds of insightful articles like this one can be found in the Narrative First archives. Contact us with any questions or comments you ma...