Story Grid Writing Podcast
297 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 644 ratingsHelping you become a better writer.
Join Shawn Coyne, author of Story Grid and a top editor for 30+ years, and Tim Grahl, struggling writer, as they discuss the ins and outs of what makes a story great.
More at www.StoryGrid.com.
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Episodes
Shawn's First Read of Tim's 2nd Draft
November 02, 2018 08:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBTim finished his second draft and turned it into Shawn. What's the verdict?
Why all the suffering?
October 26, 2018 08:00 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBWe all can agree that writing is hard. Learning to level up your writing is even harder. So why all the suffering? Why not just publish a draft that's "good enough"? This is what Shawn and Tim dive into on this week's episode.
World Building 101
October 11, 2018 08:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBWhat are the building blocks for a believable, fantastical world in your story? Shawn walks through this and hits upon a fundamental reason why Tim's characters have not been working.
Creating Believable Characters
October 04, 2018 08:00 - 40 minutes - 37 MBHow do you create the right cast of characters for your story and make them believable? Shawn walks Tim through a framework to do this correctly.
Crafting a Great Ending
September 27, 2018 08:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBTim is working through the final big battle scene and Shawn helps him figure out how to do it right.
How to Finish Your Book
September 20, 2018 08:00 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBNow that Tim has worked through his block, it's time to finish the book. But how? Shawn walks him through the mindset and tactics to finally finish this draft.
Is it time for Tim to quit?
September 13, 2018 08:00 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBEvery writer hits that moment. Is it time quit this novel and move on to a new project? Tim is facing this with Threshing and talks over the question with Shawn.
How to Write a Great Villain
September 06, 2018 08:00 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBWhat is the nature of evil and how do you make that into an unforgettable villain in your stories? Shawn and Tim dive into this topic.
Shawn's Dark Night of the Soul
August 23, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBShawn is in the midst of a publishing project of his own and... it's hit some rough spots. He shares what is going on and how he's working through it.
When is the book done?
August 17, 2018 08:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBTim brings a common question to Shawn... when do you know your book is ready to publish? Shawn has important insight on this all important question.
Writing an Action Sequence
August 09, 2018 12:39 - 49 minutes - 45 MBTim took at a crack at writing a fast paced action sequence that allows moves his story forward. Shawn walks him through the ins and outs and what to do next.
Game Theory in Story
August 02, 2018 08:00 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBWhat do video games and story telling have in common? Shawn walks through another tool for analyzing your story.
Chaos vs Order
July 27, 2018 08:00 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBWhat is the overarching engine running every story? Shawn uses Tim's latest scene to step into this question and share some of his latest research.
The Aftermath
July 20, 2018 19:47 - 42 minutes - 39 MBRunning Down a Dream has been out for a week. What has happened and what next?
Special Guest: Steven Pressfield
July 11, 2018 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBSteven Pressfield joins and Shawn and Tim to discuss his new book THE ARTIST'S JOURNEY along with Tim's new book RUNNING DOWN A DREAM.
Running Down a Dream
July 05, 2018 09:00 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBTim's new book Running Down a Dream is coming out next week and he discusses with Shawn what is has been like to write the book. Running Down a Dream
Getting the Value Shifts Right
June 21, 2018 08:00 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBA huge part that makes a scene work is the value shifts. They have to work in the scene, the global genre, the internal genre, etc. Shawn walks Tim through how to think about this with his Turning Point Scene of the Middle Build.
Fixing the Most Important Scene
June 15, 2018 08:00 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBShawn walks Tim through the problems with his turning point of the middle build scene (and how to fix them).
Deep Dive Into Tim's 15 Scenes (Part 2)
June 07, 2018 08:00 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBShawn and Tim continue work through the 15 most important scenes of The Threshing. Shawn also dives into what is really driving this, and all, stories. Click here to download Tim's outline of his 15 most important scenes.
Deep Dive Into Tim's 15 Scenes (Part 1)
May 31, 2018 18:32 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBTim did his homework by planning out the 15 most important scenes of his book. Shawn starts working through them with him.
Special Guest: Courtney Harrell
May 24, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 77.6 MBCourtney is a Story Grid Certified Editor and is stuck on her book! She reached out to Shawn for help so they jumped on the phone to go over her book and how she can make progress.
15 Most Important Scenes
May 17, 2018 08:05 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBShawn walks Tim through the 15 most important scenes he has to figure out for his novel.
Restarting an Old Project
May 10, 2018 08:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBTim is struggling with stepping back into his fiction book now that he's taken a few months off to finish his non-fiction book. Shawn walks him through how to do it. Plus, a special announcement! Click here to see more information on the Level Up Your Craft Summer Semester.
What Does Shawn Think? - Part 2
May 03, 2018 08:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBNow that Shawn has gone through the manuscript of Tim's book, what does he think? What's his feedback? What should he do next?
What does Shawn think?
April 19, 2018 08:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBNow that Shawn has read Tim's manuscript, he's handing down the verdict. Is it ready for primetime?
Book is Done! Now What?
April 12, 2018 08:00 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBTim has finally finished the manuscript for Running Down a Dream. What's next?
Q&A: Miniplot, Editors, and Genre
April 06, 2018 01:21 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBShawn takes listener questions and covers miniplot, how to hire and work with an editor, and deep dives into the differences between genres.
Put the Darkness on Paper
March 29, 2018 08:00 - 46 minutes - 43 MBHow do you write great non-fiction? Shawn continues to walk Tim through the telling of his story.
Interview: Ryan Holiday
March 22, 2018 08:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBRyan Holiday is the author of eight bestselling books and is quickly becoming one of the most prolific writers of our time. In this interview, Ryan shares his processes for writing and editing his books. Click here to see more about Ryan Holiday. Three of my favorite articles by Ryan on writing: The Notecard System: The Key For Remembering, Organizing And Using Everything You Read How And Why To Keep A “Commonplace Book” How I Did Research For 3 New York Times Bestselling Authors (In My...
Tell Your Story
March 15, 2018 08:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBTim continues to work towards telling the Truth in his writing while Shawn gives guidance on what to do next. Click here to download Tim's draft.
Truth vs truth
March 08, 2018 09:00 - 37 minutes - 34 MBWhat does it mean to tell your truth? Tim and Shawn discuss this along with the rewrite of his introduction. Read the rewrite of Tim's introduction.
Finding My Why
March 01, 2018 09:00 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBShawn continues to push Tim to find the true "why" behind his non-fiction book. Download Tim's intro and first set of chapters from Running Down a Dream.
The Middle of the Middle
February 22, 2018 09:00 - 39 minutes - 36 MBTim finally makes it to the middle of the middle build and gets Shawn feedback on what to do next.
Building Your Novel's World
February 15, 2018 09:00 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBIf you've struggled with building a believable, cohesive world for your novel, then this is the episode for you. Also, Tim's goes on a rant about the show Altered Carbon.
Slogging the Middle Build
February 08, 2018 09:00 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MBTim finally makes a breakthrough on his middle build and Shawn discusses how you can too. Download Tim's scenes from this week's episode.
Die Hard and Tim's Middle Build
February 01, 2018 09:00 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBShawn and Tim continue the discussion around Die Hard and how it applies specifically to Tim's book. Click here to see Tim's Story Grid spreadsheet of Die Hard.
Editor Roundtable: Alien
January 25, 2018 09:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBThis week we introduce you to the newest Story Grid project... the Story Grid Editor Roundtable Podcast. Listen as a panel of editors walks you through the movie Alien. Click here to see all the episodes of the Story Grid Editor Roundtable Podcast.
Die Hard
January 18, 2018 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBTim spent some of the holiday break putting Die Hard through the Story Grid spreadsheet. He has some observations and questions to run by Shawn. Click here to see the Die Hard Story Grid Spreadsheet.
The Story Grid Spreadsheet
January 11, 2018 09:00 - 56 minutes - 52 MBShawn and Tim discuss one of the most important Story Grid tools and how to use it.
Editor's 6 Core Questions - Part 2
December 22, 2017 14:38 - 57 minutes - 53.1 MBShawn and Tim continue working through the Story Grid Editor's Six Core Questions.
Editor's 6 Core Questions - Part 1
December 14, 2017 12:05 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBThere are six questions that can guide your writing from the beginning through drafting and editing your manuscript. Shawn walks you through each one.
The 5 Commandments of Storytelling (Revisited)
December 07, 2017 09:00 - 46 minutes - 32.3 MBThere are 5 Commandments for Storytelling that must apply to every part of your story. Shawn and Tim dive back into these fundamental ideas.
Myths of Publishing
November 30, 2017 09:00 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBThere are a lot of commonly held myths about publishing that often derail writers. Shawn and Tim bring their unique perspective to what writers should know about the publishing world and how it really works.
I'm Freaking Out
November 23, 2017 09:00 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBTim reaches the point where he wants to throw his book away and start over. Shawn is there to talk him off the ledge.
Rework or Keep Writing?
November 16, 2017 09:00 - 51 minutes - 35.2 MBWe all hit those times where we don't know whether to rework what we've written or keeping pushing forward. Shawn talks Tim through this decision.
What Shawn has learned
November 02, 2017 08:00 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBAfter hearing the listener messages from the 100th episode, Shawn reflects on what the last two years have meant to him... and then we dive back into my story.
The 100th
October 26, 2017 08:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBIn this 100th episode of the Story Grid Podcast, we here from you the listeners about what this show has meant to you over the last two years.
NaNoWriMo and Story Grid
October 19, 2017 08:00 - 55 minutes - 38 MBAre you doing NaNoWriMo next month? If so, you should be getting ready NOW. Shawn walks you through how to use the Story Grid to prepare for writing an entire novel in one month.
Go Back to the Genre
October 12, 2017 08:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MBWhen you get stuck or lost in your story, how do you find your way? Shawn and Tim discuss this as a follow up to last week's episode.
What Does the Villain Want?
October 06, 2017 08:28 - 1 hour - 43.6 MBAs Tim finished up the Beginning Hook and enters the Middle Build, a very important question comes to light. Download Tim's Beginning Hook.