Latest Amediting Podcast Episodes

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A Wizard of Earthsea - Global Story

Story Grid Writers' Room - June 02, 2021 08:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Get a bird’s-eye view of A Wizard of Earthsea while Leslie and Valerie offer a macro analysis of this fantasy origin story using Story Grid’s Editor’s Six Core Question. The 1968 story was written by Ursula K. Le Guin. Click here for the full show notes.

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Season Three Preview

Story Grid Writers' Room - January 20, 2021 09:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
This season on the Story Grid Writers’ Room podcast, Leslie and Valerie are doing a full Story Grid macro analysis of A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. We'll review the Editor’s Six Core Questions and look at each of the acts in detail. The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated ...

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Gone Girl - Key Takeaways

Story Grid Writers' Room - January 13, 2021 09:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Stay tuned to discover the final takeaways from Valerie and Leslie’s  deep study of Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel, Gone Girl. Find out what they’ve learned from applying Story Grid’s Editor’s Six Core Questions and breaking down each quadrant of this compelling Psychological Thriller.  The Story G...

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Gone Girl - Ending Payoff

Story Grid Writers' Room - January 06, 2021 09:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Wonder how to deliver a powerful and satisfying finish to your story? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie analyze the ending payoff of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl to unpack what makes this story work so well.  The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to o...

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Gone Girl - Middle Build Two

Story Grid Writers' Room - December 30, 2020 09:00 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Feeling stuck in the middle of your story? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie analyze the middle build 2 quadrant of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl to unpack what makes this story work so well. The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practica...

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Gone Girl - Middle Build 1

Story Grid Writers' Room - December 23, 2020 09:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
How can you keep readers turning pages through the middle build of your story? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie find out by analyzing the middle build 1 quadrant of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.  The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a pr...

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Gone Girl - The Beginning Hook

Story Grid Writers' Room - December 16, 2020 09:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
What makes the opening of Gillian Flynn’s 2012 Psychological Thriller, Gone Girl, so compelling? On the Story Grid Writer’s Room podcast this week, Valerie and Leslie analyze the beginning hook to find out. The Story Grid Writer’s Room is a show dedicated to offering a practical approach to the...

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Gone Girl - Editor's Six Core Questions Analysis

Story Grid Writers' Room - December 09, 2020 09:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Follow the clues this week to uncover the genius behind Gillian Flynn’s 2012 Psychological Thriller, Gone Girl. Valerie and Leslie analyze the macro story by applying Story Grid's Editor’s Six Core Questions. They identify the global genre, the conventions and obligatory moments of the genre, po...

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Roundtable Reissue - Gone Girl E6CQA

Story Grid Writers' Room - November 18, 2020 09:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Ever since the Story Grid Editor Roundtable started three years ago, we've been asked to apply the Story Grid method to a novel. Well, this is it! This season we're doing a full Story Grid macro analysis of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. We'll review the Editor’s Six Core Questions in the first epi...

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Season Two Preview

Story Grid Writers' Room - November 04, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Ever since the Story Grid Editor Roundtable podcast started three years ago, we've been asked to apply the Story Grid method to a novel. Well, this is it! This season we're doing a full Story Grid macro analysis of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. We'll review the Editor’s Six Core Questions and look...

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Season One Wrap-Up

Story Grid Writers' Room - October 28, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
It’s a wrap! In this episode, Valerie and Leslie close out the first season of the Story Grid Writer’s Room Podcast with a review of takeaways and lessons learned. This season we're analyzing scenes from novels, short stories and films because scenes are the basic building blocks of story. To b...

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Exposing the Criminal Scene - The Body in the Library

Story Grid Writers' Room - October 21, 2020 08:00 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
In the Writers’ Room this week, Valerie and Leslie find out whodunit and how in the Core Event of The Body in the Library  by Agatha Christie. The 1942 Cozy Mystery features a classic "summation gathering" scene when Miss Jane Marple reveals how she discovered the killer’s identity.  We're focu...

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Lightbulb Moment Scene - The Secret Life of Bees

Story Grid Writers' Room - October 14, 2020 08:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
In the Writers’ Room this week, Valerie and Leslie look at internal conflict and character revelation in a Turning Point scene of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2002 Worldview Story, The Secret Life of Bees. See how quiet moments can lead to scenes with big impact. We're focusing on scenes this season because...

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Hero at the Mercy of the Villain - The Girl on the Train

Story Grid Writers' Room - October 07, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
In the Writers’ Room this week, Valerie and Leslie unpack the many points of conflict from different perspectives in the Core Event of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. The 2015 Psychological Thriller culminates in an extended Hero at the Mercy of the Villain scene that features a “Tug of ...

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"I Have a Voice" Scene - Performance Story

Story Grid Writers' Room - September 30, 2020 08:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
In the Writers’ Room this week, we listen closely to the “I Have a Voice” scene in the 2010 film The King’s Speech. The Oscar-winning story was directed by Tom Hooper from a screenplay by David Seidler. The scene in the spotlight today delivers the middle build climax of this Performance Story b...

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Revolution Scene in a Society Story

Story Grid Writers' Room - September 23, 2020 08:00 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
We slide into the Revolution Scene in the Writers’ Room this week as we analyze the 1911 novella Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. We look at the difference between cautionary and tragic tales and discuss what The Hunger Games and The Accidental Tourist have in common with Ethan Frome. This season ...

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Toolbox Episode - Sales Copy for Your Book

Story Grid Writers' Room - September 16, 2020 08:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Don't know what to include in the sales copy for your book? How can you describe your story to appeal to the ideal reader? Shawn Coyne and Valerie Francis help you find your way in a special Toolbox episode of the Writers' Room Podcast.  Click here for more information.

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Hero at the Mercy of the Villain - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Story Grid Writers' Room - September 09, 2020 08:00 - 55 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
This week we face the Hero at the Mercy of the Villain in the Writers’ Room as we analyze the core event of the 2005 novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling.  But that’s not all! In addition to analyzing this excellent example of a “chase scene” in an Action Story, we discu...

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Big Showdown - 3:10 to Yuma

Story Grid Writers' Room - September 02, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
It’s time for the Big Showdown in the Writers’ Room this week as we analyze the 1953 short story “3:10 to Yuma” by Elmore Leonard. This season we analyze a scene from a novel, short story or film because scenes are the basic building blocks of story. To be able to write a story that works, you ...

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The Big Choice - I Stand Here Ironing

Story Grid Writers' Room - August 26, 2020 08:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
It’s the Big Choice plus perspective in the Writers’ Room this week as we analyze the 1961 short story “ I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen. Each week this season, we'll analyze a scene from a novel, short story or film because scenes are the basic building blocks of stories. To write a stor...

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Victim at the Mercy of the Monster - The Tell Tale Heart

Story Grid Writers' Room - August 19, 2020 08:00 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
It’s the victim at the mercy of the monster this time as Valerie and Leslie analyze the 1843 Horror story “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. This season we're analyze a scene from novels, short stories and films because scenes are the basic building blocks of story. To be able to write a...

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Lovers Meet Scene - Bridget Jones's Diary

Story Grid Writers' Room - August 12, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
What makes a great lovers meet scene? Find out when Valerie and Leslie analyze the turkey curry buffet scene in Bridget Jones’s Diary, the 1996 Love Story by Helen Fielding. This season we analyze scenes from novels, short stories and films because scenes are the basic building blocks of story....

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Introducing the Story Grid Writers' Room

Story Grid Writers' Room - August 05, 2020 08:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
In this episode, Story Grid editors Valerie Francis and Leslie Watts introduce the new Story Grid Writers’ Room. Each week this season, we analyze a scene or short story to get to the bottom of how to write scenes because to write a story that works, you must be able to write scenes that work. ...

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Bite Size Episode - Marriage Story Scene Analysis

Story Grid Writers' Room - July 29, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
It’s 30 minutes of deep insight as Valerie Francis and Leslie Watts bring you a bite-size episode on analyzing a scene, with an example from Marriage Story.  Here on the Roundtable we're dedicated to helping you become a better writer, following the Story Grid method developed by Shawn Coyne. I...

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Action - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Story Grid Writers' Room - July 22, 2020 08:00 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Gaze into the pensieve to learn the secrets of point of view and narrative device in the 2005 novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Roundtablers also discuss the 2009 film of the same name, directed by David Yates from the screenplay by Steve Kloves. Each week one o...

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Performance and Crime - The Imitation Game

Story Grid Writers' Room - July 15, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Uncover the secret to integrating framing stories with The Imitation Game. The 2014 film was directed by Morten Tyldum from the Oscar-winning screenplay by Graham Moore. It’s based on the 1983 biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. Each week one of the Roundtable team—Valerie Franc...

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Core Events - Fried Green Tomatoes

Story Grid Writers' Room - July 08, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Core events, mini-plots, and nested stories are on the menu this week as the Roundtablers analyze the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes, directed by Jon Avnet from a screenplay by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski, based on Flagg’s 1987 novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Each week...

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Society - Ragtime

Story Grid Writers' Room - July 01, 2020 08:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Gain a new perspective on history and point of view as the Roundtablers analyze E. L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel Ragtime. The 1981 film based on the novel was directed by Miloš Forman from a screenplay by Michael Weller and Bo Goldman. Each week one of the Roundtable team—Valerie Francis, Kim Kessle...

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Love Story - Marriage Story

Story Grid Writers' Room - June 24, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Make your way from coast to coast and from beginning to end as Valerie takes us through the three-act structure of Noah Baumbach’s 2019 film, Marriage Story. Each week one of the Roundtable team—Valerie Francis, Kim Kessler, or Leslie Watts—aims to get to the bottom of a specific story principl...

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Performance - Center Stage

Story Grid Writers' Room - June 17, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 45 ratings
Warm up and get your dancing shoes on for the Core Event of Center Stage. This 2000 Performance genre film was directed by Nicholas Hytner from a screenplay by Carol Heikkinen. Each week one of the Roundtable team—Valerie Francis, Kim Kessler, or Leslie Watts—aims to get to the bottom of a spec...

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