Season 3 is continues! We’re combining Nora’s passion for history with Sue’s passion for story structure — giving you a historical story and pointing out the structural elements that make it compelling.
You can also listen using any number of podcast platforms and apps including Spotify, Breaker, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.
Show Notes:
Season 3, Episode 1: Empress Matilda vs. Stephen
Here’s how this season will work:
Nora will tell a story from history, and I’ll interject at various points to point out story structure elements. This week, we look at some British history from the 1100s. Matilda was supposed to be England’s first female monarch but tings went a bit sideways. Still, Matilda’s brilliance shines through.
To look at the story structure, I’m using what Shawn Coyne calls the “Five Commandments of Storytelling.”
Here are the five commandments:
- Inciting incident – An exciting thing that kicks off a story
- Progressive complications – a series of events that make the story more, well, complicated –these can be either negative or positive
- Crisis – a question that must be answered by a choice being made
- Climax – what happens when the choice is made
- Resolution – the ultimate results of that choice
Then we get a bit off topic and talk about our excitement over the new Fantastic Beasts film Crimes of Grindelwald. But no spoilers — promise!
Things we mention that you should check out:
- Our mailing list! Sign up today and you’ll get cool subscriber only perks like bonus material and artwork, including an advance copy of my forthcoming novel, The Cat, the Cash, the Leap and the List.
- Shawn Coyne and the Story Grid. There’s a whole story grid universe: website, book and two podcasts: The Story Grid and the Story Grid Editors Roundtable.
- If you want to learn the whole story behind Matilda and Steven, check out the documentary “She-Wolves: England’s Early Queens.”
- Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald — go see it! And then buy the script to help you figure out what you just saw.
- Kristin Glasbergen – a YA author and big Harry Potter fan. You can get her serialized story, Red Magic, by signing up for her mailing list.
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