Primal Fear is a superb film. The novel, by William Diehl, is even better. This is a story to add to your short list of go-to stories to study for absolutely any aspect of the craft. Enjoy! - V.

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

This week we're throwing it back to season 2. Valerie is studying The Hero's Gift Expressed and Melanie is studying Forces of Antagonism. Legally Blonde is a beautiful example of both!

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

In this week's episode, Melanie introduces the concept of conflict triangles and honestly, if you use them in your work, your story will improve immediately. In terms of cast design, while usually the plot supports the development of the characters in this case, the characters support the development of the plot. If you don't know which option best serves your story, you'd better tune in.

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

In this episode, Melanie is studying female characters and how women are presented in modern stories (her work in this episode is reeeeally interesting!), and I investigate something I learned from Steven Pressfield, which is that we shouldn't introduce anything new after Act 2.

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

Whatever kind of story you're writing, if you want a reader to stick with you all the way to the end, you've got to build tension! Believe it or not, The Bourne Identity is a terrific example to study - even for a love story or coming of age story.

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

Puzzled about what it takes to write a great mystery? Then grab your notebook because this episode is chock-full of tips. No red herrings in this show, we promise!

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

Ummm … I don’t know what to say to introduce this week’s episode. Perhaps I should start with a simple question, ‘What makes a story un-watchable/un-readable?’ Part of the answer is chickens. If you’d like to know the rest of the answer, then buckle-up and dive in. -M

“Foe makes all the same mistakes that most novelists make.” - Valerie Francis

Related Story Nerd Episodes

• Season 13 - Four Story Questions
• Season 5 - Story Form
• Season 7 - World Building

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.

THE MIRACLE CLUB is a multiple protagonist, miniplot, story. That means that each protagonist is also an antagonist. Sounds cool, right? But how the heck do you pull it off? Well one of the ways is to give each POV character her own villain's monologue. This film misses on one character and you just have to hear what happens to the story because of it! Melanie continues her study of turning points and this week, she shows us how they impact a story's pacing. Don't miss out! -V.

“The villain drives the middle build of your story.” - Valerie Francis

Related Story Nerd Episodes

• Season 11: Conflict Triangles Deep Dive

Get The Fundamentals of Storytelling today! Go to storynerd.ca/courses and use coupon code CANADA50, now through July 7, for 50% off.

For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle.

To learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.