Podcast appearances and mentions of Robert McKee

It's a brand new season and that means Melanie and I are studying two new topics: narrative drive and conflict triangles. Conflict and page-turners are usually associated with action stories, thrillers and the like. But DOUBT is a quiet, character-driven film that is so expertly crafted it grabs the viewer's attention immediately and holds it right to the bitter end. Seriously, there's so much for novelists in here. -V. Acquire the power to write a bestselling story at storynerd.ca/courses 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 is storytelling at its finest. We could study it to learn about almost any aspect of writing, but this week, Melanie and I are highlighting the complexity and nuance of the main character. He's a passive character, which makes for an especially interesting study of both the hero's monologue and the shadow. If you've not seen THE HOLDOVERS yet, watch it as a gift to yourself this holiday season. You won't be disappointed. We'll be back in January  with a new episode. Until then, we'll be sharing some of our favourite episodes from the vault! Happy Holidays, everyone! And Happy New Year! - V. Acquire the power to write a bestselling story at storynerd.ca/courses 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 special episode of the storytelling with data podcast, Cole celebrates the 10-year anniversary of her best-selling book, storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals. She shares exciting updates about the newly released 10th Anniversary Edition—including refreshed visuals, updated examples, and new bonus content—along with an invitation to a live virtual event on December 2, 2025.To mark the occasion, Cole reads aloud Chapter 7: Lessons in Storytelling—a fan-favorite chapter that explores how story structure can be used to create more compelling data communications. From Red Riding Hood to Aristotle to Robert McKee, this episode blends timeless storytelling wisdom with practical techniques for structuring business presentations, building narrative flow, and engaging your audience through conflict, clarity, and repetition.Whether you're crafting a dashboard, pitching a recommendation, or designing a presentation, this episode is packed with strategies to help you move beyond showing data to telling a story with data.Related links:Get your copy of the 10th anniversary storytelling with dataJoin Cole Dec 2, 2025 in a live virtual mini-workshopListen to the Before & After audiobook

In the Sunday Book Review, Tom Fox considers books that would interest compliance professionals, business executives, or anyone curious about the subject. It could be books about business, compliance, history, leadership, current events, or any other topic that might interest Tom. Today, we review five top business books on storytelling written by Robert McKee. Story by Robert McKee Character by Robert McKee Action by Robert McKee Dialogue by Robert McKee Storynomics by Robert McKee and Thomas Gerace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Loretta chats with the author Carl David Blake, who is the author of the of Dance With Me!Carl David Blake is a Guinness World Record-winning film director, International Best-selling author, producer, and screenwriter. He is a versatile creative force and an accomplished storyteller. Born in the Bronx, New York, he pursued his academic and professional dreams in Florida, where he earned a B.S. in Biology and Zoology and an M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of South Florida. His career spans the realms of literature, film, and education.Carl's latest accomplishment is releasing his novel Dance with Me: The Karmic Love Affair that Dangerously Changed a Young Mumbai Woman, based on his acclaimed Bollywood-inspired screenplay. This story blends romance, karmic retribution, and family drama, showcasing Carl's skill for weaving emotional depth and cultural nuance.His creative expertise is complemented by his commitment to pushing boundaries, from taking on the iPhone movie challenge to studying story structure with the legendary Robert McKee. Carl is a storyteller who thrives on exploration and innovation, bringing a dynamic perspective to his work.Find out more at: Carl David Blake Productions – Guinness World Record Winning Film Director(Encore Show - Original Air Date 11-21-24)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Loretta chats with the author Carl David Blake, who is the author of the of Dance With Me! Carl David Blake is a Guinness World Record-winning film director, International Best-selling author, producer, and screenwriter. He is a versatile creative force and an accomplished storyteller. Born in the Bronx, New York, he pursued his academic and professional dreams in Florida, where he earned a B.S. in Biology and Zoology and an M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of South Florida. His career spans the realms of literature, film, and education. Carl's latest accomplishment is releasing his novel Dance with Me: The Karmic Love Affair that Dangerously Changed a Young Mumbai Woman, based on his acclaimed Bollywood-inspired screenplay. This story blends romance, karmic retribution, and family drama, showcasing Carl's skill for weaving emotional depth and cultural nuance. His creative expertise is complemented by his commitment to pushing boundaries, from taking on the iPhone movie challenge to studying story structure with the legendary Robert McKee. Carl is a storyteller who thrives on exploration and innovation, bringing a dynamic perspective to his work. Find out more at: https://carldavidblakeproductions.com/ (Encore Show - Original Air Date 11-21-24)

Send us a textIf you're new to writing, you've probably read the title of this episode and thought, "Oh, great, my scenes need to turn, now." Or perhaps you're not new to writing, heard this term before, and you're thinking, "I don't think so." Before you hit the pause, please hear me out.Value shifts are a great way to ensure that each scene moves the story forward and pulls its weight. I also realise that I'm not the first person to discuss turning a scene or value shifts in the writing space. But I want to assure you that I don't want to add more confusion to the mix or discuss this topic in a way that is overly complicated. That's why I've called this The Beginner's Guide.In this beginner's guide, I will define the term value shifts or the concept of the turning of a scene, explain how a scene turns, and share non-spoiler-y examples from the mystery and romance genres. Also, I'll show you how to check if your scenes turn and move the story forward. On top of this, I'll demonstrate how to fix a scene that doesn't turn.Without further ado, let's get into the episode.Course, Podcasts, Books, and Tools MentionedCheck Out the Show Notes ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap050/ TAP047, What is a story beat? ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap047/TAP046, Ending Scenes with Cliffhangers ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap046/TAP045, The Anatomy of a Scene ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap045/TAP041, What is a Scene? ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap041/Story by Robert McKee ⇢ https://amzn.to/49VnLAe *Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell ⇢ https://amzn.to/3Wcq8eN *Story Grid by Shawn Coyne ⇢ https://amzn.to/4aZNs3O *Suggest an Episode Topic ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/request/Got a burning question that you would love me to answer on the podcast ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/question/Answers to Questions on Writing from Previous Shows ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/question/faq/Be on the Podcast | https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/podcast/interview/Support the showConnect with me on Social MediaDiscord: https://discord.gg/HZX7HZBQUfFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpreneurpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorpreneurpodcast/X: https://twitter.com/writeradhayYouTube: www.youtube.com/c/authorpreneurpodcast/videosGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/authoradhay/Merch Store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/WriterADHay/shop* This is a service or product offered by me** My bookish merchandise store

Piero Trellini è uno scrittore unico nel panorama italiano: i suoi libri sono viaggi profondi dentro eventi solo all'apparenza marginali, ma che finiscono per restituire l'essenza di un'epoca. Abbiamo parlato di questo e di un evento che lo ha segnato profondamente: la sua sopravvivenza all'attentato terroristico di Bali nel 2002. Trellini ha indagato fra le altre cose il legame profondo tra la nascita dell' industria automobilistica – in particolare in Francia con Renault e Citroen – le guerre mondiali e il terrorismo degli anni '70, compreso il rapimento di Aldo Moro, il cui corpo fu ritrovato proprio in una Renault 4. — Questo episodio è presentato dall'olio "Il fuoco invisibile": https://forestaforte.com/categoria-prodotti/olio-evo-il-fuoco-invisibile/ – La scrittura di Trellini unisce una quantità vertiginosa di dettagli a una visione d'insieme capace di tenere unite, in modo sorprendentemente coerente, eventi e fenomeni apparentemente lontanissimi. Al centro del suo sguardo c'è spesso il caso, la coincidenza, il numero che ritorna, il dettaglio che sembra insignificante e invece apre universi di senso. In questa puntata abbiamo parlato del suo metodo, del modo in cui costruisce le sue storie, dell'ossessione per i segnali e per i legami invisibili e per salvare la memoria, non solo dei fatti storici ma anche delle persone a lui care. L'episodio è stato registrato a Roca, nel Salento, durante l'edizione del luglio 2024 di RocAntica, rassegna realizzata con il sostegno del Comune di Melendugno. La nuova edizione di ODIO è qui: https://amzn.to/44VUzdhI libri di tutti gli ospiti di PDR e qualche consiglio di lettura sono qui: https://www.amazon.it/shop/danielerielliLa mia newsletter gratuita: https://danielerielli.substack.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/danielerielli/Twitter - https://twitter.com/danielerielliFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/quitthedoner/Il mio ultimo libro é "IL FUOCO INVISIBILE" (Rizzoli), e lo trovi qui: https://amzn.to/40VFsLB 00:00 - Intro01:02 - I tuoi libri sono odissee attraverso un tema ogni volta diverso: perché scrivi libri di questo genere?6:55 - Come scegli il tema principale e i vari filoni? Digressioni su Holly e Benji e Ufo Robot14:20 - Il casus belli della prima guerra mondiale: il rapporto fra caso e destino20:15 - Da quali dati parti per raccontare una storia in un libro narrativo?23:29 - I corsi dello sceneggiatore Robert McKee; la scrittura di "La Partita" su Italia-Brasile 198232:00 - Sei più mosso dal desiderio di capire o di conservare?34:35 - La brutalità e l'ingiustizia della vita: un tema ricorrente37:30 - R4. Alcuni episodi della storia del signor  Renault50:55 - Come nasce la R4?54:51 - Cosa ti ha colpito di più del rapimento Moro? L'importanza delle macchine1:01:43 - Spiegare la complessità attraverso le macchine1:07:25 - Targhe rivelatrici1:11:48 - Sopravvivere a un attentato: il racconto di un'esperienza vissuta a Bali1:22:25 - Perché non scrivo di quest'esperienza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I'm joined by the brilliant Susan Sloate - novelist, playwright, and former Hollywood story analyst - for a conversation that's equal parts inspiring, hilarious, and packed with practical wisdom for writers.Susan shares what she's learned from writing over 25 books (including one in just three days!), working in the film industry during a writer's strike, and attending Robert McKee's legendary story seminars where she once helped shape the early idea for Groundhog Day.We talk about:How she handles the dreaded middle of a storyWhat to do when you don't know your subject (spoiler: she once made a calf respond to Beatles songs)How her latest book, Scenes from a Song, taps into the emotional power of musicAnd why she believes stories should leave readers with hope, not despairWhether you're a planner, a pantser, or somewhere in between, Susan's insights will remind you that the best stories often come from trusting your gut and not being afraid to try the outrageous.https://susansloate.com/

The antagonist drives the middle of a story, so what happens when the antagonist is a really weak character? Well, if you're a filmmaker and can cast Emilio Estevez, you might get away with it. If you're a novelist, you're in trouble. This week, Melanie and I take a look at The Mighty Ducks where the story is thin but the ice is thick. While this movie doesn't offer up the best example of the villain's monologue, thankfully, it's got lots to teach us about turning points. -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.

Want to elevate your storytelling? In this episode, we break down the most essential insights from Robert McKee's legendary book STORY. From mastering structure to crafting scenes that turn, you'll learn why writing is a craft, not a mystery—and how to wield that craft with intention. We cover the five essential story beats, the role of genre, the importance of character choices, and what it really means to be a writer. Whether you're writing screenplays, novels, or anything in between, these timeless lessons will sharpen your storytelling instincts.

Loretta chats with the author Carl David Blake, who is the author of the of Dance With Me! Carl David Blake is a Guinness World Record-winning film director, International Best-selling author, producer, and screenwriter. He is a versatile creative force and an accomplished storyteller. Born in the Bronx, New York, he pursued his academic and professional dreams in Florida, where he earned a B.S. in Biology and Zoology and an M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of South Florida. His career spans the realms of literature, film, and education. Carl's latest accomplishment is releasing his novel Dance with Me: The Karmic Love Affair that Dangerously Changed a Young Mumbai Woman, based on his acclaimed Bollywood-inspired screenplay. This story blends romance, karmic retribution, and family drama, showcasing Carl's skill for weaving emotional depth and cultural nuance. His creative expertise is complemented by his commitment to pushing boundaries, from taking on the iPhone movie challenge to studying story structure with the legendary Robert McKee. Carl is a storyteller who thrives on exploration and innovation, bringing a dynamic perspective to his work. Find out more at:  https://carldavidblakeproductions.com/about.html#/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loretta chats with the author Carl David Blake, who is the author of the of Dance With Me!Carl David Blake is a Guinness World Record-winning film director, International Best-selling author, producer, and screenwriter. He is a versatile creative force and an accomplished storyteller. Born in the Bronx, New York, he pursued his academic and professional dreams in Florida, where he earned a B.S. in Biology and Zoology and an M.A. in Mass Communication from the University of South Florida. His career spans the realms of literature, film, and education.Carl's latest accomplishment is releasing his novel Dance with Me: The Karmic Love Affair that Dangerously Changed a Young Mumbai Woman, based on his acclaimed Bollywood-inspired screenplay. This story blends romance, karmic retribution, and family drama, showcasing Carl's skill for weaving emotional depth and cultural nuance.His creative expertise is complemented by his commitment to pushing boundaries, from taking on the iPhone movie challenge to studying story structure with the legendary Robert McKee. Carl is a storyteller who thrives on exploration and innovation, bringing a dynamic perspective to his work.Find out more at:  https://carldavidblakeproductions.com/about.html#/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's that time again! We've reached the end of the season and that means Melanie and I are wrapping up all our a-ha moments and lessons learned about writing exposition and creating character arcs. Plus we've got a special surprise coming for you and we talk about it in this episode to be sure to listen all the way to the end! - V."The closer a scene and its exposition are to real life, the easier it is to make it invisible." - Melanie HillRelated Story Nerd EpisodesSeason 12: Exposition + Character Arcs 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.Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Park Howell, host of Business of Story Podcast, author of Brand Bewitchery, and co-author of The Narrative Gym for Business. Park Howell teaches one of the most powerful tools in storytelling: the And, But, and Therefore (ABT), going through the science behind it and how you can start crafting great stories and communicate more powerfully through the use of this framework. He also shares examples of ABT in history and pop culture and how they shaped and are continuing to shape our world as we know it.  Some highlights:-How growing up in a large family impacted Park Howell-What led Park Howell to the world of marketing and, eventually, the business of storytelling-On learning how to tell great stories and “studying” alongside his son in film school-And, But and Therefore: The DNA of impactful stories-Park Howell gives a Crash Course on ABT-Learning to spot ABTs, from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address to Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe-Park Howell's ‘horror story' exerciseMentioned:-Robert Bies, professor and founder of the Executive Masters in Leadership program at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business (Listen to Robert Bies's Partnering Leadership podcast episode here)-Randy Olson, scientist, filmmaker and co-author of The Narrative Gym for Business-Red Ogan, founder of Wenatchee Petroleum -Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero's Journey-Yuval Noah Harari, historian and author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind-Christopher Lochhead, category designer and author-Robert McKee, author, lecturer and story consultant-Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President-Edward Everett, former United States Secretary of State-Ernest Hemingway, novelist, short-story writer and journalist-The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler-Bill D. Moyers' PBS Special with Joseph Campbell-Power of Myth, conversations between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell-Houston, We Have a Narrative by Dr. Randy OlsonConnect with Park Howell:Brand Bewitchery on AmazonThe Narrative Gym for Business on AmazonPark Howell on LinkedInPark Howell on TwitterPark Howell on FacebookBusiness of Story WebsiteBusiness of Story CoursesConnect with Mahan Tavakoli: Mahan Tavakoli Website Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn Partnering Leadership Website

This movie is a masterclass on characters, character development, cast design and the relationships between characters. It honestly doesn't get any better than this. So no matter what kind of story you're writing, grab your notepad and dive in! -V. 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.Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

Robert McKee, A Fulbright Scholar, is the most sought after screenwriting lecturer around the globe. He has dedicated the last 30 years to educating and mentoring screenwriters, novelists, playwrights, poets, documentary makers, producers, and directors internationally. Those who have learned from McKee have called him "the Aristotle of our time" because of his insight into the substance, structure, style, and principles of the grand art of story.Peter Jackson (writer/director of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit) has lauded him as "The Guru of Gurus." For the writers of Pixar (creators of Toy Story 1, 2, & 3, Finding Nemo), McKee's Story Seminar is a rite of passage. Emmy Award-Winner Brian Cox also portrayed McKee in the Oscar-nominated film Adaptation.McKee's former students include over 60 Academy Award Winners, 200 Academy Award Nominees, 200 Emmy Award Winners, 1000 Emmy Award Nominees, 100 WGA (Writers Guild of America) Award Winners, 250 WGA Award Nominees, and 50 DGA (Directors Guild of America) Award Winners, 100 DGA Award Nominees.A winner and nominee of BAFTA for his popular Channel Four series Reel Secrets, McKee also wrote and hosted 12 episodes of BBC's Filmworks series. He was profiled by Bob Simon of 60 Minutes for CBS news.McKee's articles on Story have also appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines around the world including Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker Magazine, Swiss Business Magazine, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, CBS Morning News, BBC, Channel 4 in UK, RAI (Italy), CBN Weekly News & Morning Glory (China), MBC TV, KBS & Arirang TV, Korea Times (South Korea), Kiev Weekly, Kultura Moscow, all major TV, Radio and/or newspapers of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Germany, France, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, and Switzerland and given seminars in all of the above countries.Since 1984, more than 100,000 students have taken McKee's courses at various cities around the world: Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Toronto, Boston, San Francisco, Helsinki, Oslo, Munich, Tel Aviv, Auckland, Singapore, Madrid, Beijing, Shanghai, Barcelona, Lisbon, Malaga, Hamburg, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome, Stockholm, São Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Beijing, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Seoul, Istanbul, Hyderabad, Mexico City and many cities regularly.McKee continues to be a project consultant to major film and television production companies such as 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, & MTV. In addition, Pixar, ABC, BBC, Disney, Miramax, PBS, Nickelodeon, Paramount, GLOBOSAT, MNET and other international TV and Film companies regularly send their entire creative and writing staffs to his lectures.His new book is Action: The Art of Excitement for Screen, Page, and Game.ACTION explores the ways that a modern-day writer can successfully tell an action story that not only stands apart, but wins the war on clichés. Teaming up with the former co-host of The Story Toolkit, Bassim El-Wakil, legendary story lecturer Robert McKee guides writers to award-winning originality by deconstructing the action genre, illuminating the challenges, and, more importantly, demonstrating how to master the demands of plot with surprising beats of innovation and ingenuity.Topics include:Understanding the Four Core Elements of ActionCreating the Action CastHook, Hold, Pay Off: Design in ActionThe Action McGuffinAction Set PiecesThe Sixteen Action SubgenresA must-add to the McKee storytelling library, ACTION illustrates the principles of narrative drive with precision and clarity by referencing the most popular action movies of our time including: Die Hard, The Star Wars Saga, Dark Knight, The Matrix, and Avengers: Endgame.Enjoy my conversation with Robert McKee.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

Melanie chose Lego Batman from the vault because, in addition to being a really well-written story, it made her laugh. And that, imo, is the mark of superior writing. This episode originally aired in Season 5 when Melanie was studying resonance. If you're curious about what that is, and how it can truly enhance your storytelling, be sure to give this episode a listen. - V. 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.Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

Chapter 1:Summary of StoryThe story by Robert McKee is a comprehensive guide on the art of storytelling. It covers all aspects of storytelling, from understanding the structure of a story to developing compelling characters and creating tension and conflict. McKee emphasizes the importance of crafting a well-structured story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, as well as the necessity of creating multidimensional characters that undergo growth and change throughout the narrative. He also highlights the significance of creating obstacles and challenges for the protagonist to overcome, as well as the importance of maintaining audience engagement through suspense, surprise, and emotional connection. Overall, McKee's story is an insightful and informative exploration of the elements that make a successful and impactful story.Chapter 2:The Theme of Story"Story" by Robert McKee is a widely acclaimed book that delves into the art of storytelling and the principles of effective screenplay writing. The book explores key plot points, character development, and thematic ideas that are essential elements of a compelling narrative.Plot Points:1. McKee emphasizes the importance of a well-structured plot that follows a clear beginning, middle, and end. He discusses the significance of inciting incidents, turning points, and climaxes in driving the story forward and creating tension and conflict.2. McKee also explores the concept of the "gap" in storytelling, where characters face obstacles and challenges that they must overcome in order to achieve their goals. He discusses the necessity of creating stakes and obstacles that are meaningful and engaging for the audience.Character Development:1. McKee emphasizes the importance of creating fully developed and complex characters that are believable and relatable to the audience. He discusses the significance of character arcs and the ways in which characters evolve and change over the course of the story.2. McKee also explores the idea of character motivation and the ways in which characters' desires and goals drive the plot forward. He discusses the importance of creating characters with clear and compelling motivations that are rooted in their personal histories and experiences.Thematic Ideas:1. McKee delves into the concept of theme and the ways in which it can be used to add depth and complexity to a story. He discusses the importance of identifying the central theme of a narrative and weaving it throughout the plot, characters, and dialogue.2. McKee also explores the idea of moral and ethical dilemmas within storytelling, and the ways in which characters are forced to confront difficult decisions and choices that reveal their true nature. He discusses the significance of exploring themes that challenge the audience's beliefs and provoke thought and reflection.Overall, "Story" by Robert McKee offers valuable insights into the craft of storytelling and provides practical guidance for writers looking to create compelling narratives that resonate with audiences.Chapter 3:Meet the Writer of StoryRobert McKee, a renowned screenwriting instructor, utilizes his exceptional writing skills and language style to effectively convey the emotions and meanings of stories to his audience. First and foremost, McKee's writing skills are evident in his ability to craft compelling and engrossing narratives that captivate his readers from the very beginning. He has a talent for creating vivid imagery and descriptive language that transports readers into the world of the story, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the characters and their experiences. McKee also excels in his use of language style to convey emotions and meanings in his storytelling. He is able to deftly manipulate tone, pacing, and dialogue to create...

It's a brand new season and that means Melanie and I are studying two new topics: narrative drive and conflict triangles. Conflict and page-turners are usually associated with action stories, thrillers and the like. But DOUBT is a quiet, character-driven film that is so expertly crafted it grabs the viewer's attention immediately and holds it right to the bitter end. Seriously, there's so much for novelists in here. -V."The main conflict in a story is between the protagonist and the antagonist, right? Fine. We all understand that. But if that's all we got, then our story is like a tug of war." Valerie Francis 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.Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

You can learn a lot about culture by how it looks at what makes a good story and a good story structure. In Western culture right now, we tend to think of stories as three acts (a beginning, middle, and end with the bulk being in the middle), and with a protagonist or hero or main character (whatever you want to call it) who drives the story forward. So, it's sometimes good to remember that there are other ways of making story and other cultures where the bulk might not be in the middle or the main character might not be so proactive. Story reflects who we are as a people. Nobody keys into this as much as Robert McKee, who is quite the guru of screenwriting and story. There are three of his maxims, explained by No Film School that really show that. Those are: "Your protagonist needs to be the one who makes the decision that brings about the climactic action. "Is your protagonist driving the story forward? Are their actions and choices putting the story into focus and kicking it into gear? Make sure they are active, and not just along for the ride. Give them something to do. "Desire in your character is key. "What does your character want? We talk about goals on here a lot. They need to have a goal, but also the reasoning behind it. That's where desires come in. I want to solve the case to make the city safer. I want to bring all my friends back from Thanos' snap. Give them something tangible and obvious. "Character payoffs should always be emotional unless you have a special reason. "Think about not only what happens inside your story but how these moments affect people internally. Does someone let a character down, or crush their heart with a rejection? Is there a way to hook that into the goal and show how things evolve within them? What do these emotional hurdles do to them or cause them to do? Let emotion guide the way." For literature in our time, right now, and our culture, those are three big keys to making stories that will be purchased and will resonate with readers. How does that reflect with our life though, right? DOG TIP FOR LIFE You've got to make things happen. Be the hero of your own story and make your people have emotional rewards when they give you what you want. COOL WRITING EXERCISE This is from Robert McKee and his book, Story: "Lean back and ask, 'What would it be like to live my character's life hour by hour, day by day?' In vivid detail sketch how your characters shop, make love, pray — scenes that may or may not find their way into your story, but draw you into your imagined world until it feels like déjà vu. "While memory gives us whole chunks of life, imagination takes fragments, slivers of dream, and chips of experience that seem unrelated, then seeks their hidden connections and merges them into a whole. Having found these links and envisioned the scenes, write them down. A working imagination is research." PLACE TO SUBMIT The Bath Novel Award 2024 £5,000 international writing prize SHOUT OUT! The music we've clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here's a link to that and the artist's website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It's “Summer Spliff” by Broke For Free. WE HAVE EXTRA CONTENT ALL ABOUT LIVING HAPPY OVER HERE! It's pretty awesome. We have a podcast, LOVING THE STRANGE, which we stream biweekly live on Carrie's Facebook and Twitter and YouTube on Fridays. Her Facebook and Twitter handles are all carriejonesbooks or carriejonesbook. But she also has extra cool content focused on writing tips here. Carrie is reading one of her raw poems every once in awhile on CARRIE DOES POEMS. And there you go! Whew! That's a lot! Subscribe LINKS TO LEARN MORE:

Robert McKee, legendary Hollywood Screenwriting Coach, Story Consultant and author of Storynomics: Story-Driven Marketing in the Post-Advertising World, shows you how to use storytelling in your business-to-business communications to excite audiences and move them to action.    Improve your storytelling immediately with my The ABTs of Agile Communications™ quick online course to learn the agile narrative framework that all influential business communication is built.  Grab your copy of The Narrative Gym for Business, a short guide on crafting ABTs for all of your communications.  Read Brand Bewitchery: How to Wield the Story Cycle System™ to Craft Spellbinding Stories for Your Brand.  #StoryOn! ≈Park

As I wrote the outline and script for the show on value shifts, I realised that there is a smaller unit of story that I need to discuss that's integral to understanding value shifts or how a scene turns. So, I considered adding it to that episode but soon discovered that the final version of the episode would be too long. That's why I created this, hopefully, short bonus show where I discuss what is a story beat. And how you can use them to create better scenes.Course, Podcasts, Books, and Tools MentionedCheck Out the Show Notes ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap047/The previous Episode ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap046/TAP045, The Anatomy of a Scene ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap045/TAP041, What is a Scene? ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/tap041/Story by Robert McKee ⇢ https://amzn.to/49VnLAe *Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell ⇢ https://amzn.to/3Wcq8eN *Story Grid by Shawn Coyne ⇢ https://amzn.to/4aZNs3O *Suggest an Episode Topic ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/request/Ask a Question ⇢ https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/question/Products I RecommendScrivener ⇢ https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener-affiliate.html?fpr=authorpreneurpod *Grammarly Premium ⇢ https://www.grammarly.com/Pro Writing Aid ⇢ https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=22911 *AutoCrit ⇢ https://www.autocrit.com/Marlow/Authors.ai ⇢ https://authors.ai/marlowe/?awref=rt2q4bq7zq *Fiverr ⇢ https://www.fiverr.com/DIVI Theme ⇢ https://www.elegantthemes.com/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=66529 *Other Useful LinksLooking for an affordable premade book cover? | https://levillainbookcovers.com/shop/ **Be on the Podcast | https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/podcast/interview/Host Your Author Website with SiteGround ⇢ https://www.siteground.com/go/authorpreneur *Support the Show.Connect with me on Social MediaTwitter: https://twitter.com/writeradhayFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpreneurpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorpreneurpodcast/YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/authorpreneurpodcast/videosGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/authoradhay/Merch Store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/WriterADHay/shop* This is a service or product offered by me** My bookish merchandise store

We're kicking off a brand new season with two new story concepts. Melanie will be studying female characters and how women are presented in modern stories (her work in this episode is reeeeally interesting!), and I'll be investigating something I learned from Steven Pressfield, which is that we shouldn't introduce anything new after Act 2."Setups and payoffs are questions asked and answered." Valerie FrancisRelated Story Nerd Episodes:Lady Bird (Season 8, Episode 9) REGISTER FOR THE 2024 SPRING WEBINAR SERIESFor 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.Follow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

In this episode of The Talk Spot, we speak with author and lecturer Robert McKee.

In this episode of The Talk Spot, we speak with author and lecturer Robert McKee.

This week I answer a few questions from our listeners about outlining, finding the ending to your story, and more. I also include my interview with Robert McKee from last […]

Does thinking about making an interview mistake keep you up at night? Especially the night before? Interview fails are very common, but you absolutely can avoid them! In the first interview for Fearless Podcasting, host and podcast producer Jamie Kennedy interviews Emma Robertson, an interview expert and seasoned professional in journalism and TV production who has worked with the likes of Jamie Oliver, Piers Morgan, and Massimo Bottura (Michelin Star chef). In this episode, you'll hear insightful strategies to keep your podcast conversations smooth and engaging. You'll learn about the art of building trust, steering conversations back on track, and crafting questions and interview structures that resonate. From making guests comfortable to mastering technicalities, this episode is your guide to podcast interviews done beautifully.Learn More about Emma:- Emma's FREE ‘The 3 Mistakes New Interviewers Make' Video Training- Website- Instagram - @shift_return_digital & @srd_insiderResources Mentioned:- Emma's Storytelling Book Recommendation: Storynomics by Robert McKee- Emma's Podcast Recommendation: Talk Easy Pod- Jamie's Storytelling Book Recommendation: The Science of Storytelling by William Storr- Download your free Start-a-Podcast Guide.- I record, edit and transcribe my Podcast in Podcastle - try 3 hours free using this link! Plus use ‘BRAVEMOON' for 50% off your first month.Other Links to Check Out:- Instagram: @about.jamie.- Join the Podcast Community for Health and Fitness Professionals to network today.- Mention the podcast and get $200 off the Brave Moon Podcasts Launch Package!Please note:We partner with trusted businesses as affiliates to bring you valuable content. Your support through our affiliates allows us to provide free content on the podcast and social platforms. Thank you for your support!Related Topics: Successful podcast interviews, Podcast interview strategies, Building trust with podcast guests, Managing interview tangents, Crafting impactful interview questions, Podcasting best practices, Lessons from interview experiences Be part of the growing community of health and fitness podcasters! https://plus.acast.com/s/bravemoonpodcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past two seasons Valerie has been talking about character dimension and cast design. The key to understanding both concepts is to recognize that a person isn't a uniform, constant creature. A person's behaviour changes depending on the situation she finds herself in and the people she finds herself interacting with.In this brief bonus episode, Valerie's daughter Avery (a theatre student at the York University Acting Conservatory) illustrates how this character shift plays out in real time. It's actually an acting assignment as part of her course work, but it sums up everything Valerie has been talking about over the course of the last twenty episodes. Enjoy!For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircleFor information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinarsTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.auFollow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X, Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

Effective employer branding is not just about attracting candidates but also about retaining existing employees. A positive work environment and reputation increase employee satisfaction and reduced turnover. As a recruiter, how can you partner with your client companies to achieve employer branding objectives?   To answer this question, I am delighted to have a very special guest, Bryan Adams, CEO and founder of Ph.Creative, an award-winning employer branding agency with offices in Liverpool, London, San Diego, and Auckland. Bryan shares insights and strategies on creating an effective storytelling framework to apply this branding philosophy: repel the many and compel the few.   Bryan helps his clients define their essence as a company, both in its uniqueness and what it stands for, and then crafts and aligns those aspirations with the people his clients are looking to attract. They've worked with famous brands such as Apple and Nike.  He is also a two-time best-selling author. His latest book is Give & Get:Repel the Many and Compel the Few with Impact, Purpose, and Belonging. He has written for the Harvard Business Review, Inc.com, the Entrepreneur magazine, and has been featured in Forbes.    Episode Outline and Highlights   [02:22] How Bryan launched his branding agency. [05:45] DIscussion on employer branding and the philosophy of attracting the right people. [13:01] Roadmap in helping your client attract the right people. [18:02] What are the components of a good employer brand? [27:41] Bryan gives us key stories from his book, Give & Get Employer Branding. [30:36] What mistakes do companies make concerning employer branding? [37:31] How can recruiters partner with their client companies in achieving the objectives of employer branding?  [43:00] Book recommendations and references on storytelling. [48:10] Employer branding case studies on small to medium-sized businesses.   Repel the Many and Compel the Few - A Guide on Employer Branding   Recruiters are ambassadors of their clients. Understanding the employer brand of the company they represent is crucial to attracting the right candidates. Effective employer branding is critical for attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent. It goes beyond just salary and benefits; it encompasses the company's values, culture, work environment, opportunities for growth, and overall employee experience.    Contrary to the notion that the correct branding should attract as many candidates as possible, Bryan believes that doing it right should only compel a few, well-screened candidates. He said:   “And it's interesting still in a recent survey, 70% of employer brand leaders still cite an increase in volume of applicants and traffic to their career site as a success metric when delivering an employer brand. I've never met a TA leader, a talent attraction leader who just wants more applicants, more noise, more admin, and more work to get to the people who are ideally matched.”   Bryan shared case studies of corporations and small-medium businesses they worked with and how the right employer branding worked well to find the right people. Bryan pretty much defined the right approach to branding when he said “The idea is, if you're confident and clear enough to know your culture and what it takes to drive the organization forward, and you also can answer some fundamental questions of not just why people join, but why they stay, then you can craft a give and get proposition which is a two-way value exchange of not just what you stand to get as an employer but actually what you're willing to give in return candidates and employees alike can make very informed career decisions as to whether it's an ideal match.”   How to Strategize a Good Employer Brand    Bryan shared the mistakes companies make when envisioning and strategizing their employer brand. He also shared vital pointers and elements to consider in designing and marketing effective talent branding. It leads to creating a communication framework, which should include the following:   Research - the goal is to look for something authentic enough for employees to try on and recognize their personal experience in the messaging that you will put out.   Ask the right questions - organizations need to ask the right questions and get the right information to create a messaging that makes sense for them while compelling a segment of the talent audience that they are targeting.   Messaging - Bryan described it clearly: get a 360 view and design the messaging to touch a very tangible bridge between the reality of today and the aspiration of tomorrow.    Brand Essence - just like Nike's “Just Do It” campaign, a clear brand essence needs to start a conversation where people can look at the sentiment of what you are saying and be intrigued or make an interpretation that can create an affinity with the audience.   Bryan also discussed the importance of storytelling. He mentioned that this is part of what makes their company successful and also shared books and references that you can look into if you plan to begin engaging in this skill.   How Can Recruiters Promote Their Client's Employer Brand?   How can recruiters partner with their client companies in achieving the objectives of employer branding? I was interested in picking Bryan's brains on this question and he was able to give insightful advice which is to focus on creating a compelling story structure.   “The formula is this: empathy, curiosity, surprise, insight, and action,” Bryan said. This approach to creating a story structure he shared is interesting as it is backed up by psychology.    This is how he explained it: “Empathy is an emotional immediate connection to the organization, what they're trying to do, and the purpose and vision of the organization. Curiosity is something that differentiates you from everybody else and gets people to lean in. So there's an emotional connection and now we're leaning in. Surprise is here's three things that you didn't know. You weren't expecting this. So what we're doing is we're playing with, we're opening the right side of the mind now, the right side of the brain, such that you're now ready to receive facts and information, insights and specific that you can deliver about the role. So we've talked about the company, maybe there's curiosity about the team and the specific objectives in that team, then insight around the specific role, and then we make a call to action. Usually, the call to action ties everything together from a purpose perspective. And if you walk through that formula, it's incredibly powerful if you have a proposition that's compelling and true that plays on all of the strengths that we've talked about.”   Our Sponsor   This podcast is proudly sponsored by i-intro    i-intro® is an end-to-end retained recruitment platform. Their technology and methodology allow recruiters to differentiate themselves from the competition, win more retained business, bigger fees, and increase their billings. Their software combined with world-class training enables you to transition from transactional, contingency recruiter to consultative, retained recruiter. Instead of being perceived as a “me too” vendor, you'll be positioned as a “me only” solutions provider. Be sure to mention Mark Whitby or The Resilient Recruiter. Book your free, no-obligation consultation here: https://recruitmentcoach.com/retained   Bryan Adams Bio and Contact Info   Bryan is the CEO and founder of Ph.Creative, recognized as one of the leading employer brand agencies in the world with clients such as Apple, American Airlines, and Entain. Bryan is also a bestselling author, podcaster, creative strategist, and specialist speaker.   Bryan has interviewed over 50 of the world's greatest storytellers including Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Robert McKee to strengthen knowledge and fuel a passion for what it means to effectively move people with language. He is considered a prominent employer brand thought leader and his creative, unconventional, and even controversial methodologies are said to regularly change the way people think about employer branding and EVP.   Bryan on LinkedIn Ph.Creative website link   People and Resources Mentioned   Give & Get Employer Branding: Repel the Many and Compel the Few with Impact, Purpose and Belonging, by Bryan Adams The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future, by Jonah Sachs Guerilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business, by Jay Levinson   Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

193.Bölümde Danışman ve Yazar Sinan Sülün konuğum oldu. Sinan Sülün Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi'nde MBA, Pazarlama ve İnsan Kaynakları Yüksek Lisans programlarında “Sunum ve Hitabet”, Boğaziçi, Koç, Sabancı, Bilgi, İTÜ gibi birçok üniversitede “İş Hayatında Hikayeleştirme” başlığında seminerler ve dersler verdi. 2017 yılında İstanbul'da, 2020 yılında Londra'da StoryZone adında “Storytelling (Hikayeleştirme)” alanında eğitim ve danışmanlık hizmeti veren bir şirket kurdu. Halen kurumlara eğitimler vermeye, markalara danışmanlık yapmaya ve öğrenmeye, düşünmeye, yazmaya devam etmektedir. (00:00) - Açılış – Ön konuşma (05:01) – 2. Ön konuşma

The one thing Valerie and Melanie agree on this week is that the execution of this film isn't as good as it could, or should, have been. They disagreed on just about everything else and they each have a strong case for why they've come to the conclusions they've come to. The main points of disagreement? The protagonist's object of desire (want) and whether the protagonist was empathetic or not.What do you think? Do you agree with Melanie or Valerie?For access to writing templates and worksheets, and more than 70 hours of training (all for free), subscribe to Valerie's Inner Circle: www.valeriefrancis.ca/innercircleFor information about Valerie's upcoming webinars, visit: www.valeriefrancis.ca/webinarsTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website: www.melaniehill.com.auFollow Valerie on X, Instagram and Threads @valerie_francisFollow Melanie on X Instagram and Facebook @MelanieHillAuthor

“Billionaires can’t take a week off? What’s the point of having a billion dollars if they have fewer options than I do?”  –Tim Ferriss In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tim discuss common travel fantasies, and the fears that keep people from traveling (5:00); how we can redefine what “wealth” is and live fuller lives (18:00); why keeping a healthy perspective on information intake, technology, and “efficiency” is important, both on the road and in daily life (25:00); the “beginner’s mind,” and tips for writing and creativity (54:00);  the merits of going on foot and “getting lost” on the road, and how this figured into Rolf’s writing classes (1:17:00); notions of “success,” and how to definite the notion of success in a way that enhances one’s way of being in the world (1:37:00); and Rolf’s recommendations for drinks, food, documentaries, books, and poetry (1:50:00); Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) is a best-selling author and podcaster. General Links: Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s summer writing classes) Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (audiobook) The Game Camera (short film cowritten by Rolf and Kristen Bush) Tim Ferriss on how to create a successful podcast (Deviate episode) Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show LeBron James on The Tim Ferriss Show Cheryl Strayed on The Tim Ferriss Show Jerry Seinfeld on The Tim Ferriss Show Tortuga (bags design for long-term travel) Unbound Merino (travel clothing company) AirTreks (round-the-world flight planner) BootsnAll (online travel community) Interview Links: Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode) Man bites dog (aphorism about journalism) “War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography” (quote) Beginner’s mind (attitude of openness) Adaptation (2002 film) Anne Lamott (American author) Kurt Vonnegut (American author) The Hero's Adventure with Joseph Campbell (podcast remix) Flâneur (urban wanderer) Situationists (1960s social and artistic movement) Psychogeography (exploration strategy) Dave Chappelle (comedian) John Hughes (filmmaker) Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah (American essayist) Grizzly Man (2005 documentary film) Werner Herzog Reads Curious George (satire) Con Air (1997 film) Aimee Nezhukumatathil (poet) Naomi Shihab Nye (poet) Major Jackson (poet) Donald Hall (poet) Books mentioned: Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (book) The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss (book) The Art of Nonfiction, by Ayn Rand (book) Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark (book) To Show and to Tell, by Phillip Lopate (book) Screenplay, by Syd Field (book) Story, by Robert McKee (book) Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder (book) A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway (book) Leaves of Grass, by Walk Whitman (book) Good Hope Road, by Stuart Dischell (poetry) Alien vs. Predator, by Michael Robbins (poetry) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Billionaires can't take a week off? What's the point of having a billion dollars if they have fewer options than I do?”  –Tim Ferriss In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tim discuss common travel fantasies, and the fears that keep people from traveling (5:00); how we can redefine what "wealth" is and live fuller lives (18:00); why keeping a healthy perspective on information intake, technology, and "efficiency" is important, both on the road and in daily life (25:00); the "beginner's mind," and tips for writing and creativity (54:00);  the merits of going on foot and "getting lost" on the road, and how this figured into Rolf's writing classes (1:17:00); notions of "success," and how to definite the notion of success in a way that enhances one's way of being in the world (1:37:00); and Rolf's recommendations for drinks, food, documentaries, books, and poetry (1:50:00); Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) is a best-selling author and podcaster. General Links: Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf's summer writing classes) Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (audiobook) The Game Camera (short film cowritten by Rolf and Kristen Bush) Tim Ferriss on how to create a successful podcast (Deviate episode) Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show LeBron James on The Tim Ferriss Show Cheryl Strayed on The Tim Ferriss Show Jerry Seinfeld on The Tim Ferriss Show Tortuga (bags design for long-term travel) Unbound Merino (travel clothing company) AirTreks (round-the-world flight planner) BootsnAll (online travel community) Interview Links: Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode) Man bites dog (aphorism about journalism) “War is God's way of teaching Americans geography” (quote) Beginner's mind (attitude of openness) Adaptation (2002 film) Anne Lamott (American author) Kurt Vonnegut (American author) The Hero's Adventure with Joseph Campbell (podcast remix) Flâneur (urban wanderer) Situationists (1960s social and artistic movement) Psychogeography (exploration strategy) Dave Chappelle (comedian) John Hughes (filmmaker) Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah (American essayist) Grizzly Man (2005 documentary film) Werner Herzog Reads Curious George (satire) Con Air (1997 film) Aimee Nezhukumatathil (poet) Naomi Shihab Nye (poet) Major Jackson (poet) Donald Hall (poet) Books mentioned: Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (book) The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss (book) The Art of Nonfiction, by Ayn Rand (book) Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark (book) To Show and to Tell, by Phillip Lopate (book) Screenplay, by Syd Field (book) Story, by Robert McKee (book) Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder (book) A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway (book) Leaves of Grass, by Walk Whitman (book) Good Hope Road, by Stuart Dischell (poetry) Alien vs. Predator, by Michael Robbins (poetry) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

JAWS vs JAWS 4 - What Makes a Great Screenplay? This special episode is a detailed discussion between three film enthusiasts: Chris & Jerome and Leigh, about the movie 'Jaws'(1975) and its sequel 'Jaws: The Revenge'(1987). They tackle the question, "What makes a great screenplay?" Leigh Morgan first published the main audio on his show, Lights Camera Rant and he permitted us to republish it on this episode of the Silver Screen Happy Hour! View the original show on YouTube Here: Biting Into The Jaws FranchiseThe conversation touches on numerous elements such as script structure, character arcs, trivia, and memorable scenes from the films. Each speaker shares their insights, contributing to a comprehensive analysis of the two movies and their respective screenplays while making the conversation humorous and enjoyable. They also touch on other films and screenwriting concepts in the context of the 'Jaws' movies. CORRECTION: Jerome called Robert McKee, the great screenwriting teacher, "Charles"!Follow Silver Screen Happy Hour on Instagram here:Silver Screen Happy HourFollow Lights Camera Rant on Instagram here:Lights Camera Rant

Jared, Oriana and Ned discuss their collective choice of topic: Peter Jackson's version of The Return of the King. It's been twenty years since the conclusion of Jackson's three-film effort to adapt the entire Lord of the Rings was released, and it was easily the biggest profile release of the series, coming in with massive interest and attention, setting a variety of box office records in the process along with gaining widespread critical acclaim. It all resulted in a series of worldwide film awards and honors culminating with a famed clean sweep of Oscar wins including best picture, resulting in a tie with Titanic and Ben-Hur with eleven Oscars total but also the only one of those three films to literally win every category it was nominated for, a combined record that still stands. The film's general impact and that of the series as a whole is at this point undeniable, but how it holds up in a look back, caught somewhat between Fellowship's own unquestionable triumph and Two Towers's more stop-and-go successes, warrants its own discussion. What are the many changes made to the tangled relationship between Frodo, Sam and Gollum, and how does that play out as a result for both the film and the wider themes? How does the use of practical models and actual landscapes feed into the feeling of how the film both landed in the moment and held up upon later rewatching, even while it was also the biggest demonstration yet of the possibilities for CGI with massive military clashes and the like? Is it possible to actually lose count of just how many remarkable moments on a grand scale exist throughout the film, even as there are various “well, but…” caveats and questions to raise along the way? How has the whole series of film changed both the perceptions of Tolkien and the film industry in general? And how many endings are there, after all? (Surprise! It never ended, it's running somewhere in a theater right now, maybe.)Show Notes.Jared's doodle. And that's another epic trilogy down. (The earlier entries here and here.)Hurrah for the SAG-AFTRA strike ending and better (not perfect!) terms won.Our episode on evil. Evil!TheOneRing.net report on the return of the Eagle & Child pub. Jason Horowitz's New York Times story about that Italian Tolkien exhibition encouraged by Italy's favorite fascists. Sorry, did we say the quiet part out loud? (In the Guardian, Jamie Mackey with more context.)Our episodes on Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, with lots of notes about the series as a whole so we won't repeat everything here…The sole trailer for The Return of the King. But that's all they needed.Trilogy Tuesday! It was a crazy time and it was great. Here's a photo of the all-day pass given out, and here's an example of that film frame memento given out as well. The opening scene is really something, no lie. Friendly little worm there.The screenwriting guru Ned mentions is Robert McKee – per Brian Sibley's Peter Jackson biography, McKee had come to Wellington, New Zealand to give one of his lectures in 1988, and the New Zealand Film Commission invited Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and future contributing screenwriter for The Two Towers Stephen Sinclair to it and they all apparently took it very much to heart. So a long term impact but even so.The opening exchange between Sam, Frodo and Gollum. Really are some beautifully shot moments in this sequence.Oh did Christopher Lee have things to say in the run-up to the theatrical release.Our episode on the Rankin-Bass Return of the King. It is NOT very good.Yeah yeah the Arwen vision and Arwen dying and…well whatever.But boy that introduction to Minas Tirith. THAT'S how to make an entrance.And the beacons sequence, wow, still. Time zone issues aside.For examples of the Gondor theme earlier on in the series, skip ahead to about a minute into this clip.Ride the Empire Builder! If you like.Hurrah for John Noble (and hurrah for Fringe). Skip ahead three minutes for “The rule of Gondor is MINE!” moment, and the parting between Denethor and Faramir, phew.Minas Morgul, a triumph of John Howe design, glowing and clamped. (The skybeam is the skybeam but the sonic buildup rules.)The Holdo maneuver (it really was great, like the film itself)When Theoden and Eowyn part at Dunharrow, boy that'll ruin ya. That's two good actors very much in the moment.When Aragorn and Eowyn part at Dunharrow, it is very…shippy.“...and Rohan will answer!” Perfect.“The stars are veiled.” Are they, Legolas?Oh you know the Shelob scene. You know. “The Edge of Night” sequence is unnerving, beautiful and horribly sad.The Nazgul as the angels of death, in essence. However petty.Grond! It is great design for sure, plus armored trolls.Gothmog isn't bothered with your petty trebuchets.The Ride of the Rohirrim. No notes. But here come the mumakil…“I am no man!” Yeah, it rules.Air Bud, the lingua franca of us all.That crazy Witch-king mace. Gotta love it.And indeed skip ahead to the end of the clip for that mumak takedown by the scrubbing bubbles. Plus Tracy Jordan with the wisdom. It still only counts as one, we guess.Sam finds Frodo in Cirith Ungol – it's a good moment!“On this good earth!” (Well, maybe not GREAT earth.)“I can carry you!” A beautiful sequence, no doubt.The Crack of Doom. Great acting moments, wonderful moment for Gollum, but not over the cliff again…And yeah when Mount Doom completely explodes…Will they? Won't they?A great way to do individual bows via a movie.“You bow to NO one.” (Cue big emotions.)A wordless toast indeed. And a pumpkin. (And a case of the not gays.)The Grey Havens sends us off. It really is a great Turner-inspired scene.“Into the West” and the end credit portraits. Great job Annie. (The young filmmaker who passed was Cameron Duncan, to correct Ned there.)The Triplets of Belleville is a real treat, see it when you can.Enjoy all the Oscar wins!Ah yes the Eragon movie. Welp.And the Chronicles of Narnia tried. But. (Good luck Greta!)This ran after the episode was recorded but the LA Times had a piece on the movie anniversary and its impact, especially in New Zealand itself.Our Rings of Power and Hobbit films episodes have more about our general qualms there.Want to hear those exclusive podcasts we're talking about on Megaphonic? Join the Patreon! And you can check out Kitchen Party here.

In August, I hosted a webinar called "How To Write A Great Story" where I talked about what a "story" really is, as well as well as how to use personal stories to help your writing. This episode addresses questions you asked in our Q&A session that we didn't have time to answer. There's lots of great info here, make sure you watch.Show NotesFree Writing Webinar - https://michaeljamin.com/op/webinar-registration/Michael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Watchlist - https://michaeljamin.com/watchlistAutogenerated TranscriptMichael Jamin:Art is about taking something inside of you and expressing it in a way that helps you understand yourself and helps you understand the world around you. And in that way, people can see it or watch it and enjoy it and help them understand themselves. I think there's that greater good. I don't think craft necessarily does that. I think craft can sometimes be, the studio will give me a note and I'll say, okay, I can do that. That's what you want. I can do that. I don't think it's necessarily playing for the greater good. It's what they want and they're paying me. You're listening to Screenwriters Need to Hear This with Michael Jamin.Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode. We're doing something unusual today. So Phil is back with me. And as you may know, every three or four weeks I host a free webinar where I take one subject and kind of educate you on it. And at the end, if there's time, I answer questions because about an hour long. And so usually we answer a lot of questions, but we can't get to all of them. So we save the questions that we can answer and we didn't have time. And we're going to answer it here for you today on this podcast. And by the way, for people who don't know, the webinar is always free, but afterwards, I also do a V I P room for people who if they want to pay a small fee, then they get to be in a smaller chat with me and we talk. I try to answer their questions as best I can specifically. So if anyone's interested in that, you go to michael jamin.com and I dunno where they would sign up for that on michael jamin.com/course. Probably.Phil Hudson:Oh, for the vip it's /vip.Michael Jamin:Oh, /vip. Okay.Phil Hudson:We're fancy here, Michael. We use high tech stuff like links, short links.Michael Jamin:So there you go. But now I'll answer the other questions. Phil hit me.Phil Hudson:I was just going to say there are a lot of really good feedback and I found that there are people who don't sign up for your course who also sign up for that v i p, and they ask some really interesting questions. And then after that I think it kind of pushes 'em over the edge to feel like, okay, this is something I can do, and then they're a little bit more inclined to invest in themselves. Some really good questions out of this V i p, and this is based off of the August webinar, and that topic was the pep talk Every screenwriter needs to hear, which is slightly different than Michael Jamin's known tone of just smashing your hopes and dreams on the rocks of reality,Michael Jamin:Which he's a problem. Yeah, I don't want to just do that. I want to make sure that people get, I want them to be grounded in reality. That's what I'm, I'm not trying to smash it's dreams, but I want to be realistic. Once you find out if you know what the reality is, then now, okay, now we can figure out how to get in once there's a way around every problem. That's what I,Phil Hudson:And that comes from early on when we were talking about the marketing for this. How do we help you grow your audience? How do we do this? And you were like, I will not sell the dream. I will not be one of those guys who just promises the dream to make a buck. I can't do that. And I was like, okay, well, it's going to hurt your ability to make money. He's like, it's not about that. I just will not do it. And so you've leaned into this sincere, radical honesty, I guess you could say, and I think overwhelmingly almost immediately people were like, wow, this sucks to hear, but I'm so glad you're saying it. It just resets the expectations a little bit. And even for me, having learned from you and been to film school and worked in the industry now for almost seven years, I still think about this, Hey, this is a script. Whenever I write a new script, this is not, I'm not going to sell this. That's okay.Michael Jamin:It's a writing samplePhil Hudson:And it frees me up to just be whatever I want it to be, not hoping that my entire life is dedicated to this one story I'm writing.Michael Jamin:I see good things coming your way, Phil, by the way.Phil Hudson:I see good things coming my way asMichael Jamin:Well. Yeah, because you're putting the work in and obviously you've already, it may be hard for you to see because you're in it, but the distance that you've traveled at only a few short years in Hollywood is pretty unremarkable.Phil Hudson:I'm keenly aware of that. Honestly, I'm humbled to be where I am. I'm humbled to host the podcast with you. I think I even pitched somebody else to co-host the podcast with you, and you're like, why wouldn't you do it? Why can't I just have you?I don't need to, or I don't want to assume to be the guy. I do think I bring a skillset to this podcast of asking the questions the listener wants to ask, and I think that's really what I do. But yeah, I'm incredibly humbled. I think I've got some really interesting things on the horizon, and I've already had some great things this year as direct result of you and the stuff you're putting out in your course and the great feedback I'm getting from people in your course, by the way, super talented people in there just giving me feedback and making me better.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Thank you Michael. Alright,Michael Jamin:Let's do it.Phil Hudson:Okay. Structurally, we broke this up into a couple and we've kind of found a pattern here. There's kind of craft questions, there are breakin questions, there are course questions, and then there are miscellaneous questions. So I take all the questions, kind of broke 'em down, and then I'm really focusing on things that you haven't said before because there are a lot of questions we get that are repetitive questions. Should I move to la? Should I move to la? What about this? How do I get my script in the right hands? And you've addressed those tons and tons of times. So if you like this, go listen to all the other q and A's where we get questions from social media, we get questions from your course members, we get questions from the webinar starting with craft, because I think that's really what we're here to learn is how to be professional writers. I'm going to mess up a bunch of names today. You ready for this?Michael Jamin:Yeah, that's okay.Phil Hudson:Shi suey, shagan. No clueMichael Jamin:That you said it perfectly, however,Phil Hudson:Nailed it. How do you win the battle against that blank screen when trying to create?Michael Jamin:Yeah. Well, the problem is you don't know what you're doing. Listen, the blank page is always intimidating even when you do know what you're doing. But if you are this locked up, it's because you just don't know what a story is and you don't know. That's what the course teaches you. How to take an idea, identify if there's enough meat on that bone to turn it into an episode of television or a movie or whatever. Not every idea is worth turning into. It doesn't have enough there. So the course helps with that. I think all that the writer's block that you're experiencing is because you don't know what you're doing. Of course you're going to be blocked. Of course you don't know what your characters are going to be doing, so at least come to the free webinar, at least I can help you with that much if you don't want to buy the course. The webinar will help a lot at michaeljamin,com/webinarPhil Hudson:And all the other free resources you have, like the free story lesson on your website, michaeljamin.com/free. It's another great place to start. Absolutely true. If you don't know where you're going to go, you get stuck. And for many of us, it's that middle of act two, what's going on? What do I do now? How do I get my characters to this really bad thing that's going to happen? Whatever it is. And understanding the structure as you put it out, it's just so easy to grasp and understand. It's a no brainer. I clearly know where I need to go and what needs to happen here from a strategic perspective, and then tactically I can lay in things to get me where I want in a surprising way.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Perfect. Oh, if I may, when you're rewriting, print that thing out and use a red pen, man.Michael Jamin:Red pen.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Michael Michael's pro tip hand amboy. What is the best way to keep improving in screenwriting or storytelling?Michael Jamin:Just keep writing. I would write your episode or your feature, put it aside, write another one, put it aside, write another one, and you'll find that as opposed to just keep on working on the same piece, finish it and write a second one, then the third one, and you'll find that script number five is much better than script number one will ever be. You have to just let it go and continue doing something else. So that's my advice.Phil Hudson:Awesome. Chelsea. Steve, how in depth do you prepare a beat sheet or treatment to pass to a co-writer? Is it important to be specific or broad out of respect for them?Michael Jamin:Oh, well, I mean, you should be doing the beat sheets together. I mean, I would think that's how you get on the same page. My partner and I do everything together. We break the story together. We come up with a beat sheet together. We come up with the outline together. That's how you do it. I mean, you don't want to, if they're your partner, I dunno why you wouldn't bounce ideas of each other that's, or else why have a partner.Phil Hudson:Another really early podcast episode we had was writing with a partner where you talk about this process and there are several schools of thought about how to work with a writing partner. There are tons of resources and different writing have different things. One person sits at a keyboard, the other does, and I think you guys do that that way. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Vers been, I used to be the one at the keyboard, but for the last couple of years he's been the one at the keyboard. Although now we both have, we use collaborate so we both can type at the same time, which is really annoying.Phil Hudson:That's awesome. Yeah, so there's a bunch of that and there are other people who do it, but I think the real juice of what we're saying here, what you're saying, Michael, is you shouldn't be breaking your story separate. That's not Yeah,Michael Jamin:Yeah, yeah. You got to be on the same page.Phil Hudson:Yep. AllMichael Jamin:I'll tell a quick anecdote. One time Steve and I were working on a script for, I think it was Taco fd, and we were writing the outline together and we got into a fight over what this one scene was supposed to be. And I wanted one thing, he wanted another thing. And then I said, what do you think this story is about? And he told me, and then he goes, what do you think the story is about? I said, I think it's about this. We weren't even clear on what the story was about, so we had to stop, agree on that and then move forward.Phil Hudson:Yeah, that cleared up everything, I'm guessing.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Great. Nina in your course, isn't she? Yeah. Yeah. Nina, I'm so worried about alienating my audience for too long. Is there a theory about thisMichael Jamin:Alienating? I wish I knew. In what way? I feel like you want to hold your audience's hand. That's how I feel. There are other filmmakers who may feel differently when I get lost. Sometimes when I watch watching, I'm like, I'm lost here. I dunno what's going on. And so that's not something that I like to do in my writing. I like to make sure that, especially if you're writing on television, because you're writing on tv, you go into a movie is one thing. You have their attention. There are hostage if they're sitting in the movie theater, but on TV show often people will be on their phone, they're reading a magazine, they're doing everything at the same time as watching a TV show. So I want to make sure they're with me the whole way or else they're not going to be engaged.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. I wondered about this one too. What does she mean by alienating, right? I don't think you ever want to really alienate your audience. I think there's suspense, there's audience superior versus audience inferior. Does your audience know more than the character? Does the audience know less than the character does? And there's different tactics and tools you can use as a writer to build suspense, and they each have their own purpose, but alienating would be, yeah,Michael Jamin:That's not on my list of things to do.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Sorry Nina, if we had the misunderstanding here, but let us know in the private Facebook group putting us in there with a clarification, and I'm sure Michael hopinMichael Jamin:Into that. Just to be clear, the private Facebook group is just for members of my course, so you have to be a paid member to get into that. But there's a lot of good stuff going on there. These people are very active, and I answer more questions there for them.Phil Hudson:We'll jump down because there's literally this question under the section Mark Brozinsky. Is there a Facebook group we can join to network?Michael Jamin:Yes, there is. And once you purchase, you get a link to that and you should definitely take advantage of it. There's a lot of really smart people trading scripts. They're doing table reads once a week. They're giving each other notes film festival. And it's unlike, they got a festival coming up, which I can't believe, and it's unlike, there are other Facebook screenwriting groups where people are pretty mean. It's almost like Reddit, screenwriting Reddit, which is the dirtiest place on the earth, but that's not what this is going on in this group. It's really very professional and supportive. I think we were smart to gate that group and say, you have to be purchased because it hasn't turned into a cesspool.Phil Hudson:I can tell you from the e-learning side of my digital marketing career, that when people ask, and we had this conversation with the client a year ago when they were relaunching their online membership course for a specific topic, but anyway, very well renowned company, lots of people. And I said, you need to have a community manager that's in there full-time, keeping out the R riffraff. There's spam, there's ugliness, there's all these things. And if you don't have someone doing that, it's just going to get bad. And most of these things are set up by one or two people who just wanted to start a group. And I've had nothing but bad experiences in those groups. Nothing but bad experiences unless there is some unifying factor, like an alumni group tends to perform a little bit better, be in easier place, you have a problem.Michael Jamin:But we don't have that problem with our group. Nope.Phil Hudson:In fact, you have people who self-police. I get messages from people who are like, Hey, I shared this thing. Did I break a policy of self-promotion? I was like, you shared something you produced that came out of the course. I don't think, I think that's celebrating your hard work. You're not offering to pay to read someone's script. You're donating your time every Tuesday night to run a tableMichael Jamin:Group. Yeah. Yeah. Right.Phil Hudson:You're good.Michael Jamin:Yeah, you're good.Phil Hudson:Awesome. Tomer K. I've noticed in the blacklist scripts that there's a trend of making meta commentary about the script itself. Referencing page numbers or the reader. What are your thoughts on this? And maybe define what the blacklist is for people?Michael Jamin:Well, yeah, I mean, the blacklist, there's really, the blacklist started as a site where unproduced professional scripts that were sold were just never produced. And it was an honor to get on the blacklist, but now there's something, now it's something else. There's two lists, right, Phil?Phil Hudson:Yeah, there's that list. But then there's also, you can sign up for the blacklist and pay a monthly fee to host your script so people can access it and read it and give you notes. And you can pay a hundred bucks a pop to get notes and reader feedback on your script and get rated. And that's a little bit, I think more of the commercial side of it.Michael Jamin:Isn't that what they're talking about?Phil Hudson:That's the blacklist. There's also fellowships and things. So by no means are either of us knocking the blacklist. It's just a difference in what this is. And I think what they're referencing is the original that you're talking about,Michael Jamin:The original list. They're thinking. There's a lot of meta jokes in it and meta references.Phil Hudson:I've not read them, but I believe that's what they're saying. That is the blacklist I placed on the blacklist top unproduced scripts.Michael Jamin:Oh, so I can't answer it then.Phil Hudson:But from a style perspective, do you think that's an appropriate style of writing?Michael Jamin:Well, if they got on the blacklist, on the legit blacklist by doing this, who am I to say? No, I just think it tends to be cheap. Breaking the fourth wall or meta. You got to really be careful. Ryan Reynolds says that well in the Deadpool, but it can become a crutch and it becomes, the problem was when you do it, you're telling the audience, this is a movie, and it takes them out of it. You've sucked them into it. This is how I feel. When I first started, I thought all this meta jokes were great. Isn't that funny? Where self-referential isn't that interesting? But now that I've matured as a writer, I feel like you're spending all this time and energy to suck people into world, to make them suspend disbelief. And now you're going to pop it with a joke, and now you got to put more energy, get 'em back into it. I don't like it. I think I don't like it. Others can feel differently though.Phil Hudson:And in the Deadpool comics, he would break the fourth wall. So that is not something that he's doing in film. He's living in the character. And I think it's something everyone expects from Deadpool, but he's going to have a commentary with you, and it's Ryan Reynolds. If there's anyone who can do that, it's Ryan Reynolds. Right? I could do that. I don't know many people who could fourth wall just for people. I just want to make sure everyone's clear on that. It comes from stage place specifically where there are three walls, and then there's a line, and that line is three walls or the set, and then the fourth wall is the audience. And so they're either facing the audience or they're communicating with each other, but they don't turn to speak to the audience unless it's a narrator or it's someone else having, there's a specific need for that.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Fourth and wall is when you literally acknowledge that there's an audience watching your play, which is kind of odd, but it can be fun.Phil Hudson:Some of the first screenwriting courses I ever paid for talked about that. I was supposed to know what it was, and I got so lost. I had to go look it up. And man, that was very confusing. So I want to make sure we define that for people. Yeah, yeah. Projecting much, Phil. Cool. Pf, oh, I wanted to ask, I have a follow-up question on this. So there are screenwriting books that are kind of renowned, specifically story books by Robert McKee, more so than screenwriting books, where he says It is cheap for a writer to reference. We see, we hear, and I actually write in that style, and I get a lot of really good feedback on that. We see this happen. That's just a personal choice. I don have a problem with it. I've never had no bump on it. You read my scripts, you've never bumped on it. To be clear in the book, he clarifies that overused in the transition from, I want to say it was like it might've been silent films to specific moving into something else. So it was as a crutch, people leaned on at a certain point in the 1990, in 19 hundreds. So maybe we've got past that watch is why it doesn't bump. But I said, you answered the question, you don't care.So that's not breaking the fourth wall in that.Michael Jamin:No, no, no, no, no. You're just, yeah, that's a stage direction.Phil Hudson:Yep. Awesome. Yeah. To me, I'm inferring camera movement more than anything. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Okay,Phil Hudson:Cool. P F H, should I vet my idea before I write it so I have an idea to pitch? But once you know it is doable, then I can perfect it. Basically, I had to rewrite this question. It was a bit confusing. Does that make sense?Michael Jamin:Yeah. I think what they're asking is, this is what I would do. You have an idea of a movie for a movie or a TV show or whatever, put it in a sentence or two sentences and then pitch it to a friend. And if you can't explain it succinctly, then you've got a problem. So just saying it out loud, even if you don't have a friend saying it out loud, describing it is a good waste to the, oh, okay. I know what the story is. Sometimes you don't even know what it is and you can't clarify. So for sure, say it out loud and see if your friend is interested. If that sounds grabby, it might not be.Phil Hudson:Yeah. In that two sentences, would you say that separate from a log line, or would you call it a log?Michael Jamin:Yeah, that's basically a log line. But if you want to expand, if you want to make it a paragraph, if you find that a log line is like two sentences, but if you want to make it a paragraph, that's fine too. But don't make it a page. Just make it short and brief.Phil Hudson:Yeah. One script, early script, I wrote, the log line was about a small town. It's about a small town pastor who kills people. And it was interesting. See your face. That's an interesting enough logline. Yeah, I'd be interested in that. And then the questions are, well, what's it about? Why does he kill people?Michael Jamin:Yeah. I would go a little more detailed than that because if you pitched me out, I would say, maybe tell me more.Phil Hudson:Correct. And it's really more of an elevator pitch than anything. It's just a way to just slide it in. But the log line would be a full two sentences. Yeah. Cool. Course related question. Only one other. Today, melody, we answer a lot of these questions throughout the webinars. There's not a ton of these. Melody Jones, I have to do major research for my project. Should I take the course first or get my research done, then do the course?Michael Jamin:Oh, I would say take the course first. That way you know what kind of questions to ask and look for. Unfortunately, we couldn't answer this for her, probably live. But yeah, you may start asking yourself questions that you don't even need the answers to. SoPhil Hudson:Yeah, I would absolutely agree. In fact, the script I'm writing right now, I am doing a lot of research on, because it has a technical skillset that I am very familiar with, but I don't know the intricacies of. And so by doing my research, I'm looking into that. But I broke the script first from a story perspective, not a plot perspective. I said, what's the story? What do I want to tell? What's going to happen? How are my relationships going to play out? And now it's looking at it thematically to say, how can I utilize this experience they're going through from a technical perspective to elevate that story or to add stressors? How can I use this to get to this part where they get in an argument or whatever? SoMichael Jamin:Absolutely. What's also interesting, side note, but I'm rewatching Wolf of Wall Street, and I may be a quarter of the way through, but every fricking scene that I'm watching right now, everyone is interesting. The acting is brilliant, but every scene is written. There's something really interesting going on each scene. There's nothing lazy about that script. It's like, if you watch, you could show me one scene. I'd be like, Ooh, that's good. So think about that when you're writing your script. Is this scene amazing or not? Because that one, it was movie. Every scene is amazing.Phil Hudson:That's awesome. Yeah. You guys are freebie for you guys. I love that. All right. Breaking in. You ready to talk about breaking into Hollywood? Sure. Cool. There's a curse word in here. So to keep our non explicit label on the podcast F the Void, is there a chance for writers that are not from the US to find success in Hollywood? Like say, south American writers that want to make you big?Michael Jamin:Yeah. Well, there was that guy. Sure. I mean, the guy, the writer who did, ah, man, what was he? Australian? No, he was South African. It's the, ah, man. What was that movie called? District nine.Phil Hudson:And he did a bunch of stuff. They're all great.Michael Jamin:Yeah. And so for sure, you can make your stuff wherever you are. And to some degree, if you make a TV show in a foreign country other than the us, often it's easier to sell those shows to the US because it's IP that already exists. And for some reason, sometimes studios want that. So Wilfred, for example, I wrote on Wilfred, that was an Australian show. It did really well in Australia, and we adapted it for America here. It's not uncommon at all. So yeah, don't let that hold you back from creating great stuff.Phil Hudson:Yeah. From a purely cinema history perspective, a lot of the best cinematography came out of Mexico when Eisenstein moved there. So there's great stuff. You've got Rito, you've got all these amazing filmmakers coming out of Central South America. And North America. You've got Tero Titi out in New Zealand. YouMichael Jamin:Got right. I'm going to mention him. There's a movie, I'm just, I'm going to search it right now. Yeah. There's a movie I watched a couple of days ago, the Worst Person in the World. It's a Norwegian movie. Loved it, loved it. Thought it was so well done. The title was terrible. What's the title? But everything about the movie was great, except for the title. The Worst Person in the World. Yeah, go watch that. Yes.Phil Hudson:But there's some great films even just come out of Europe, the UK and Europe, which I think we're going to get. That's the next question is uk, maybe that one we answered in the thing. But anyway, but it's like once that musical is just fantastic and it's out of the uk. So yeah, I think oftentimes people group like UK and America is Hollywood, but they are different. You have BAFTA and you have the B, B C and the way they do their things, and then you have Hollywood. And the other thing to keep in mind too is with streaming, I mean, I get a lot of recommendations for Spanish films and TV on my Netflix, and they don't know that I speak Spanish.Michael Jamin:I think they DoPhil Hudson:You think they figured it out? I think theyMichael Jamin:Do, man. They might. You'd be surprised. ButPhil Hudson:I get some Korean stuff too. I getMichael Jamin:Ads in Spanish because I speak Spanish too. I'm like, why? How do they knowPhil Hudson:It's not zip code related? Maybe it's zip code related. Maybe it's just la, right? But yeah, anyway, I get a lot of that stuff. And so just because maybe you get something and you sell it to Netflix, Ecuador, and then all of a sudden it's being streamed all over the world. You've got all of the Spanish channels, and then you make it here. I have to, ah, here's a great example. Squid Games, squid Games, South Korea blew up huge. Right? Huge. Parasite. Parasite. South Korea.Michael Jamin:But there's a catch. It has to be good.Phil Hudson:Better than good has to be great,Michael Jamin:Right? Yeah. It has to be great.Phil Hudson:But that's the role for everyone in Hollywood too. And there's a lot of people here who are not willing to put in the effort to get to that. Right? Yeah. And I guess follow up question from F the void, do you know any writers that are not from the US or any first world country that have made it in Hollywood?Michael Jamin:Well, I've had Canadian writers on my show before on the podcast. You can ask them how they did it. Other, if you come from a non-English speaking country, you're going to have a more difficult time in the sense that even if your English is really good, it may not be perfect unless you've been here a long, long time. And so that's the catch. It's hard for you to write dialogue in a language that it's not your first language. It mayPhil Hudson:IMS idioms and all that other stuff too.Michael Jamin:So you do need to have really, not just a firm grasp of the language, but you really have to know it. You have to speak as well as a native speaker, but with just maybe just a slight accent. That's the only catch.Phil Hudson:Yeah. But there are also things like Selena, there's a girl I went to film school with, and she's a writer on Selena, and she's from Mexico, and she's a second. She just got naturalized just a bit ago, but she's right around Selena before she was a US citizen.Michael Jamin:Yeah, often. Interesting. Yeah. So if you get on a, there's demand for people with diverse backgrounds if the show is about that background. SoPhil Hudson:Yeah, it absolutely was. I think that whole writing staff were Latin American.Michael Jamin:Right? Right. Hey, it's Michael Jamin. If you like my videos and you want me to email them to you for free, join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos. These are for writers, actors, creative types. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not going to spam you, and it's absolutely free. Just go to michaeljamin.com/watchlist.Phil Hudson:Cole, our film festival is a good route to take for a script you wrote to get looked at.Michael Jamin:Well, you're not looking at it. You're shooting it, right? I'm not sure what the question is.Phil Hudson:Film festivals often have screenwriting screenplay contests attached to them.Michael Jamin:Oh,Phil Hudson:Interesting. And I can tell you, having been on staff for many of those indie film festivals, that is what pays the screenwriting contest is what pays for the cocktail hours and for the other things.Michael Jamin:So you're saying it's not really a way to be discovered?Phil Hudson:It depends on the film festival.Michael Jamin:Right. Oh, okay.Phil Hudson:Alright. So there are film festivals that I think matter. I think they're also, I think what you really want to talk about. We actually do a webinar on a little bit deeper on this, which is available on your website to purchase for like 29 bucks worth watching. WhichMichael Jamin:One is that? Which episode was that?Phil Hudson:I think it's how to get past Industry Gatekeepers.Michael Jamin:Oh, okay.Phil Hudson:I want to say that's what it was. Yeah. Thanks for clarifying. But yeah, I think what you really want to look for are fellowships fellowship. So you have the Sundance Film Festival and their fellowships that they offer there. Blacklist has a fellowship. You have the academy, the Nichols Fellowship. Awesome Film Festival comes up in another question here. That's one. That's a film festival where they do give screenwriting contests awards, and there are industry people who attend that. So it's a different thing. Tribeca, some of those bigger ones, south by Southwest. If they have those options, maybe go for those. But if you're talking about the Westborough, whatever film festival, maybe skip it. Maybe Skip Save the 40 Bucks on Film Freeway.Michael Jamin:Okay. You heard of the film. He knows more about this than I do.Phil Hudson:Daniel Celiac, poor guy. If someone is still in high school or early in college, what can they do to get closer to the industry?Michael Jamin:Stay where you are and just write, write and make your own stuff. As a kid, I shot my own stuff on a super eight camera. Now you can shoot on your phone. I didn't have sound back then. Just keep working on your craft and read anything and get inspired by our art. Draw upon it. Don't look for a job right now. I mean, if you want to look for a job as an intern or PA or something, that's fine. But don't start thinking about starting your film, writing your screenwriting career. Just start working on Become a good writer. That's the first step.Phil Hudson:And I was going to suggest PA Intern Volunteer. I started volunteering at the Sunrise Film Festival because that's all I could do. And it was because I was in the recession of 2008, nine, and I just had to work and I had to work two jobs. And so I would volunteer at the Sunrise Film Festival, and I put in those hours for four years. And then that's how I got my first real break through Sundance to do some stuff aside from the work I was doing and how I met you. We've talked about previously, great bv. Michael mentions moving to Hollywood if you're serious. What about those in the uk, for example, who physically cannot get a Visa to move there?Michael Jamin:Right. Well, there is an industry in the uk. I mean, they do make great movies and great TV shows there. So I don't know what cities, if it's London, I don't know where the centers are, but stay where you are and become great in your country, and then we'll get you, we'll send a visa your wayPhil Hudson:When we want that. There's a specific visa that gets you over. It's like you're an expert in your field that America wants to profit off of you by taking taxes.Michael Jamin:Yeah. The minute America sees dollar signs on you instead of just pound signs,Phil Hudson:You get that special visa.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Great. Bv, I just got your pound sign joke, by the way. That was clever.Michael Jamin:Thank you,Phil Hudson:Bev. No, I did that one. Lauren Gold. Any specific tips for fiction novel writers who want to transition to screenwriting?Michael Jamin:Yeah, create, write a bestselling book, and it'll be so easy. They will, Hollywood will come after you with buying their rights, but if you have a book that's not selling, honestly, the book doesn't even have to be good. It just has to be a bestseller because then it comes with the built-in market, and so is 50 Shades of Gray High Literature. I'm not sure, but I know a lot of people read it and loved it, and so they turned out into a movie. So it's about marketing. So these bestsellers have a built-in marketplace and look at a lot of these movies that are being made. They're adapted from movies. They're just hit books or hit books.Phil Hudson:And it can also be other things like The Martian, right? It was originally a blog post, a series of blog posts that we, on hisMichael Jamin:Website. Right? I know it was a self-published book. I didn't know it started from blog posts.Phil Hudson:I believe it was a blog. He would post blog posts. He would publish basically a new chapter as a blog post was bought, and then he would spin on from there.Michael Jamin:So there's a guy who wasn't asking for permission, he wasn't waiting to be discovered. He did it anyway. He built the mountain himselfPhil Hudson:At Twilight. Those were stories that she would tell her sister. And she brought that book and blew up. Yeah. Cultural phenomenon.Michael Jamin:Twilight was self-published. Did not know that.Phil Hudson:My understanding is that, yeah, I believe it was. And someone else, correct me if we're wrong, they'll definitely scream at me because it's such a big hit. That being said, I believe 50 Shades of Gray is a fan fiction of Twilight. That's at least what I've heard.Michael Jamin:I didn't know that. Okay.Phil Hudson:Awesome. I'm going to just offend half your audience who love those two franchises.Michael Jamin:That's okay.Phil Hudson:You're welcome, everybody. Rob, as I produced my own plays, staged comedy shows and web series for a while, great. Now is a way to break in. Is this a valid way of doing it? Does the industry care about any of this?Michael Jamin:Yes, of course. But the problem is you're doing all these great things, but maybe you're putting the work in, which is great, but maybe it's not good enough yet. It's okay. Keep doing it until you get good. Or maybe it's great, but it hasn't found an audience yet. So it does need to have an audience. The minute you have your web series gets discovered by a couple million people, Hollywood will find you because you are bringing more to the table than just your desire to cash a check. You are bringing an audience. But if you don't have that yet, then one or two things are happening. One is maybe your writing isn't good enough yet, or your show is not good enough yet, yet means you can keep working on yourself. Or maybe they haven't found you yet in that's the case. You still have to keep putting it out there just until you're found, until your audience finds you. Either way, you have to keep doing it. That's it.Phil Hudson:Andrew Spitzer, would you agree that ultimately you're selling yourself and your skills rather than a product? You gotMichael Jamin:To bring more to the table, and like I said, than just a script. And so what am I doing on here? I'm selling myself. I suppose I have a following on social media. It helps me get more opportunities. And so I still have a body of work and people know that I'm a good writer. But yeah, I come with this other end, this other, I bring more to the table than just me,Phil Hudson:Just my work brother. Sorry. Yeah, and I took this too. No, no. It's your podcast, man. I'm sorry. I stuck on your toes, Mr. Jamin. I did it again right there.Michael Jamin:No,Phil Hudson:I was going to say I took this as an, I think it's a bit of both, and I think the order is a little bit different, but my perspective of this, you have a product. That product is so valuable to someone that they want to buy it because you were able to craft that product. And because of that, now your skill sets are valuable and you are now selling your ability to continue to craft products like that one. So you have to have a sample that you've already checked the box. You can make these people money. If you can't do that, there is no evidence of your ability and your skillset. So there's nothing to sell.Michael Jamin:Okay.Phil Hudson:But I think it goes for your script. I think it goes for getting an agent. I think it goes for getting a manager. I think it goes for opening doors to meet people. You have to have something that is valuable to them. And it might be audience like you were just talking about. That might be enough, right? It might be your IP from the story you wrote and self-published.Michael Jamin:Sometimes it'll be approached by an actor, a big actor who has a terrible idea for a show or whatever, because you're going to be in it. And so you're a good actor. So that's bringing a lot to the table, their presence.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Sidebar here. Is there truth in the statement that there are certain actors who are not able to open a movie, who are not able to, that they come and they might have a name you'd recognize, and they might have some idea of a following, but they're not necessarily someone a studio would bank on?Michael Jamin:For sure, but I can speak more to this from the TV side, but for sure, I know even John Travolta, Quentin Tarantino wanted to cast Travolta in Pulp Fiction. And I think there was some pushback from the studios. He was a, has been. He was a washout, even though super talented guy. And Tarantino saw him and thought, dude, this guy is still a huge star. He can't walk down the street without people yelling. Vinny Bobino, people love him. And so he pushed, he fought for him, even though the studio didn't believe he could open a movie, and he did open a movie.Phil Hudson:He did. Did he ever?Michael Jamin:And then think of all the other opportunities that came because of that. But sure, the studios, at the end of the day, they're not so concerned with, is this actor a good actor? They want to know, can this actor put asses in seats? Will they sell tickets? And that's why some actors were not particularly good actors or great actors, but they can put asses in seats. That's what counts.Phil Hudson:Yep. Awesome. That's what I thought. I just wanted to get some confirmation there. This is a Phil Hudson q and a. Are everybody I can ask my questions too. Awesome. Lappe two TV or Lippe tv, whatever. If a short film is being optioned to pitch as a series, is it better to keep the short hidden while it's being shopped around, or is it okay to post it online?Michael Jamin:Well, it'sPhil Hudson:A bit of a one percenter for you, right?Michael Jamin:This isPhil Hudson:A one off question.Michael Jamin:Yeah. If you put your short on YouTube or whatever, and it gets a million views, it's a lot easier to sell. It's a lot easier to sell.Phil Hudson:Yeah. What I got from this question is, I made a short, somebody has optioned that short. Is it a mistake to now put that on YouTube? Does that advice still apply there?Michael Jamin:You'd have to talk to the person who optioned it, because now it's theirs. They have the rights to go to talk to them.Phil Hudson:Cool. Len Lawson, should I ask a potential producer to sign an N D A before reading my script?Michael Jamin:I wouldn't. But it depends who, I've never done that. But also, don't show it to the producer who's got a handlebar mustache. Who are you showing it to? Make sure what have they done? Look 'em up on I mdb. Are they legit or are they just someone who's claiming to be a producer? In which case, you better build a rapport with them. You better know whether you can trust this person or not. But I wouldn't. I would never ask. And I've told my scripts to tons of people. I don't ask for an N D A.Phil Hudson:I wouldn't either. It's just friction. I think about this in terms of friction, and we talk about adopting habits or influencing people to take action. There's this whole nuance of digital marketing called conversion rate optimization, which is, how do I get more people to take the action I want them to on my website, whether it's the headline or it's the colors or it's pattern interrupts, or if it's offers or bullet points, all that stuff. And to me, you want to reduce friction. How do I remove obstacles? And in sales, the best way to overcome an objection is to kill the objection before it becomes one. And that's a massive objection.Michael Jamin:Were to, I'm not a producer. I'm not an agent. I don't want to read anybody's script. I'd say right up front, I'm not. But if someone were to ask me for the favor, say, Hey, will you read my script? And then for some reason I was feeling magnanimous that day as opposed to every other day of the year, then I would say, all right, I'll read your script. And then they asked to ask me to sign an nda, a I'd like, forget it. The deal's off.Phil Hudson:We're done.Michael Jamin:We're done.Phil Hudson:And that's what you're doing.Michael Jamin:ButPhil Hudson:I think it also speaks to the psychology of people who are breaking in, who are so concerned. Someone's going to steal their idea. And that's one of the most prominent questions we get. This is that question asked a different way.Michael Jamin:Everyone is so convinced that they have an idea that's worth stealing. That's the funny part. Everyone thinks their script is gold, and most of 'em are not.Phil Hudson:By most, we mean a lot of them. A 99.99. And that's a hard thing for me to admit too, guys. I thought I was going to win an Oscar with my first script. I thought I was that prodigy. I've talked about Prodigy syndrome before on the podcast. I thought that was me, and it's not. And letting go of that's been so freeing for my creativity and my enjoyment of the process. So just look at it this way, if you think this is all you got, that's a problem. And that's why you're freaking out. My opinion is steal my idea. Awesome. Go for it. Why? Because that validates the fact that I got something and I got a lot more of that. Right?Michael Jamin:Right.Phil Hudson:But also, please don't steal my stuff.Michael Jamin:Yeah, don't steal the stuff that's for me to do.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Everything Jamin writes, I actually write, I'm his ghost writer. I've been a ghost writer for 26 years.Michael Jamin:Yep.Phil Hudson:I submitted a pilot, Nolan. See, I submitted a pilot to the Awesome Film Festival. Is this a good move? Is it bad timing with the strike I submitted before I knew there was going to be a strike.Michael Jamin:There's no bad timing. I mean, you're not going to take, if you become a hit at, if you win some prize, great. When the strike is over, you can capitalize on it. I don't think there's bad timing.Phil Hudson:No. I think there's specific advice on this from the W G A that I've seen, and it basically says that if you win anything that was done before the strike, it's whatever. But it's what you do with that after. So let's say that you submitted to a strike that was funded by a studio in the A M T P, and then you win. And part of that prize is to have a meeting with a producer that is in breach, because that is happening after the fact selling. Even having a meeting with them is a breach. It's crossing a picket line.Michael Jamin:So just to first say, Hey, thank you. I'm so excited. I can't wait to have this meeting with you in a month or two. When this R is over,Phil Hudson:You don't want to take that meeting to ruin your potential for a career because you can't get in the W G A and when the strike's over, they can only hire people who are in the W G A and they will not hire you becauseMichael Jamin:They won't give a crap about you. I mean, if you think you're going to build a friendship with them, they're going to be gone.Phil Hudson:Nope. They're going to make their payday and move on. And then when the Writers Guild qualified writers can come back, they will get their high quality scripts back from the people who write 'em. And you'll be sitting there just wasted opportunity with the Austin Film Festival. However, I believe it is technically, and I could be wrong, but I believe it's in, and I did submit this year, by the way, to everybody. I'm in the same situation. I'm not concerned if I win, awesome. I'm not planning on winning. It's just a benchmark, a litmus task for me to say, did I qualify? Am I good enough? Where am I at in what I consider to be a respected film festival? And you take what you get out of it, you accept the accolades, and then you move on and just avoid anything that crosses the picket line. Don't take this as an opportunity to scab.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Cool. Four questions. Michael, you think we can do it?Michael Jamin:Let's blow through. Let's do it.Phil Hudson:Shauna Ibarra, miscellaneous. How do you find mentors or people who can give you feedback?Michael Jamin:You got to earn it. You got to earn it. You got to get a job or an internship or something at a studio, at a production company and work your butt off. And then after six months say, Hey, can I show you my script? But it's not like mentors are just lining up to help you. Or maybe they are. Maybe they're retired people, I don't know. But that's the connections part. That's the work you have to do. This is your job is to make connections, and it's to give first. And that's what I would do.Phil Hudson:I was given advice from a production supervisor and a producer that at a certain point you get an ask and you should take your askMichael Jamin:That time. You have to earn that ask first. Right?Phil Hudson:Yeah. And there are many people I've personally worked with in Hollywood where I probably have that ask, and I'm not taking that ask because I don't want to waste their time.Michael Jamin:You're saving itPhil Hudson:For when it's time. Yeah. Erica little since screenwriting is not audience facing, like acting. Is it an ageist industry? Since it is generally Hollywood based.Michael Jamin:Ageism is the last accepted in Hollywood that said, there are plenty of examples of people who are older who are still breaking in. So it's not like it's impossible, but they're still favoring the youth. But it's not impossible, especially if you do it yourself. I am always yelling at you, do it yourself so no one can stop you as you're older, you have wisdom, you have more life experiences to draw upon, and you might have a couple of bucks in your pocket so you can invest in yourself.Phil Hudson:Yeah, good point. Aaron Kami, what is your advice on how to make writing and screenwriting a less lonely pursuit? Especially when writing is a hobby. How do I meet and learn from others or get feedback, et cetera?Michael Jamin:Well, that's kind of one of the pluses of our course that Phil and I have is that there's a private Facebook group just for students. And it's a community. They trade scripts, they have table reads, they have a contest coming up. That's the community. That's their graduating class. That's their cohort. That's one way to do it.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Any other thoughts? Are youMichael Jamin:No, it's like I said, I think, I don't remember if we mentioned this or the last podcast, but it's a really good group of people where it's not, yeah,Phil Hudson:I was on top of this one.Michael Jamin:Oh, okay. So I've already mentioned it. So yeah, it's really high quality people in this group,Phil Hudson:Solid feedback. And even playing field, they're telling you things based off of what matters, not things that they've heard or read in a book. It's like, this is how a writer's room is going to give you notes. Here's a document, here's a workbook. Michael prepared with the types of notes that matter. That's the feedback he get.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Okay. Last question, Scott. Koski wants to know, Michael, would you consider your book art or Craft?Michael Jamin:Oh, good question. When I'm writing for tv, I consider that craft. I consider it. I know it is. I'm getting notes. I'm getting feedback. It's very collaborative. I don't think art at its core, and this is open for debate, but I think art, its core is not about compromising. And when you work with a bunch of people or when you're collaborating, you are going to compromise it. Compromises have to be made. And so it's everyone's work. And that's why I feel like it's craft. But I was thinking about this last night, and then I was like, well, what about Michelangelo? Sistine Chapel? He took notes on the Sistine Chapel. He was working for the Pope. He had to put some angels in there that he didn't want to put in. He had to compromise his vision. But you certainly wouldn't say the Sistine Chapel is not art.It certainly is. So I'm a little confused as to what my definition is. Even I'm other words, I, I'm contradicting myself. I do think art is about taking something inside of you and expressing it in a way that helps you understand yourself and helps you understand the world around you. And in that way, people can see it or watch it and enjoy it, and help them understand themselves. I think there's that greater good. I don't think craft necessarily does that. I think craft can sometimes be, the studio will give me a note and I'll say, okay, I can do that. That's what you want. I can do that. I don't think it's necessarily playing for the greater good. It's what they want and they're paying me. I also don't think design is necessarily art design. Sometimes a can be about selling something. So the design of the Apple boxes that they sell their phones and really beautiful, well done. But the design has an intention, and that is to sell this image of apple, of this blank slate, this pure white open for possibility, creative, blank slate. So is that art? No, I don't think so. I think it's design. I also, so there's art, craft, and design, but you can have your own opinion, feelings. And this debate has been raging for centuries.Phil Hudson:Yeah. I apologize. You might've answered this for you. Your book, is it art or is it craft? Oh,Michael Jamin:For me, the intention was only art. I was drawing upon my craft to make art. Whereas I don't usually draw upon my craft to make art. I usually do it to make a TV show. And so the book is called a Paper Orchestra. And when I wrote it, I was very, very, I was struggling with this. I've read similar books that were written by television writers. And to me, they felt like they had, I could tell they were written by sitcom writers. That's not to say that it was goofy. It just felt like it wasn't deep enough and it felt like they had taken the network note. Often we get notes from the network with the networks, can you round the edges off? And when you're writing on a network TV show, we'll often anticipate these notes and we'll do the notes in advance. But for this book, I was very insecure about it. I was kept on arguing with my wife, does this feel like it was written by Sid Car Rider? And sometimes she'd say, yeah, and sometimes she'd say, no, no, no. And so I was always pushing myself. I wanted to be seen as an author, not as a sitcom writer who wrote a book that feels like a sitcom. And so whether or not I achieved that, that's up for the individual to decide. But that was my intention. And I think intention's important. Think it counts for something.Phil Hudson:Absolutely. And it sounds to me like you took the craft that you've been working on for years and years and utilize it as a litmus test for your art.Michael Jamin:And if anyone wants to sign up when it drops or when I start touring, it's michael jamin.com/upcoming. But it's interesting because when people have enjoyed it and performed it as I performed, or when they've read,Phil Hudson:It's fantastic.Michael Jamin:Thank you. It's very visual. So I think when I write these scenes, I think, oh, what are we watching in our mind's eye as this scene goes? So there's that. I do write as if I'm a screenwriter. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get rid of that. And I do write, it's not high literature. I understand that. I don't know if I ever could write high literature, and I don't think, it was never my intention.Phil Hudson:I think it just speaks to the value of art. And you said it's to the greater good. And I think sometimes the greater good is what do I want to write? What is best for my soul?Michael Jamin:Yes.Phil Hudson:That's the intention. And that is the greater good. And that's the difference between canon fodder is the term that comes to mind. I don't know if that's appropriate, but it's just the BSS that can be mass produced, the AI generated content that can be mass produced versus the singular thing that only Michael Jamin could do because it spoke to his soul and came out of him based off of what he needed to express at this moment and what was going on in his life, reflecting on all of the experiences he's had.Michael Jamin:And that's interesting because how I protect myself from ai, because people say, what are you doing about ai? AI cannot write my stories because it hasn't lived my life. And these are very personal stories, so it just can't, AI might be able to do other things, but it can't do what I'm doing. Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yep. Beautiful stuff, man. I love when we end on these great little notes like that because I think it's incredibly valuable to people who are struggling with this. I know a lot of writers think they're artists and they want to be artists, and you are. You're doing something pure. And with the right intention, regardless of the quality that you can do now compared to everybody else, it's the best you can do with what you have right now. That isMichael Jamin:Art. And that's the advantage that an amateur or non-professional screenwriter or writer has over what we do. I'm a professional writer. It means I get paid. People are paying me to put out stuff that maybe I don't necessarily want to do, but I'm taking the money so I have to do it. But when you're writing for yourself as an amateur or you get to write whatever you want and you don't have to compromise and you don't have to worry about the money, you already have a job on the side, what you're doing, not you, but what those people are doing is more pure in that sense. You are writing because you just want to write, it's closer. It probably has a closer chance of being art than what I do when I take the paycheck.Phil Hudson:But it's probably also the thing that is going to get you into the machine to become the professional paid writer who does the craft?Michael Jamin:If you don't, right? If you stop thinking about, can I sell this and start thinking about how beautiful is this thing I'm making? And we were just talking to him a minute ago about Wolf of Wall Street, how I'm only a quarter way through, but every scene is so interesting. The writing is so great in every scene. Not lazy, nothing lazy about it, man. Yeah,Phil Hudson:Yeah. Well, it kind of leads to the end of the podcast. And so before we jump the gun, what do we say? Keep writing. That's Keep writing DoMichael Jamin:Phil. Great. Another great talk. Alright, everyone, keep watching. We have great stuff for you on the website. We like to always like to plug that. If you go to michaeljamin.com, what you can get is a free lesson on how to write. You can get on my newsletter, which I'll send you the three tips that I think you need to watch every week. Three lessons for you to pick up free. Also on my website, you can sign up for my book for when it drops a P Orchestra. You can sign up for my webinar, which we do every three weeks, and you could sign up for my screenwriting course. That's going to cost you. You can get a free writing sample that I've written all this stuff. Go get it. Yeah, it's all there@michaeljamon.comPhil Hudson:And there's other valuable things you have on there too. You can get the webinar rebroadcast. This was the pep talking screener writer and he's here. You can go get that. There's also the VIP Q and a, so these are the questions we couldn't answer in the main one. There's a VIP q and a. You can go sign up @michaeljamin.com/VIP for the next event and just have a chance on Zoom in a small group to ask questions directly to you. AndMichael Jamin:Let me clarify so the webinars, because I'm glad you brought that up. So the webinars are free if you attend live, they're free. If you miss it, we send you a free replay for 24 hours. But if you want to catch the old ones because you're like, Hey, those are really good, those are available on my website for a small fee,Phil Hudson:But they're lifetime access, so you buy it once. It doesn't have a take clock. It's like jurors, you have access. It's in there with the course. If you buy the course, you get access to all of them and the webinar, when you attend, you give away a free access to the course. So somebody will win that. And a pretty nice discount as well.Michael Jamin:Yes. Alright, Philly, we did it. Thank you everyone. Until next week, as Phil likes to say, keep writing.Phil Hudson:This has been an episode of Screenwriters Need to Hear this with Michael Jamin and Phil Hudson. If you're interested in learning more about writing, make sure you register for Michael's monthly webinar @michaeljamin.com/webinar. If you found this podcast helpful, consider sharing it with a friend and leaving us a five star review on iTunes. For free screenwriting tips, follow Michael Jamin on social media @MichaelJamin,writer. You can follow Phil Hudson on social media @PhilaHudson. This podcast was produced by Phil Hudson. It was edited by Dallas Green Music, by Ken Joseph. Until next time, keep writing.

James Honda-Pinder is a master storyteller and Head of Strategy at We Are Social living out in Singapore.In this episode we discuss the power of stories and how they transcend time, how to create a truly impactful story, the possibilities this can bring, and so much more.When stories are the backbones of communication, becoming a master storyteller is an art in life!To Find the Resources we discuss in the show and for James' LinkedIn@- Story by Robert McKee: https://tinyurl.com/4635xybs- 6 Rules of Great Storytelling by Pixar: https://tinyurl.com/yxr4caxn- The Book Creativity Inc.: https://tinyurl.com/4exysejf- David Hieatt's Books: http://tinyurl.com/46ay7vhh - James' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-honda-pinder-a6036a44/Podcast Chapters:0.00 - Intro0.45 - The Villains of James' Life3.09 - What's the Hero's Arc?5.50 - The Power of Context12.33 - How Stories Transfer Morality20.02 - The Power of Stories25.09 - Self-Therapy Through Stories34.26 - Presenting a Better Future40.40 - Letting People in Emotionally43.16 - Creating the Less Is More Effect49.34 - Resources, Outro and TakeawaysMichael Hanson is the host of the COSMIC Bridge podcast that inspires its listeners to find their higher purpose and connect their material and spiritual life through stories of breathwork teachers, shamans and stroke survivors. He is also the CEO of Growth Genie, an international B2B sales consultancy.- The COSMIC Bridge website: https://thecosmicbridge.com/- Growth Genie Website: https://growthgenie.co/(Michael Hanson is the host of the COSMIC Bridge podcast that inspires its listeners to find their higher purpose and connect their material and spiritual life through stories of breathwork teachers, shamans and stroke survivors. He is also the CEO of Growth Genie, an international B2B sales consultancy)

Something happens, then something else happens, and then still something else. That's a series of events, but it isn't a story. A story has stakes, motivation, gaps between what people expect and what they get. This edition of Doing What Works is a primer on story structure that just might help you live a better story.Here are your show notes…Story, by Robert McKee, is a book about screenwriting.Steven Pressfield is famous for, among other things, inspiring writers.A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller, is another book about story that Katie and I both love. The creators of South Park once visited an NYU class to talk about story.

When it comes to crafting a great story, few know more than professor, lecturer, and Fulbright Scholar Robert McKee. Actors, screenwriters, authors, and directors around the world flock to his "STORY" Seminars, and thousands more have devoured his bestselling book, STORY: SUBSTANCE, STRUCTURE, STYLE, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF SCREENWRITING. We were thrilled when Robert came to A Mighty Blaze to share some of his secrets with "The Thoughtful Bro" Mark Cecil. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

Our YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1QXNiZn4c0btMe0K0piUeQHere is a book about how to be a better writer. First off, focus on brevity.*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*Kellen Erskine has appeared on Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 100 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com*David Vance's videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

An epic discussion with one of my heroes & mentors, the world renowned screenwriting guru Robert McKee. While discussing his new book Action: The Art of Excitement For Screen, Page and Game, we covered: embracing story conventions while avoiding cliches; how you can't have great heroes without great antagonists; and a furious throw down of Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey.   All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Jennie Nash is the founder of Author Accelerator, a book coaching service that has helped hundreds of writers complete their book projects. Her clients have landed top New York agents; snagged 5- and 6-figure deals from publishers such as Scribner, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Norton, and Hachette; hit the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller list; been chosen for the Reese Witherspoon Book Club; and won dozens of national indie book awards. Jennie has spent 30 years on all sides of the publishing industry and is the author of four novels, three memoirs, and four self-help books for writers including The Writer's Guide to Agony and Defeat: The 43 Worst Moments in the Writing Life and How to Get over Them; Blueprint for a Book: Build Your Novel From the Inside Out; Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book: Plan and Pitch Your Big Idea; and Read Books All Day & Get Paid For It. Jennie joins Marrie to talk about the art and business of book coaching, what coaches can (and cannot) do for you, how to know when you need one, when in the process to hire one, and how they differ from having an editor or MFA advisor. She also walks through some of the strategies in her Blueprint manuals and how they can be combined with other writing methods (such as Save the Cat , Robert McKee's Story, John Truby's The Anatomy of Story, etc.). She says spending a few weeks asking yourself some foundational questions about you book at the beginning might save you hundreds of pages and years of work. A reminder that April is the one-year anniversary of our Patreon page, and 2023 is the 25th anniversary of the show. To celebrate, we're offering some additional perks and incentives all month long. To learn more, visit our Patreon page.

What is casual racism? And how did a non-fiction writer end up writing a mystery series? Author Patricia Raybon talks with Amy Julia Becker about faith and “casual racism,” Black history month, and the beauty and truth that emerge from creative storytelling.__Giveaway:  Share this episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter by February 26th and tag me when you share. You'll be entered for a chance to win a copy of Patricia's latest book, Double the Lies.__Guest Bio:“A writer of faith by day and mystery by night, Patricia Raybon is an award-winning Colorado author, essayist, and novelist who writes daring and exciting books and novels at the intersection of faith and race. After a notable career in newspaper journalism and journalism education, Patricia turned to fiction with release of a 1920s mystery series about a prim, poor but clever Black female theologian—a fan of Sherlock Holmes—who solves murder and crime in Colorado's dangerous Klan era.”__Connect Online:Website: www.patriciaraybon.comInstagram: @patriciaraybonFacebook: @patricia.raybonTwitter: @patriciaraybon__On the Podcast:Patricia's 1st interview on Amy Julia's podcast: S3 E3 | Our Different Stories Divide UsAll That Is Secret by Patricia Raybon Double the Lies by Patricia RaybonWhite Picket Fences by Amy Julia BeckerStory by Robert McKee https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/patricia-raybon/___Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.__*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Thanks for listening!

Robert McKee is a modern Aristotle of story and master of the form who wrote the definitive book on the subject, called, of course, STORY. Robert is a Fulbright scholar and the author of five books on storytelling, including Dialogue, Character, Action, and Storynomics, but he is best known as the most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world. His students have collectively won 70 Academy Awards, 250 Emmy Awards, and 100 WGA (Writers Guild of America) Awards. My conversation with Robert centered on his philosophy of story, what stories are, why they're important for humanity and so much more. Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up Today's Sponsors: Squarespace: Squarespace.com/RichRoll  Peace + Plants, Rich

Ryan talks to Robert Mckee about his new book Action: The Art of Excitement for Screen, Page, and Game, the importance of showing not telling, how to tell a great story, and more.Robert McKee is the most sought after screenwriting lecturer around the globe. He has dedicated the last 30 years to educating and mentoring screenwriters, novelists, playwrights, poets, documentary makers, producers, and directors internationally. Robert's articles on Story have also appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines around the world including Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker Magazine, and more. He continues to be a project consultant to major film and television production companies such as 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, & MTV. For more information, you can visit hismwebsite, which we have in the show notes.

Today's guest is Robert McKee. He is an author, lecturer, and consultant who has dedicated his life to educating and mentoring screenwriters, novelists, playwrights, poets, documentary makers, producers, and directors through his Story Seminars.  He is the author of Story,  Character, Storynomics, Dialogue, and his latest, Action, books that help artists write their truth.  Since 1984, more than 100,000 students have taken McKee's courses around the world. Alumni include Peter Jackson (writer/director THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy, THE HOBBIT), Jane Campion, Andrew Stanton, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Haggis, Akiva Goldsman, William Goldman, Joan Rivers, Meg Ryan, Rob Row, David Bowie, Kirk Douglas, John Cleese, Steven Pressfield, Russell Brand, and the writers of Pixar (creators of TOY STORY 1, 2, & 3, FINDING NEMO). His former students include over 60 Academy Award Winners, 200 Academy Award Nominees, 200 Emmy Award Winners, and 1000 Emmy Award Nominees. To find out more about Robert and his seminars, visit mckeestory.com.  You can follow him on YouTube @RobertMcKeeSTORY , on Facebook @RobertMcKeeSeminars , and on Twitter @McKeeStory Sponsors: Navy Federal Credit Union: Today's episode is presented by Navy Federal Credit Union. Learn more about them at navyfederal.org Black Rifle Coffee Company: Today's episode is also brought to you by Black Rifle Coffee Company. Check out the latest here.  SIG: This episode is sponsored by SIG Sauer. You can learn more about SIG here. Featured Gear Ten Thousand: Today's featured gear segment is brought to you by Ten Thousand. Ten Thousand is offering our listeners 15% of their purchase! Go to tenthousand.cc and enter code DANGERCLOSE15 to receive 15% off. James Rupley Print / Vickers Guide United States Naval Special Warfare Book Badass Workbench Send Me Documentary  KJ Murphy's Custom Hat

If you want to deepen the complexity of your story's theme, one tool you can employ is Robert McKee's thematic square.

Amy & Paul podcast about podcasting about 2002's head-spinning meta comedy Adaptation! They relate to Nicolas-Cage-as-Charlie-Kaufman's inner monologue, learn what Robert McKee thought of his depiction in the film, and debate whether the third act makes or undermines the whole piece. Plus: Thoughts on Lily Tomlin's career. Next week we kick off a month of Ani-May-Tion with Akira! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/unspooledpodcast, and on Paul's Discord at https://discord.gg/ZwtygZGTa6. Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don't forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen to our Stitcher Premium game show Screen Test right now at https://www.stitcher.com/show/unspooled-screen-test, and apply to be a contestant at unspooledpod@gmail.com!

It was just before 4 a.m. on June 20, 1975 in Newport, Maine. The sky was just warming with hints of dawn and the air was quiet save for the buzz of the ice cooler and Coca Cola vending machine sitting in the dim glow of the gas station lights. The fishermen waiting in their car for gasoline noticed a light on inside McNally's Texaco, but no one came to greet them outside at the pump. Anxious to get their day started, the driver stepped out of the car to see what was the hold up. As he opened the door to the station, the unsuspecting fisherman found 35-year old Robert McKee lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His murder remains unsolved to this day.