Story Grid Editors Roundtable

This week Leslie goes 15 rounds in the ring arguing that tough guy Rocky is a Virgin’s Promise story at heart, while the opposition brings some heavyweight counterarguments. This 1976 Best Picture was directed by John Avidsen from star Sylvester Stallone’s Oscar nominated script. Each week one of the Story Grid Editors—Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, or Leslie Watts—pitches a favorite film as an example of a significant story principle. Then we team up to debate whether it succeeds or fails, giving authors deep insight into story structure. Click here for the full show notes.

Anne Hawley pitched the 2002 meta-comedy Adaptation this week, as proof that you can break some big story rules and still succeed—but maybe only if you’re screenwriter Charlie Kaufmann. His wild adaptation of Susan Orlean’s nonfiction book The Orchid Thief was directed by Spike Jonze. Each week one of the Story Grid Editors—Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, or Leslie Watts—pitches a favorite film as an example of a significant story principle. Then we team up to debate whether it succeeds or fails, giving authors deep insight into story structure. Click here for the full show notes.

This week the Roundtablers succumb to the selkie’s call with Song of the Sea, Kim’s pick for a story that combines Virgin’s Promise and Hero’s Journey structures. This 2014 animated fantasy based on Irish myth was written by Will Collins and directed by Tomm Moore. Each week one of the Story Grid Editors—Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, or Leslie Watts—pitches a favorite film as an example of a significant story principle. Then we team up to debate whether it succeeds or fails, giving authors deep insight into story structure. Click here for the full show notes.

In the premiere of season three, the Roundtablers debate Valerie’s assertion that Manchester by the Sea exemplifies the story principle of Surprising But Inevitable Ending. This haunting 2016 Oscar winner was written and directed by Richard Lonergan. Each week one of the Story Grid Editor—Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, or Leslie Watts—pitches a favorite film as an example of a significant story principle. Then we team up to debate whether it succeeds or fails, giving authors deep insight into story structure. Click here for the full show notes.

This week the Roundtablers bring the the Morality genre in for a rough landing with Flight, the 2012 film by Robert Zemeckis starring Denzel Washington. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

This week the Roundtablers sneak into the Crime genre and make off with a rather poor impression of the 2007 caper comedy Mad Money, written by Glenn Gers and directed by Callie Khouri. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

The Roundtable team touches down into the Worldview genre this week with the 2016 science fiction revelation drama Arrival, written Eric Heisserer and Ted Chiang, based on Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life” and directed by Denis Villeneuve. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

The Roundtablers trace the outlines of the Status genre this week with Real Women Have Curves, directed in 2002 by Patricia Cardoso from a script by Josefina Lopez and George LaVoo. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

The Roundtable team marches into the Society genre this week with the 2014 historical drama Selma. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better editor. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

This week the Roundtablers throw the Lasso of Truth around the 2017 superhero Action movie Wonder Woman, making it tell the truth about its story, directed by Patty Jenkins with screenplay by Alan Heinberg. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

It’s East meets Western this week as the Roundtable team crosses the Pacific and the decades to look at Akira Kurosawa’s 1960 samurai classic,Yojimbo. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

It’s the chaos of war this week as the Roundtable team goes into The Hurt Locker, Mark Boal’s Oscar-winning war drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

This week the Roundtable team disappears into Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and comes back with a verdict of Psychological Thriller, with an extra dose of disturbing. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better editor. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the 12 Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

It’s Story Grid 101: The Editor’s Six Core Questions. What do they mean? Why do you need them? How do they help you edit your novel? The Roundtable team stacks it all up for you in this special episode. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better editor. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the 12 Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

It’s bucket-o-blood time as the Roundtable team tackles the Horror genre with Kimberly Peirce’s 2013 remake of the Stephen King classic Carrie. Screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

This week we embrace the Love Story once again as we camp out on Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee’s 2005 multiple-Oscar-winning masterpiece about the love affair between two cowboys in Wyoming. The screenplay is by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, based on the award-winning short story by Annie Proulx. This is a show dedicated to helping you to become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne.

The Roundtablers soar this week into Ang Lee’s 2003 “Wung-fu” Action + Society mashup Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the story of a secret young woman warrior and her attempts to be free of all her masters. The screenplay is by Hui Ling Wang, based on the 1935 Chinese Wǔxiá romance by Wáng Dù Lú. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week, Story Grid Certified Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the 12 Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

The Roundtablers lift off into the Performance genre this week with the 2015 Oscar nominee Hidden Figures, which tells the story of three remarkable African-American women and their real-life achievements in the face of racism at NASA. The screenplay is by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.

This week we put food on the Roundtable as we study the 2015 Big Idea Nonfiction documentary In Defense of Food, by Edward Gray based on the book by Michael Pollan. Visit us on Twitter @StoryGridRT and let us know what you think of our analysis.This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better editor. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne.Click here for the full show notes.

This week the Roundtable team investigates the claims of Double Indemnity, the 1944 film noir classic about murder and insurance fraud, with screenplay by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder. Visit us on Twitter @StoryGridRT and let us know what you think of our analysis. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer. Each week Story Grid Editors Jarie Bolander, Valerie Francis, Anne Hawley, Kim Kessler, and Leslie Watts analyze a film from one of the twelve Story Grid content genres and discuss it using the Editor’s Six Core Questions as developed by Shawn Coyne. Click here for the full show notes.