A comedic take on a murder mystery had so much potential, but unfortunately, the creators of SEE HOW THEY RUN wasted it with what can only be described as lazy writing and lazy editing. This is what happens when the writers of murder mysteries aren't also superfans of the genre, or when they try to cut corners. This week, Valerie discusses the unfortunate skinny wrist reveal, and Melanie walks us through all the clues and red herrings. Do you agree with their analysis?"If you're serious about getting published, be honest with yourself about the gaps in your knowledge. We all have them. It's okay." Valerie FrancisRelated Story Nerd EpisodesCrooked House (Season 9, Episode 901)Death on the Nile (Season 2, Episode 207)Knives Out (Season 1, Episode 107)
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

It's a long episode this week because there's a whole lot to talk about in this excellent adaptation of John le Carre's bestselling novel. Melanie gives her top tips for writing mysteries and Valerie discusses the type of protagonist we usually find in left-brained stories. One question lingered for them both: When did George Smiley discover who the mole was?"Your opinion of George Smiley will change if you read THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, because there his morality is laid bare. His duality, or his willingness to sacrifice innocence, is more laid bare." - Melanie HillRELATED STORY NERD EPISODESThe Dry (Season 9, Episode 2)
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

By the time we get to the end of our manuscript, we can feel drained creatively. The temptation to phone it in looms large. But be careful. No matter how good the rest of your story is, if the ending is weak, the novel/film will fail to impress. This is just one of the lessons that Valerie and Melanie learned this week."What I mean by a left-brained story is basically a story that appeals to our heads more than our hearts. It has to hook the reader intellectually." - Valerie FrancisRELATED STORY NERD EPISODES:Death on the Nile (Season 2, Episode 207)Empathy (Season 6) 
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

This week Valerie and Melanie continue their study of left-brained stories. They step into the outback to discover how Australian crime writers create an atmosphere of isolation by combining plot and setting. Melanie is tracking clues, motives, and murderers' actions to discover the techniques used to raise questions and divert attention in the story – and there are many! Valerie investigates the Central Dramatic Question and Character Archetypes.
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

It's time for a brand new season of the show and this time around, Valerie and Melanie are studying the same topic: left-brained stories. Never heard of it before? Don't worry. Valerie made up the term to describe any story that has a puzzle of some kind and invites the reader/audience to try to solve the puzzle before the author reveals the solution. Left-brained stories tend to be mysteries/crime stories, thrillers, and spy stories but they can show up in any genre.In left-brained stories, storytelling principles are applied a little differently—and that's exactly what Valerie and Melanie will explore all season long.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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

This week Valerie and Melanie round up their a-ha moments and the lessons they've learned over the past ten episodes. What are their key takeaways wrt creating conflict in a story? How can you design a cast that supports both the main character's development and the plot? Tune in to find out!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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

If you're writing a character-driven story with a female protagonist, or a female POV character, this episode is a must for you. With only one viewing it's easy to miss the storytelling goodness of Lady Bird because it doesn't offer up the kind of story Hollywood has trained us to expect (i.e., external action, male protagonist, hero's journey-style stories). What it does give is a nuanced, complex female protagonist whose internal conflict drives the story. Yay, Greta!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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

If you're writing a character-driven story, or if your protagonist has an arc, this episode is for you. This week, Melanie and Valerie continue their studies of conflict and cast design, and the connection between these topics and character development is a real eye-opener.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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

Never has there been a better example of why world building is so important. Fans of Sex and the City love to live vicariously through Carrie Bradshaw so it's no surprise that audiences gave this film a 77% Rotten Tomatoes score. However, film critics gave it a 50%, and Valerie and Melanie tend to agree. What is they see that fans don't? Tune in to this week's episode so that you can emulate the good and avoid repeating the bad.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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

Sometimes the best way to understand a concept is to have a simple, but clear, example. In this episode, Melanie explains why The Gentlemen is such a great example of conflict, especially external conflict. This film isn't such a great example of cast design though, so this week Valerie takes a detour and focuses instead on Narrative Device (which is not the same as Narrative Drive!).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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

There's no question that Little Women is a classic that is beloved by generations, but why? What is it about this story that resonates with so many readers and viewers? This week, Valerie and Melanie ponder just that and their study takes them to past episodes about world building and story shapes, they discuss the appeal of Jo March and they discover an interesting link to Pride and Prejudice.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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

In this week's episode, Melanie introduces the concept of conflict triangles and honestly, if you use them in your work, your story will improve immediately. In terms of cast design, while usually the plot supports the development of the characters in this case, the characters support the development of the plot. If you don't know which option best serves your story, you'd better tune in.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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!

Valerie and Melanie both approached this week's episode with some trepidation. The Full Monty is a favourite film and sometimes those can be the most challenging to study because it's hard to be objective. But thankfully, there was no need to worry; the structure of The Full Monty is solid and a deep study revealed some fascinating lessons on how to write comedic characters.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
The Hook Formula: the works-every-time method for describing your book in a way that captivates readers and makes them beg for more.Submit your query letter and first 10 pages writing sample at storynerd.ca.For your FREE First 10 Pages Checklist, visit valeriefrancis.ca/checklistTo learn to read like a writer, visit Melanie's website.To subscribe to Kat's Keynotes (Substack), click here.Watch us on YouTube!