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
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!

Up In The Air, boring or not, is this week’s question. Why do I find this movie interesting, and why does Valerie find it boring? Could the answer lie in Ryan Bingam’s character arc (and does he have one)? Could it lie in the small amount of exposition? Or could it be that George Clooney movies are boring? One thing is certain: this episode is the opposite of boring. -M"Is this story interesting, entertaining and worthwhile if the protagonist doesn't have an internal worldview shift?" -Melanie HillRelated Story Nerd Episodes:The Social Network: Season 12, Episode 1 I, Tonya: Season 12, Episode 3Gone Baby, Gone: Season 12, Episode 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 movie is almost entirely exposition, and while this isn't an approach I'd recommend for novelists, I can't imagine telling this particular story any other way. You might say that ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN is the exception that proves the rule. Master storyteller, William Goldman, pulls it off and that means there's a whole lot we can learn about how and when to use exposition when writing a story. When it comes to character arcs (Melanie's topic this season), neither of the protagonists change in this story but they change the world around them and what that reveals about how stories work is nothing short of fascinating. -V."It's almost exclusively exposition. If you have ever wondered whether exposition was a thing or whether it was important, seriously watch this movie." - Valerie Francis
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!

Most stories are about change. However, there is also a place for stories when the protagonist doesn’t change. The outcomes can still be positive - just watch James Bond and Erin Brockovich!  There are also stories where the protagonist doesn’t change, and the outcome is ambiguous. This movie combines an ethical dilemma with a constant character to create a haunting outcome. The movie also has buckets of exposition. Is this a case of too much is way too much? Never fear, Valerie groups and summarises all the exposition into four key types. -M."Patrick's constant character with an ambivalent arc means that his internal state doesn't change." - Melanie Hill
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!

As Melanie and I prepared for this episode one question kept coming up ... Who is the protagonist? Melanie argues that the entire family is the protagonist, but I think that Olive (who is the Little Miss Sunshine contestant) is the protagonist. It's an interesting question and our discussion about it is even more interesting. If you're writing a multi-POV story, be sure to check out this episode! -V."Exposition is all about the facts that we need to convey to the reader so that they can follow a story without getting confused." Valerie FrancisRelated Story Nerd EpisodesSeason 7 Season 8Nashville (Season 5, Episode 505)
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 season, I am focused on stories with negative or neutral character arcs. Sometimes, finding out what a character doesn’t want is the first step to discovery. On the surface, Cathy Whitaker has a perfect life. However, it’s a shallow life. Cathy’s choices are symbolically represented by her husband, Frank, and her gardener, Raymond. The two male characters are interesting external representations of Cathy’s internal choices. There’s a small amount of exposition in Far From Heaven, but when it features, it’s done straightforwardly and with simplicity. -M“The interesting events in Cathy’s arc happen side by side in the movie. She shows an interest in Raymond at the same time, she discovers Frank with another man. While Cathy is trying to maintain one life, she’s also growing in another part of her life.” - Melanie HillRelated Story Nerd EpisodesThe Accidental Tourist (Season 5, Episode 3)
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!

Wowzers! I, TONYA is absolutely chock-full of exposition. It's a documentary-style film so at first blush it doesn't seem to offer up many story lessons for novelists. However, DAISY JONES & THE SIX is a documentary-style novel so this is an episode you might want to pay attention to — not just for their handling of exposition, but also for their portrayal of the character of Tonya Harding. -V."Introducing characters can only be done via exposition." -Valerie FrancisRelated Story Nerd Episodes:The Social Network (Season 12, Episode 1)Dorian Gray (Season 12, 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!

The Rolling Stone’s song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want,’ is my earworm this season. This week, I started to pick apart how wants, needs and arcs are connected. Dorian Gray is a classic cautionary tale about selling your soul. Dorian arrives in London as a beautiful but naive young man and dies with a rotten and decrepit soul - he is unredeemable. Dorian gets what he wants, but he doesn’t get what he needs because there are no consequences for his actions. Understanding how wants, needs and character arcs is an essential story tool. Good exposition is invisible. Valerie highlights how exposition is masterfully delivered and where it fails. Exposition is all about information management - the what and the how. -M“Understanding wants and needs is important for story arcs because they determine the protagonist’s motivations and actions.” Melanie HillRelated Story Nerd EpisodesThe Woman King (Season 8 Episode 2)The Social Network (Season 12 Episode 1)
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 brand new season and this time Melanie is studying character arcs through 5 key questions: Where do the characters start, where do they finish, what do they want, what decisions do they make along the way that get them to the end, and do they get what they want or need?Meanwhile, I do a deep dive into exposition. You've heard about "show, don't tell" right? Well, that's not always true. Sometimes telling your reader information through exposition is exactly the thing you need to do. -V."When exposition is done properly, you as the audience member or the reader, you don't even notice it." -Valerie Francis
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!

Whoa. This season has been a heavy season. Narrative Drive and Conflict Triangles are two major concepts that can - and will - transform your writing. In this episode, Melanie and I summarize everything we learned this season. -V
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!

Eye in the Sky reminds me of the ‘greater good’ questions I discussed in class during high school - there’s no right or wrong answer but there are always consequences. This movie is an excellent example of how tension and escalating stakes combine with conflict triangles and narrative drive to create a compelling story. This isn’t an action movie but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for fear of missing something. Join us this week to discover how to craft stories that linger after the cover is closed. -M“Eye in the Sky creates a fascinating amount of tension. It does this by setting up a situation at the beginning that has multiple courses of action and outcomes, and then it delays the decision until the last possible moment.” Melanie HillRelated Story Nerd EpisodesThe Woman King (Season 8 Episode 2)Our Best Advice (Season 8 Episode 11)The Help (Season 11 Episode 5)
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!

Your reader doesn't have to like the protagonist but she does have to empathize with him because if empathy is absent, your story is in trouble. In this episode Melanie and I study conflict triangles and narrative drive, but we also have an interesting side conversation about empathy and likeability. If you're writing an unlikeable character, or if you're writing a quiet, character-driven story, this episode is for you. -V"The protagonist does not have to be likable, but you've got to be careful that you don't place the reader's empathy on another character." - Valerie Francis 
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!

Holy moly, this is a good movie! It's an especially good movie to study for anyone writing a quiet, character-driven story. THE WIFE originally aired as Episode 4 of Season 6 when Melanie was studying stakes and I was studying empathy. But honestly, this is one of those rare films that novelists (and memoirists!) can study to learn just about any storytelling principle. -V.*Programming Note: In next week's episode we review the movie NYAD, not GONE BABY GONE as indicated in the intro.
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 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.
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!

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.
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!