Episodes

• 2019

• Ep. 138 World Building

  In this episode, Story Grid certified editor Leslie Watts takes a small detour from the usual format to discuss World Building, the way you craft the domain your characters inhabit. She offers several exercises to help improve your story by strengthening your world.
  February 8, 2019

  27 min

• Ep. 137 Strengthen Your Setting

  In this episode, Story Grid certified editor Leslie Watts takes a small detour from the usual format to discuss story settings, the place and time where your character gets into and hopefully out of trouble. She offered three exercises to help strengthen your setting and story.
  January 25, 2019

  23 min

• Ep. 136 Resolutions

  We all have some idea of what a resolution is, but what are these scene- and story-enders meant to do? In this episode, Story Grid certified editor Leslie Watts explores scene and story resolutions in the context of C. Gabriel Wright’s LBGTQ love story, “Someone.” The editorial mission encourages you to collect resolutions by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.
  January 18, 2019

  50 min

• Ep. 135 Scene and Story Climaxes

  What are story and scene climaxes? Why do you need them? In this episode, Story Grid certified editor Leslie Watts discusses the decisions your characters make, as well as the actions they take, when faced with a dilemma. You’ll hear Matt Bizzel’s horror story, A Window Out: Or, the Accidental Death of Frank Ortiz and Leslie’s analysis of the scene. The editorial mission encourages you to collect examples of these critical decisions and actions by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.
  January 11, 2019

  48 min
• 2018

• Ep. 134 Crisis Questions for Your Scenes

  What are crisis questions? Why do our stories and scenes need them? In this episode, Story Grid certified editor Leslie Watts discusses the dilemmas your characters face on the way to scene and story resolutions in the context of the opening of Jerry Dawson’s science fiction story, Meteor. The editorial mission encourages you to collect crisis questions by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.
  October 20, 2018

  47 min

• Ep. 133 Progressive Complications for Your Scenes

  What are progressive complications? Why do our stories and scenes need them? This week, Story Grid Certified editor Leslie Watts discusses the people, places, things, and events that stand between your characters and their goals within the context of the opening of Anna Ferguson’s YA science fiction novel, The Empire of Saffron.
  September 28, 2018

  58 min

• Ep. 132 Inciting Incidents for Your Scenes

  What are inciting incidents? Why do our stories and scenes need them? What are the elements of a solid inciting incident? This week, Story Grid Certified editor Leslie Watts discusses these story event catalysts in the context of the opening of Drew Horstman’s fantasy novel, Nicholas Crumb. The editorial mission encourages you to collect inciting incidents by reading and watching stories—and from your own life.
  August 31, 2018

  47 min

• Ep. 131 Analyzing Your Scenes

  You’ve written lots of scenes for your work in progress, but how do you know whether they work? In this episode, Story Grid Certified editor Leslie Watts shows you how to analyze your scenes by looking at the opening of AW Moyer’s YA fantasy story, The Grim Book.
  July 8, 2018

  59 min

• 130. Writing with Abandon with Grant Faulkner

  In this episode, Story Grid Certified Editor Leslie Watts discusses writing with abandon with Grant Faulkner, the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month. They talk about what it means to write with abandon, how to go about it, and why it’s important. In lieu of an editorial mission, Grant shares the word sprint, an old NaNoWriMo practice to help you get your words down—just in time for Camp NaNoWriMo in July.
  June 29, 2018

  57 min

• Ep. 129 Essential and Literal Action in Your Scenes

  In this episode, Story Grid Certified Editors Leslie Watts and Anne Hawley discuss literal and essential action in the context of “Madeline,” a short horror story by Nathaniel Patterson.
  June 22, 2018

  60 min

• 128. How to Take Your Story from Pretty Good to WOW!

  In this episode, Story Grid certified editors Leslie Watts and Lori Puma critique “Night Fishing,” a coming of age short story by Kevin Glasgow. They discuss how to take your story from pretty good to WOW.
  June 15, 2018

  70 min

• 127. Meeting Reader Expectations for Your Fiction Sales Category

  Leslie welcomes James Thorn, an author of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction and Story Grid Certified editor, to discuss how you can discover reader expectations related to your sales category.
  April 13, 2018

  53 min

• 126. Second Person Point of View

  Intrepid editors Leslie Watts and Anne Hawley talk about when you might want to use second person point of view in the context of David Austin's short story "All American."
  April 3, 2018

  78 min

• Episode 125: Putting Your Writing First with Mark McGuinness

  In this episode, Leslie talks with poet and creative coach Mark McGuinness from the _21st Century Creative_ podcast about why it’s important to put your writing first—both for you personally and for your creative career. The editorial mission asks you to write something you might not expect.
  January 11, 2018

  73 min

• Episode 124: Your Character’s Internal Journey

  In this episode, Certified Story Grid editors Leslie Watts and Rebecca Monterusso critique “The Flight,” a science fiction short story by Scott Adam Gordon. They discuss the internal journey or change that characters experience as a result of external events in a story. Leslie and Rebecca then uncover which internal genres might be present in “The Flight.” This week’s editorial mission offers questions to help you identify and craft the internal change at work in your stories.
  January 4, 2018

  64 min
• 2017

• Epside 123: Leslie's Approach to Editing and Why You Need to Tell Your Story

  In this episode, Certified Story Grid editor Leslie Watts and Writership’s first officer, Liz Green, discuss the way things have changed around the podcast and answer some burning questions about the Story Grid, Leslie’s approach to editing, and why you need to tell your story.
  December 14, 2017

  63 min

• Episode 122: Do Your Scenes Contain Conflict?

  In this episode, Certified Story Grid editors Leslie Watts and Courtney Harrell critique the first chapter of _Seeker_, a science fiction novella within the Chaos Nova universe by Smith & Kaos. They discuss conflict within stories and scenes. Antagonistic forces and obstacles are necessary elements of stories because change within a character comes as the result of dealing with conflict. It is the vehicle through which they change over the course of the entire story, but also incrementally, scene by scene. Conflicts delay the resolution of every unit of story (scene, sequence, act, story). If the character achieves a goal for the unit of story without effort or worry, then tension drops and narrative drive wanes. Even if your story overall has great conflict, you’ll tell a better story if each scene contains robust conflict as well. This week’s editorial mission shows you how to analyze your scenes for conflict so you can make things as tough as possible for your characters.
  November 30, 2017

  60 min

• Episode 121: Structure for Character-Driven or Literary Stories

  In this episode, fiction editors Leslie Watts and Rachelle Ramirez critique “How I Stumbled into the Golden Cage,” a short story by Jose Arroyo. They discuss genre and how stories that emphasize the protagonist’s inner journey still need structure. Writers of literary stories can use the steps in the Kubler-Ross grief process to plan and revise the structure of their stories and may find it’s a better fit than other systems suited to more active stories. Even if you’ve written a thriller or an action story, you can use the Kubler-Ross steps to follow your protagonist’s inner journey alongside whatever structure you use for the external events of the story. One challenge writers face with character-driven stories is how to demonstrate the inner shifts the character experiences without over-relying on thoughts and telling. Leslie and Rachelle talk about ways to dramatize internal events to evoke certain emotions in your reader. This week’s editorial mission encourages you to use the Kubler-Ross steps to check your protagonist’s internal journey and be sure the important events are present and adequately dramatized.
  November 20, 2017

  56 min

• Episode 120: Crisis Questions

  In this episode, fiction editors Leslie Watts and Valerie Francis analyze a scene from _Lock and Key_: the first book in The Essence Riven Trilogy by Emily Bowie. They discuss the crisis question, a moment in a scene when a question arises for the POV character. To keep the story moving, your scenes should turn, more specifically, it should become more or less likely that the protagonist will get what they want and need. When the turn happens within the scene, it’s a natural time for the protagonist or POV character to decide how to respond to the change. This week’s editorial mission will help you identify or add these questions and make them stronger to support your story.
  November 15, 2017

  56 min

• Episode 119: Scene Value Shifts

  In this episode, Certified Story Grid Editors Leslie Watts and Jay Peters critique the beginning of “What Lives Beneath,” a short story by A.V. Herzberg. The author’s synopsis for the story suggests that the main genre could be Obsession Love Story or Horror. Leslie and Jay talk about how those genres can be translated into story values (in other words, the external change that happens from the beginning to the end of the story). Then they analyze the scene in the submission, including how the scene value changes from beginning to end. Then they discuss ways to strengthen the scene by bringing the value shift into closer alignment with the overall story. This week’s editorial mission challenges you to compare the value shifts in your scene to see how they relate to your global story.
  November 6, 2017

  71 min