Mentoring Authors One Scene at a Time – Thriller/Military/Non-Fiction/SF/Fantasy
My analysis of television series’ episodes use Story Grid’s 5 Commandments of a Scene. I hope that this analysis will help writers make better scenes for themselves. Additionally, I will cover the 6 Questions Every Editor Asks, also from the Shawn Coyne’s book The Story Grid.
These are the 5 Commandments of Storytelling as outlined by Shawn Coyne in his book The Story Grid: What good Editors Know. These commandments can be found in all stories that really work.
Anne Lister’s visits Ann Walker at the Lake while Walker is with her cousin.
Walker’s relative catches them in the act of making out
Will Walker be ashamed or embrace her feelings for Lister
Walker embraces her feelings for Lister
They continue to make out
A note on Value shifts. Scenes need to turn in order for a story to work, if it doesn’t turn in value then nothing is really happening. See the following two articles on value shift in scenes and stories at www.storygrid.com:
+/++ attracted to physical
The two women make out and have sex
+/++ more and more successful
More successful dealings with coal.
Obligatory scenes and Conventions are expectations the reader or watcher have when they watch specific genres.
If you want to see more applications of the Story Grid methodology, below are links to my analysis of various novels and television shows in blog posts and podcasts:
Story Grid Showrunners Podcast – Parul, Melanie, and I analyze hit TV series using the Story Grid methodology.
My blog posts analyzing other Television series – my person take using the Story grid 5 Commandments to look at my favorite TV series – Jack Ryan, Batgirl, For All Mankind, Hanna, and more.
Novel analysis – I analyze some of my favorite books using the Story Grid 5 Commandments and 6 core questions – First Blood, Old Man’s War, Waylander, and more to come!