Mentoring Authors One Scene at a Time – Thriller/Military/Non-Fiction/SF/Fantasy
As we approach the end of the first season of this series, we can see that the conventions and obligatory scenes are playing out and that many of my predictions from the first episode have happened. Let’s continue with an evaluation of the 5 commandments for this episode.
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.
Lister goes on a Europe trip by herself, the trip she was supposed to go with Walker before Walker got sick
Lister links up with her ex Mariana
Does Lister re-ignite he relationship with Mariana or not
Lister re-ignites her relationship with Mariana
Lister decides to leave Mariana; meanwhile, Walker tries to commit suicide
-/+ distraught to accepted (by her former lovers)
Lister starts distraught over her separation from Walker, then reunites with her exes and feels accepted
I’m not tracking the Society storyline right now because at its roots this series is a love story I think. At the end of Episode 8 I’ll review the Society Story requirements and see how the series lines up with its Obligatory Scenes and Conventions.
There was a brief triangle with Walker/ Lister/ and Lister’s exes, but that appears to be over.
Next episode is the last of the series let’s see where this goes.
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!