The Story Biz Podcast
By Chris & Brock
Visit www.TheStoryBiz.com for more
The Story Biz PodcastNov 15, 2019
32. An Interview with Danielle Hitchens
Danielle Hitchens had an idea for a book, she found her artist and then lead a successful funding campaign on social media that also resulted in a publisher picking up the book and creating a best selling series.
How Community Is Key in Tough Times
30: StoryMap Part 7: Tests, Allies & Enemies
29: StoryMap Part 6: Crossing the Threshhold
28: StoryMap Part 5 - Meet the Mentor
Great stories are filled with great characters. One of the most common characters in any story is the Mentor, a must-include character if you’re writing a Hero’s Journey story. In fact, the next step of the Hero’s Journey is Meeting the Mentor. Who is your hero’s Mentor, and how do they challenge them? Meeting the Mentor occurs after the hero has been Called to Adventure and discovered that the task ahead will be incredibly difficult. The Mentor then provides the hero with training (physical, mental, spiritual, or a combination thereof) and often accompanies the hero on the journey.
The mentor is frequently an older or “wiser” character no longer able to fulfill the heroic role on his or her own. If you don't have a character in the mentor role yet in your story...it's time you got one!
27: Five-Minute Focus: Capturing Inspiration
26: StoryMap Part 4 - Refusing the Call
Refusing the Call is the first step in our character's eventual acceptance of the journey our story will take them on. Our heroine refuses to break out of her shell and go on an unsupervised camping trip with her friends because...well...she just isn't ready for that kind of adventure. The jock blows off the spring play auditions because he's not ready to try something new and set aside his friend's and parent's expectations of who he is. Every decision to leave the ordinary behind comes with a healthy debate of what is really at stake. Give your heroine something to chew on before diving into the adventure, and let us watch her wrestle with it for awhile.
Download our StoryMap at http://thestorybiz.com and follow along with us.
25: Writing Love Stories with Angela Ruth Strong
24: StoryMap Part 3: The Call to Action
What wakes your character up? What puts them into motion and pushes them to explore something new? This is the Call to Adventure!
The thing that calls your character from their ordinary world into the world of the story can come in a variety of ways. Like I said, it's a question. So, it might come in the form of someone asking a question. Think of Hagrid showing up to offer Harry a spot at Hogwarts. That someone often becomes a mentor to the MC--Hagrid, Obi Wan Kenobi, the White Rabbit, are all characters who serve as mentors and deliver the question of the Call to Action.
The call might be internal. A longing inside the hero, like an itch they are compelled to scratch. Dorothy is literally picked up by an act of God and put back down in the special world of her story, but the reason she isn't safe in the storm cellar where she should have been is because she was drawn to run away by an inner longing for something she couldn't find at home. Anyone who watches The Wizard of Oz feels Dorothy's longing when she sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Let's dive in and explore what makes this moment in your story essential to getting things moving!
23: Five Minute Focus: Doing the Thing We Fear
22: The Writer's Life with Jennifer Grant
21: StoryMap 2: Stating Your Story's Theme
Today, we discuss this moment in your story and help you find your theme so that your audience will connect with the purpose of your story.
Be sure to download the storymap we've created for you at www.thestorybiz.com and follow along.
20: Book Launch Teams with Christie Thomas
19: Self Editing with Jennifer Grant
18: What "The Mandalorian" Teaches Us About Story - Elizabeth Van Tassel
Join us as we travel to a galaxy far away, and explore the Star Wars Mandalorian.