Stories contain many elements, but which are the most important to get right? We discuss the three things you must have in a story as well as whether or not characters must change over the course of a novel or screenplay. 00:00-3:28 Why do literature teachers teach 6 or 10 elements rather than just 3? 3:28-6:28 Why hero, goal, and obstacle are the most essential elements to story 6:28-7:03 How to turn your idea into a story 7:03-9:40 How setting influences character and vice versa 9:40-10:44 Do our brains explain things in stories? 10:44-14:48 Do characters have to change?

We interviewed romance author Pinar Tarhan about her unconventional productivity tips for writers! Because we had so much to talk about this is only part one of our amazing conversation! No writer is the same, and so we need to discover what advice techniques work for us. Pinar Tarhan helps break down the "rules" of writing so we can write more freely. Pinar Tarhan is the author of several romance novels that even men like, including A Change Would Do You Good, A Change Would Do You Better, and Making a Difference. She has also written books about writing romance, including Writing The Ultimate Non-Tragic Romance: Your Guide to Creating Memorable and Uplifting Novels and Screenplays and How To Write An Amazing Romance Novel. CALL TO ACTION RESPONSES Today we heard from Alison Rayner from Wales, who responded to our question, "What would your community rename you based on your positive characteristics?" Want to respond to that or any of our other call to actions? It's not too late! You can respond in the show notes to any of our episodes! HEY JON MEYERS Learn more about today's secret topic here! CALL TO ACTION Guess what? We forgot to share the call to action! Because we didn't plan on recording two episodes, we left it out! So here it is. Relating to the Hey Jon Meyers topic and Pinar Tarhan's experience with speaking multiple languages, we want to know what different "languages" you speak. These can be literal languages, or they can be just things you say such as idioms, slang, unique speech patterns, inside jokes, etc. How does this affect your writing and dialogue? Let us know in the comments below!

We talk about how our brains crave stories, the importance of free will, the limitations of our brains, and how we might even need to reshape the stories our brains "automatically" tell us. Why and how do our brains create stories? Neuroscientist Rachel Barr explains on her instagram account how our brains form stories as an automatic response. Does this answer diminish our free will? If our brains tell stories to fill in gaps, does this lead to stereotyping if we're not careful? We talk about the importance of free will in storytelling and even in reshaping the stories our brain "automatically" tells us. 00:00-3:21 - Introduction to Rachel's video: Why do we think in stories? 3:21-7:22 - The role of free will in telling stories (and why characters must have free will, too) 7:22-9:55 - The limitations of our brains' storytelling functions 9:55-11:01 - Why we crave stories

As writers, we are often compelled to tell the truth. Kerrie Droban is an author, podcaster, and criminal defense attorney who is committed to the truth. Today, we talk with her about her true crime books and podcast and how she uses narrative storytelling to reveal reality. We learn about what compelled her to share these stories and how she dug deep into each character and event to not only get things right but also to make the narratives compelling to her readers and listeners. ABOUT KERRIE DROBAN Kerrie's podcast, Crime Stands Still, is available anywhere you get your podcasts! Kerrie's book, Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels, won the USA Book News National Book Award for Best Memoir/Autobiography and is a two-time winner for their True Crime award. She also co-authored Prodigal Father, Pagan Son: Growing Up Inside the Dangerous World of the Pagans Motorcycle Club. Both books are available in our Bookshop! You can learn more about Kerrie Droban here! CALL TO ACTION RESPONSE Today's response came from Larissa, who gave us her "Barnabas" name—the name her community gave her based on her characteristics. HEY JON MEYERS Sorry to Jon Meyers and anyone who found today's topic disgusting. If you want to be even more disgusted, read more about it here. ON THE BOOKSHELF Related to the call to action, Emily Brooks recommends The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr, which helps fiction and nonfiction writers dig deeper into their characters to write realistic and powerful character arcs. It's now available in our Bookshop! (Warning: Storr will make you question all of your pre-existing beliefs and seems at times to be anti-religious, which was difficult for me (Emily) to read at times. Still, even he suggests that stories need a "God moment" to be powerful, so the book isn't nihilistic and doesn't suggest nihilistic themes for books. Overall, I (Emily) think the book is worth reading). CALL TO ACTION Kerrie's Call to Action is for you to identify and share the "watershed" moment for your character. What moment was the turning point for your character that made them who they are? This may change the trajectory of your story!

How do you revise your log lines? We practice revising log lines by reading Emily's log line for her work-in-progress! Our hope is that these critique sessions help you work on your own log lines and pitches. If you have a log line you would like to send us to critique, please feel free to share it in the comments or email it to us at writebettertogethernow@gmail.com! SHOUT OUTS Jon Meyers recommends the book Writing and Selling Killer Screenplays: From TV Pilot to Feature Film by Lucy V. Hay.

There are some disagreements (and outright confusion) going on about what defines speculative fiction. So we hope to clarify things with the help of the Oxford English Dictionary and Neil Gaiman's introduction to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (which is now in our Bookshop!).

Have you ever come up with a great concept and then discovered that someone else is already doing it? It may be discouraging at first, but we actually think this can be a good thing. Today, we discuss why we think you should keep writing. CALL TO ACTION RESPONSES Dani Martinek responded to Bob Sáenz's Call to Action from Episode 3—Go outside and write a log line about the first thing you see. You can learn more about Dani here. HEY JON MEYERS You can read Emily's poem about today's secret topic here. To learn more about today's topic, go here. CALL TO ACTION What works are similar to yours that you can use as comp titles when pitching to agents or producers? Respond in our show notes here!

We read the log lines we wrote in response to Bob Sáenz Call to Action from Episode 3!

We share our favorite advice for writers and why it impacted our own writing journeys. Emily shares a lesson from Brandon Sanderson that shifted her mindset so she could write freely, while Jon Meyers uses a lesson in cheesemaking to explain his favorite tip for getting details right. RESPONSES We heard from our friend Morgan Stevens, whose log-line reminded Jon Meyers of a poem by our poet laureate, Ada Limón. BIG IDEA Emily's favorite lesson comes from Brandon Sanderson's talk on "The Common Lie Writers Tell You," where you also get to see his adorable parrot, Dragon, use "the force." We are very grateful to Nikki Roof, Jon Meyers' "fromager," or "cheese woman," who shared the process of making gouda! CALL TO ACTION What's YOUR favorite writing advice? Share it with us, and we'll share it on the podcast!

David Lynch uses a stick, but how else can you judge your own writing? We talked about thinking-feelings, getting feedback, and other ways we can know our work is finished. CALL TO ACTION RESPONSES This week, we heard from actor and screenwriter Ashley Hargrove, and Kadey Bernhardt, editor of WriterCon Magazine! David Lynch video SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO... Screenwriter Tully Archer, aka Jon Meyers' "plot hole fixer." You can learn more about her and her work on her LinkedIn page and her website. HEY JON MEYERS In honor of National Poetry Month, we also talked about some special poems during our "Hey Jon Meyers" segment. For more on today's secret topic, see here (warning: this article has explicit language). For the poem that Jon Meyers stumped Emily with, see our full show notes here! CALL TO ACTION If your community were to change your name based on your characteristics, what would they change it to?

We respond to our earlier Call to Action—If money and training were no object, what would you do?

We discuss Michael Jamin's recent video on prioritizing writing over being "well rounded," and we praise his book, A Paper Orchestra! In episode 1, we argued that having hobbies enhances your writing and your life. Screenwriter Michael Jamin, who worked on King of the Hill among others, has a difference perspective: Writers should devote their free time to their craft. So we decided to talk about! What do you think? What should writers do in their free time? SHOW NOTES Here is Michael Jamin's book of personal essays, A Paper Orchestra. Here is Michael Jamin's video, "How do you pursue a creative career with a 9-5 job?" Correction: Bill Idleson's book is called Writing for Dough: Adventures of a TV Comedy Writer For more on how Emily Brooks learned to get out of her bubble despite anxiety, see these posts from her mental health blog. Learn more about today's secret topic here! What time sucks do you need to get rid of so you can focus on writing? Respond in the comments! *Jon Meyers and Emily Brooks are Amazon Associates, and purchases through Amazon links may earn an affiliate commission.

We were honored to have Bob Sáenz as our first guest on the podcast to talk about networking and embracing imposter syndrome! Bob Sáenz is a screenwriter whose work includes: CHURCH PEOPLE (Shaw 2021), A DASH OF CHRISTMAS (Dunne 2023), and THE CHRISTMAS YULE BLOG (Hawthorn Doyle 2020) Find the Jon Meyers name drop! He is also the author of Jessica's Vampire Diary, a humorous YA novel, and That's Not the Way it Works: A no-nonsense guide to the craft and business of screenwriting. Both are available in our Bookshop! We got to interview Bob LIVE at the Southern Oasis Film festival. Today's response came from Adrian Sanders, author of This Side of the Dirt and Lynchian, a poetry collection inspired by the works of David Lynch. Check out our new Bookshop Page! Learn more about today's secret topic here! *Jon Meyers is an Amazon Associate and purchases through Amazon links may earn an affiliate commission.

In this episode, we talk about how everything you have experienced has brought you to where you are now. Your past isn't history. It's still part of you today, and that means you can still learn and grow from it. And, of course, as artists, it means we can draw from our experiences to create meaningful work. Call to Action Responses Our response today came from David Hal Chester. You can read about his work ⁠here!⁠ Corrections: Khipu is pronounced Kai-Pu. Here is the article about it! The language Jon Meyers couldn't remember the name of is Robbing Hood. Here is a TikTok video explaining it, and here is a presentation explaining the rules. From Jon Meyers' Bookshelf: Bill Idelson's Class See pictures of Jon Meyers' basement and of khipu in our full show notes here! Call to Action Consider how your past has led to now and write a creative piece about it. This can be fiction, poetry, memoir—whatever! Share your response in the comments! If you like, give us a brief bio and share any work you would like us to share.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of non-writing hobbies and interests for inspiring ideas for your stories, poems, screenplays, and more! Also, we hope you like birds, because Emily Brooks waxes eloquent about her obsession with bird watching. Read our full show notes at: https://writebettertogether.com/how-hobbies-enhance-your-writing-and-your-life/

We need YOU to help us explain what we're doing!

Try as they might, Emily Brooks and Jon Meyers can't fully explain this podcast without your involvement. Note: Oops! We forgot to share the details of our speaking appearance! We are speaking at The Southern Oasis Film Festival! Come see us! https://www.facebook.com/SouthernOasisFF Read our full show notes at https://writebettertogether.com/episode-0-who-what-where-and-more-than-sometimes-why/