45. Finding Your Story: How to Test Whether or Not Your Story Idea is Good

Ep. 45. Finding Your Story: How to Test Whether or Not Your Story Idea is Good

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:     

In this episode of The Storyteller’s Mission, Zena goes back to the basics and asks, “What is a Story?” Before you can write a good story, you need to know what a story is. 

Story is defined as “the telling of an event that happens to a certain individual or group of individuals.” In other words, something has to happen in order for there to be a story about it.

This episode is meant to help writers think critically about the story projects they will attempt to conquer in the coming year. By evaluating the merits of their ideas at the front end, they can save themselves the wasted time and misery of abandoning a project half-way through. Step One: Make sure they have a true plot, and not just a theme to explore. Can the plot be articulated in one or two sentences?  This is far from the only criteria, but it’s a good place to start. Other criteria will be examined in the next few episodes. For now, the main thing for writers to ask themselves is, does their story idea match the definition provided? Is it, in fact, the telling of an event, where something happens, to a certain individual or group of individuals?

UP NEXT
Next week, we will continue this series on how to find the right story by diving into other aspects of what makes a story good, including the factors that Hollywood execs look for when they’re considering which projects to greenlight.

QUESTIONS OR TOPIC REQUESTS? 

If you have a question about this or any other episode, or if you have a specific topic that you would like Zena to address, click on the link below to leave a voicemail recording with your problem, question, or issue.

https://www.speakpipe.com/ZenaDellLowe

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Due to Covid, the launch of The Storyteller’s Mission website and online classes will now be pushed back for a few weeks. However, you can still check out our website at www.thestorytellersmission.com to sign up for our FIRST ACCESS EMAIL LIST so you’ll be the first to hear about any new classes once they become available for registration. 

SPECIAL THANKS

The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe would like to thank composer Carla Patullo for the original music she graciously permits us to use in the intro and outro of this podcast. To find out more about this amazing talent, go to  www.carlapatullo.com