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What makes a story grab you? This episode grapples with that question alongside the challenges of making a best of the year reading or watching list. As they examine what makes a story unforgettable, Angie and Elizabeth discuss imperfect characters, clear goals, enemies, relationships, humor, compassion and the struggle to live up to impossible goals, stakes and power, as well as voice, vivid characters and worlds, structure and conflict that really matters and is relational.They also looked at what they hated until they loved it. Timing. Perspective. Paying attention. Metacognition. Pleasurable political art! And the incitement to be courageous in the way you most enjoy.
What was your top book of the year? Email us at questions@storymakersshow.com
Links in this Episode
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Chloe Plus Olivia by Lilian Faderman
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Cantoras by Carolina DeRobertis
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Education website: the education foundation UK
Side Chick Nation by Aya De Leon
Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival–everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.
The hosts:
Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.
Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.