Secrets of Story Podcast

It's another episode of Matt's new podcast, "A Good Story Well Told" with Jonathan Auxier, this time discussing "The Giver", but from now on, to get new content, you'll have to subscribe to the "A Good Story Well Told" feed. Meanwhile, this feed will remain active so you can enjoy the wonderful archives of Matt and James's content.

It's a special preview of the first episode of Matt's new podcast with Jonathan Auxier: A Good Story Well Told. Search for and subscribe to the new podcast to get a second episode now!

Recorded Live at The Book Stall in Winnetka, IL, hosted by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, James and Matt welcome the legendary Betsy Bird to tackle a topic all three know something about: Capturing the Voices of Children in Your Writing. Matt argues that novels that feature truly authentic kids are by definition not children's books, and James and Betsy debate him on that.

Matt and James welcome author Douglas A. Burton to discuss his new book The Heroine's Labyrinth! Matt blurbed it and said "The Heroine's Labyrinth is filled with profound and unique observations on the topic of story structure, no matter what the gender of your protagonist. Burton closely analyzes a wide breadth of stories and proves his thesis that Joseph Campbell missed half the story." James agrees and we dive into some of Douglas's many interesting new archetypes!

Sophie Beal and Gary Dalkin join the podcast to discuss novelists' relationship with editors. They delve into the importance of editing, balancing daily life with writing, and the significance of structuring and characterizing in the revision process. They also highlight the need for multiple eyes in catching mistakes, share embarrassing anecdotes, and discuss upcoming events and conversations on writing and adaptation.

The podcast discusses the power of specificity in storytelling, exploring examples from movies, TV shows, and books. They also debate the pros and cons of being specific vs. archetypal in storytelling. The hosts analyze the difference between specific and generic writing styles, using Tom Wolf and Ray Bradbury as examples. They explore interesting and uninteresting people through discussions on Proust, Spielberg, and Lynch. Additionally, they delve into the portrayal of the absent father in E.T. and the importance of guidance in reading and appreciating literature.

Acclaimed novelist for young people Torrey Maldonado joins the Secrets of Story Podcast to discuss how he's implemented Matt's advice in his books. They talk about the value of writing advice, Trev's transformative journey in 'Hands', the power of characters and relationships, struggles with recording audiobooks, the unique reliance between two characters, writing an interesting story, shared artistic experiences, and upcoming projects and collaborations.

Brock Swinson, author of Ink by the Barrel and host of Creative Principles, joins Matt and James to discuss the importance of consistent writing. They delve into motivating writing habits and the difference between the maker's and manager's schedule. They also explore the stages of writing, the significance of marketing, and the value of great characters and theme. Brock's book is recommended as a dense and motivating resource for aspiring writers.

Alexander Mackendrick summed up the wisdom that film schools (and MFA programs in general) hand down to writers. Is it helpful or poisonous? In this episode, Matt and James finish examining and questioning his 41 rules.

Matt and James once again use the rules of Alexander Mackendrick as a springboard to talk about what makes for a good story. Bonus: Matt posits his theory of what's in the case in Pulp Fiction and completely convinces James!