
Story Grid Writing Podcast
Helping you become a better writer.
Join Shawn Coyne, author of Story Grid and a top editor for 30+ years, and Tim Grahl, struggling writer, as they discuss the ins and outs of what makes a story great.
More at www.StoryGrid.com.
Latest episodes

Mar 26, 2020 • 51min
Phere and COVID-19
With the pandemic still sweeping the globe, Shawn and I discuss how fear can take over in these situations and what we can do in our lives and our writing.

Mar 19, 2020 • 51min
Systems and Chaos in Your Novel
How do you apply the idea of systems and chaos to planning a novel? Shawn walks Tim through this concept as he works on book 2 in his series.

Mar 5, 2020 • 52min
Planning Book 2 in a Trilogy
The middle build is the hardest part of the book and book two in a trilogy is a whole book dedicated to the middle build! How do you know where to start and build the story? Shawn walks Tim through these initial ideas and decisions to make along the way.

Feb 20, 2020 • 1h 1min
Which book should I write?
We only have so much time and energy to dedicate to our writing. When you are stuck between working on two different projects, how do you pick which one is the right choice? Shawn walks Tim through this difficult decision.

Feb 13, 2020 • 49min
Planning the Hero, Victim, and Villain
As Tim continues down the path of working on his new novel, Shawn encourages him to take the time to 1) look at the masterworks of his chosen genre and 2) spend sometime thinking about the hero / victim / villain interactions throughout his story. Download Tim's scenes from this week.

Feb 6, 2020 • 52min
Introducing: Story Grid Showrunners Podcast
This is big! Three of our Story Grid Certified Editors have teamed up to start the Story Grid Showrunners podcast. If you've ever been interested in how Story Grid can be used with television and episodic series, you'll want to have a listen.

Jan 30, 2020 • 51min
How to Start a New Novel
Now that The Threshing is done and (almost) published, Tim is ready to start his next book! What are the first steps down this path? How can Story Grid help him plan correctly? Shawn walks him through this in this week's episode.Click here to download Tim's new Foolscap.

Jan 23, 2020 • 33min
How to Analyze a Scene
Continuing the discussion around writing a Contender Guide to a Story Grid Publishing novel, Shawn walks Tim through his mistakes and how to level up his analyzation of his own writing.

Jan 16, 2020 • 50min
What is a Contender Guide?
How do you analyze a novel to learn from it? This is a big part of Story Grid and our new publishing house. Tim and Shawn discuss Contender Guides -- what they are and why you should care.

Dec 20, 2019 • 44min
Story Grid Guild
How do you create a publishing house that isn't beholden to investors or Amazon? Shawn and Tim discuss this idea and how you can be involved! https://storygrid.com/guild
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