Episodes
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When It All Finally Clicks Into Place
Is the process involved in the analysis of a Dramatica storyform truly objective, or is everyone fooling themselves? Jim answers these questions as well as giving an update on our app, Subtext. (Note: This episode was recorded April 11, 2018--at that time, Subtext was called the "Narrative First...
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Raiders of the Lost Ark and Multiple Storyforms
A deep-dive into the two narrative structures driving the classic action/adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark. While many consider Raiders to be evidence of a "5-Act" or "6-Act" structure, the truth is the presence of two completely different 4-Act structures. Using the Dramatica theory of story, we...
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The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
An in-depth look at the narrative thematics driving these two classic films. For this, our special 64th episode, we explore the storyforms found in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Using the Dramatica theory of story as a basis for our analysis, we find two separate narratives in...
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Demystifying the Plot Points of a Complete Story
In this episode, we take a look at the key story events that shift a narrative from one contextual Act to the next. In addition, we discuss what the Dramatica theory of story identifies in a story--namely, the subtext of narrative conflict. If you previously thought subtext was something that…
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Making Meaning Out of the Meaningless
If you want to make meaning out of the meaningless, if you want to ensure that you don't write a pointless story, a Dramatica® storyform ensures that what you have to say promises purpose and a reason for the audience to listen. With that in mind, we take a look at the differences between The...
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The 2018 Academy Awards
This episode explores the connection between a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, nominations and recognition for great writing, and a complete Dramatica storyform. More than correlation, a solid storyform guarantees favorable critical response. In addition, I relate my experience of being to predict...
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The Relationship Story Throughline Is Not An Argument
A look at how you can dramatically improve the quality of your storytelling by thinking of the central relationship as a character. I follow-up with listener email regarding the difference between Wisdom & Enlightenment within the Dramatica theory of story. And I cover the usage of Time and Space...
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Connecting the Main Character to the Overall Story
In this episode, I cover the importance of connecting the Main Character's problem with the Overall Story problem & a method for constructing the Narrative Argument of your story. The former explains the difference between an OK story and an amazing story; all the great narratives of the past…
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2018: The Year of Abundance
In this episode, we catch up on all things Narrative First from the past three months and kickstart our year of plenty. This includes everything from updates to the Narrative First Atomizer, new Dramatica analyses, the site redesign, building an animated television series, developing a complete...
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The Narrative First Atomizer
In this, the final--and most epic--episode of Season 2, I finish off the initial development of my story and introduce the various features of the new Narrative First Atomizer. But first I kick things off with an analysis of Thor:Ragnarök--NOTE: in the episode I inaccurately assess the Story...
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Story Structure Senioritis
If it sounds like this episode was recorded before Thanksgiving, that’s because it was. Facilitating the initial release of the Narrative First Atomizer consumed most of my waking days and nights these past two months—but the show must go on. If nothing else, I️ can’t let The Red Lake go…
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How to Outline Your Story Using the Plot Sequence Report
A great story employs its own unique approach to narrative structure. The Plot Sequence Report found in Dramatica grants writers an insight into their story's foundation. Some contend that every story is the same--that the same set of story beats or mythical elements show up every time. The truth...
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The Same Story: Aliens and Blade Runner: 2049
While some maintain that all stories carry the same structure (they don't), these two films actually do share the same exact storyform. After answering questions about the difference between the Past and Memory and the right way to think of Signposts, this episode dives into a Dramatica analysis…
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The Power of Implied Story Points
A guy stuck in a well, The Sixth Sense, and Blade Runner:2049 top the list for this week's in-depth story structure podcast. Everything from inequities and perspectives to Throughlines and context, this episode explains the best way to find the most accurate storyform for any narrative.…
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Handling Subplots with the Dramatica Storyform
In this episode, I wrap up the Dramatica Users Group analysis of Jon Favreau's Jungle Book and then relate some helpful tips when it comes to weaving subplots into your narrative. In addition, I dive into #storytelling and talk a bit about "narrative fidelity". Lastly, the David Fincher thriller...
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The Right Way to Use Dramatica
Roll back to the original terminology in order to gain more objectivity in your analysis and writing. That's the best way I know how to supercharge your understanding of Dramatica. In this episode, I cover my push for Dramatica 1.0 and answer emails about the Universe and The Prestige. If you're...
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Robert McKee and Syd Field Hate Dramatica
Why do established story gurus find it necessary to prevent progress? The base instinct for survival sometimes overrides rational thought--in this case, it leads one guru to bully theorists through name-calling. In addition, I discuss the push towards professional storyform analysis and, of…
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Your Story is Schrödinger's Cat
In this episode, we take a look at Quantum Theory and how it helps to explain how an Author projects a story into existence. You'll want to put on your thinking caps for this one as we transform the endless speculation and infinite possibilities of storytelling into a singular instance based on…
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The Fugitive: When a Situation Isn't A Situation
The return of Throughline Thursdays, an unexpected analysis of The Prestige, and an explanation of the difference between a problematic Situation and problematic Activities. Dramatica's terminology stumps even the most talented writers. The understanding of the difference between a situation and…
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Get Out and Breaking Structure for Shock Value
This week I discuss a method for Authors to connect the Characters in the story with the mechanics of Plot by crossing over through the family of Thematic Issues congruent with their story's meaning. In addition, I discuss at length my analysis of Get Out and how the film played with structure in...
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Everything You've Been Told About Story is Wrong
This week I take a gander at Okja and discuss the reasons why many swayed by this film's message ultimately reverted to their old ways. Propaganda fades--complete stories last. With that in mind, I then cover the Dramatica storyform and how it holds an image of the mind's problem-solving process…
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The Final Word on Captain America: Civil War
Wrapping up the month long discussion on this superhero epic, I explain the purpose of an Influence Character perspective within the context of a complete story. I also dive into an extensive analysis of The LEGO Batman Movie. This latest animated feature parodies both Batman and story structure....
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Figuring Out the Throughlines of a Complete Narrative
Continuing the series on Identifying the Key Story Points of a Narrative, I explain a method for singling out the various perspectives within a complete story. For each Throughline, conflict appears as either a Situation, an Activity, a Fixed Attitude, or a Manner of Thinking. Effective…
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Protagonists and Antagonists, Bad Guys and Good Guys
In this episode, I continue the discussion surrounding Captain America: Civil War focusing this time on the Protagonist and Antagonist of a complete narrative. The visual planning tool Milanote makes an appearance, along with a brand new analysis of the romantic comedy, The Big Sick. A brand new...
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The Civil War Over Captain America: Civil War
In this podcast, I go into a deep thematic analysis of Logan and Dunkirk, and then begin the first in a series of conversations surrounding Captain America: Civil War. If you have ever been interested in how the Dramatica theory of story works and how you could use it to improve the quality of…
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Moonlight: Writing the Personal Story Through Propaganda
The second season of story structure and story analysis begins! In this episode, I catch you up on the latest changes to the site and discuss why Moonlight won Best Picture. In two months, I've re-written a screenplay and planned out two complete television series. The secret? Understanding how…
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The Final Word on Generating Dramatic Tension in Your Story
In addition to wrapping up the events of last month, we showcase two interviews--one with a writer new to Dramatica and the other, with a writer who discovered Dramatica. Dramatica will save your life. Whether within the story room or out there in the real world, Dramatica's unique understanding...
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Run With Me
Experience writing with us. What happened to the Narrative First podcast? We've actually been writing on several different projects. One a big budget animated feature, the other a super low-budget indie animated film, and the last an epic adult animated cult series. Details on all to be provided…
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Discovering Dramatica and the Genesis of Narrative First: Part Two
In this second part of our two part series, we continue our introduction to the development of the Dramatica theory of story and Narrative First. Join us as we unearth the top 16 articles on story structure & story analysis, everything from evaluating competing paradigms to exploring the magic of...
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Discovering Dramatica and the Genesis of Narrative First: Part One
In this episode, we offer an introduction to the development of the Dramatica theory of story and Narrative First. In addition, we dive into our unique collection of Vault articles written during our first four years. Short and sweet, these articles provide a great place for writers and producers...
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James Bond is NOT the Antagonist
No matter how hard you try to twist it, James Bond will always be the Protagonist--as long as you accurately account for the drive towards resolution. One of the first things a writer learns when they come to Dramatica is this idea of looking at characters from an objective point-of-view.…
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Narrative Science and the Dawning of the Singularity
Ready to have complete stories beamed directly into your nervous system? Fear not, Narrative First and Dramatica will be there to help make the transition a smooth and painless procedure. This week we discuss the singularity and the hope that those in charge of our Brave New World know a thing or...
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What Story Structure Looks Like To Your Characters
It's one thing to play God when writing a story, but wouldn't it be great if you could see what the major plot points in your story look like from the point-of-view of your characters? Well, now you can. In this episode, not only do we present our greatest impression yet, but we also manage to...
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The Most Boring Storyform in the Entire World
In this episode we cover the world's most familiar--and therefore, drabbest and dreariest--story structure. A popular message out of America in the mid to late 20th century, this storyform speaks of the essence what it is to be Male and focused on achievement. Show Notes & Links The Dramatica...
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Arrival & The Zero-Sum Game
In this episode we make the connection between Arrival and the holistic approach to story structure offered by the Dramatica theory of story. Why speculate about how your story will end when you can make meaningful progress by developing a narrative that supports your artistic intent? In addition...
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The Best Picture of 2016 Doesn't Have a Story
Welcome back! In this, our first episode of the second season of the Narrative First Podcast, we catch up on all things story structure & story analysis including a look into the Oscar winner for Best Picture in 2016. Tons of links and articles and blog posts from the past three months for you to...
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The Crucial Element to Telling a Great Story
In this, our final episode of the 2016 season, we discuss the most important part of any story--the intersection of the objective and subjective points-of-view. We also discuss our analysis of Moana and wrap up our series on using Dramatica to write for Nanowrimo. Narrative First publishes yearly...
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Finding Your Own Unique Voice When Writing for Nanowrimo
In this episode, we show you how to take that burning desire within your heart to be heard and apply it to a concrete and solid story structure. The Dramatica storyform is a powerful and effective tool for organizing your story's argument. But you still need to know what it is you want to say…
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Finding Inspiration for Nanowrimo Within a Great Story
In this episode, we learn how to use the storyform from an inspiring narrative to help define the structure of your own. But first, a roundup of this month's Dramatica analysis of Spotlight, and an insight into how to run a story room in order to effectively get everyone to come to a consensus as...
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Trolls, Hacksaw Ridge, & Brainstorming a Brand New Genre
In this episode we create a brand new category of story by combining Gist Collections from two different Genres. In addition, we take a look at Dreamworks' animated film Trolls and Mel Gibson's first film in ten years, Hacksaw Ridge. One is fun and functionally broken, one is moving and solidly...
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Captain Fantastic and Creating a Story from Scratch for Nanowrimo
In this episode we show how you can come up with a compelling and meaningful story in less than two hours using Dramatica's powerful brainstorming tools. We also dive into a deep analysis of the fantastic Captain Fantastic, written and directed by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen. The film…
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Discovering the Hidden Narrative Code Within a Great Story
In this episode we take you step-by-step through a deep thematic analysis of The Dark Horse--a tremendous independent film out of New Zealand. Remember, you can always Ask Us a Question we answer everything, or Leave a Voicemail click the microphone button and leave a message after the beep. Show...
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How to Analyze a Narrative with Dramatica
In this episode not only do we cover how to successfully analyze a story with Dramatica, but we also look into four different kinds of scenes found in the psycho-technological thriller Ex Machina. And as a special bonus feature, Dramatica co-creator Chris Huntley offers his insights into how to...
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Ex Machina Mea Culpa
Our original analysis of Ex Machina relied on subjective interpretation and proved faulty. This updated analysis clears up those issues by taking an objective point-of-view of the film's narrative. In addition we cover how Dramatica is a conflict-detection machine and how its unique set of story...
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An Introduction to Scene Construction with Dramatica
In this episode we begin our discussion of deep thematic scene structure through the lens of the Dramatica theory of story. Typically we don't get this deep into the theory--at the Scene level the signal to noise ratio is so great that any inaccuracy will wash out when it comes to the meaning of...
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Getting Personal with Your Storytelling
This week we shorten things up a bit and take a look at one story point: the Main Character Approach. Does your Main Character prefer to solve problems externally or internally? The answer creates a pathway for the Audience to become a part of your story. In addition, we take a quick analysis at...
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The Essential Ingredients of Every Complete Story
In order to wind up the dramatic potential for a story, an Author must answer eight essential questions. In this episode, we cover the first two ingredients of an effective narrative. Stories are not simply about three-dimensional characters bumping up against rising tension. Rather, they model…
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The True Nature of Story
In this episode, we wrap up our exploration of the Audience Appreciations found in Dramatica by discovering the true nature of the purpose of narrative. This is a big one you won't want to miss. Also, our first caller! Show Notes and Links Thoughts on Story Structure Our daily blog postings on...
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Does Your Main Character Build Resistance or Facilitate Flow?
In this episode we cover the tendency of the Main Character's personal problems to either build-up dramatic resistance or facilitate a greater flow throughout the story. In addition, we analyze Nice Guys and Sing Street, two new films out for streaming that you should definitely take a look at....
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Defining the Feeling of Tension in Your Story
In this episode we take a look at the Audience Appreciation known as Essence and search for a new way to define it that is easy to understand for writers new to Dramatica. In addition, we have follow-up from last week's "controversial" podcast on Mental Sex and a brief Conversation with Melanie...
About this show
Updates & analysis of all things story. From screenplays to novels to deep theoretical story structure, this podcast is aimed at providing the secrets to great storytelling.
Hosted by
James R. Hull
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