Happy Holidays StoryOsophers! First things first, thank you all for the wonderful messages of curiosity regarding where the heck Adam and Devin have been. To make a long story short, they both needed to take a brief hiatus to work on projects, and also wanted to focus on getting version 1 of Story Bluprint ready […]

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Happy Holidays StoryOsophers! First things first, thank you all for the wonderful messages of curiosity regarding where the heck Adam and Devin have been. To make a long story short, they both needed to take a brief hiatus to work on projects, and also wanted to focus on getting version 1 of Story Bluprint ready […]

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Which pitch materials should you focus on to summarize your story? Loglines, outlines, one-sheets, treatments, series bibles, poster art, and look books. Join Devin and Adam as they discuss how to summarize your stories on Storyosophy!

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What can you do to diagnose and improve your scenes? How do you approach fine-tuning your piece? Why is wordsmithing, grammar, and punctuation so important? Join Devin and Adam for some StoryOsophy!

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Greetings StoryOsopher’s! With the sudden impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, we have been adjusting to ensure we can continue producing StoryOsophy podcast episodes. The good news is, though we took a hiatus from recording, we have been hard at work getting version 1 of our Story Blūprint software ready for launch. To keep in […]

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How do you determine what your theme is? How do you expand that idea and weave it into your story or first draft? What if you have more than one dominant idea? Join Devin and Adam for some Storyosophy.

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In this episode we explore what to look for in building strong scenes. How do you fix a scene that isn’t working? How do you build a scene from scratch? What is your audience’s experience? Join Devin and Adam for some Storyosophy!

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How can you use the movement system to break down, diagnose, and remedy story problems? How can you use movements to better develop an episodic series? Join Adam and Devin for some Storyosophy!

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Why is the last thing your audience sees or hears so important? What can you do to make this event as impactful as it could be? Join Devin and Adam for some Storyosophy!

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How do you bring closure and resolution to your story? How do you make sure all your setups have satisfactory payoffs? Next on Storyosophy. Join Devin and Adam for some Storyosophy!

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How has the Hero’s perspective changed about the World they left at the story’s beginning? Has the Hero transformed that world because of their journey? Join Adam and Devin for some Storyosophy!

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In this episode we conclude our breakdown of the Christmas classic “Home Alone.” Why is the climax of this movie so exciting and hysterical? How do John Hughes and Chris Columbus balance over-the-top hyperbole with emotional relatability. Join Devin and Adam for some StoryOsophy!

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In this episode, we begin our belated breakdown of the Christmas classic “Home Alone.” What makes this movie such an enjoyable holiday experience? Why do we love John Hughes as an expert story architect? Devin and Adam wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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What is the Return like for the Hero? Smooth-going, bumpy, reflective? Do they Journey Home or stay in the new World? Join Devin and Adam for some Storyosophy!

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What is the result of your Hero’s choices in the Climax? Do they achieve their desired outcome or fail in their intended objective? Join Adam and Devin for some Storyosophy!

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What final “Do or Die” moment brings your Climax to a conclusion? Does your Hero have an ace up their sleeve? Or is it the Antagonist?

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A quick apology to storyosophers. We ran into a major technical issue with our platform so this episode is a bit late to your ears. We do our best to release our episodes every week, but sometimes technology gets in the way. What pivotal revelation does your Hero discover? How does this “A-ha” moment reflected […]

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How does your Hero respond to a face to face with the Antagonist now? Who has the upper hand in this moment?

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In this episode we explore the story event Enemies Gain Ground. How does your Antagonist corner or put more pressure on your Hero? How does your Hero respond to these higher stakes?

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In this episode we discuss the story event Things Go Wrong. What complications or disruptions happen to your Hero’s plan? How does your Hero approach these obstacles now after their discoveries from Act 2?

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How do your Hero, Allies, and Antagonist plan to achieve their goal once and for all? Do we know all of their plan or only part of it? Join Devin and Adam as they discuss the first story event of Act 3 and Movement 5… Putting the Plan Into Action.

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After some inner reflection, how does your Hero re-engage in their quest or journey? What is the threshold between Act 2 and Act 3 really about?

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Now that your Hero has faced their inner light and dark, how do they now view their obstacles? How do they change their approach and thought process?

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What wall has you Hero built around their flaw? How do they come to terms with it and disassemble this to find their true self and courage?

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In this episode we discuss the story event Hero’s Darkest Moment. How does your Hero face their Shadow or Source of Antagonism internally? What is this Dark Night of the Soul really about?

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In this episode we explore the story event Aftermath. Now that your Hero has survived the threat of the Crisis and escaped, where do they find safety to recover? How do they recover? What new lessons have they learned?

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How does your hero get away from the threat and dangers of the Crisis? Are they assisted by allies or do they go it alone?

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How do you navigate the Crisis of your story, the tipping point of your plot, your hero’s midterm exam? Will they choose fight, flight, or freeze?

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What obstacles and complications does your hero encounter as they near the tipping point of the story? How do these challenges build to the Crisis?

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How does your story’s quest or adventure open up here? How can you use it to provide a breathe of fresh before your crisis?

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Now that things have calmed done a little bit, what new lesson or information starts our hero on their next build toward the crisis?

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How does your Hero react to crossing into the Danger Zone? Did they survive unharmed? What new realizations do they have? Join Devin and Adam as they explore the first story event in Movement 3, the Close Call.

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How does this threshold manifest itself? What challenges do you face? What is holding you back from change? Join Devin and Adam as they explore the Second Threshold of your story – Crossing into the Danger Zone.

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How does your hero react as they near the second threshold of change? How do they negotiate their first encounters with the force of antagonism?

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What are the rules of your story’s mythology? What tools is your hero introduced to in order to deal with the unknown world of Act 2? Though the Watering Hole event may raises the stakes by touching on the dangers of the Unknown World, the Rules & Tools event is our opportunity to equip our […]

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We celebrate our 50th episode by discussing one of our favorite story events…The Watering Hole! The Watering Hole event provides the opportunity to introduce the creatures who inhabit this Unknown World, whether they are humans, monsters or a variety of species like in the cantina scene of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.” […]

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The First Day of School is the first story event in Act 2 and Movement 2. How does your hero respond to the contrast of Act 2’s Unknown World they have just entered? Are they shy, afraid, boastful, foolish? What does this tell us about them?

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Now that your Hero has agreed to go on the journey, what is the Threshold from Act One to Act Two of your story? What contrasting elements help your audience to understand the difference between the known world and the unknown world?

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After debating, what causes your hero to choose to go on their quest or journey? Is there a mentor or moment of raised stakes that is the catalyst for that choice? Our hero’s first true action, they make the decision in Choosing to Answer the Call to Quest. • This marks the beginning of change […]

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Now that your hero has received the call, how do they answer it? Are they a willing Hero or do they have doubts and inner conflicts? Refusing the Call to Quest provides the opportunity to strengthen our Hero’s character as they are within their ordinary world, and shed light on their internal obstacle(s), definitely highlighting […]

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What quest, challenge, or invitation is presented to your Hero? What choices? How does it highlight the overall dramatic question of your story? Our hero must be presented with a challenge, and one that will create a necessity for our hero to have to decide, on their own, if they want to embark on such […]

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What is the Inciting (or Exciting) Incident of your story? How does it set the entire story in motion or tip the first domino in your story’s chain of events? Our Inciting Incident is the moment the story “officially” begins and is set in motion. The Inciting Incident is the moment that changes everything for […]

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Where do they work or go to school? What is the status quo of your story world? Join Adam and Devin as they explore the second event in Act 1… Known World Routine.

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Why is the Hook your most important event of your story? What do you put in or leave out of your Hook? Devin and Adam explore the Hook in its many varieties – Prologue, Cold Open, Teaser, and more. #storyosophy #storyosophers

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What are the events, movements, and acts of your Story Blūprint. What do you need to consider when creating your Blūprint? What are the important events of each movement? Join Adam and Devin for a basic summary of structure.

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Season’s greetings, storyosophers! Where do you think you’re going? Nobody’s leaving. Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no! We’re all in this together. We’re gonna press on to Part 2 of our National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation story breakdown, and we’re gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced […]

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Merry Christmas storyosophers! We’re kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and listen to a couple story-lovin’ dudes talk about one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time… In this special holiday […]

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Adam and Devin continue to talk about Act 3, by exploring Movement 6. What events take your hero from the climax to the resolution of the story? How do you tie up your loose ends?

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Devin and Adam conclude their conversation with special guest Youssef Kerkour (“Nightflyers.”) He discusses his work on the “Jack Ryan” series, Woody Harrelson’s “Lost in London,” and the new ScyFy series “Nightflyers.” Born and raised in Rabat, Morocco, Youssef speaks four languages fluently, including English, French, Italian, and Moroccan Arabic. In 1996 he attended Bard […]

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Special guest Youssef Kerkour (Nightflyers) talks about his early film and stage work in New York and in London with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Born and raised in Rabat, Morocco, Youssef speaks four languages fluently, including English, French, Italian, and Moroccan Arabic. In 1996 he attended Bard College in upstate New York where he majored […]

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Devin and Adam begin to break down a story’s Act 3, by exploring Movement 5. Coming from Movement 4’s recovery, what events do you use to build to your story’s climax?

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Devin and Adam are joined by special guest Josh Stifter, an animator, writer, and filmmaker. He is here to talk about his film “The Good Exorcist” and his experience on Robert Rodriguez’s reality docu-series “Rebel Without a Crew” premiering November 18th.

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What are the events that take your hero from the midpoint crisis to their self realization and recovery? Join Adam and Devin as they finish breaking down Act 2, by examining Movement 4.

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What are the events that take your Hero from the Danger Zone to the Midpoint, the Crisis, the Tipping Point? Fight, Flight, or Freeze? Join Devin and Adam as they continue to breakdown Act 2, by exploring Movement 3.

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What are the events that transition your Hero from the end of Movement 1 (Out of Comfort Zone) to the end threshold of Movement 2 (Into Danger Zone)? Why do we like to think of Movement 2 as the first day of school? UPDATE: It was brought to our attention that a section of this […]

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What are the events that make up Movement One (or Act One)? How do these events translate into future acts and movements? Why is it important to keep Movement One as tight and clean as possible? Devin and Adam lay the groundwork for the events of Movement One.

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What is the importance of decision points and thresholds? How can you use movements to break down that daunting Act 2? What are the differences between 3, 4, and 5 act structures? Adam and Devin explore what acts and movements are made of.

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What are the elements that make up a good scene? How do you link scenes together to create a longer sequence? Devin and Adam discuss the building blocks of great scene building.

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In this episode, we continue our introduction to story structure. What are the different ways you can approach story structure? What does it mean to be a story architect? Devin and Adam discuss how to design and build your story’s structure.

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Season Two begins! Adam and Devin embark on their exploration of story structure and its design. Master your storytelling structure! Why do storytellers struggle with story structure so much? How can you look at story structure as a freeing process rather than a limitation?

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How do you alter the chronology of a story and still maintain its spine? What do you have to consider to effectively execute this unique type of storytelling? How do you do it without losing your audience? Adam and Devin finish their conversation about nonlinear storytelling.

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What are the different ways you can alter the timeline of your story? How can you use this tool to explore the psychological landscape and perspectives of your characters? Devin and Adam explore nonlinear storytelling in this two-part episode.

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How do you effectively jump time in your story? What are the different ways you can use these tools to elevate your audience’s experience? Relatability, exposition, clues, set-ups and payoffs? Devin and Adam examine flashbacks and flash-forwards.

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How do you find strong subplots within the world of your story? How do manage subplots in stories with an ensemble cast like Stranger Things? Adam and Devin conclude their exploration of subplot.

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How do you differentiate between A-B-and-C stories? How do you use them in conjunction with each other to elevate the plot? How does it relate to theme? Devin and Adam discuss subplot.

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How do you use the forces of levity and gravity to create a more dynamic story? How does that balance of humor and drama give more perspective for your audience? How can it embolden your theme? Devin and Adam explore levity and gravity.

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Devin and Adam continue their examination of symbolism in filmed media through set dressing, wardrobe, and props.

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What are the different forms symbolism can take? How do you tangibly represent the abstract like emotions, states of mind, and mystical ideas? Adam and Devin explore symbolism in this two-part episode.

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Why are reversals important for an audience experience? What is the difference between a quick twist and a slow burn? How are they related to setups and payoffs? Adam and Devin talk Reversals.

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What is the difference between mystery, suspense, and dramatic irony? How do they relate to an audience’s perspective and experience? Devin and Adam investigate these three versatile tools.

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Tune in for a good trick for your toolbox and examples of some not so conventional resolutions. Continuing from last week’s episode, Adam and Devin conclude their discussion on resolution.

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How do you dovetail all your story elements together at the end? How is a cliffhanger its own form of resolution? Devin and Adam explore resolution in this two-part episode.

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How do you foreshadow or setup something in your story to have the most effect when you pay it off? Do you pay off with a twist, turn, reveal, discovery, or realization?

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Devin and Adam conclude their two-part discussion about dialogue and subtext with some great examples and helpful tricks to write subtext easily.

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What is the difference between what a person is saying and what they are not saying, or saying beneath the surface? Devin and Adam discuss the value of great dialogue and subtext in this two-part episode.

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How is character arc different from the plot of a story? What makes a successful character arc? Adam and Devin continue their discussion about character transformations.

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How are change, growth, and evolution vital to the characters of a story and their audience? Adam and Devin examine transformation and catharsis.

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What is a character giving up and what are they gaining?  What does it mean to raise the stakes?  How do you raise them?  Devin and Adam explore the “stakes” of a story.

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What is the tone or mood of a piece?  How are you expressing your story?  What is the overall voice?  Adam and Devin examine tone, style, and genre.

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What is the storyteller trying to “say” in a story?  How do they express that theme?  How do they find a balance between too obvious or so subtle it is lost? In this episode, Devin and Adam explore these questions about theme.

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What are story events, scenes and sequences? Devin and Adam examine the core elements of plot within story and how to begin structuring.

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Where and when does a story take place?  Is it set in the past, present, or future? In our world or in some fictional place?  Adam and Devin explore how setting is one of the most important “characters” of all.

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Now that we have a handful of episodes under our belt, we figure it is a good time to learn a little more about who you are listening to. Adam and Devin discuss their mysterious backgrounds and how they met. A get-to-know-ya meet and greet!

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Adam and Devin discuss the six basic types of narrative conflict and examine examples of each in today’s storytelling. These narrative conflicts include: Person vs. person, person vs. society, person vs. nature, person vs. technology, person vs. supernatural, and most importantly, person vs. self.

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Is conflict necessary in story? Devin and Adam discuss/debate sources and forces of antagonism and the origins and nature of conflict in storytelling.

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Allies, tricksters, shapeshifters, and shadows. Devin and Adam conclude this 2-part discussion about character archetypes.  

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Hero, herald, threshold guardian, and mentor. In this 2-part episode, Adam and Devin discuss and define character archetypes.

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Relatability, background, perspective, desires, and wants.  Devin and Adam discuss characters and what makes them good and great.  

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Brainstorming and development, structuring, writing, editing, and feedback.  Adam and Devin discuss aspects of the writing process.  

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In this pilot episode, Adam and Devin discuss how to start a story and ponder the difference between a good story and a great story.  What is Storyosophy?  What’s a Story Keeper?  

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