Nightmares S1 E10

Posted on January 6, 2020October 8, 2020 by admin

Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast Cover

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Nightmares. (Season 1, Episode 10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Along with story structure and plot turns, this episode covers the way the writers escalate conflict to maximize the characters' pain and how Nightmares foreshadows many significant emotional arcs in the series. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in Nightmares In this podcast episode we’ll look at: Plot Turns ...

The Puppet Show S1 E9

Posted on December 30, 2019May 8, 2021 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: The Puppet Show. (Season 1, Episode 9 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) In addition to plot turns, we'll talk about (1) how characters on the protagonist's side can still push against her and create conflict; (2) the excellent use of hints and red herrings while still playing fair; (3) a new character opposed to Buffy who might or might not be evil (Principal Snyder!), a replacement character who is very different from his predecessor (also Snyder). As ...

I, Robot…You, Jane S1 E8

Posted on December 9, 2019October 8, 2020 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: I, Robot...You, Jane. (Season 1, Episode 8 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) This podcast episode covers using prologues to raise the stakes, whether the demon here is a compelling antagonist, and how I, Robot weaves in action in quick bursts. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in I, Robot In this podcast episode we’ll look at: Raising the stakes through a prologue Learning a...

Angel S1 E7

Posted on December 2, 2019October 8, 2020 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Angel, Season 1, Episode 7. This episode covers how season-long antagonist The Master is the protagonist in the main plot. Also how the episode intertwines that plot with 2 subplots - one with Buffy as protagonist, one with Angel. And the way the episode serves as a Season Midpoint. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in Angel In this podcast episode we'll look at: How the mai...

The Pack S1 E6

Posted on November 25, 2019October 8, 2020 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: The Pack, Season 1, Episode 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode includes how to build the character of the victim to make the loss greater while misdirecting the audience regarding who the victim will be. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in The Pack In this podcast episode we'll look at how The Pack handles: All major plot points Creating a victim the audience likes...

Never Kill A Boy On The First Date S1 E5

Posted on November 18, 2019October 8, 2020 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Never Kill A Boy On The First Date. (Season 1, Episode 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) The podcast episode covers interweaving plot lines, theme, and cliffhangers versus game changers. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in Never Kill A Boy On The First Date In this podcast episode we’ll look at how Buffy handles: All the major plot turns in this standalone episode How the d...

Teacher’s Pet S1 E4

Posted on November 11, 2019October 7, 2020 by admin

This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Teacher's Pet, Season 1, Episode 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode focuses on point-of-view, tone, and all the major plot points from opening conflict to the climax. As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in Teacher's Pet In this podcast episode we'll look at how Buffy handles: Viewpoint Characters in a Xander-centric episode Opening Conflict Story Spark (a/k/a Inc...

The Witch S1 E3

Posted on November 4, 2019May 17, 2021 by admin

This episode of Buffy and the Art of Story covers The Witch, Season 1, Episode 3. Buffy and the Art of Story is for anyone who wants to learn more about plot, characterization, and other story elements by watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Every discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in The Witch In this podcast episode we'll look at how Buffy handles: Opening Conflict Story Spark (a/k/a Inciting Incident) The first major plot tu...

The Harvest S1 E2

Posted on October 30, 2019October 7, 2020 by admin

Today on Buffy and the Art of Story: Season 1, Episode 2, The Harvest. For writers and other story creators interested in looking at Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes one-by-one to see how plot, characterization, and other story elements work (and very occasionally don't). Every discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning). Story Elements in The Harvest In this podcast episode we'll look at how Buffy handles these story elements in the second half of the 2-episo...

What Books Are You Thankful You Read? (Favorite Books Post No. 4)

Posted on November 28, 2014 by admin

This year has been a good year, and I have more to be thankful for than I could put into a hundred posts. So, being a writer, I figured I'd narrow it down to books. Which still could take more than a hundred posts, so I decided to write about three books: one from childhood, one from college, one from the last few years.The Lion, The Witch, and The WardrobeIn first grade, my teacher left school for several months to have a baby, and we had a wonderful substitute teacher. Every day she read to us...