A couple of months ago, I started preparing short discussions about various aspects of storytelling for my weekly writers’ group.

The idea was pretty simple. Each week, we’d spend a little time exploring a particular element of writing—something that might help us think differently about our own work, recognize what makes a good story work, or perhaps identify something we hadn’t considered before.

We’ve covered everything from scene structure and character development to dialogue, conflict, pacing, narrative tension, and the countless little decisions that go into telling a compelling story.

These aren’t intended to be formal writing lessons, and I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers. They’re simply discussions about the craft, often drawing on familiar movies, television shows, and books to illustrate the ideas. Sometimes the examples are more entertaining than the lessons themselves!

One thing I’ve always believed is that there isn’t a single correct way to tell a story. What works beautifully for one author may be completely wrong for another. The goal isn’t to establish a bunch of rules that everyone should follow, but to examine the tools available to us and consider when, why, and how we might want to use them.

I’ve decided to start sharing these discussions here as well.

Rather than reorganizing or substantially rewriting everything, I’m going to post them in chronological order, beginning with the very first discussion, using their original dates and making only minor edits where necessary.

That means some of the later discussions may reference ideas we’ve already explored, and occasionally you’ll see one topic build upon another. That’s intentional. It’s also a reflection of how the conversations have developed within our group.

The discussions are written with some assistance from AI as a brainstorming and drafting tool, then reviewed and shaped for our group.

If you’re a writer yourself, I hope you’ll find something useful here. And if you’re simply someone who loves a good story, perhaps these discussions will offer a different perspective on why certain books, movies, or characters stay with us long after we’ve finished them.

Ultimately, this is about something I find endlessly fascinating:

Why do some stories work so well, and what can we learn from them?

Enjoy!

Scott