SPP 003 – Writing Storytelling Process, Character Development, and Sean’s Problem with Stephen King

Summary: In this episode, we tackle the persistent problem of how to structure your story. Sean and Dave are plotters (in more ways than one; Dave may or may not be planning an assassination) and I (Johnny) am much more situational. They have plot points and direct their characters to those plot points, whereas I'm much more apt to develop my characters as much as possible, put them in an odd, funny, or interesting situation, and see how they work their way through it. Sometime during this discussion, Sean maligns Stephen King. He then tries to backpedal and tell us how much he likes Stephen King, but Dave and I know what the score is. We've got your back, Steve. (Fist bump.) We also talk about what makes a good character, what seems stilted and phony, and why Battlestar Galactica is something everyone should watch if they want to see some truly great characterization and storytelling. Here's a few resources we'd recommend you check out: On Writing, by Stephen King The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler Story Engineering, by Larry Brooks and of course, the newer Battlestar Galactica series, because none of us were kidding about the storytelling being amazing