SWRT 222 | Storycraft through Time

September 16, 2021

person typing on MacBook Pro on brown wooden table during daytime photo

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert talk about the changes we’ve noticed in storycraft when reading books of past eras. How has storytelling changed with the times and what elements of craft should we hang onto?

What books of old have you read and how do you think storytelling is changing? Let us know in the comments.

VIDEO

AUDIO

SHOW NOTES

What we talked about:

Why are we talking about storycraft over time? (1:35)

Has description changed over time? (4:30)

The change in authorial voice, and point of view. (7:25)

Omniscient point of view and head hopping. (11:30)

Opening exposition and the impact of today’s high speed world. (13:20)

The issue of reading in a distraction heavy world. (20:20)

How do we write distraction proof fiction? (22:10)

What qualities from the past would we want to see in our own writing? (24:50)

Does your book give the right feeling or mood for your story? (27:45)

Remember the differences between film and writing as pertains to mood. (33:20)

Where is the trend of story leading? (35:30)

What about audio consumption? (39:04)

LINKS

Get Alida’s Writing Tips here.

Things we mentioned:

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
George RR Martin
Charles Dickens
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Brandon Sanderson
Terry Goodkind
Ayn Rand
Shakespeare
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Want more about these topics? Check out:

SWRT 204: Better Prose with Poetry

Have thoughts, questions, other examples? Join the conversation at the Story Works Writers Facebook group.

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About Your Hosts

Alida Winternheimer is an award-winning author with an MFA in writing from Hamline University. She pursues her fervor for all things story as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher. Three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize, she is also a notable in Best American Essays and winner of the Page Turner Award. Author of The Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction Series, Alida lives and writes in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She camps, bikes, and kayaks in her free time. Unless it’s winter, in which case she drinks chai by the fire. You can find more at www.alidawinternheimer.com.

Kathryn Arnold writes fantasy and anything else that sparks her creativity from her home in Kingston, Washington. She currently earns her living as an insurance underwriting assistant, where she also creates marketing and web copy. When not writing, she plays (and teaches) piano and keyboard in a band (or two), and is working on starting a ministry team with her husband. You can find Kathryn at www.skyfirewords.com.

Robert Scanlon was born in Australia, but whisked off to England when only a baby. After many years complaining about the weather, he did the sensible thing and moved back to Australia. Despite a career in the music industry, followed by decades teaching public speaking, Robert is an introvert who adores reading. Robert grew up on a diet of sci-fi masters, eventually discovering he had read the library’s entire science fiction section. Now he has to write his own. Robert is the author of Constellation, book one of the Blood Empire space opera series. Find out more at www.RobertScanlon.com