{"podcast":{"title":"Story Nerd","slug":"story-nerd-5321719","podcast_index_feed_id":5321719,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/valerie3v/feed.xml","website_url":"https://valerie3v.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/22517313/story-nerd-trademark.jpg","author":"Valerie Francis","episode_count":100,"summary":"For novelists, memoirists and screenwriters who want to write stories readers will love, and who want to work with a literary agent. Each week, editors Valerie Francis and Melanie Hill use films to explain how to craft a story that hooks the reader on page one and holds their attention all the way to the end. On alternate weeks, Valerie and literary agent Kathleen Foxx offer their professional feedback on query letters and writing samples submitted by Story Nerd listeners. The goal is simple: to help writers realize their dreams of becoming published authors. If you love to write, and you love to tell stories, and you want to see your book out in the world, this podcast is for you! ”The only thing that matters, and that ever will matter, is the story. That’s it.” - Tom Hanks (Oxford Union 2024)","last_synced_at":"2026-07-29T16:18:10.114788+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719"},"episode":{"title":"Erin Brockovich: writing underdogs","slug":"erin-brockovich-writing-underdogs","published_at":"2026-02-18T17:45:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719/erin-brockovich-writing-underdogs","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719","url":"https://storynerd.simplecast.com/episodes/erin-brockovich-writing-underdogs-lf4txrwd-4gi_1_E8","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/ecc02378-71a1-4297-8fb1-cd4d834eddb7/episodes/94471c1a-a00d-43ea-ba22-1a2acc1dbb33/audio/277b0993-d99c-4c69-a072-5dbf41c6ab14/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=yjW978tJ","summary":"This season I'm blowing the idea that ‘characters need arcs’ out of the water. Erin Brockovich is a constant character and she’s an underdog. With the odds against her, she does not change instead, she bends the world to suit herself. This is no mean feat, because the villain is powerful and wealthy. In underdog movies the speech in praise of the villain is essential. It's through this speech that we understand how powerful and how unlikely it is for our protagonist to come out on top. Join us as we unpack how a constant character and speeches in praise of the villain work together to deliver a deeply satisfying story. - M.","meta_description":"This season I'm blowing the idea that ‘characters need arcs’ out of the water. Erin Brockovich is a constant character and she’s an underdog. With the odd…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1513,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/story-nerd-5321719/episodes/erin-brockovich-writing-underdogs/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719/erin-brockovich-writing-underdogs.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}