{"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":"Men In Black (archive)","slug":"men-in-black-archive","published_at":"2026-04-15T07:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719/men-in-black-archive","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719","url":"https://storynerd.simplecast.com/episodes/men-in-black-archive-TKT5GfiS","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/5a89041c-c813-40c4-890d-a8e249ba1095/ecc02378-71a1-4297-8fb1-cd4d834eddb7/episodes/audio/group/bb62bc76-f820-4cae-8576-2e670887b47c/group-item/17dd6817-8972-4046-a652-a0e0497f3d94/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=yjW978tJ","summary":"Season 5 kicks off with Men in Black. Valerie is studying plot structure, and Melanie is studying resonance. Now, admittedly, plot structure doesn't sound very sexy but it's one of the first decisions a writer must make. If you haven't chosen a structure for your novel, how will you know if what you've written is working? Do you know what the structure options are? Resonance is the ability to evoke or suggest images, emotions, and memories, and all successful writers use it to draw on their readers' experiences. So, how are you putting it to use in your own WIP? - V.","meta_description":"Season 5 kicks off with Men in Black. Valerie is studying plot structure, and Melanie is studying resonance. Now, admittedly, plot structure doesn't sound…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2325,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/story-nerd-5321719/episodes/men-in-black-archive/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/men-in-black-archive.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}