{"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":"Mrs.Harris Goes to Paris: toothless antagonists","slug":"mrs-harris-goes-to-paris-toothless-antagonists","published_at":"2026-06-03T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719/mrs-harris-goes-to-paris-toothless-antagonists","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/story-nerd-5321719","url":"https://valerie3v.podbean.com/e/mrsharris-goes-to-paris-toothless-antagonists/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/i70mviooy9urirsw/d_5a89041c-c813-40c4-890d-a8e249ba1095_ecc02378-71a1-4297-8fb1-cd4d834eddb7_episodes_audio_group_96e9fe57-1346-407d-9fcd-ef23d802e860_group-item_43e1e27e-294e-431e-a25c-57ad78e246ef_128_default_tc.mp3","summary":"Of all the types of protagonists, audiences/readers love the underdog the most, and our discussion of this beloved archetype led us down all kinds of interesting story theory roads including tension, stakes, objects of desire, the use of consequences as plot devices, suspension of disbelief and the Disneyfication of fairy tales! Meanwhile, Melanie continues her study of the premise statement and logline — what the difference between them is, how to formulate them, why they're important and, of course, when a writer would use them. This episode is jam-packed! Enjoy! -V.","meta_description":"Of all the types of protagonists, audiences/readers love the underdog the most, and our discussion of this beloved archetype led us down all kinds of inte…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2475,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/story-nerd-5321719/episodes/mrs-harris-goes-to-paris-toothless-antagonists/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/mrs-harris-goes-to-paris-toothless-antagonists.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}