SEASON 17:
Speech in Praise of the Villain + Constant Characters
The antagonist drives the action in at least half of your story, so you’ve got to create a villain worthy of the task. The power, smarts, superiority and sheer awesomeness of the villain must be acknowledged by the other characters in the story, and the way you do that is through the Speech in Praise of the Villain. That’s exactly what Valerie is exploring this season.
Writers get all tangled up about Character Arcs, but what happens when a character doesn't have an arc? Well, the story still works because constant characters are loved and enduring — especially in series. This season, we're going to discover more about constant characters and their versatility.
In the season roundup, we share all our best advice about the speech in praise of the villain (what it is, how to craft it, and why it’s important), and constant characters (they’re waaaaaay more common than you think!). -V. (The following summary was generated by A.I.) In this enlightening episode, Melanie Hill and Valerie Francis reflect on the key insights gained from Season 17 of the Story Nerd Podcast. They delve into the significance of constant characters and the impact of the ‘speech in praise of the villain’ within
In a twist that no one saw coming, not even us, the villains in this movie are Val and Mel! Despite this, I thought Thunderbolts would be better. 🙁 However, the constant characters in this movie support a protagonist with a change arc, and fill archetypal roles in the movie. In another surprising twist – switching the villain in the end of the movie has a big impact on the effectiveness of the speech in praise of the villain. This episode has more twists and and turns than the MCU
Wowzers! This is a terrific movie. If you’re writing a thriller (any sub-genre), or a story with nuanced and complex characters, this episode is for you. In fact, CONCLAVE is one of the movies we recommend you put on your short list of films to study because, seriously, you can learn about almost any aspect of storytelling from it. It’s so good that I’m not even angry that the bad guy turns out to be a Canadian – lol! -V. (The following summary was generated by A.I.) In this episode
Valerie asked me, “How are you going to explain this?” Trippy. It’s David Lynch and it’s trippy. It’s also an antiplot story with characters who have two identities. Where is the speech in praise of the villain and what arc does the story and protagonist have? Well…it’s a mix of pessimistic, dreamy, constant, whoa, what is going on, and none. Pick and choose. Close your eyes and we’ll see you in the void. -M (The following summary was generated by A.I.) In this episode of Story Nerd, we dive deep
Calling historical fiction writers, memoirists, and anyone writing a “David and Goliath” style story! In this episode, I do a deep dive into the Speech in Praise of the Villain and I show how the filmmakers expertly (and seamlessly) used exposition to let the viewing audience know just how formidable the antagonist is. (The level of craft here is truly next-level stuff!) And Melanie explains how, yet again, we have a story where the protagonist is a constant character…he doesn’t have an arc, but the story sure does! – V
HEADS-UP! Amour is beautiful but heavy (have the tissue ready!). Do you want to write gritty stories that leave readers grief struck long after they read THE END and close the book? Amour is a fantastic template for a complex moral problem that will never be resolved. This is another example of how a story can have an arc when the protagonist is constant. And Valerie does a stellar job of working out who or what the force of antagonism is and how the speech in praise of the villain
Stories need both characters and a plot. That sounds obvious, I know…but you’d be surprised. In this week’s episode, Melanie and I examine a film that, sadly, forgot to include a plot. No, really! INVITATION TO A MURDER has unfortunately fallen prey to a very common storytelling trap but the fix is super easy! To find out the problem (so you can avoid it), and the solution (if you’ve already erred), tune into this week’s episode. Enjoy! – V. (The following summary was generated by A.I.) In the latest episode
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
On the list of films that haven’t aged too well, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is near the top. Because it’s Hitchcock I’ll get flack for saying that, but watch it first and then decide. In terms of study topics this season, I’m looking at The Speech in Praise of the Villain and Melanie is examining Constant Characters. Its portrayal of women and parenting aside, this movie offers up interesting insights on bits of story theory. Enjoy! -V. (The following summary was generated by A.I.) In the world of
Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]
