SPLANCHNICS: The Society for the Preservation of Literature, the Arts, Numinosity, Culture, Humor, Nerdiness, Inspiration, Creativity & Storytelling

Why We Love Stories (story structure breakdown)

Clare Walker & Hannah Kubiak Season 3 Episode 18

Story structure is what makes us love stories in the first place. We love a nice set of bookends. We root for characters who save cats. A hero's journey "there and back again" resonates with the human psyche. In this episode, Clare and Hannah talk about several kinds of story structures, including Three-Act, Five-Act, Chiastic, Save the Cat, and the Hero's Journey. 

Some of the books we mention in this episode:

The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger

Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder

Screenplay by Syd Field

The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler

The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

You can pick up these books and many more at our Bookshop.org affiliate link. You can support your favorite nerdy mother-daughter podcast, get a discount on your purchase, plus support independent bookstores everywhere! Thank you!

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Theme music: “Splanchnics Riff” composed and performed by Clare T. Walker

Clare is an independent author who would love it if you checked out her books! If you like exciting thrillers featuring an “everyman” hero who rises to his or her full potential in the face of peril—-you might enjoy The Keys of Death. It’s a veterinary medical thriller about a small-town animal doctor who gets tangled up in a whistle-blowing scheme against a big biotech company. Or, if you prefer shorter fiction, try Startling Figures, a collection of three paranormal urban fantasy stories.