The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      On Thanksgiving 2020, one of the things we can be grateful for is knowledge that helps us to maximize our time and create the best first draft possible. To that end, Zena shares two major writing mistakes that she's been seeing lately in client work in the hopes that those listening will be able to correct these mistakes in their own projects before they get too far...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      This episode presents my final three favorite tools in a series on how to write great dialogue in your novel, screenplay, or play. These advanced techniques can transform the quality of one's project by making everything more intriguing and visual to the audience.  1. Use the Sidestep - answer questions in odd ways. Unexpected dialogue or turns in dialogue create imm...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      This episode continues to explore some of my favorite tricks and tools for writing great dialogue. 1. Turn exposition into conflict or confrontation. This is how you can expose backstory and get out the vital information that your audience needs to know. When we're angry, we blurt things out that we would otherwise hold in, so create a conflict scene that enables you...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION: This week's episode explores three new tools that screenwriters and novelists can employ to enrich the dialogue exchanges of their characters. Tool #1: Give your characters something to pursue. People are always in the middle of doing something. Make sure you know where your characters just were and what they're on their way to doing. Their life is already in motion....

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:     This episode launches part 2 of the series on dialogue by presenting the first of ten fun TOOLS to help storytellers create great dialogue. TOOL #1: THE TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS This tool is based on a psychological book about the games people play when they're trying to communicate. According to the transactional analysis, human beings essentially play one of three rol...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      This episode presents the final point in a series of ten essential principles of good dialogue.   #10: Good Dialogue reflects an appropriate level of familiarity between characters. This principle rests on the concept of high context versus low context communication.  LOW CONTEXT DIALOGUE exists whenever people have a LACK of shared history, knowledge, or  familiarity wit...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      Continuing with the key principles for how to write great dialogue, this week's episode unpacks Principles 8 and 9. 8. Good Dialogue should be short.  Compress it as much as possible. Use the trigger principle. Cut the hesitaters (Oh, Well, No, Yes, But, Wait, Listen, etc.). Also, beware of repetition or redundancy, direct Q & A, or stilted words and phrasing.  9...

THE TOP TEN PRINCIPLES FOR WRITING GREAT DIALOGUE – PART 3   EPISODE 32: How to make your dialogue sound just right for your character & story   EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      Last week’s episode gave us number 5 of the top ten principles for writing great dialogue. This week, we dive into two more principles.    Principle #6: Good dialogue sounds just right for the scene, story, or movie ;    Dial...

THE TOP TEN PRINCIPLES FOR WRITING GREAT DIALOGUE – PART 2 WHY CONFLICT & TENSION ARE ESSENTIAL TO WRITING GREAT DIALOGUE   EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      Last week’s episode gave us three more of the top ten principles for writing great dialogue. This week, we dive into principle number 5. In order for dialogue to be “good,” it must:   INCLUDE CONFLICT & TENSION 1.     The dullest dialogue is...

THE TOP TEN PRINCIPLES FOR WRITING GOOD DIALOGUE – PART 1 EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      Last week’s episode laid a foundation for how to write great dialogue, and gave us the first of the top ten principles for writing dialogue in your story. Namely:   1.     It must be essential & crucial to the story in one or more of the following ways: a.     It advances plot (gives us essential story informat...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:        One essential element of a great story is the ability to write great dialogue. However, it’s actually difficult to consistently do this well. Over the next few weeks, we will unpack the essential ingredients of great dialogue and learn clear and easy techniques as to how to write great dialogue in a story. But first, a few key foundational principles need to be laid.  ...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      Every artist I know has struggled against the enemy of procrastination. But what if procrastination was not actually an enemy, but rather, a clue from your subconscious about what you really want to do, which, if you understood yourself better, could actually be used for your own benefit? This is precisely the approach Zena Dell Lowe takes in this episode, laying out thre...

INTRODUCTION The temptation and actual process of procrastinating has brought many woes to many artists over the years, and continues to be something that we seem to have to work and struggle against in any creative endeavor that we might undertake. But what if you could turn procrastination into an asset? Sort of like a spy who turns someone against their own organization, and then that person be...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      The 4th and final episode of this four-part miniseries on the 12 Don’ts that actors should not do, and how these apply to the craft of writing. This episode discusses the final three don’ts.  10. DON'T LET YOUR CHARACTER THROW A PITY PARTY. One sure way of alienating your audience as an actor or a writer is if you give into the temptation to allow your character to f...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      Episode three of this four-part miniseries launches into the next three don’ts of 12 that actors (and writers) should not do, and what they SHOULD do instead.  7. DON'T BE A DUMP TRUCK. Writers have a tendency to dump information in the form of back story or exposition. Actors don’t have this luxury. They HAVE to rely on subtext and human behavior to communicate hist...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:     Continuing to build on last week's discussion, this episode presents the next three don'ts in a series of 12 that actors (and writers) should not do., and what they SHOULD do instead. 4. DON'T INDICATE, meaning, don't comment on the work, or tell your audience how they should feel about a character or situation. Both actors and writers should play the t...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      The first of several episodes exploring the craft of acting and showing the corollary between mistakes both actors and writers make. In this episode, the first three don'ts are laid out, which are: 1. Don't rush. 2. Don't be self-indulgent. 3. Don't anticipate.   UP NEXT Next week, join us for more overlapping principles, including: 4. Don't Indic...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      As a launching off point into the craft of writing, Zena starts by diving deeper into the craft of  acting. We can learn six things off the bat by studying the differences between the two crafts.  #1. While writers are often distracted by many different things they must accomplish, they can learn to focus more on the main character, like their fellow performing artists do...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      There are many things about your story that you can discover as you go along, but there are four primary things that every writer should know about their story before they sit down to write.  First and foremost, who is your character and what is he like?  Second, what does he want, meaning, what will he relentlessly pursue over the course of the telling? Third, what does...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:       How do we figure out which of our characters' traits ought to be accepted, and which ones ought to be rejected? We start by looking for the universal moral truths that apply to the human condition, which manifest themselves in the form of either universally accepted virtues or vices.  Or we use a cheat sheet. Here is a list of positive character qualities that we wa...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:     It's important for a storyteller to understand the difference between their protagonist's character flaws and their personality traits, because getting these two categories confused can not only baffle your audience, but can also inadvertently cause harm. This is because story is the most effective means by which the world learns what is good, right, and true.  S...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      The self-love, self-acceptance, and self-actualization movement is a good thing. However, unless we can tell the difference between what is a true personality trait versus what is a character flaw, we run the risk of causing harm to or being harmed by others.  It's quite common in today's climate for people to claim that a particular character flaw is in fact a...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      When we hear self-condemning messages from our inner critic, composing positive affirmations to directly combat the lies is an effective way to achieve freedom from the self-abusive messages of our inner critic. However, whatever affirmations we compose must be actually and really true. The fundamental goal of the storyteller is to always tell the truth about ourselves an...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:       This episode of The Mission with Zena Dell Lowe answers the philosophical question that was raised in episode 3 of this podcast, namely, what do we do if our perceptions of reality are distorted given that the artist's job is to tell the truth about the world as it really is? Zena provides four guiding principles to free artists from any potential fear or bondage re...

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:      In Episode 15 of The Mission, Zena Dell Lowe clarifies a few of the issues raised in episodes 13 and 14 of this podcast.  Namely, what's the difference between bias and worldview, and what's the difference between agenda and theme? All of these terms are explored and explained to help the storyteller move forward without confusion.      QUESTIONS OR TOPIC REQUES...