Archive - Story Deep Dive

Episode 75: Romantasy, Genre Blending, and High Stakes in Fourth Wing

...how to blend two genres at full strength, weave your stakes into your love story, and deliver what your book promises readers.

Jun 7 • Story Deep Dive, Rachel Arsenault, and Dana Pittman

1:07:42

May 2026

Episode 74: Genre Contracts, Blank Pages, and the Case for Structure

...and why the writers who stop fighting it always draft faster, revise smarter, and finish more.

May 31 • Story Deep Dive, Rachel Arsenault, and Dana Pittman

52:27

Episode 73: Tropes, Morally Gray Heroes, and Slow Burn in Tempt Me at Twilight

..five craft lessons from a book readers have re-read for 15 years, covering tropes, morally gray heroes, and the slow burn that holds.

May 24 • Story Deep Dive, Rachel Arsenault, and Dana Pittman

1:04:41

Episode 72: POV, Found Family, and the Morally Gray Hero in Tempt Me at Twilight

..how to keep your protagonist credible, use your supporting cast to change the stakes, and write a morally gray hero who grows without losing who he…

May 17 • Story Deep Dive, Dana Pittman, and Rachel Arsenault

1:09:36

Episode 71: External Conflict, Tropes, and Poppy's Choice in Tempt Me at Twilight

..how tropes carry a story without a strong external goal, and why the way your protagonist enters a situation tells us who she really is.

May 10 • Story Deep Dive, Dana Pittman, and Rachel Arsenault

1:05:30

Episode 70: Outsiders, Found Family, and Timeless Tropes in Tempt Me at Twilight

...how to write tropes that feel fresh, build a series readers don't want to leave, and commit to a historical setting that holds at every level.

May 3 • Story Deep Dive, Rachel Arsenault, and Dana Pittman

1:02:20

April 2026

Episode 69: Reader Sympathy, Story Promise, and Making Intentional Tradeoffs in Spinning Silver

…how to tell if your POVs earn their page time, why cause-and-effect stakes beat body counts, and what beautiful prose still owes the reader: momentum.

Apr 26 • Dana Pittman, Rachel Arsenault, and Story Deep Dive

1:09:38

Episode 68: Three Forms of Magic, Agency Through Love, and Transformation in Spinning Silver

…how multiple POVs drive the story forward, Miryem’s inevitable transformation, and why love as an origin story hooks readers.

Apr 19 • Story Deep Dive, Rachel Arsenault, and Dana Pittman

1:16:21

Episode 67: The Deeper Problem: Escalation, Tension Management, and Slow Build Craft in Spinning Silver

…a framework for putting your characters in no-win situations, how deep problems create more tension than loud ones, and the one first-act problem that…

Apr 12 • Story Deep Dive, Rachel Arsenault, and Dana Pittman

1:25:49

Episode 66: Fairy Tale Foundation, Jewish History, and Multi-POV Craft in Spinning Silver

…how to choose your points of view on purpose, build theme into your world, and know the difference between a risk worth taking and one that costs you…

Apr 5 • Rachel Arsenault, Dana Pittman, and Story Deep Dive

1:06:19

March 2026

Episode 65: Why Writing a Novel Is Challenging (And What to Do About It)

…a coaching conversation on first-draft mindset, finishing as a skill, and the one rule that gets you off the hamster wheel and to the end.

Mar 29 • Rachel Arsenault, Dana Pittman, and Story Deep Dive

1:00:40

Episode 64: Book Two Stakes, Series Escalation, and Worldbuilding in Sin & Magic

...exploring how book two raises the stakes, deepens the romance, and expands the world—so every choice your characters make pushes the story forward…

Mar 22 • Rachel Arsenault, Dana Pittman, and Story Deep Dive

1:04:23

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