Story theory is about observing truths about human existence and recreating them, honestly, in art. Which means that as you use story theory, to edit your story, You're exploring what it means to be human. I think that's beautiful. I hope it inspires you. Like it inspires me. welcome to your next draft. Many of my favorite episodes of your next draft are about story theory, the nuts and bolts of how stories work. I love story theory.
It transforms our intuitive understanding of story into explicit concepts that we can apply consciously and strategically. It puts language around the patterns that repeat across stories that work. And I've gotten great feedback from writers who are putting those strategies to work in your own manuscripts and seeing that they work. I love that. But why this story theory work? Why does it matter? Where does it even come from? That's what I want to talk about in today's episode.
But I'm going to take a somewhat circuitous route to get there. So buckle up and join me on this journey. In December of last year, I launched my own editing business. I've been editing novels for over six years, but I finally decided that it was time to strike out on my own and build my own independent editing business as a developmental editor. I don't know if you've ever built a business before, but here's something that I've experienced. I am literally always thinking about my business.
I am always, always, always thinking about the writers. I work with the manuscripts, I'm editing the editing tools. I'm using the new methodologies. I'm learning the way I marketing my business, my revenue goal and the things that I can do to reach it. My podcast metrics, my email lists, the things I've tried that have worked. The things I've tried, that haven't worked, the things I'm excited to try next. I could go on and on and I do go on and on.
If someone asks me how my business is going, well, I can talk for hours. All of these details are top of mind, always. And I'm so excited to share. But paradoxically I've found that it's been really weirdly difficult to talk about my business with my friends. My friends are nice. So they ask how it's going and a launch into the business building topic that I've been focusing on today or this week, or this month. And pretty quickly I can get into the weeds of what I literally do every day.
I sent this email or I sold that editing package, or I planned this podcast episode. And I'm really excited about all of that. All of that is so important to me and so fun. It matters so much to me. You've heard me say it over and over on this podcast. I love editing. And I am absolutely delighted every single day to build my editing business. Yet. When I share that with my friends, when I dump all the technical details of my day-to-day work on them. They don't get fired up and excited with me.
They listen, politely, they nod and smile. But they don't ask follow up questions. They don't share my enthusiasm. Sometimes they even look a little confused or bored. They're not being rude. They're being kind. They've asked about my business because they want to know, and I'm not holding back. I'm telling them about my work. Yet, I feel a sense of misconnection. I want my friends to jump into the joy with me.
I want them to join me in feeling the ups and downs of my business to feel the high of a marketing effort. That goes well, the satisfaction of knowing that I've just given someone some really, really helpful feedback, the nervous excitement of looking at the month ahead and knowing I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm up for the challenge and I can't wait to do every bit of it. So it's really disappointing to me when I share what's going on in my business, but I get blank stares in return.
There's a connection between us. That's not happening. I wanted to share something with my friends. But I didn't manage to convey the excitement that I feel. They asked a question. I answered, they listened to my answer logistically everything was there. But we didn't connect. There was a feeling I wanted to convey to my friends. But they didn't feel it. I see this happen so often with writers, they send me a manuscript that they're so excited about. I can see how hard they've worked on it.
One draft or two or five of really intentional crafting. And those writers tell me. I can't wait for you to read this. I hope you love it. I hope you love my character. I hope you connect with them and feel for them. Like I do. There are parts where I even cried as I was writing this book. I hope that those parts touch you too. Of course. That gets me really excited to read their story. So I pick it up all ready to be engrossed and delighted. And the plot is there.
They're interesting events that happen throughout the story. Romance, adventure, mystery, thrills. But that love for the character. The connection between me and the protagonist, the tears. I don't feel it. The writer. I knew what they wanted to convey. They want their books to connect with readers. When I'm talking about my business with my friends, I know what I want to convey. I want to share my excitement and enthusiasm. And yet.
In my conversations with friends and in those manuscripts, there's something missing. The connection doesn't happen. Wow. I took this problem to my therapist, the problem with talking with friends about my business, not the problem with manuscripts that don't make me feel things. The problem she's an expert in not the problem. I'm an expert in. And here's what she told me. Your friends do not care about what you literally do in your job. They care about how it impacts you.
Don't focus on sharing what you do. Focus on sharing, why it matters to you. Can I be honest. When she said that I burst out laughing. Loudly. A lot. And when I could finally catch my breath, I told her that's hilarious because I have literally crafted three podcast episodes where I told writers exactly that. Readers are only interested in the external action of a story when they understand how it impacts the characters internally. You think I could take my own advice?
Every client, every manuscript, every email, every podcast, episode, every task, every metric, they all matter. So, so much to me as an editor and entrepreneur, But when someone asks me, so how's work going. And I respond with those details. I'm giving them the academic textbook version of my story. Academic textbooks are full of facts. They're not quick reads or easily digestible. For the relatively small group of people who are interested in learning about the topic. They're fascinating.
Those people are willing to do the work that it takes to understand dense pages of information. Every now and then I'll come across a friend like that. Usually a fellow editor or entrepreneur. They're curious about the details and they're happy to hear about all the nitty gritty things happening in my business. But that's a pretty small population. A niche audience. Most people don't choose to read academic textbooks.
And they're glad when they finished school and no one ever asks them to read them anymore. On the other hand, when someone asks me. So how's work going and I respond with the highs and lows that I'm feeling as a result of those manuscripts and emails and tasks and metrics. They're interested. I'm giving them the commercial fiction version of my story, the paperback that you'd pick up in the airport bookstore.
Now I'm telling an engaging story when that's fun and interesting and connects with a wide audience. You don't need any special education to understand it. You don't have to slog through a lot of details that most people find boring. You feel invested right away in the fate of a character you care about and you understand why the external events matter. When you write a story that focuses exclusively on the plot, on the external action. That's the academic textbook version.
It were counts, the facts this happened and then this, and then this. But in order to move your story into the realm of commercial fiction. The kind of novel that someone wants to pick up in an airport bookstore to enjoy on a long flight. You've got to show us why those events matter. You have to show us how they impact your characters. When I share how my business impacts me. That builds connection between me and my friends. When you share how the events of your plot impact your characters.
That builds connection between your characters and your readers. This is something that I know it's something I've shared on the podcast and a three episode series. This is something that, you know, if you've been listening to the podcast for awhile, If you'd like to catch up on those episodes, go to our. dot com slash 32. I was said. though.com/ 33. And Alice said though.com/ 34. And it's something my therapist knows. She gave me my own advice without even realizing it.
So what's the bigger takeaway here. Why am I bringing this up? Is it just to repeat the concept from episode 32, which is a very important concept by the way. And one that I'll probably touch on many times in many episodes. Or is there something more. As I sat in my therapist, office catching my breath. Here's what really struck me. Art imitates life. You've probably heard that phrase before, but when it comes to story theory, I believe it's really true.
So much of storytelling theory is just centuries of writers, editors, and students have story studying patterns in life and giving those patterns language. Writers sometimes feel uncomfortable with it because they're afraid that describing those patterns will make storytelling. Formulaic. I see this, especially when it comes to genre, many writers, balk at the idea of choosing a genre for their story, because they don't want to be boxed into a formula.
They don't want to be limited to recreating one story that we've all heard before over and over again. They want to create a story that's unique. That's innovative. It's surprising. I get that I do. And we've all seen stories that fall into the trap of becoming so formulaic that they're predictable and boring for me. Hallmark Christmas movies fall into this category. I can tell the time by when the characters kiss always the last two minutes of the movie.
And since the movie start on the hour and they run for two hours, that kiss means that it's 7 58. But the people who have codified story theory didn't do so because they wanted to make stories boring. This isn't about trying to suck the life and creativity out of storytelling by distilling stories into simple formulas. This is about observing truths about human existence and recreating them, honestly, in art. I'm going to say that again, because it's really important.
This is about observing truths about human existence and recreating them, honestly, in art. When I tell you that in order to make your readers feel, you need to show us how the events of your story impact your characters. I don't say that to simplify storytelling into a plug and play system. I say that because as my therapist pointed out to me, This is how humans connect with each other.
If you want your readers to connect with your characters, you need to use the same strategies that you use to connect with other people. Story theory is about observing truths about human existence and recreating them, honestly, in art. This is true for pretty much all the tips and tricks and strategies that I share on this podcast. And it's true for pretty much everything you'll find in other storytelling, methodologies, like story grid, save the cat, the snowflake method, or what have you.
I'm so confident of this, that I challenge you to test it. Take story theory into the wild. Test it in the real world. Here's what I want you to do. The next time you're in a conversation with friends or family and someone asks some version of what's going on with you. Tell them. Just the literal events of your life. Just the external action. Just the plot.
Remove all the emotions that you feel about those events remove the ways that they impact you, the way that they impact your mind, your emotions, your spirit. Try to go so far as to remove the emotiveness in your tone of voice, just give them pure facts about the external world and see what happens. I hypothesize that you're going to get a lot of blank stares. You're going to bore your audience very quickly. You won't get engaged responses. You won't get curious followup questions.
You won't get a rise of emotion. You won't get connection. And then once you've done that, come back to your story. Look for places where you reveal, how the events of the story impact your characters, the things that they feel, the things they think, the things that have changed in their internal world as a result of their external action. And look, especially for places where you don't reveal how the events impact your characters.
Imagine, if you read those passages to the friends you were talking with in your real world test of story theory, would those friends care about those events or what'd you get blank stares? If you find your story focuses mostly on the external events and it's missing all the ways, those events matter to your characters, not to worry. I have a whole episode on the formula that I use to revise your story, to make your readers feel.
It's called the three step formula to evoke emotion and make your readers feel. Go check out that episode at Alice said, though.com/ 33. Take a listen to it and apply that formula to your story. And as you edit, remember. I'm not trying to stifle your creativity by locking you into a soulless formula. No. That formula is such a universal human experience that my therapist told me to apply the very same principle in my own life.
And this isn't the only time I've observed story theory in the real world. Either once you understand how stories work, if you pay attention, you'll start seeing story principles, playing out all around. You. If you enjoy testing this bit of story theory and your conversations with friends, keep it going. Pull out some other episodes of your next draft and test them in the real world too. A couple of favorites of mine that translate really nicely to this kind of real world test.
Our episode 27 on value shifts and episode eight on the elements of story structure. You can find those episodes@alicesobo.com slash 27. And Alice said lo.com/eight. Story theory is about observing truths about human existence and recreating them, honestly, in art. Which means that as you use story theory, to edit your story, You're exploring what it means to be human. I think that's beautiful. I hope it inspires you. Like it inspires me.
I'll be back next week with another tip for your editing process drawn of course, from the real ways that real humans experience real life. Until then happy editing.