Ines Johnson is Having a Breakdown
The Breakdown is a podcast hosted by television producer turned romance author Ines Johnson. In each episode, join Ines as she breaks television episodes, movies, and/or an aspect of the indie publishing market. Mainly for her own edification, but maybe other authors could find some use in her nerding out over story structure and market analysis.
Episodes
![Episode 6 Pet the Dog](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/15790153/Breakdown_YOUTUBE_3000_3000_px__z2uc4d_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
The Pet the Dog moment can be used to remind us of the stakes of your story before the big battle or ordeal your hero must face. But you can also use it for the villain, or the bad boy, to humanize them and add more conflict to your story by giving the reader pause to consider changing, or challenging, their loyalties.
![Episode 5 Empathy for the Cat](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/15790153/Breakdown_YOUTUBE_3000_3000_px__z2uc4d_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
The Save the Cat scene is where we meet the hero and the hero does something to make us identify or empathize with them. I know of three ways to establish empathy and make readers instantly get the feels for characters.You showcase their extraordinary qualities. Or their ordinariness in an extraordinary world. Or you have them save a cat from a tree or a dumpster in a shoot out.
![Episode 4: The Novice](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog15790153/Ep_4_Novice_rmmn4x_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
A better way to do an infodump of backstory is to use a Novice. The Novice enters the story when we do. They're also brand new to this world, but they're in the story so they can ask the questions we're dying to know, be shown the process of the way the world works, try to model the behaviors of the customs of the people, and make mistakes and get set straight to ensure we all understand.
![Episode 3: Story Question](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog15790153/Ep_3_Story_Question_copy_dbeh24_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Next time you're tempted to write a prologue, determine if you might be better served by a teaser to give your readers a Slice of Life of your world, or Set Up your character's Story question that you'll answer by the end of the book.
![Episode 2: Teasers vs Prologues](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog15790153/Ep2_hv8ajn_300x300.jpg)
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
A teaser has three jobs; it had to be immediate, quick and grab attention. It gets you ready for the meat of the episode. It's like an amuse bouche that leaves you wanting more before you're served the main dish.
![Episode 1 Plotter? Pantser? It’s the Pacing!](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog15790153/Ep1_j32i2u_300x300.jpg)
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
Sunday Feb 05, 2023
In the battle of Plotters vs Pantsers, let's take a step back and look at the Pacing of your story.