Exploring the art and science of story to help you become a more effective storyteller.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 22 | Founded | 2 years ago | Last Issue | 4 months ago |
| Active | |||||
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nathanbaugh.substack.comLatest Issues
The 8 Shapes of Stories
I first shared this essay in 2023, and the idea has only grown on me since.
A story is a constant swing between good and ill fortune. More than any specific trick or framework, for your story to land it needs to be interesting, and for it...
The Best of World Builders ('25 Edition)
To kick off 2026, I dug through the 25+ letters I published over the last year and picked out the 10 best to help you become a better storyteller (judged by popularity, my own bias, and reader engagement).
Hope you enjoy:
1. 4 tenet...
11 quick ideas to tell better stories
I used to think of story in terms of rules. Now I think of it as a collection of small skills, principles, and practices.
11 quick ideas to help you become a better storyteller:
1. If a story feels boring, the writing quality is not the...
Freeze frame
There’s a passage in Ender’s Game I’ve never been able to shake. It comes at the moment of climax - gun raised, enemy exposed - and instead of the blow, Orson Scott Card gives us a pause. A strange, quiet confession from inside Ender’s mind...
4 Tenets of Story Structure
The storyteller is both an Artist and Engineer. An Engineer to construct worlds, plots, and characters. An artist to breathe life into them.
Recently, I’ve thought a lot about the ‘Engineering’ side of that equation. How do you design a go...
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Authors
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Exploring the art and science of storytelling
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