Morality Genre Conventions

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2023

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today’s episode, I’m covering the conventions of the morality genre using the movie A Man Called Otto as an example. Here’s a preview of what’s included:

[05:09] The protagonist starts the story at their worst (with a "wrong" moral compass)

[06:40] The antagonist pressures the protagonist to face their bad behavior/wrongdoing

[07:54] The protagonist is haunted by their past mistakes or selfish behavior

[09:09] A character who represents the consequences of the protagonist’s wrongdoing

[10:20] At least one mentor figure who helps the protagonist see right from wrong

[11:13] External conflict that pits the protagonist's goals against the needs of others

[12:53] A foil character who positively or negatively demonstrates different behavior

[14:24] The protagonist gets help from unexpected sources

[15:23] The setting must offer the protagonist opportunities to be selfish or altruistic

[16:49] The end of the story is often bittersweet

[18:04] Final thoughts and episode recap.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, I have a quick note for any listeners who are fairly confident they'd make a great book
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0:20.7	a sustainable coaching business. And right now author accelerator is offering all fiction writing
0:25.6	made easy listeners 50% off this $99 challenge. So if you want to dip your toe in the water and
0:30.8	find out if book coaching is right for you, go to savannahillbow.com forward slash coach and
0:35.5	enter the code podcast at checkout to claim your 50% off. So the external conflict here could really
0:41.2	be anything but the point of it is that it highlights the need for change in the protagonist.
0:46.0	So it puts pressure on the protagonist until they either change or cling even harder to their
0:51.5	immoral or selfish behavior. Welcome to the fiction writing made easy podcast. My name is
0:57.7	savannahillbow and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that
1:02.4	writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode
1:07.3	with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right
1:12.4	away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your
1:16.7	craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started. In today's episode,
1:23.2	we're going to talk through the conventions of the morality genre. If you're writing a story with
1:27.8	an internal morality art, then you'll want to make sure you nail these conventions in your novel.
1:32.8	So we're going to talk through the conventions and then I'm going to show you how they show up in
1:36.4	the movie a man called auto. And if you're wondering why I'm using a movie and not a book as an
1:41.4	example, the simple answer is that movies just require less of a time investment than books and I'm
	...

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