Hello and welcome to the Story Grid podcast. This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better writer.

I'm your host Tim Graal and I am a struggling writer trying to figure out how to tell a story that works.

Joining me shortly is Sean Coyne. He is the creator of Story Grid, the author of the book Story Grid,

and an editor with over 25 years experience.

In this episode, we spent all this time talking about my book and my genre of thriller,

and I just was curious what Sean thought of as the most important genre, the one that

probably has the widest read. And so I ask him that

question and that starts to tumble us down this rabbit hole of what that genre is, how you can

write in that genre, the obligatory scenes, all the things we're talking about with my story,

but on a genre that's completely different. So I think you're really going to enjoy it.

It's really going to be helpful. So let's jump in and get started. So, Sean, I'm in the midst of the

rewrites of the rewrites of the rewrites of my beginning hook. And so this week I just wanted to

step back as much as everybody seems to enjoy going over my writing.

I also wanted to acknowledge that not everybody writes young adult thrillers.

And so I've just been thinking a lot about what other genres are out there.

What is the best, you know, what are writers, you know, need to think about when they think about their career, you know, over a long arc?

And so if you had to pick just one genre that was like if you wanted to become a professional, publishable, successful fiction writer, and you could

only become good at one genre, what would you say that is?

That's a pretty easy answer. And I don't think I'm going to shock anybody by saying

the biggest, the most popular, the most commercially successful genre is the love story.

So if I were to give advice to somebody about, you know, how to break into the business,

how to become a publishable writer, if you were able to apply yourself with deliberate practice

...