TELL THE DAMN STORY, ep 436: Life As a Plot Patch—How Real Life Can Help Fix Your Story
Your characters are stuck. Your ending won’t cooperate. And staring at the page isn’t helping.
Maybe it’s time to take your story out for a walk.
In episode 436 of Tell the Damn Story, Chris Ryan and Alex Simmons explore how everyday encounters can help writers discover character details, unexpected possibilities, and solutions to stubborn plot problems.
Chris takes us through a New York Comic Con adventure filled with memorable people—and explains how an unexpected encounter on a Manhattan street sparked a possible ending for his novel. Alex shares a classroom moment when a struggling screenwriter discovered that the story she’d already written was pointing toward an ending she hadn’t allowed herself to see.
Along the way, we discuss:
• Observing people, interactions, and the world around you.
• Carrying a story problem without forcing an immediate answer.
• Turning an observation into a “What if?”
• Capturing ideas before they disappear.
• Staying open to feedback and unexpected inspiration.
• Recognizing the humanity behind the characters who inspire us.
The world keeps offering possibilities. Are you letting them in?
Watch, subscribe, and share this episode with a writer who’s wrestling with a stubborn scene or ending.
Then tell us in the comments: What real-life encounter has found its way into your fiction?
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00:00 The creation of the Blackjack series
09:16 Addressing Racism Through Storytelling
15:04 Creating Aaron in the '80s
18:54 Creating Blackjack's backstory
24:38 Combining comics and filmmaking skills
30:20 Honoring Black male heroes in comics
32:56 Story settings: New York vs. international
41:41 Evolving creative projects and styles
43:46 Experimenting with character dynamics
51:03 Pitching story idea for feedback
55:35 Supporting Characters in Aaron's World
01:00:38 Character dynamics and story development
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