Writing Lessons From... Alien: Earth

Live long and prosper, storytellers.Stay with me and keep the Writing Lessons From... magic going:Join the mailing list: https://www.writeintothewoods.com/join-us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've noticed a pattern in the stories I've been listening to and watching recently, so I thought I'd share this important lesson about being an artist.Especially as it's the beginning of the year and it's dark, cold and miserable.Read instead of listen at: https://writeintothewoods.com/2026/01/08/hollywood-lessons/Come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.comPlease hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka How to get out of a rut with your writing.The episode looks at the following films:Best. Christmas. EverRenovation RomanceOur Little SecretHaul Out The Holly (and Haul Out The Holly Lit Up)Hot FrostyJingle Bell HeistNot in that order.And I'm looking at what lessons I'm taking from these films into my Christmas romance writing in 2026.Read instead of listen at: writeintothewoods.com/2025/12/16/bingeing-christmas-films/Join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.comPlease hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!Check out some of my favourite episodes from 2025:Episode 10: BarbieEpisode 12: Alien: EarthEpisode 17: Grace and FrankieMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay.Special Christmas sound effect by Sound Effect by DRAGON-STUDIO from Pixabay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka The Joy of Keeping it SimpleThe episode looks at:Why simple can be best.Summing up your plot in one sentence.The importance of good character development.Read instead of listen at:Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfromFor more on this topic, check out the following past episodes:Episode 14: Starstruck (which I mention in this podcast)Episode 2: Ozark (also mentioned!)Episode 10: BarbieMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka Ending That Story BeautifullyWriting endings is HARD!My favourite kind of endings are the ones that mirror the beginning.Grace and Frankie teaches us that we can look at four things when writing an ending:The themes of the storyThe character arcsHow it all startedAnd make sure there’s closure.Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!Read instead of listen at: writeintothewoods.com/2025/11/21/writing-lessons-from-grace-and-frankie/And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfromFor more on this topic, check out the following past episodes:Episode 13: Save Yourselves!Episode 5: GirlbossEpisode 1: A Quiet PlaceMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka the Power of the Short StorySpecifically looking at episodes: Sonnie's Edge (Volume One), Lucky 13 (Volume One), The Tall Grass (Volume Two) and Bad Travelling (Volume Three).The episode looks at:A short story should pack a punchKeeping your audience guessingConsidering all characters - some can be inanimate objects, settings, placesBuilding the tension, andDoing the right thing by doing lots of wrong things, along with questionable heroes.But also, not having to do ALL those things in one story!Also, some mini admin: This podcast is now going fortnightly, in order to allow me to carve out some time to work on new projects. Ironically including creating some short stories.Read instead of listen at: writeintothewoods.com/2025/11/06/writing-lessons-from-love-death-and-robots/You can grab a copy of No Masters Or Kings (as mentioned when discussing Lucky 13) here: books2read.com/u/mqqy6e Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfromWe haven't covered short fiction before, so here are some of my favourite episodes for you to also check out:Episode 12: Alien: Earth, Episode 6Episode 10: BarbieEpisode 15: Mary and GeorgeMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka What’s Your Story About, Though?This week I'm looking at Mary and George, available on Sky Atlantic / Showcase / Now TV.The episode looks at: endings!! Again! Getting endings right is so hard! the difficulty of writing historical fiction - there are just so many rabbit holes to investigate the importance of focusing in your story.Read instead of listen at: writeintothewoods.com/2025/10/30/writing-lessons-from-mary-and-george/Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfrom For more on these topics, check out the following past episodes:Episode 13: Save Yourselves!Episode 5: GirlbossEpisode 10: BarbieMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka When a Character Changes the StoryThis week it's all about all three series of Starstruck, available on BBC iPlayer, and Jessie's journey.The episode looks at: middles are so tough the importance of listening to your characters how sometimes the story isn't the one you thought it would be, sometimes it's something better.Read instead of listen at: https://writeintothewoods.com/2025/10/24/writing-lessons-from-starstruck/Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfrom For more on this topic, check out the following past episodes:Episode 12: Alien EarthEpisode 11: Growing a Family in SitcomsEpisode 3: TMNT Mutant MayhemMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka When One Idea Inspires a Whole StoryAnd what to do when that original idea no longer quite fits with the story that grows around it.Have you ever heard of Save Yourselves!? It's worth having a watch if you can find it, especially for the ending. But if you can't, enjoy this spoiler-full episode!Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfromFor more on the topic of endings, check out the following past episodes:1: A Quiet Place2: Ozark5: GirlbossMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka Start Your Third Act Without Being Boring!This is the longest episode (so far) of Writing Lessons From... and why is explained in the intro.If you'd like to go straight to the writing lessons, they begin properly at 15:26.But there's also an important message for all storytellers at the beginning and the rest of it is context, so I hope you'll listen, even if you already know all this stuff because you've watched Alien: Earth and want me to get to the point!Please hit follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, and leave a rating or review. It all helps!And come join the mailing list for more storytelling goodness at writeintothewoods.com/writinglessonsfromFor more on these topics, check out the following past episodes:Seven: Hannah Gadsby, andTen: BarbieMusic by ReneSchulze1984 and Dmitrii from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.