Fight for the Soul
Weekly roundup: What makes characters like Rocky, Creed, and Indiana Jones great, and how to tap into the power of true connection with your story
I had a conversation with a fellow Substack friend this week and we mentioned how it feels like a lot of creatives are in the season of taking a respite from creating so they can replenish their inspiration and recenter their focus on their own voice. I love a community that supports the work of genuine creatives and respects the natural flow of creativity. We are humans, not machines, and we tell better stories by constantly engaging with our raw humanity.
And that brings me to the topic of the week here at OBA: where the power of true connection is in stories. No matter how epic your action, entertaining your adventure, or dramatic your characters, if you do not dig into the meaning behind your story, you’ll never impact your audience.
Here’s a summary of the different conversations we had last week about how to achieve this connection in your own writing!
Cheers,
Ceylan Gunduz (One Brilliant Arc Editor-in-Chief)
📑 WHAT WE’VE BEEN CHATTING ABOUT THIS WEEK
🎧PODCAST: “Let’s Talk Stories!”
Did you catch our newest podcast episode? The OBA story team unpacked the Rocky and Creed franchises to show you how to use physical conflict in your story to develop internal conflict in your characters' arcs.
Subscribers to our newsletter get an early release of every podcast episode we put out, both “Let’s Talk Stories” and “Let’s Fix Stories!”
Catch up on our previous conversations over good stories here:
💬 Join the Conversation
We want to hear from you! OBA Nation exists as your community, after all. Let’s get to know each other and share creative perspectives.
What story did you need to give a second chance to before you appreciated it?
What creative rhythms do you see yourself developing to keep your inspiration fresh and voice authentic?
Hit “reply” or comment to drop your answer. We’ll pick some of your responses to feature in our next roundup newsletter and tag you there!
✨Coming Up Next Week…
Our resident cheesecake connoisseur, friend, and writer here at OBA Media, JELLYDRAGON 🔥🐲, will be sharing a serial piece based on their original fantasy story about two desperate adventurers facing the fever-dream perils of the Corpse Flower Zone in search of a cursed relic that promises them a future.
This will be our first venture into sharing fictional pieces along with our educational pieces. Please let us know if you are excited about this expansion in our newsletter content and want us to find more stories from other creatives to share with you!