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To be a great fiction writer requires understanding basic story structures and being clever enough to disguise them so your audience doesn’t know they’re watching or reading something they’ve seen before.

Academics suggest that there are only a finite number of plots and structures, but that number varies based on who’s doing the talking.

Writer Kurt Vonnegut, best known for his satirical works on American politics and culture, including “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Cat’s Cradle” and “Sirens of Titan,” was obsessed with the shapes of stories and summed up his views in one powerful sentence: “The fundamental idea is that stories have shapes which can be drawn on graph paper and that the shape of a given society’s stories is at least as interesting as the shape of its pots or spearheads.”

In the video below, Vonnegut explains why the shapes of three different types of stories, from “person gets into trouble” to “boy meets girl” to “Cinderella,” can all be summed up on two axes: the Y represents good and bad fortune, the X represents the beginning and end of a story.

The first question is where the main character or protagonist starts their journey. Are they in a state of good or bad fortune, and how does that change from beginning to end?

“Somebody gets into trouble, then gets out of it again. People love that story. They never get tired of it,” Vonnegut says with a smirk.

The video is an intriguing look into the mind of a highly original writer and gives excellent insights into the basics of storytelling.

On September 8, Olivia Rodrigo will drop Guts, her highly anticipated followup to her world-beating 2021 Sour debut, and the rollout is going strong. “Vampire” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July, and “Bad Idea Right?” debuted at No. 1 on this week’s Hot 100 chart, on which “Vampire” sits at No. 6.

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Rodrigo’s singles are hits, but the 20-year-old phenom wasn’t so sure how her post-Sour material would be received.

Caryn Ganz profiled Rodrigo for The New York Times, published this morning (August 24). “Crafting the follow-up to a smash debut is music’s most daunting crucible, and Rodrigo felt the pressure to make a diamond. Ultimately, she turned to advice she’d received from an idol, Jack White,” Ganz wrote.

“He wrote me this letter the first time I met him that said, ‘Your only job is to write music that you would want to hear on the radio,’” Rodrigo told Ganz. “I mean, writing songs that you would like to hear on the radio is in fact very hard.”

Elsewhere in the profile, Ganz relayed that Rodrigo “mocked herself for crying when she met Jack White” and explained why it’s more accurate to view Rodrigo as a rockstar than a pop star. Read the full profile here.

Guts is out 9/8 via Geffen. Find more information here.

On September 8, Olivia Rodrigo will drop Guts, her highly anticipated followup to her world-beating 2021 Sour debut, and the rollout is going strong. “Vampire” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July, and “Bad Idea Right?” debuted at No. 1 on this week’s Hot 100 chart, on which “Vampire” sits at No. 6.

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Rodrigo’s singles are hits, but the 20-year-old phenom wasn’t so sure how her post-Sour material would be received.

Caryn Ganz profiled Rodrigo for The New York Times, published this morning (August 24). “Crafting the follow-up to a smash debut is music’s most daunting crucible, and Rodrigo felt the pressure to make a diamond. Ultimately, she turned to advice she’d received from an idol, Jack White,” Ganz wrote.

“He wrote me this letter the first time I met him that said, ‘Your only job is to write music that you would want to hear on the radio,’” Rodrigo told Ganz. “I mean, writing songs that you would like to hear on the radio is in fact very hard.”

Elsewhere in the profile, Ganz relayed that Rodrigo “mocked herself for crying when she met Jack White” and explained why it’s more accurate to view Rodrigo as a rockstar than a pop star. Read the full profile here.

Guts is out 9/8 via Geffen. Find more information here.

Earlier this week, Drew Barrymore was rushed off stage during an event with actress and singer Reneé Rapp. A man in the Monday night audience reportedly approached Barrymore and demanded to speak with her.

“You know who I am,” the man yelled as Rapp sprung into action and escorted Barrymore backstage. “I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York.”

The man was removed from the event by security, and Barrymore and Rapp resumed their conversation once they felt safe returning to the stage. However, the situation reportedly escalated as the week continued. The man was arrested outside of Barrymore’s house on Wednesday morning.

Via New York Post:

Chad Michael Busto — who shouted down Barrymore at the 92nd Street Y on Monday — was busted going door-to-door in her Southhampton neighborhood trying to track down the A-list actress, according to law enforcement sources.

Busto was detained shortly after landing on the steps of Barrymore’s $6 million farmhouse, sources said. Luckily, the “The Drew Barrymore Show” star was not home at the time. It was not immediately clear what charges Busto would face for the frightening encounter.

The arrest arrives on the heels of the onstage confrontation going viral thanks to Rapp’s quick action. Barrymore later praised the actress/singer for rushing her to safety.

“Well, I have a new definition of your sexiness, it’s that level of protectiveness,” Barrymore told Rapp. “That went full Bodyguard. You are my Kevin Costner!”

(Via New York Post)

Earlier this week, Drew Barrymore was rushed off stage during an event with actress and singer Reneé Rapp. A man in the Monday night audience reportedly approached Barrymore and demanded to speak with her.

“You know who I am,” the man yelled as Rapp sprung into action and escorted Barrymore backstage. “I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York.”

The man was removed from the event by security, and Barrymore and Rapp resumed their conversation once they felt safe returning to the stage. However, the situation reportedly escalated as the week continued. The man was arrested outside of Barrymore’s house on Wednesday morning.

Via New York Post:

Chad Michael Busto — who shouted down Barrymore at the 92nd Street Y on Monday — was busted going door-to-door in her Southhampton neighborhood trying to track down the A-list actress, according to law enforcement sources.

Busto was detained shortly after landing on the steps of Barrymore’s $6 million farmhouse, sources said. Luckily, the “The Drew Barrymore Show” star was not home at the time. It was not immediately clear what charges Busto would face for the frightening encounter.

The arrest arrives on the heels of the onstage confrontation going viral thanks to Rapp’s quick action. Barrymore later praised the actress/singer for rushing her to safety.

“Well, I have a new definition of your sexiness, it’s that level of protectiveness,” Barrymore told Rapp. “That went full Bodyguard. You are my Kevin Costner!”

(Via New York Post)

St. Louis star Sexyy Red has hit some major career milestones over the past eight months or so, and soon, she’ll be hitting another with her first headlining tour. After the success of “Pound Town,” it was pretty much inevitable that the unapologetic rapper would bring her hit single — and its follow-up album, Hood Hottest Princess — on the road to touch fans in person. And, of course, the tour is named after the album: The Hood Hottest Princess Tour kicks off October 16 in Boston, with Red’s hometown show landing on Halloween Eve. She’ll wrap things up toward the end of November in San Francisco, hitting most of the major US stops between. Red was also recently added as a supporting act for Drake and 21 Savage’s It’s All A Blur Tour, so it sounds like things are looking up in a big way.

10/16 – Boston, MA @ The Paradise Rock Club
10/18 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/19 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
10/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10/24 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
10/26 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
10/30 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/31 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
11/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
11/04 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
11/05 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
11/09 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
11/10 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
11/14 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
11/15 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
11/20 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
11/21 – Dallas, TX @ Echo Lounge & Music Hall
11/24 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
11/29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

St. Louis star Sexyy Red has hit some major career milestones over the past eight months or so, and soon, she’ll be hitting another with her first headlining tour. After the success of “Pound Town,” it was pretty much inevitable that the unapologetic rapper would bring her hit single — and its follow-up album, Hood Hottest Princess — on the road to touch fans in person. And, of course, the tour is named after the album: The Hood Hottest Princess Tour kicks off October 16 in Boston, with Red’s hometown show landing on Halloween Eve. She’ll wrap things up toward the end of November in San Francisco, hitting most of the major US stops between. Red was also recently added as a supporting act for Drake and 21 Savage’s It’s All A Blur Tour, so it sounds like things are looking up in a big way.

10/16 – Boston, MA @ The Paradise Rock Club
10/18 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/19 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
10/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10/24 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
10/26 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
10/30 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/31 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
11/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
11/04 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
11/05 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
11/09 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
11/10 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
11/14 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
11/15 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
11/20 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
11/21 – Dallas, TX @ Echo Lounge & Music Hall
11/24 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
11/29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

A lot has happened in the world of basketball since the first round of the Western Conference playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies this past season. This has included one of the, for lack of a better word, main characters from that series changing teams, as Dillon Brooks left the Grizzlies to join the Houston Rockets on a lucrative deal in free agency.

Brooks went at it with LeBron James on a few occasions during the series, with Brooks calling out James in the press only for James to get the last laugh by moving on in the postseason. Fast forward to today and Brooks is with Canada’s national team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but he still can’t escape the feeling that he had James right where he wanted him during their matchup in the playoffs.

“I feel like I always had him,” Brooks said in an interview with Arash Madani of Sportsnet. “I feel like that series was thrown upon me cause of the words that I say, but I’ve been saying things all year and we won 50 games.”

After a Grizzlies win in Game 2 of the series, Brooks said that he likes to “poke bears,” called James “old,” and made clear that he doesn’t respect any player until they score 40 points on him. He ended up getting ejected from Game 3 for hitting James below the belt and was unable to stop James from scoring the basket that clinched a Laker win in Game 4. Once the series ended, James went onto Instagram and issued a response to Brooks, saying “If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR.”

A lot has happened in the world of basketball since the first round of the Western Conference playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies this past season. This has included one of the, for lack of a better word, main characters from that series changing teams, as Dillon Brooks left the Grizzlies to join the Houston Rockets on a lucrative deal in free agency.

Brooks went at it with LeBron James on a few occasions during the series, with Brooks calling out James in the press only for James to get the last laugh by moving on in the postseason. Fast forward to today and Brooks is with Canada’s national team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but he still can’t escape the feeling that he had James right where he wanted him during their matchup in the playoffs.

“I feel like I always had him,” Brooks said in an interview with Arash Madani of Sportsnet. “I feel like that series was thrown upon me cause of the words that I say, but I’ve been saying things all year and we won 50 games.”

After a Grizzlies win in Game 2 of the series, Brooks said that he likes to “poke bears,” called James “old,” and made clear that he doesn’t respect any player until they score 40 points on him. He ended up getting ejected from Game 3 for hitting James below the belt and was unable to stop James from scoring the basket that clinched a Laker win in Game 4. Once the series ended, James went onto Instagram and issued a response to Brooks, saying “If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR.”

Sorry to everyone trying to celebrate National Peach Pie Day, but the only thing anyone can talk about today is Donald Trump‘s mugshot. The former president, who faces 13 felony counts in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is expected to surrender to authorities in Fulton County on Thursday. It will likely happen in the evening “during the prime viewing hours for the cable news networks,” according to the Guardian.

Trump skirted having his mugshot taken, let alone released to the public, during previous arrests, but Fulton County sheriff Pat Labat vowed that he’ll be treated like everyone else this time. “Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” he said earlier this month.

As for how Trump might look in the mugshot, former federal prosecutor Brian T. Kelly gave some tips to the Boston Globe. “Menacing is never good,” he said. “It could taint the jury pool. I’d say the best a person can do is simply look calm and serious.” Retired New York Police Department detective Michael Alcazar bluntly added, “The photographer just takes a picture and that’s that.”

Trump’s mugshot might actually break the internet (before it appears on thousands of the cheapest bootleg shirts you’ve ever seen).

(Via the Boston Globe)