Why the Stories We Dismiss Are Often the Ones We Need Most with Leslie Zemeckis and Sara Divello
The Storytelling LabShow Notes
"You do the story that you want to do because you believe in it and it will find an audience. You have to be passionate about something and not try and hop off what's already out there. You have to absolutely 1000% have a vision." — Leslie Zemeckis
Not all stories are treated equally — and Leslie Zemeckis and Sara DiVello are on a mission to change that. In this episode, the co-hosts of the Plot Point podcast, founders of the Santa Barbara Literary Festival and Nantucket Book Festival respectively, and bestselling authors in their own right join Rain to break down why the stories we tend to dismiss — romance, thriller, true crime, comedy — are often doing the most important work of all.
We talk about how comedy functions as a doorway to empathy, why chasing trends produces what Leslie calls Skittles books, and how to carry the story of a real person with the care and tenderness you would want someone to take with yours. Sara's research into the Great Migration and pioneering female journalists, and Leslie's documentary work shining a light on forgotten women in history, form the backdrop of a conversation about what it really means to give overlooked stories and overlooked storytellers their due.
If you are writing your first book, finishing your tenth, or simply trying to figure out what story deserves your attention next, this episode is your reminder: write the thing that lights you up, don't wait for permission, and know that every finish line is just another starting line.
In this episode, you will learn to:
1. Reject the arbitrary hierarchy that ranks some story genres as serious and others as disposable 2. Write the story that sustains you through the full marathon — not the one you think will sell 3. Research deeply and carry your subject's story with the care you would want for your own 4. Build a creative community instead of working in isolation — it will change your career 5. Stop waiting for someone to greenlight your story and go create it now
Links & Resources
Follow Leslie Zemeckis: Website → https://www.lesliezemeckis.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/lesliezemeckis
Festival → Santa Barbara Literary Festival → https://www.santabarbaraliteraryfestival.org/
Follow Sara DiVello: Website → https://www.saradivello.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/saradivello
Festival → Nantucket Book Festival → https://www.nantucketbookfestival.org Podcast → The Plot Point Podcast (with Leslie Zemeckis and Sara DiVello)
Authors Referenced → Jeffrey Archer
Authors Referenced → Walter Mosley
Authors Referenced → Wally Lamb
Authors Referenced → Stephen Rowley
Authors Referenced → Ryan Coogler
Authors Referenced → Ace Atkins
Authors Referenced → Erica Robuck
For more storytelling tips and strategies, visit: Website → https://rainbennett.com Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com
Or follow along at: TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Storytelling Lab
"You've got to manage both sides. You're the captain of the ship. You let the playful side talk and then you get it organized and manage it. People are dominant on one side or the other, and either side can be very bad if you go to the extreme." — Kim Krizan
"Advertising is the loudest, most publicly visible, and highest-stakes storytelling that your brand will do. And one misaligned ad can destroy and erode years of trust that you have built." — Rain Bennett
"Storytelling is local. But we are a global brand, so we do need consistency — and enough flexibility that everything can be used at a local level, because what resonates in China is not the same thing that resonates in Kenya." — Sydnye White
"The best of the writers know structures are important. And then they forget that they've been intuitively following a structure and tell the world you don't need structure. The rest of the people think they don't need structure and realize by the hundredth page they don't know what the story is going to be." —Anubhav Srivastava
"A narrative lives or dies on the conviction of the most senior authorized leaders of the organizational system. The story is the strategy. A company without a story is usually a company without a strategy." — Michael Margolis | Storied, Inc.