#44: Performance Genre Conventions

In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the performance genre. I'm also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie The Mighty Ducks. Here's a preview of what's included:

[01:15] Performance stories center around a character who wants to achieve something specific in order to prove their worth to the world. For example, they might want to win a certain award, climb Mount Everest, be the best in their field, or be famous.
[01:55] Readers choose performance novels because they are extremely relatable. Every day we deal with the pressure to perform on the world’s stage, and we are constantly faced with decisions that could result in success or failure.
[02:55] Genre conventions are the character roles, settings, and events that are specific to a genre. They’re what help us writers write a story that works AND evoke emotional reactions in our readers.
[04:45] #1 - There is an underdog protagonist who usually has some kind of special gift.
[05:30] #2 - There's a MacGuffin or a specific thing the protagonist wants to get or achieve.
[06:30] #3 - There's a mentor figure with a little bit of baggage.
[07:45] #4 - There's a team of people who support the protagonist.
[08:40] #5 - There are trials or training sequences that help get the protagonist ready for the big event.
[09:55] #6 - The protagonist faces social problems or moral challenges (like bullying or social class divides).
[10:55] #7 - The protagonist faces a worthy opponent.
[11:30] #8 - There's a monkey wrench that gets thrown into the mix just when it seems like victory is in sight.
[12:30] #9 - There's an internal change within the protagonist.
[13:25] #10 - There's usually a bittersweet ending.
[15:10] Key points and episode recap.

Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts

Are you subscribed to my podcast? If not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode! Especially because I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. So, click here to subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts!

If you're already a subscriber, and if you enjoy the show, I would be really grateful if you left a review over on Apple Podcasts, too. Those reviews help other writers find my podcast and they’re also super fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the show is. Thanks in advance!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode Freebie: Performance Genre Key Scenes PDF Cheat Sheet
• Performance Conventions: The 10 Things Every Performance Story Needs (article)

👉 Click here to get access to the FREE limited-episode podcast series "Write Your Book In 2025." Learn the 3 things you need to write your book in 2025, how to silence your inner critic so you can write confidently, practical strategies for finding time to write (even when life's busy), and my clear roadmap from idea to finished draft.

Support the show

👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.