When reading a book or watching a movie, don’t try to break your head over the 12 Parts of the story, the Hero, the Villain, the Conflict, and so on. To be able to do this right off the bat you’d have to have years of experience.

Instead, look for patterns (that’s how I learned and am still learning).

Note down anything that jumps out a you multiple times, and when done reading or watching, analyze the patterns you’ve seen. Try to make sense of them. Read or watch the story again to confirm yo...