Today’s revelation comes courtesy of Elmore Leonard. He had his way of talking about it (and doing it). I have mine. Continue reading
Category Archives: craft
What’s your problem?
Posted onFiction doesn’t have to have a formula. But storytelling does follow a pattern. That pattern is roughly:
- A character has a goal
- Something prevents the character from attaining the goal
- The character reacts and adjusts (pursuing the goal another way or pursuing a new goal)
Things I’ve Learned About Writing, #14
Posted onSomething terrible is waiting for you at the bottom of this post. I don’t know if you’re the type of person to scroll down to see what it is or just stop reading altogether. But it’s there. And whether you read on or not won’t stop the fact that somebody is going to see it.
Which brings us to this observation: Continue reading
Things I’ve Learned About Writing, #12
Posted onIt’s interesting to look back at observations that, at the time, were clearly influenced not just by what I was writing, but also by what I was reading. Continue reading
It was the best of opening lines, it was the worst of opening lines
Posted onIn today’s online edition of Entertainment Weekly (and presumably the print version as well) is a slideshow featuring classic opening lines of books. I think they got most of them right. See what you think. Continue reading
Character Driven or Plot Driven
Posted onI’ve been busy. Mea culpa.
But today I pose the question: Should a story be character driven or plot driven? Yes. As in, both. And it doesn’t take a long dissertation to demonstrate why. It might only take a two-minute video. Or commercial.
(Sorry about the size of the frame. I had some code issues.)
“Breaking” the story
Posted onQuick: What do The X-Files, Breaking Bad, and Gilligan’s Island have in common.
Give up? Good, because it’s a trick question. Vince Gilligan is an award-winning writer/producer who has worked on both The X-Files and Breaking Bad.
(This is Vince Gilligan. This is Vince Gill. Don’t confuse them.)
In the video below, he talks about how he and the other writers “break” a show. Continue reading
Colson Whitehead’s Rules for Writing – NYTimes.com
Posted onIf you’re a writer (or even if you’re not) and you haven’t seen this, head on over the New York Times site and read this. It’s hilarious.
What the Romney Campaign Can Teach Us About Writing
Posted onI was skimming over the usual morning headlines today. A few blurbs about Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, caught my eye. “Speculation mounts on Romney VP pick…” I thought, Geez, surely this guy knows who he’s going to select already. Why doesn’t he just tell us? And that’s when it hit me. Continue reading
Things I’ve Learned About Writing, #9
Posted onThis was one of the most important lessons I learned and one of the most difficult for me, personally, to put into practice. Continue reading