“I hate writing. I love having written.”–Dorothy Parker How does one find a voice? How does one cultivate style? Answer: You work at it. Sorry to tell you, but this is work. Are you up for this? If it takes writing a million words, are you ready to do it? Longevity, tenacity, determination. The willingness […]
Here’s one way to work your characters: Outline the major characters first, work down to key secondary/subplot characters. Try an INSIDE/OUT approach. People in life are never as they appear. How does the character appear to the world? What’s the façade? Write it down. Then write the inside. The underside. Please tell me Dick the […]
“How Do I Write A Great Character?” “I don’t write screenplay character biographies beforehand. I usually go in knowing some sequences: this is where I want to start, this is where I want to end.”— John Sayles “Character arcs always seem to be a big issue with film studio executives . . . so the […]
Does your story start at the beginning and run straight through? Do you pick it up late, and double back to tell the tale? Do you go Memento and get completely unconventional? Think of structure as the movie clock. Conventional stories are told in linear fashion, from 12:01am to midnight. Sure, there can be flashbacks, […]
So many gurus, so little time… Who do you like, Dara Marks or Blake Snyder? Go Old School with Syd Field or Robert McKee? How about looking over the grand-daddy of ’em all, the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell? What’s wrong with books that help thousands of people conceptualize their writing? Nothing at all. So […]
