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It’s been done
I watched a teaser for a movie I’m looking forward to seeing later this year, and accidentally got sucked into the comments. As a rule, I try to ignore comments on the internet. Wiser people than I...
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Everyone likes a puzzle, but…
“You’ll never guess what I found carved inside this log!”I’ve been known to plot overly complicated puzzles for my roleplaying group. I’ve been known to plot stories with intricate interrelationships...
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About waiting…
I get reminded in weird ways how old I am, sometimes. For instance, there was a discussion happening between some of my online acquaintances about Star Wars, specifically about the original movies...
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The idea of ideas, part 3
I’ve written about how having an “idea” is not as important to storytelling as many think, and why specific questions about “ideas” can be so misleading as well as off-putting. As at least one...
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Storytelling should not be preaching
Brandon Ambrosino, writing for Vox, asks, “Why are Christian movies so painfully bad?” He’s writing specifically about the recently released movie, “Old Fashioned,” though he mentions a few other...
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Don’t waste the reader’s time: avoiding the one-way street
Christopher Bollen explains that writing isn’t a one-way street (click to embiggen)There was a lot of talk on social media this week because a group of jerks harassed the writer of an episode of a...
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Which Christmas Ghost should I write?
Since 1995 I have written an original Christmas Ghost Story that I then read (or otherwise perform; one required ukulele, there have also been costumes) at the annual Holiday Party “sponsored” by the...
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Let’s talk about (fictional) talking!
“Dialogue is not just quotation. It is grimaces, pauses, adjustments of blouse buttons, doodles on a napkin, and crossings of legs.” —Jerome SternThere’s a list being shared around tumblr of things...
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Holding the reader’s attention—and really keeping it
“The writer’s object is —or should be—to hold the readers attention.” —Barbara W. TuchmanI can’t count the number of times I’ve heard and read people give the advice that writers should write for...
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A writer writes — where do characters come from?
“Yes I am writing you into my book! You’re gruesomely butchered on page 76. You’re welcome!”I have written more than once about my annoyance with an oft-used trope when portraying writers as characters...
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Subplots, plots, and resolutions — but what about the denouement!
(Click to embiggen) When I wrote previously about subplots, I searched for other blog posts and articles about it to link to for other perspectives, and was surprised to see a few pieces of what I...
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Ode to the MacGuffin, or, moving the plot and subplots along
Heh, the text spells it both McGuffin and MacGuffin… (click to embiggen)I didn’t quite mean to go so long before continuing my series of blog posts about subplots; additionally I have also been meaning...
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That’s not a plothole…
A classic…Frequently when people are trying to explain why they don’t like a particular movie, series episode, or book, they will refer to a plothole. They will express great frustration about this...
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