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“Needs Tightening”
These two dread words, when found without further explanation in a critique, signal oncoming angst for the writer. We all know what ‘tightening’ means in theory. In practice, it can include anything from removing a few words here and there, … Continue reading
Posted in fiction
Tagged books, composition, creation, fiction, imagination, structure, teaching, tightening, writing
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“The Universal Plot”
Take a trip back to the 80’s and see what was known then as The Universal Plot. Its origins are obscure, but I suspect that it was generated by someone in Southwest Manuscripters back around 1980. My copy shows no … Continue reading
Previewing Your Book — “Look Inside”
One of the more powerful sales features of Amazon is its ability to let on-line shoppers take a lengthy peek at your book. A couple of clicks and the shopper can read your title page, your copyright statement, your preface, … Continue reading
Focus KISS: Barri Evins on Story Simplicity
There’s a wealth of screenwriting advice on the Internerd. Too much, if anything. Every once in a while, something gets posted that’s really important and very well put. Check out the article by Barri Evins at Script: “Tell the damned … Continue reading
Posted in excerpts, filmmaking, quotation, screenplays, writing
Tagged creation, novel, screenplays, structure, writing
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Twenty (20) Interesting Films
We saw some of these in class, some we viewed as homework or for special projects. You may find them amusing. American Beauty* Pay It Forward Almost Famous* The Abyss Lantana Bandits The Man Who Would Be King Ararat Matchstick … Continue reading
Posted in filmmaking, screenplays
Tagged Hero's journey, imagination, movies, structure, teaching, writing
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Screenplay, Part 8
I’ve completed the first step in adapting my screenplay, In the Mouth of the Lion, to novel format. I took the simplest approach: converting the script into a text file, then removing sluglines, and so forth. In essence, I’m using … Continue reading
Posted in books, creativity, In the Mouth of the Lion, screenplays, writing
Tagged fiction, Hero's journey, novel, screenplays, structure, writing
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Screenplay, Part 7
I’m changing gears here to talk about my earlier screenplay, In the Mouth of the Lion. My readers reported back several weeks ago. Based on their combined comments, I have quite a bit of work to do, a total of … Continue reading
Posted in creativity, In the Mouth of the Lion, screenplays, writing
Tagged fiction, Hero's journey, screenplays, structure, writing
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“The Garden of Forking Paths”
When constructing a plot, at any given juncture with multiple potential outcomes, it’s wisest not to select the first outcome that pops into your head. The best procedure consists of identifying as many of the outcomes as practical and then … Continue reading
Posted in books, creativity, fiction, predictability, screenplays, writing
Tagged computer games, creation, fiction, imagination, novel, screenplays, structure, teaching, writing
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Screenplay, Part 6
In the Mouth of the Lion is complete in its latest incarnation. I’m still finding a very few minor things to tweak on every pass, but I’ve reached the point where those minor changes may be irrelevant. I need another … Continue reading
Posted in creativity, In the Mouth of the Lion, screenplays, writing
Tagged fiction, Hero's journey, screenplays, structure, writing
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Screenplay, Part 5
Tonight, I made some major progress on In the Mouth of the Lion. I had reduced a 3.6 page punchlist* to 23 open items. Now I have only ten open items. I may be able to finalize (ha-ha) this draft … Continue reading
Posted in creativity, In the Mouth of the Lion, screenplays, writing
Tagged fiction, Hero's journey, screenplays, structure, writing
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