Last night I watched the new Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams for the second time. As a writer, stories are my business, so I study them in all forms. Film is a favorite in that it takes far less time and allows me to study the written form in a visual way. I …
Tag: plot
Aug 03 2010
Beware the Bog of Backstory
Think of it this way, if a guy is holding a gun to your head to take your car, do you really care about the childhood trauma that made him turn to crime? Uh…no. But basically that is what we do to the reader when we interrupt the flow of action to shift back in time and explain.
Jul 13 2010
Setting–More than a Backdrop
Keep perspective and blend. Keep conflict and character center stage and the backdrop in its place…behind the characters.
Jun 30 2010
One Ingredient to Make Your Fiction Timeless
To create riveting fiction we must put our characters in real danger continuously. They just about solve one problem only to realize they opened a door to a new and even worse problem.
Jun 25 2010
Writers–Embrace the Weirdness
Writing is more than word count, although you do have to sit your butt in a chair and get it done. Crappy writers never run out of drivel to put on a page. The great writers are always working even beyond the desk chair. They read, watch movies, eavesdrop and their minds are only gently tethered to this plane.