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- admire characters for attempting more than their successes have been.
- keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer.
- trying for theme is important, however you won't see what the story is about until you're at the end of the story. got it? now rewrite.
- once upon a time, there was __. every day, __. one day, ___. because of that, ____. because of that, ___. until finally, ___.
- simplify. focus. combine characters. hop over detours. you'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
- what is your character good at or feel comfortable with? throw the polar opposite at him. challenge him. how does he deals with it?
- come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. seriously. endings are hard. get yours working up front.
- finish your story. let go even if it's not perfect. in an ideal world you have both, but move on. do better next time.
- when you're stuck, make a list of what wouldn't happen next. more often than not, the material that gets you unstuck appears.
- pull apart the stories you like. what you like in them is a part of you. recognize it before you use it.
- why must you tell this story in particular? what's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? that's the heart of it.
- discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th - get the obvious out of the way. surprise yourself.
- give your characters opinions. a character being passive or malleable is easy for you as a writer, but it's poison to your audience.
- what's the essence of your story? what's the most economical way of telling it? if you know that, you can build out from there.
- if you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
- what are the stakes? give us reason to root for the character. what happens if he doesn't succeed? stack the odds against him.
- no work is ever wasted. and if it's not working, let go and move on - if it's useful, it'll show up again.
- you have to know yourself, and know the difference between doing your best and being fussy. story is testing not refining.
- coincidences that get characters into trouble are great. coincidences that get them out of it is cheating.
- exercise take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. how would you rearrange them into what you do like?
- identify with your situation/characters. don't write "cool". what would make you act that way?
- putting it on paper only allows you to start fixing it. if a perfect idea stays in your head, you'll never share it with anyone.
jan 15 2018 ∞
jan 15 2018 +
jan 15 2018 +