As soon as the iPad inspired a slurry of Android clones I’m sure more than a few writers thought, “Now I can write that novel or screenplay in bed, waiting at the doctor office, or yes, even while sitting on the toilet!” But wait! Not so fast. How does the state of the art stack
Why shower crayons work: Routine. It forces us to focus and make decisions, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day. You don’t need hours, days, or weeks to make a decision. Most decisions can take place within a few seconds. Even the most creative thorny problems. You may not find the best
Novelists usually work by a process of drafting. They write straight through to a 1st draft. Then they change the things they don’t like in the 2nd draft, and iterate into a 3rd, etc. Drafting is a linear process. Plotting, also sometimes called ‘blocking,’ is used by script writers to establish economical scene flow.
Nov
29
Posted by : | On : November 29, 2007
Stories are a form of communication. Like all art & entertainment.
If the audience doesn’t get the message, you failed. I’ve been arguing with fellow creatives about the endings to The Mist and No Country for Old Men. Let me say this first, I think they are both good endings and it is not the endings themselves that have to change.
My problem is the endings don’t work. What the creators were trying to communicate is not coming across the way it was meant. How do I know?
Nov
27
Posted by : | On : November 27, 2007
Do you like happy endings? Or do you like tragedy? Does the hero have to ride off into the sunset, having saved the day and living happily ever after? Or are you okay with the hero or heroes dying in order to accomplish their goal?
For me it’s all of the above. I like it all, on one condition; The sacrifices have to be meaningful.
I don’t read stories or watch movies to find out that change is impossible and the hero ultimately fails. And yet storytellers still pull these kind of shenanigans.
Nov
26
Posted by : | On : November 26, 2007
In the unusual amount of freedom allowed to me by the Thanksgiving break, I managed to see The Mist and No Country for Old Men, both movies adapted from stories by popular authors.
I’ve read The Mist short story by Stephen King, but haven’t read No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy of “The Road” fame.
Both involve strong characters stuck in sticky dilemmas, forced to make hard choices which the audience may or may not agree with. But wait! Doesn’t the title of this thread imply this post was about Hollywood and formula?
Well here it is; Formula is officially dead. Or maybe it never existed. Love it or hate it, these movies break a couple fundamental rules. Rules that, if there were such a thing as The Formula, are clearly being violated in Hollywood left and right.
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