Quantum Storytelling

I’m editing down the first scene of my screenplay because I need the big catalyst in my story to move from page 20 to page 12.

As I edit this first scene, I notice a bad habit of mine that crops up pretty often. I’m too explicit. I leave nothing unexplained. It’s not just a matter of using too many words. As I visualize a scene while writing it, I have a hard time resisting the temptation to describe anything and everything I feel is pertinent to the scene. Here’s an example;

Read more

I love studying structure because…

Structures of which we are unaware hold us prisoner. Conversely, learning to see the structures within which we operate begins a process of freeing ourselves from previously unseen forces and ultimately mastering the ability to work with them and change them.

-The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge

I found this in an organization/management book, but this universally applies to everything, including storytelling.

From Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain;

“A hook is a device for catching, holding, sustaining, or pulling anything — in this case, a reader.”

Every story needs a high concept hook. Every sequence, every scene, and every sentence needs a hook.