Archive for January, 2008
Ground Your Lightning Rod When Inspiration Strikes
When Inspiration Strikes It’s Best to be Prepared by David Niall Wilson Sometimes you get images that stick. It’s a good idea to write them down, even if you can’t currently pry yourself from life or leisure long enough to put them to proper use, or [...]
“Write what you know” - lesson 1
The classic writing advice flung at the feet of the novices is the catchy “Write what you know” dictum. Those four words have generated more discussion and frustration than possibly any other piece of advice ever proffered. I don’t have to wade through all that again, not here, it’s been said so many times, so [...]
Fictional Lives – Up and down like the Assyrian Empire
Scenes must move. For your main characters, each scene or chapter should be a sheer slope or a plunging ravine in their emotional rollercoaster. Positive to negative for one scene, reverse the polarity in the next.
Let’s demonstrate with Sir Norman the Norman, bastard-sword-wielding knight of medieval Northern French persuasion.
Scene 1 – This is Norman’s first [...]
The Liar’s Diary Blog Day..
This is an exta post-between-posts to honor a courageous lady and her book. A lot of folks are involved in this effort…all on this particular day…and we at Storytellers Unplugged would be remiss if we didn’t do what we could to join in… so, below is a short snippet and a link. [...]
If this ferments long enough, it may become a story.
I’ve been reading in some odd corners of American history lately, specifically Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party by George R. Stewart (originally published in 1936) and Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum (originally published in 1974).
Now, the disaster that befell the Donner Party in [...]
TAKING WHAT THEY’RE GIVING
by Wayne Allen Sallee
Ah, Huey Lewis, the man too hip to be square. Wonder what’s he’s [...]
It Never Stops
It doesn’t stop.
Contrary to popular belief, fond hope, and fairy tale, the world does not in fact stop whenever you reach a major milestone in your life and/or writing. No matter how momentous the occasion, no matter how important it is to you, it is not an ending. There is no happily ever after, the [...]
Giving Testimony
By Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem
Janet is buried hip deep in a deadline that she’s having trouble with thanks to the wonders of doctors deciding to “adjust” medication levels that were working. So, she asked her long-time friends Melanie and Steve Tem to fill in this month. In March, Wizards of the Coast [...]
The Stuff of Power
By Stan Ridgley
Words are the stuff of power.
Anyone who works with words for a living knows their power.
Well, let me issue a caveat. Anyone who works with words ought to know their power.
But of course, ensembles of words in various stages of undress are not necessarily created equal.
Pause
You choked on that for a [...]
So you want to know about screenwriting?
by Alex
PART ONE - THE JOB
Let me be clear about this up front. Right now is NOT the time to be sending your scripts to Hollywood in hope of breaking in to screenwriting. As I posted about here, the Writers Guild is on strike and anyone who tries to scab will be [...]
