Sprinkle religious words
Sprinkle religious words throughout the text. Make them double up as verbs, nouns. Not overt or over the top. Ring of stars. Halo of stars, that sort of ... Read on
Let’s take a look inside Don Simpson’s bedroom
The headboard concealed a hidden compartment containing a shotgun and machete, the last line of defense against the intruders—be they mob-hired hit men, deranged prostitutes, jilted rivals or psychotic ... Read on
Think of it as a cancer
Don Simpson always said the decline of movies started on the inside. “The failing of the present-day system is quite simply based on the fact that the studio executives are ... Read on
Resolve the want at the end of the second act
Paul Joseph Gulino notes that the main tension is not resolved at the end of the picture. In most cases it is resolved at the end of the second act. ... Read on
Telling the hive mind to shut the fuck up
In the 1990s, Jaron Lanier was one of the digital pioneers hailing the wonderful possibilities that would be realized once the internet allowed musicians, artists, scientists and engineers around ... Read on
No new main characters introduced after Act 1
Richard Walter makes the point that there is no such thing as new Act 2 and Act 3 characters. You must have at least ten ways to reveal information ... Read on
Doorways, windows, tunnels, bridges and stairs are portals
Each of these whispers a promise of change. Things beyond here are different than where you are. ... Read on
Storytelling by chakra
To reach the broadest audience, you need to move the process out of the head and into the heart with sincerity and emotion, into the gut with humor and ... Read on
Are novelists entitled to use real-life characters?
Tolstoy musing on (or through) General Kutuzov, or Dumas making a (splendid) villain of Richelieu, or even Shakespeare’s Tudor propaganda. Virginia Woolf walking through her suicide and the writing of ... Read on
This is a work of fiction
The people, events, and circumstances depicted are fictitious and the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance of any character to any actual person, whether living or dead, ... Read on
Master text
The novel is the master text. The novel is the word. It’s the show bible. It’s the beginning and, well, not the end. It’s the central nervous system that ... Read on
Book
How will you build it? What’s the story? How will you tell it? What do you want a reader to feel? What do you want them to think ... Read on
Novel novel
We got to speed the plow. Watching a film costs between ninety and hundred and twenty minutes (or so). Reading a novel costs a lot more time. I’m ... Read on
Novel soundtrack
How about building a soundtrack right into the novel. Literally track your eye movements on the screen and pour the appropriate music in underneath the words. As you read ... Read on