All posts that are Essays
Hamnet: the perils of the predetermined ending
Writing to a predetermined ending often distorts both character behaviour and narrative causality to get there. Is that what Hamnet does? What’s the story’s argument? [...]
Fix Your Internal Creative Marriage
For real creativity, get your conscious mind and your subconscious mind to work with each other, not against each other. Sonnet 116 Shakespeare (or perhaps [...]
Internal Contradiction Externalised
Sometimes, especially in fables, the divided self is represented by two separate characters. This post extends the argument in Sequences: How they Work and it's accompanying Sample Sequences [...]
Write for the Story, not the Production Manager
Introducing standard script formatting too early undercuts clear cinematic storytelling. You don't need formatting software. You need a pen and paper, ideas, and a clear idea of what the audience [...]
Write for the Screen, not the Mouth
Screenwriting is writing for the screen, not the mouths of the actors. Learn to write in the language of cinema, not the language of Shakespeare. [...]
Who’s Got the Problem Now?
How to use “Who’s Got the Problem Now?” (and its corollary “Who’s got the Power Now?”) as tools for managing point of view in cinematic storytelling. What’s [...]
We Read Bodies, Not Minds
We read bodies, not minds. Don’t rely on dialogue to express psychological truth; add empathy and projection to your toolbox. Why dialogue is the last [...]
Truth, Reality, and the Story World
Navigating and exploiting the multiple realities of story worlds. The three “realities” Stories sit at the intersection of three “realities.” the world as it is, the [...]
Theory of Mind
Guessing what other people are thinking is an instinctive means of social survival. Co-opt this impulse in your storytelling. Here’s how it works. Humans are [...]
The Originality Paradox
The harder you consciously strive to be original, the less likely you are to succeed. Don’t push it. Or sweat it. Striving is an act of [...]
