Clarity vs. Experimentation: A Letter To Myself
By Peter Derk
Does your work have a worthwhile story underneath the experiment? In other words, are you going to pay off the work a reader does to understand what’s going on?
Analyzing the Three-Act Structure in Tolkien's 'Fellowship of the Ring'
To celebrate the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring on July 29, 1954, we’re looking at how Tolkien used an enduring story structure to create an enduring trilogy.
Hurdles and a Pyramid: Plotting Your Short Story
By Joshua Isard
Make Freytag's Pyramid work for you, not the other way around.
5 Reasons Why You Should Write a Screenplay
Writers of prose would do well to follow the methods of screenwriters to help immerse readers in their story.
Storyville: Horror Story vs. Horror Novel
How do you know if your horror project is a story, novella, or novel? Some quick tips.
Brace Yourselves: A Breakdown of the Game of Thrones Pilot, "Winter is Coming"
The Game of Thrones pilot, "Winter is Coming," packs a sprawling, fantasy epic into a tight sixty-one minutes featuring distinct and interesting settings and characters.
Storyville: Are You Unique or Just Difficult with Your Fiction?
Make sure you're not being difficult and vague when trying to write unique stories. Here are some tips.
Seeing the Page Like A Quarterback Sees the Field
Using football metaphors, I compare how being a successful QB is similar to being a good writer.
What Works & What Doesn't: 'Badlands'
How effective is the first act of Terrence Malick's debut feature on the page?
Finding Poetry In Computer Code
Is there a linguistic elegance to code? Is it only ever for issuing commands, or can it be for the enjoyment of the programmer?
Making A Murderer: How Good Storytelling Made It So Damn Compelling
By Peter Derk
In:
Character, documentary, Legal, Making A Murderer, Netflix, Plot, Steve Avery, Structure, Television, True Crime
'Making A Murderer' was a fascinating story, but good storytelling made it truly excellent.
Five Literary Sex Scenes You Wish You'd Written
In:
Brokeback Mountain, Chuck Palahniuk, Cormac McCarthy, Elena Ferrante, Jy Yang, List, Sex, Sex Scenes, Structure
Unearned sex scenes are hard to swallow. Here are five writers that get to the guts of what's at stake when we get naked.
Five Ray Bradbury Stories That Tell Us Everything We Need to Know About Writing.
No writer stalked the inherent tensions in fiction with more guts and style than Ray Bradbury. Here are five lessons in conflict from the master of wonder.
What Every Successful Novel Opening Must Do: Myth vs. Reality
It's no secret that agents, editors, and their assistants are looking for any reason to reject a manuscript in the first few pages. But what does it really take to get readers hooked?
Five Ways Scrivener Can Help Your Work In Progress
Why Scrivener? What can it do for your writing? Go beyond the "click here" tutorials and consider how this software can improve your work habits and the quality of your content.
Trash or Treasure? A List of Five Obscure Literary Movements
In:
Hermeticism, List, literary movements, Martian poetry, Poetry, Romanticism, Spiralism, Structure
From to Spiralism to Martian poetry, not every idea finds a solid foothold in history or a wide audience.
Abandoning Linearity and Enabling Shuffle Mode: How to Write Out of Sequence
By writing out of sequence, you no longer have to force yourself to write the boring bits. You are always writing the fun chapters. The scenes that remind you why you’re a writer in the first place.
Screenwriting: The Emotional Spine
Got your three acts, your hero's journey and your turning points sorted? Good. But, what's holding them all together? Take your screenplay to the next level by addressing the emotional spine.
Storyville: How to Put Together an Anthology
Tips and information about how to put together an anthology of short stories.
Storyville: Kill Your Darlings—How 'Game of Thrones' Can Change Your Writing
We can learn some valuable lessons about plotting, characters, and expectations from watching (or reading) 'Game of Thrones.'
Storyville: Three Essential Books On Writing
In:
Character, Craft, Dialogue, Jeff VanderMeer, Plot, Stephen King, Storyville, Structure, Theme, Voice
Three essential books on writing by Stephen King, Donald Maas and Jeff VanderMeer.
Storyville: Dissecting "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates
In:
Character, Joyce Carol Oates, Literary Devices, Plot, POV, Research, Setting, Short Stories, Storyville, Structure
One of the most talked about, published and taught stories, I dissect "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates.
Storyville: 15 Unconventional Story Methods
Here are 15 unconventional methods of telling a story. Why not stretch yourself?
Storyville: Dramatic Structure and Freytag's Triangle
Is your dramatic structure intact? Study Freytag's Triangle to see if it is.
