Act II:2 is the third quarter of a book or script, and generally the darkest quarter. One of the most useful things you can do for your book or script is to start looking at Act II as two very distinct and contrasting Acts, divided by the Midpoint game-changer. (More...
One of the key elements of Act II, especially Act II: Part 1, is the PROMISE OF THE GENRE. Your GENRE (and subgenre) is a promise to your readers or audience about the EXPERIENCE they are going to get by reading your book or watching your movie. It’s a contract with...
Now that you have your Index Cards, let’s get them up on a Story Structure Grid! If you haven’t brainstormed on Index Cards yet, that’s your first step: For the second part of the method, you’ll need: A cork board, whiteboard, wall, or a sheet of cardboard, big enough...
Great characters are great from the first moment they appear on the page or screen. We’ve all experienced that electrifying rush—the knowing that this fictional person will be with us for the rest of our lives. So how do authors and screenwriters achieve that magic?...
This month, why not celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and work on your storytelling craft—by watching Selma? We’ve started talking about using Story Patterns (What KIND of Story is It?). In Selma, the filmmakers have chosen the structural form of a War Story and...
Happy New Year, everyone!! I’ll keep this brief, because I’ve come to believe in easing into the year instead of making frantic pages of resolutions, But how about just this one? I’m going to write on my book or script for 15 minutes a day. When I was teaching dance I...
First Chapters are a very fraught subject. Writers agonize over them. I don’t have to tell you! The pressure is enormous, isn’t it? The first chapter sells your submission and it sells your book once it’s published. It carries the whole weight of the book with it. It...
Even if you’re not a romance writer, there are very few books or scripts that don’t have love plots, at least subplots—and who doesn’t want to up their love story game? So at this romantic time of year, why not put yourself in the mood for love and in the mood to...
Happy New Year, and Happy Year of the Tiger! I’m late getting the year started—Omicron outbreak in the family over Christmas. Hope you all have managed to avoid it!But I always like to celebrate this off-beat holiday with a movie breakdown.As the classic It’s a...
Story Expo writers! It was getting late for me (in the UK!) for that second session last night and I feel like I wasn't very clear on the PLAN in Raiders of the Lost Ark. So here's a Recap of the PLAN from my ongoing online workshop, with examples from Raiders and...
