The darker, downward spiraling Act II: Part 2 is a PATTERN in novels and movies that we tend to see often. I want to say up front, as ever: If you’re writing an Act II: Part 2 that doesn’t fit this pattern, and it’s working for you, that’s all that matters! Only use...


What KIND of Story is it? (A Star is Born: Daisy Jones & the Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Babylon)
We’re working with Act II: Part 1, so it’s time to do another post on STORY PATTERNS - which you really start to see at work in this second quarter of a book or script. The KIND of story, or STORY PATTERN, is different from genre or subgenre. There are hundreds of...
Holiday Homework: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
I know some of you have heard me talk about this movie before. But I have to repeat it. Because there is something that a whole lot of us do this time of year that we can actually turn into an almost miraculous (as it were) 2 1/2 hour session on writing. We sit down...
Holiday Homework: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
I know, it’s SO HARD to get any writing done this time of year. I’m not putting any pressure on you, I swear! But there is something that a whole lot of us do this time of year that we can actually turn into an almost miraculous, (as it were) two-and-a-half hour...