#2: You
gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to
do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying
for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til
you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once
upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___.
Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5:
Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re
losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is
your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them.
Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up
with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are
hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish
your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both,
but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When
you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the
material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull
apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got
to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting
it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea,
you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12:
Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the
obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give
your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you
write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why
must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story
feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you
were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends
credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What
are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they
don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work
is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back
around to be useful later.
#18: You
have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing.
Story is testing, not refining.
#19:
Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them
out of it are cheating.
#20:
Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange
them into what you DO like?
#21: You
gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What
would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s
the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you
can build out from there.
via dumblr
No comments:
Post a Comment