The “Box” is Just a Punk — A Guest Post by Art Holcomb
Once again our friend Art Holcomb knocks it out of the park. ***** Writers learn the same way our characters learn. Consider for a moment some of the great characters of fiction: Jay Gatsby, Yuri Zhivago, Atticus Finch, Scarlett O’Hara, Philip Marlowe, James Bond, Harry Potter . . . and Winnie-the-Pooh. These heroes spend most […]
An Empowering Perspective on Writing Scenes That Work
Having viewed four movies in four days, I am reminded of the learning (for novelists) that is avaiable there. In particular, the art and craft of defining and shaping scenes, which are the building blocks of dramatic narrative. Novelists too easily, and too often, don’t regard scenes for what they are: the delivery of story. […]
“Your structure is off…” — What Does That Even ‘Mean’?
You may have heard that. In fact, you may have heard that from me, either by virtue of having me evaluate your story, or through your own interpretation of the story architecture principles I espouse here. It may confuse you. It may even piss you off. Not everyone understands the difference between a principle and […]
The Universal Fairy Tale — A Guest Post* by Art Holcomb
Art Holcomb is a regular contributor to Storyfix. He’s a professional screenwriter and storyteller, and teaches writing at the university level, among other dark and scary places. The nice thing about having a regular contributor like Art is that he can bring us cool stuff from elsewhere, meaning this is a guest post* within a […]
Hunger Games (11) – Epilogue: What This Story Teaches Us… Summarized
You don’t have to like The Hunger Games – book or film – to appreciate its craft. And more importantly, to learn from it. Most who don’t like it (some of whom were summoned forth from this series to berate me for focusing on it) are put off by the subject matter (teenagers pitted against […]
Hunger Games (10) – The “Risk Taking” in this Story
As someone who advocates writing fiction from a context of structure, mission driven elements and aesthetic discipline driven by market standards, I am sometimes pitted against others who advocate “taking risks” with our stories. As if, somehow, these philosophies are not aligned. I suppose it depends on how you frame the issue. Is breaking certain principles and […]
Hunger Games (9) – The Entire Story in Nine Sentences
Or… YOUR Story in Nine Critical Sentences The best way to teach a technique is to show it working relative to something you already understand. What better way, then, than to introduce you to an immensely powerful story development tool – I hesitate to call it a trick, though it feels like magic when you […]