Q&A: Creating Tension in Your Story
Q: How do you create tension without resorting to action? A: Tension is actually the antithesis of action. Tension is all about creating anticipation.
Q&A: LOVE STORIES AND OUTER MOTIVATION
Q: I’m writing a love story and have already developed the hero’s inner motivation and inner conflict, but I’m worried about her visible goal.
DIALOGUE vs. ACTION: Tell Don’t Show
Writing and storytelling are filled with rules and maxims that are presented as unbreakable commandments – but which should occasionally be challenged.
Clothes Make the Girl: WORKING GIRL
Brief, vivid descriptions of the characters and settings in your screenplay, novel or presentation create a vivid movie in the mind of your reader or audience.
LOVE STORIES: The 4 Rules of Romantic Triangles
When the hero or heroine of your love story or romantic comedy is choosing between two lovers, you must be careful not to lose sympathy for your hero.
Arenas and Finish Lines: AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER
I find it fascinating that Avatar and The Hurt Locker – the two movies that duked it out for the 2009 Best Picture Oscar® – have so many common plot elements.
LOVE STORIES: The 6 Categories of Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedies – especially Hollywood Romantic comedies – are among the most formulaic of genres, with elements that have consistently contributed to these scripts’ and films’ success.
COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
One of the biggest mistakes screenwriters make is giving too little importance to commercial appeal of their story. Before putting words on the page, a writer should always ask…
DESIRE: The Driving Force of All Successful Stories
In other articles I discuss everything from story structure and adaptation to pitching and marketing your story. But here I want to cover something much more basic.
REMEMBERING SYD
Back in the Dark Ages, when I was just a movie lover fresh from Oregon with Hollywood dreams, I attended Sherwood Oaks Experimental College.