Greetings – If you’re reading this article, and especially if you keep reading to the very end, I’m fairly certain I can predict two things about you: You’re a storyteller. You want to be better at it. The first guess was easy. Because we are ALL storytellers. Whether you see yourself that way or not,…
Of all the multitude of things I loved about Christmas as a kid, one of my favorites was – and still is – the Advent calendar. I’m talking about those single page, cardstock calendars that count down the 24 days from December 1st until Christmas Eve. (I’ve never been sure why it doesn’t go…
Not a great recommendation for celebrating the holidays, I know. But if you want to find great stories to tell, this is the key. I first came up with the phrase “follow the pain” during a presentation.
After reading your “Conflict #4: The Nemesis” article and considering the “coming of age/personal development” story I’m writing, you have me wondering what you would think about…
Is there a way to find an original motivation that is also strong enough for an adventure story? I want to avoid clichés: avenging a dead parent; seeking a treasure; winning the love of a prince.
Do you have any advice for people who are good at ideas, plots and dialogue bits but not so good at getting into the heads of their characters?
I am finding that when I sit down each day to continue my writing, I read everything I’ve written so far in order to get back into the flow. When I do this I have the tendency to…
As futile – and maybe dangerous – as it may be to enter into the raging battle over the conclusion of Game of Thrones, I’ve become combat weary over…
The simplest way to understand the idea of STAKES for the hero (or for any character in a story) is to ask, “What will this character lose if he fails to achieve his goal?”
The film THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI includes an early scene where the hero, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) is confronted by…
Send your questions to Michael and he’ll create a Q&A Article specifically for your question!