JOY IS SHARED… These are the only words spoken or written on the screen during “The Joy Ride.” Let’s see how the story brings us to that conclusion. In case you missed the previous installments of this series, I have been breaking down the elements that made me refer to this Amazon spot as a…
Welcome Back! It’s time to see the hero of our 60-second story pursue her visible goal. In case you missed my previous two emails (A Perfect Story Introduced, and The Setup) I am breaking down the individual elements that make the Amazon Christmas video “Joy Ride” so emotionally captivating. These are the same elements you…
Season’s Greetings! Are you ready to have some fun? If you saw yesterday’s email, you know that I recently encountered an emotionally captivating, 60-second video that exemplifies all the essential elements of any live, written or recorded story. And based on the many email responses I received, many of you agreed – and, just like…
Happy Holidays – If you saw my Advent Calendar newsletter, you know I love counting down to Christmas and the New Year. So for the next 5 days, before vacation begins, I want to offer you A Perfect 60 Second Story. I rarely sit through TV commercials anymore, since the movies and series I watch…
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…
Send your questions to Michael and he’ll create a Q&A Article specifically for your question!