Q: I’ve read your article on the 5 Key Turning Points of All Successful Stories, and watched your lecture on 6-stage plot structure that’s part of The Hero’s Two Journeys. But… read more →
[Though this question is from a screenwriter, the issue it raises is just as critically important to novelists, speakers and internet marketers.] Q: Having recently completed the first draft of… read more →
Award winning author Kristan Higgins joins Michael during his Story Mastery event for the Connecticut chapter of the RWA to discuss her best selling novel The Next Best Thing. In… read more →
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. Is my hero’s desire simply to win… read more →
James Cameron’s screenplay Avatar is an outstanding example of using many structural tools and devices successfully in one script. In addition to the overall structure of your screenplay – the… read more →
Imagine a story about a soldier, wounded by past battles, who is sent to a hostile, unfamiliar place filled with danger and overwhelming obstacles. He’s a stranger in a strange… read more →
Many of you have asked how effective the elements of my 6 Stage approach to plot structure are when applied to one-hour dramatic television series. Even though an episodic series… read more →
Hollywood movies are simple. Though writing a successful Hollywood movie is certainly not easy, the stories for mainstream Hollywood films are all built on only three basic components: character, desire… read more →
The term ‘Story Structure’ simply refers to the sequence of events in a story. A writer’s or filmmaker’s goal has to be to create an emotional experience for the reader… read more →
Structure is something that every agent, editor, publisher, Hollywood executive, public speaker, marketer and story teller talks about, to the point that it can seem complicated, intricate, mysterious and hard… read more →