Posts by One Monkey
I was watching a movie at the weekend that made me think about this question. I think when something is "solid" and "well constructed" whether this is proper praise or faint praise depends very muc...
This is what I learned the hard way. The rules are there to support you in getting from A to B and do a decent job regardless of skill level. Following a set of tried and trusted rules allows you ...
The disconnection you point to is vital to the initial volume of the trilogy. The Hunger Games are a satirical device, the oppressive Panem actually come from the desire to frame a story around a s...
I haven't actually seen any movies specifically about writing that are particularly inspirational. Writing is not the most movie-friendly of activities. I find the movies that give me inspiration ...
All stories are lies the participants conspire in, as opposed to the more harmful type where the liar tries to pass fakery off as the real thing leaving the recipient unaware. Stories are a currenc...
A scriptwriting exercise that always helps make a nice shape out of dialogue. Follow the instructions without reading them all the way through the first time. Just do each step one at a time: 1) T...
At the risk of trying to answer the unanswerable I will share with you something I have discovered over the course of my various writings. Writing is a bit like building a bridge from one side of ...
The one consideration I would probably want to factor in is that the publishing industry remains conservative. Until your app sells well enough for them to overlook your transgression of the "First...
I always just write interesting parts (in sequence) and develop them until the whole thing makes sense without the boring parts ;) Or at least I try to...
Starting a speculative or fantasy story with a vision is a venerable tradition. As the words "venerable" and "tradition" imply the tricky part is making yours stand out and not seem cliched. The a...
One thing that should be used as a seasoning in Odyssey tales is the idea of the false destination. The idea that where the characters thought they were going is not in fact the destination and a f...
I once read a book with a cast of thousands and an epic sweep that covered centuries of mythical action, bloody wars, magical happenings and whatnot. I read about four chapters and gave up because...
To a certain extent it depends on how closely entwined your reference is to the intended appreciation of the story. To take the example of a pop song: if you need to listen to the song to really ge...
The most reductionist view of a plot is: Equilibrium > Disturbance > Equilibrium. Or to reduce it down to two words: Something Happened. Even trying to subvert it by making your plot: No...
In the initial stages I think you have to free yourself from the notion that you are meant to be producing anything that will resemble your finished book. As you are writing a non-fiction volume y...
One for the creative writers, although I suppose a lateral shift might put it within reach of journalists/technical writers. As authors we all want to write, I would imagine: Something that many...
The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Plot! It would be pulpy hyperbole to say that this is the very essence of entertaining and exciting genre fiction; but there's nothing wrong with a bit of pulp. It...
EDIT: In reconsidering this question and a conversation I had with a colleague the other day I believe I have something to add on this. He mentioned reading about the way Agatha Christie used to co...
I recently read the assertion that many great works of fiction were chiefly down the contribution of a good editor. I must admit I was a little taken aback by this statement. I had never really tho...
From an answer to this question: How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece? I think I can infer the meaning from the usage but some elaboration would be helpful.
I don't mean writer's circles, or "auditioning sites", although some of these have forums tacked on as a by the by. Usually places to talk about the beardy philosophy of writing are moribund places...
