I hope you’re already dreaming up an inciting incident for your favorite premise! I know I am. But before we do that, we need to know who our characters are. Yesterday, I outlined the hero and heroine of the Talk Show Host and the Teacher. Today, let’s take a look at the Actress and the Park Ranger Who is our Actress? Our Actress has worked hard to get where she is. She was a good girl, a hard worker growing up, and her parents put her through school. She moved to Hollywood to follow her dream, and was an overnight success. She married an A-list star and life seemed to be going her direction…until she decided to make an indy film exposing the flesh-for-sale industry overseas…and the […]
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A little background on the Talk Show Host and the Teacher
So, maybe it would help you know which way to vote if you knew who you were vote for. Here’s a bit of Background on our characters, using the simple WHO method for developing all the key pieces: Talk Show Host Who is she? She’s a foster child with a fractured past, always inventing herself. Always tried to be all things to all people. She never wants attention for herself, so she’s good at stepping outside herself, and highlights other people. She doesn’t know who she is, so it’s hard to be true to herself. She is only confident as an interviewer and celebrity. She has the way of getting the true story out of people. Exposing the lies. Combo of Geraldo and Oprah. But she really doesn’t know who […]
Read the RestWhat I learned in ’08
As writers, we should never stop learning the craft. The more we write, the more we learn. I’m very fortunate to work with a brilliant editor who sees the art beneath all my mistakes and gently guides me in the right direction. Haven recently rewritten a book with my editors guidance, here are three things I’ve added to my arsenal. Dialog. Yes, of course, I’ve always used dialog. I consider it one of the most important factors of fiction writing, but dialog must count. In 2008, I honed the idea that dialog creates momentum, moves the story forward. Don’t slow it down with paragraphs of description or internal thought. Keep action tags and speaker attributes behind the dialog as much as possible. Of course, the “rule” can be bent, but […]
Read the RestJump Jerry Shaw! The makings of a perfect ending
I admit it, I’m a Shia LaBeouf fan. I fell for him in Disturbia, then Transformers, then Indy and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and so I couldn’t wait to see him in Eagle Eye. Besides, the movie just looked great, with high action and an edge-of-your-seat premise. What if you had no control over your life? What would you do? I wasn’t disappointed. Eagle Eye had me on the edge of my seat the entire two hours, some of the time with my hands pressed up against my face (in fact, I think I even made red handprints). Non-stop action, great motivations, incredible conflict…a movie that took my breath away. Sometimes, in thrillers, let just say, uh….any of the Die Hard movies…we have a hero who is […]
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