Tag: Writing

On Writing Advice: I Have None

It occurred to me that my three most recent Ed’s Casual Friday posts were all basically “writing advice” things; one about “cinematic” elements, one about naming characters, and one about exposition. Looking back over all three, it struck me that I felt the need to start each with a proviso about my lack of fondness for “how-to” writing advice. The disclaimers went something like this:

Let me first fully acknowledge that I subscribe to the Different Strokes school of literary advice, inasmuch as “What might be right for you, may not be right for some.”
– Book v. Movie, Steel-Cage Death Match, 8/24/12 Continue reading “On Writing Advice: I Have None”

Music

I write a lot of different kinds of things. I write marketing stuff, fiction, music. I think it would behoove us to focus on that last one for a second, though. One of the things I stressed the most about writing when I was teaching workshops was very simple: music.

Whether you are writing a song or not, you are writing music. Rhythm, assonance, alliteration…these are like the whipped cream on top of the writing cake. Writing is a very complicated proposition. You need to tell a story, but you want to “lull” the reader into the story…you don’t want them to be aware that they are being told a story. So, you hypnotize.

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The Prestige

Author Lin Robinson

If you haven’t seen the film, it’s worth looking up “The Prestige” with Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Scarlett Johansson. But this isn’t a film review: I mention it because the title comes from a “three part structure” of magic tricks that I think is worth serious attention from writers, one of those rare, simple skeleton keys that can actually help you conceive your stories better. And like the other tips I’ve offered here, it’s a bit global and “Zen”. Please bear with me.

Here’s the breakdown of every great magic trick, according to top pro magicians as well as ancient tradition: three discrete and vital “acts”. The first part is called “The Pledge”. This might be seen as analogous to the “normal world” of fantasy story structure: you are shown a deck of cards, a canary, a woman lying on a table. Then comes “The Turn”. Now things become less normal, which is what magic is all about: the card is mysteriously known to the magician, the canary disappears, the woman levitates. Then comes “The Prestige”, in which abnormal reality steps out and kicks your butt: the card appears in your wallet, the canary flies in the window, the woman dissolves into a flock of doves. Continue reading “The Prestige”

Five Tips for Writing Action Scenes

Action sequences can make or break your book. We live in a world of action movies, but that doesn’t mean that our writing has to become one giant action scene. So, here’s a little checklist to make sure you don’t go overboard with your action scenes.

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