The Death of the Method?


In the past, I've been a proponent of the Banes Method - really, the Save the Cat Method - of story construction and story improvement.

The method became all the rage in film production in Hollywood apparently - and has received some criticism as well, for being ...

There is a very important relationship between humor and horror.

Bill Hader credits sixteen-year-old, Finn Wolfhard, for his meeting with the casting director in the latest installment of the Killer Clown franchise featuring Pennywise, It: Chapter Two. If that was not enough, he has joked in several interviews how he ...

We've all had periods like this- everything that needs to be done yesterday just keeps piling up and up, demanding your time and your energy and focus, and you only wish you could clone yourself to get it all done in time.

Especially when it so happens that you ...

In a story when any character is plausibly eligible to die, the stakes are high. We worry for everyone, even main characters than in other stories wouldn't be on the chopping board at all. It's a great premise to have for your story setup, because it makes the ...

Points of View - part one

In literature, we know there are several points of view that can be used by the author. First person (everything is ‘I did this, I did that’), Third person limited (he does this, she does this, we can see the thoughts of only one character ...

Years ago while living abroad, I heard an expat mom explain to her kids that it was good to try new foods just like in Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss!

For anyone unfamiliar with the red covered book filled with rhymes, Green Eggs and Ham is a story ...

I Was Wrong - The Character Arc

Last time I was here I talked about “The Old Warrior”. It's one of my favorite character types and story elements.

This time I'm going to go into another trope/theme that almost always works for me: The realization of a character ...

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Sometimes your audience just doesn't pick up on the clever symbolism, the hints, the metaphor, the underlying themes and all the artistic cleverness in writing and ...

I am half way complete with my journey across the United States and I have spent the last week in the small town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This is an area of the world that many great creative artists, musicians, and writers that I greatly admire have lived and found ...

Time travel is a narrative trap. It's quicksand.

It's very alluring to use, being able to put a person from one historical era into another and watch as shenanigans ensue, but very quickly, a writer (and often the audience too) discovers that it quickly unravels, and the story ...