Dramatica Story Theory

Monday, January 18, 2016

Let your Muse run wild

Let your Muse run wild The easiest way to give yourself writer's block is to bridle your Muse by trying to come up with ideas. Your Muse is always coming up with ideas - just not the ones you want. If you try to limit the kind of material you will accept from her, she'll shut up entirely. So let your Muse run free. When she gives you an hysterical moment with a polka-dot elephant while writing a serious death scene, consider including it, perhaps as an hallucination. Give it a try, it might liven up your death scene! And after you've written it, if it doesn't work, then save it in a file for later use. It may seem like a waste of time, but your Muse will know she has been treated with respect, and will likely now give you just the idea you need. Writing Tip of the Day

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Be a Story Weaver - NOT a Story Mechanic!

Writing Tip of the Day: Be a Story Weaver - NOT a Story Mechanic! Structure is important but not at the expense of passion. No one reads a book or goes to a movie to experience a great structure. Authors come to a story to express their passions and readers and audience members come to ignite their own. While structure is the carrier wave upon which passion is transmitted, without the passion, it's just noise. Conversely, passion without structure can be full of sound and fury yet signifying nothing. So find the proper balance. Let passion be your captain and structure be your guide. Writing Tip of the Day

Friday, January 15, 2016

Write from your Passionate Self

Write from your passionate self

We all wear a mask to protect us from hurt in the world. It also blocks the light of our vision. As children, we quickly learn which behaviors are praised and which are punished. We learn to act other than we really feel to maximize our experience. In time,we buy into that mask, believing it is who we really are. But the mask evens out the peaks and troughs of our passion, leaving us afraid to explore the depths of our passion and reveal our true selves in words. To speak with a clarion voice, you must shatter the mask, discover your actual self, and thrust it into the world.

Writing Tip of the Day