by Joe Bunting |
My family and I went to see Les Misérables the day after Christmas. My dad said, “It was probably the best film I’ve ever seen,” and while I may not go that far, it certainly had me (and three-quarters of the theater) dripping with tears more than once.
I want to write a story like Les Misérables. Not a musical, but a story so powerful, so captivating, that it could move people in the same way.
If you’d like to write a story as powerful as Les Misérables, I’ve put together this list of five observations about what made the story so powerful, and how writers can emulate it.
by Joe Bunting |
Doesn’t the best writing come from the heart; something experienced in real life? The writing that speaks directly to the reader and gets them involved in the event and the circumstances taking place? After all, the most spread advice of ‘Write what you know’ has a firm standing for a good reason. If this is so, what happens with all those writers who feel they don’t have a significant real life story to tell, assured their lives are boring and not worthy enough to show?
by Joe Bunting |
I’ve been in San Francisco with my family this weekend. Needless to say we’re having a great time.
While San Francisco is a relatively young city, it has a storied history regarding the arts. Notably for writers, it was the home of the literary movement known as the Beat Generation in the 1950s.
The Beats included writers like poets William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg and novelists Jack Keruoac and Neal Cassady. Their motto was liberty of expression and their style has influenced writers for the last 60 years.
by Joe Bunting |
PRACTICE
The Mayans were right. The world ended today.
Write about the end of the world for fifteen minutes. When your time is up, post your practice in the comments section. And if you post, be sure to comment on a few practices by other writers.
by Joe Bunting |
Don’t you hate the feeling that you get when you stare at your blank computer screen or your fresh piece of paper, your hands above the keyboard, your pencil hovering above the paper, and you don’t know what to write? I sure do. But instead of sitting and staring, frozen with not a single idea of what to write, I get up, walk away, and get inspired.
