by Joe Bunting |
Pixar tells perfect stories. Teams of writers spend years writing them, rewriting them, and rewriting them again. They are perfectionists of story.
That’s why I was so excited when my friend Brandon Clements sent me this amazing list of storytelling rules from the writers at Pixar. I picked out this one that provides a simple, interesting story structure:
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
Sounds like a good place to start!
by Joe Bunting |
Of the twenty best short stories in the 2011 Best American Short Stories, half of them involved a character dying.
Think about your favorites novels or films? How many of them involve a death?
Of the thirteen books nominated to the 2011 Booker Prize longlist, every single one involved the theme of death.
by Joe Bunting |
“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice,” said Victor Frankl.
Every story requires pain and suffering. If the protagonist doesn’t experience pain, he won’t change. “Pain develops character. If you have a story where someone learns through joy, the audience won’t buy it,” said Donald Miller at his Storyline conference.
Joy is great. Your story should incorporate some joy. But the Great Teacher is pain.
by Joe Bunting |
If you’re like me, you’re probably looking for balance, balance in your creative life, in your work life, in your social life. You want to know how to balance your creative writing with your blogging and platform building. You want to know how to make money while also pursuing a career in writing. Oh and you’d like to finish reading a book every once in a while, too.
by Joe Bunting |
For most of my blogÂging “career,” I used Pagelines Platform which is, in my opinÂion, the best and easÂiÂest free wordÂpress theme availÂable. If you want an easy, free theme, I highly recÂomÂmend Pagelines.
However, in early 2012 I spent the money to upgrade to a preÂmium theme. Here’s why.
