Goals NOT Problems
You’ll often hear people who teach writing emphasize a story’s “problem.” They say there’s no story without a central problem. Well, Captain Obvious says, “of course a story needs a […]
Discovery
Pitch your Climax
You’ve probably heard me say “writing is like cooking, best when all the ingredients come together…” Very true. And yet, within the multitude of story “ingredients” there are a few […]
How many pages of script is my outline?
You’re staring at a new 20 page comprehensive outline and wondering, “How many pages do I have here?” or you’ve just been tasked to create an outline for a new […]
Loglines: is my story any good?
People are always sending me treatments, or outlines (usually rough ones, not proper ones addressing specific story structure and development) and asking “Nick what do you think of my story?” […]
Outline Development
If you’re not running your writing with an outline, you’re either a genius talent or a lazy bastard… either way, I don’t like you. You probably didn’t even bother to […]
Character Flaws
Your end is only as good as your beginning… especially when it comes to character arcs. This following is a list of possible/potential character flaws—often the basis or anchor point […]
Does Your Story Have a Pulse?
This is a follow up on the Choosing Your Best Concept tip… Most new and aspiring writers think their story lives and dies by its surface details. I see this […]
Choosing Your Best Comic Concepts
When you’re developing original comic IPs, what your writing about is far more important than how you write it. A weak script can be rewritten–especially with the help of a […]
Are you working on a Phantom Story?
I wanted to start this post off with a very specific definition of story by a famous writer. I wrote the quote down last week and have no idea where […]
3 Act Structure-Friend or Foe?
People were arguing about three act structure in social media the other day. So I figured I’d chime in “real quick”. “You take the blue pill, the story ends. You […]