Advice — advice

An agent flings a promising work against the wall. When asked why, she rages about all the times she has read entire manuscripts only to be disappointed in the end. She softens as she explains how, by the time she reaches the final quarter of the story, she longs for the work to succeed. If it fails, disappointment stings all the more. Agents, editors, directors, audiences, and readers alike expect the scenes of a story to add up to something meaningful in the end. The End is the Beginning T.S. Eliot said, "The end is in the beginning." The beginning...

Archangel Shecky makes an arrogant pronouncement that he can teach infallible, irrefutable, unassailable, one-size-fits-all formula for success. "Who is this blowhard who makes such an astounding claim?" you ask. I'm glad you did. He's the lead character in my most recent book, and instructional novel called Breakfasts with Archangel Shecky. He claims to be an angel, but if he is, he's different than most angels you and I have ever known (not that we've known that many). He likes his scotch and since the story takes place in Philadelphia, he likes all the foods that Philly is famous for -...

"I'm gonna write a screenplay" "Good!" "I've got this great idea for a story. I'm really excited" "Go for it." "Except, I've got this problem." "Oh?" "I stare at my computer and all it does is stare back at me!" "Have you tried using the keys on the keyboard?" "I'm being serious. What's the secret for starting a screenplay? Do you have a secret?" "As a matter of fact, I do." "Is it writing down scenes on 4x5 cards first and then laying them all out so that you can see the beginning, middle, and end?" "That's one way to...

Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. - Mark Twain Ah, January! A new year, a fresh slate, a virtual meadow of pristine winter white that stretches for miles in front of us. Where oh where do we put our first footprint or make that first goofy snow angel? If you're like most people, this is the month for throwing oneself with gusto into an aggressive self-improvement program involving the words "diet" and "exercise." Remember all those glam party invitations last month you couldn't...

The Duchess was such a disappointment. Though the wigs were beyond fabulous and the sets stunningly gorgeous and aristocratically dignified, the characters were flat, their dialogue practically non-existent, and their emotions understandably absent given the dearth of any context for the story. If you're going to do a period piece, do it up right. People, this was the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Reason. The time of Revolutions. Of great philosophical, scientific, and social exploration, discovery, and change. It was a time of long, complex sentences that displayed the acumen of the speaker, who was most likely schooled in...