Advice — advice
A Dash of Style: The Period, Part 4
Posted by Noah Lukeman on
In last month's excerpt from my book, A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation, we discussed a few of the dangers of underuse of the period, as well as the role that context plays in punctuation. In this, the final installment, we'll continue examining the pivotal role of context, and take a look at what your usage of the period might reveal about you. In the hands of a master like Shakespeare, the context of period placement and sentence length takes on layers of meanings--indeed, is taken to a whole new level. Let's look, for instance, at...
- Tags: advice, expert series, noah lukeman
Your Mind is the Key to Your Success
Posted by Carole Lee Dean on
Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right." He knew that the mind is a key component to success. Are you using your mind to fund your film? My job is to read hundreds of film proposals for the Roy W. Dean film grants. I stay in touch with many applicants, even those who don't win, to follow their progress. Some projects are so heartfelt and the filmmakers so determined that I just want to help them in some way. You would be shocked at how many brilliant films are never made...
- Tags: advice, carole lee dean, expert series
The Metaphor is King
Posted by James Bonnet on
All great stories have the same structure (see my articles on The Essence of Story and Beyond Theme: Story's New Unified Field) which, for the purpose of this article and in its simplest form, can be summarized as follows: A threat, either agent or perpetrator, creates a problem that brings about a change to a state of misfortune and is the main source of resistance that opposes the action when someone tries to solve the problem and restore a state of good fortune. In stories that end tragically it's the reverse - the story starts in a state of good...
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A Dash of Style: The Period, Part 3
Posted by Noah Lukeman on
In last month's installment of my book A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation, we discussed a few of the potential dangers of overusing the period. In this month's installment, we'll examine a few of the dangers of underuse, and also begin to look at the role of context in punctuation. If reading a series of too-short sentences is like travelling in choppy waters, then reading a series of too-long sentences is like riding a wave that rolls and rolls but never, satisfyingly, crashes. Most readers feel as if they're gasping for breath when reading long sentences;...
- Tags: advice, expert series, noah lukeman
A Little Confession is Good for the Soul: An Interview with Writer/Director Stefan Schaefer
Posted by John Gaspard on
Every script can (and should) be a learning experience for the writer. The more we write, the more we experiment and stretch, and the quicker we learn what works and what doesn't. We take these learnings to our next script, where we build on them and learn more. And then we do it again. And again. Writer/Director Stefan Schaefer learned a lot while working on the script for his movie, Confess. He benefited from public readings, workshops, and mentors. But he didn't stop there. He continued to refine his script all the way through production and post-production, and in the...
- Tags: advice, interviews, john gaspard