Advice — guy magar

'Heck, we'll just write them, and let the directors worry about visualization!' More often than not, and consciously or not, this seems to be the mindset of most writers based on the many hundreds of screenplays that have crossed my desk at all levels of proficiency. Sorry folks, it's called 'motion pictures.' This does not just mean writing movement, or pacing or action...it means you better write VISUALLY, and when and if you do, it is my professional belief that not only will you succeed in communicating the scripted visualization of your story and achieve that all-too-rare experience of your...

Mystery and detective fiction comprises a literature of questions. Who done it, of course, is the classic question. There's also what was done*? How was it done? Why was it done? An even more fundamental question, though, is this: what is a mystery? Like many seemingly simple questions, this one is remarkably difficult to answer. Every mystery reader would probably answer it differently. We can agree, however, that all mystery and detective stories involve a breach in the social order, followed by an attempt to repair that breach and restore order. The breach usually involves a crime, although it doesn't...