Because they deal in images, movies can become repetitive and stereotyped so easily that filmmakers are constantly having to innovate, changing up their images and scene patterns so that they feel new. One example of this innovation is the rise of the phone conversation in a movie. Movies have a long tradition of having people talking on phones; it's a great way to convey distance and yet have characters talking together. It makes things seem more...

In the college class I T.A. for, I heard the teacher tell his students that they must know who the audience is for their papers. If they're writing about dancing, for example, they must decide whether their reader is an insider in the dancing world or doesn't know a thing. They must write with this reader in mind. While the professor was talking about writing analytical papers, it's absolutely true for fiction as well.

When you are working on a...

at the edge of porteau cove, originally uploaded by manyfires.

Enjoy this striking shot this week, and try and use it to inspire yourself...

In the past I've encouraged readers to look through their old stories. It's encouraging to see both where we came from and how far we've come since then. But I also want to encourage a stroll through your blog's archives, for some very different reasons.

1. You'll see how your blogging skills developed.

In case you're curious, this blog first began as...

We often begin imagining a character for a story by thinking about the Big Stuff. In the middle of the night, you're struck with an idea: you want to write a story about a character whose parents are both in prison. A character with a deathly fear of microwaves. A character whose greatest love just died in a plane crash. All of these things are the extreme aspects of a person's life. They give us the drama and the pathos, which are pretty crucial...

Sometimes we get so focused on the macro side of writing -- plotlines, character arcs, and so on -- that we forget to pay attention to the micro side of it. A well-written story not only has a good overall experience, but also has a sweet musicality to it, a beauty from line to line. You have to use your best diction, word choice, and rhythm to get that smooth ride. Today I want to suggest a technique that when used sparingly can really improve the...

This week, I want you to think about what thing, issue, or worry in your life has the power to keep you tossing and turning long into the night. Is it a relative who's in trouble? Financial woes? A moral quandary?

Whatever it is, it's clearly a powerful force in your life, and the perfect impetus for a story. Good stories are roiling with tension and unease. They keep you feeling anxious for the character, and they make you worried on his...

My new workshop professor this semester likes to start a discussion about a story with a few questions. Instead of immediately leaping into evaluative mode, we discuss instead what we thought the main point of the story is, why a particular voice was used, or what imperative made the writer write this story. It's helpful for a writer to hear what readers think the point of the piece is; it can tell him or her if they are completely off track, or even...

ho il destino tatuato sul collo non posso leggerlo da solo ho bisogno dei tuoi occhi sempre dietro., originally uploaded by Frammenti di momenti_.

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Now that I've worked in the offices of two different prestigious literary magazines, I've learned a thing or two about what comes in the slush pile most often. It's astonishing how many stories arrive that run through nearly identical storylines or patterns. While there is an exception to every rule, and any one of these stories could be written beautifully and prove me wrong, I've heard editors at both magazines declare they will never publish...