THE STORY SPOT

We’ve all heard some variation of the trope, “Start at the end and work your way to the beginning” right? Well guess what? That works in writing and editing too.

Photo Credit: noraxx on Flickr

Say you’re staring at a blank page; you’re starting a new story but have no idea where it will head. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want but other times — like when you’re working to deadline or to directives from on high — you need to bolt it all down pronto. That’s when you move straight to the climatic scene of the film, novel, or memoir. How will this thing end? How is the story’s main problem resolved? What’s that final hurdle to be overcome and perhaps even who’s duking it out for the prize?

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The eternal debate rages on, does it not? In this segment of human entertainment history, we seem to be swaying heavily toward factual stories — creative non-fiction, memoir, documentaries and the like — as “best”. But as we people will do, our collective minds will eventually change and the course of time will shift these pun-laden sands to invented tales then back again. In the meantime, here’s a little something from intrepid New Yorker, Charlie Todd, a man who understands with the fibre of his being that experience is truth. Period.

Charlie Todd’s Improv Everywhere

Bonus Track: Here’s a terrific program (featuring Improv Everywhere) that peeks inside perception and experience as truth:
“Mind Games: Act Two, The Spy Who Loved Everyone“ Episode 286 of This American Life

We’re ringing in 2010 with a bright, shiny facelift and a brand spankin’ new calisthenics routine here at THE STORY SPOT. You’ll still find tips and inspiration to fuel your creativity, improve your technical skills, and help you navigate industry waters. To ice that cake, we’re working to bring our expanding community of writers and editors across the globe just a little bit closer and to keep doing what we do to get you through your writing day. The suggestion box is open so drop us a line.

I found this languishing around my desk today having been clipped long, long ago. The newsprint has yellowed and curled, as befits something read in times of need. So here it is for you.

Turns out the text is an excerpt of Michael Cunningham’s introduction to the Michael Henry Heim translation of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. The full introduction is available at the PEN American Center site for your inspirational pleasure.

Click the image to enlarge it. Good writing.

A good question worth sharing was posted by writer/member Louise F. over at SheWrites: Screenwriters & Story Editors. Louise asks:

Since I caught the screenwriting bug about a year ago, I have been more sensitive to structure and tropes. Is the three-act frame out of date or overdone? I read in a screenwriting web site (from a supposed pro) that plenty of successful films buck the trend and are better for doing so. I read earlier that a 90-min. script should have this and that by this or that page – like 3 acts. My own script tries to get the rising action underway by page 80, but in the first 2 drafts, anyway, it didn’t quite work out that way. Comments?
– Louise F.

This is a multi-pronged topic that pops up regularly enough that we’re going to address it here in hopes of encouraging some well-thought-out rule-breaking.

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