#RIPRobinWilliams tweets show how to serialize your story What can you learn from Norm MacDonald's Twitter tribute (would that be twibute?) to Robin Williams? What can't you learn?! MacDonald shows us how to serialize our stories, how to get the word out in 144 characters or less — and when to stop typing. Here are six tips to take from MacDonald's … [Read more...] about Take a tip from Norm MacDonald
creative technique
Don’t say ‘when’
Date leads date your story In a “West Wing” episode, President Jed Bartlet is in the Oval Office, where a technician prepares to record his Saturday morning radio address. TECHNICIAN: "Here we go. In three, two ..." He holds up his index finger on "one," then points to Bartlet. BARTLET: "Good morning. This month, as autumn is in full bloom in much of … [Read more...] about Don’t say ‘when’
How small is small?
Mini narratives can be as brief as a paragraph In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee shares this tiny tale: "In 2005, a man diagnosed with multiple myeloma asked me if he would be alive to watch his daughter graduate from high school in a few months. In 2009, bound to a wheelchair, he watched his daughter graduate from college. The wheelchair had nothing to … [Read more...] about How small is small?
‘Every sentence is a little drama’
How to build plot, scene and character with verbs Things that make your copy more creative: Storytelling. Human interest. Wordplay. Concrete details. Verbs. Verbs? Yes, verbs, writes Constance Hale. "What I want writers to understand," writes the author of Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch: Let verbs power your writing, "is that every sentence is a little drama. There’s a subject, … [Read more...] about ‘Every sentence is a little drama’
Show and tell
Map out your story on Ann's roller coaster grid The best stories show, then tell, then show, then tell, again and again and again. And the best pieces mix up their concrete details with stories, statistics, scenarios and more. How does your story shape up against that standard? To find out, use this grid to map out your story. On it, note which kinds of concrete … [Read more...] about Show and tell