The Use of Clones Part 2

John Steinbeck uses a cast of clones in his novel, Of Mice and Men. The armature of that story is that people need companionship. It is both dramatized as well as stated. If it has been a while since you’ve read it, I suggest you reread it soon. It is amazingly well-crafted. He knows what he wants to say and says it over and over again in different ways. And he does give you an intellectual

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THE USE OF CLONES Part 1

“ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WERE THREE LITTLE PIGS… .”What I am calling clones have been called other names—“mirror characters” and “reflection characters”—but, whatever you call them, they are useful tools of the storyteller’s craft.A “clone” in story terms is a tool for showing, not telling. Clones are characters in your story that represent what could, should or might happen to the protagonist if

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RITUAL PAIN part 3

The Apartment has two characters who change, but they both learn essentially the same lesson. Because change is never easy, and is resisted, it is your job as a storyteller to apply as much pressure on your characters as possible. You must back them into a corner and force them to change. Make it as painful as you can. Bring them to the brink of physical or emotional death if you possibly can.

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RITUAL PAIN part 1

James Cameron took what could have been a little B movie and made Terminator into a surprise box office hit. He put Linda Hamilton’s character, Sarah Connor, through the ritual pain of being hunted down and nearly killed. In the end she is transformed into a woman who knows that her life matters. She has also been hardened by the experience and seems less girlish. Grown up.In Terminator 2, it

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RITUAL PAIN part 2

James Cameron took what could have been a little B movie and made Terminator into a surprise box office hit. He put Linda Hamilton’s character, Sarah Connor, through the ritual pain of being hunted down and nearly killed. In the end she is transformed into a woman who knows that her life matters. She has also been hardened by the experience and seems less girlish. Grown up.In Terminator 2, it

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What August Wilson Taught Me About Being A Writer

When I first met August Wilson, I thought, Here is a guy who can help me understand my craft. I was in a little mall on Seattle's Capital Hill and I looked over and there he was – a living legend. Mr. Wilson, as I called him then, was reading the paper and standing by himself. He was arguably America's greatest living playwright and undoubtedly the most successful African-American playwright ever

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