THE ARMATURE Part 4

There is an old piece of advice usually given to someone about to give a speech: Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them. This is no different for storytellers. In fact, those three bits of advice could represent the three acts. But just how do you put this into practice? How is your armature put together?First, you must know where you are going or

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THE ARMATURE Part 3

The first thing you must do to get your point across is to understand what you want to say. I know that sounds simple and obvious, but I almost never meet writers who know what they want to say. Mostly what they want is to say something deep and profound that no one has ever said before, but they don’t know what that is. Or they want to say a thousand things in one story, not realizing that to

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THE ARMATURE Part 2

Why is it that some stories stick with us, while others are soon forgotten? Having a point gives your stories resonance. Do you recall the saying, “A fool speaks because he must say something and a wise man speaks because he has something to say?” This is true when one is crafting a story as well.Let’s look at the story of King Midas. If you recall, he was a king who loved money above all else

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THE ARMATURE Part 1

Because of my past work at make-up effects houses, I’ve known a few sculptors. When they begin sculpting in clay, they first build an armature to act as a skeleton; otherwise, the piece would not hold its shape. It might look good for a while, but would soon collapse. When an admirer of art looks at a sculpture, she never sees or even thinks about the armature that gives the piece its

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WHY WE TELL STORIES

A fool speaks because he must say something and a wise man speaks because he has something to say. – Old SayingI believe there is one primary reason human beings tell stories: To teach.Consider this: There is no culture on the globe that does not have stories. We all have music and we all have stories. They are part of us. I have read about aboriginal tribes in Australia who use songs and

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WHAT IS INVISIBLE INK?

"There is no art which does not conceal a still greater art." – Percival WildeOften when I listen to how people evaluate stories, I hear them talk about dialogue. When they talk about “the script” for a film they are often talking about the dialogue. Or when they mention how well a book is written, they most often mean they way the words are put together—the beauty of a sentence. When people

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