Bigger-Than-Life Characters Create The Entertainment

Memorable characters make the movie, the novel, the play. Think of characters that you remember after five years. Ever wonder why?

How To Make A Living As A Writer - Or, Advice Your Mother Wouldn't Give You!

Writing for a living is a dream for many - but what's the reality? Professional writers spill the beans.

How To Write Fantasy Fiction

Writing Fantasy Fiction can be fun and rewarding. But where do you start?

The Page Is Your Stage

When it comes to entertainment, there is nothing more incredible than a book that can take a reader to a place far away. In our world of visual media, the competition is fierce. If you want to pull those readers from in front of a screen flashing with action, you had better be up to the challenge of offering them an incredible alternative.

Fiction Writing: Why You Should Get A Good Agent

There is no doubt that getting a good agent can have a significant impact on your literary career. There is also no doubt that a bad agent can have an impact too - but not the kind you want. Any agent that you may contact must feel 'right' for you in the first place or the chances are good that the relationship will at best be strained and at worst be useless to you. To help you decide, we'll examine what a good agent should do for you - and what you shouldn't expect them to do for you.

188 Stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth): Using the Magical Gifts

With the giving of Magical Gifts (that will aid the Hero's Journey and help overcome obstacles) comes instruction in their use. In Straw Dogs (1971), Norman tells David to break the gun.

Writing for Profits Online

Writing for profits online is so very exciting. I enjoy doing it, and there are many others online who enjoy it, too. But I think that there is both an art and a science to writing for profits online. I think that there is in a sense a formula to making it work, and I think that there is an underlying art to writing for profits online.

What to Write About

When you start writing just how do you decide on what to write about? This can be a difficult problem for the budding (or established) writer. Let's decide the best way to banish these thoughts.

How To Get Started As A Writer

Writing for me, and a lot of other people, has always been quite easy. It helps to have an interest and it helps to have nimble fingers. I read a lot and meet a lot of people. That also helps.

How to Write a Children's Picture Book

No matter how carefully you labor over a story's tone, word choice, plot, character, setting, theme and style, you must have a thorough grasp of its structure for it to succeed.

Writing Picture Books for Children

How do go about writing Picture Books for children? Robyn Opie, author of 61 published children's books spills the beans.

188 Stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth): Antihero is a Superior Being

The antihero is often a superior being, even relative to the supernatural Aid. The antihero's relationship with the supernatural aid will be unequal on some level. It is the antihero who will lead the supernatural aid in some regard - usually he is of higher intelligence and superior capability. In Scarface (1983), it is Manny who plays the supernatural aid role.

188 Stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth): Antihero: Inner Cave

It is from the Inner Cave of the First Threshold, where the antihero personally disposes of the antagonist (hand-to-hand battle), completes the trivial task and is (along with his allies) pushed out of the first threshold.

188 Stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth): Resisting Engagement

Post the Crossing of the Return Threshold and before the Master of Two Worlds and Selves, a hell of a lot happens that is rarely given mention. The Final Conflict (a metaphor for this stage) follows a distinct process. An element is resisting the Engagement. In Straw Dogs (1971), David tells Cawsey and Charlie to get out of the house and locks the door.