One of my favourite sci-fi movies of all time is Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. For those that haven't seen this 1982 neo-noir movie, it's set in a 2019 dystopian world where synthetic humans known as replicants are bioengineered by a powerful corporation to work on off world colonies. Directed by Ridley Scott and loosely based …
Tag: writing
Killing one’s darlings
If you've just finished your first draft of your novel, congratulations. Pour yourself a drink of your favourite tipple and celebrate. You're half-way to completing your project. Yes -- I did say half way. The editing process is just as important as the creation of the first draft. If your first draft reads like c**p. …
Connecting your story’s hero/heroine
Have you ever read a story or watched a movie that brought a lump to your throat and tears to your eyes? Yes, of course you have. Good stories create an emotional experience for their readers or audience. It's the reason why we like them so much. But how do their writers do it? It's …
Story Design — Characterisation
Some very successful writers claim to produce stories without any apparent planning or preparation. Story design must be built into their DNA. Others, which I suggest is the vast majority of writers like me, struggle to find the stories within them through a variety of different processes. Some write by the seat of their pants …
Story Design – Twenty Key Questions
As a new writer one of the most difficult decisions to make is about what to write about. There is plenty of advice from experienced writers out there who say just sit in the chair and write. And that if you don't write, you can't become a writer. But that doesn't help the newbie author …
Story boarding
In my previous blog, I put forward the view that a writer should know his/her story before he/she starts writing. Once a writer has a story concept, a character with a goal, a source of conflict, and stakes at risk then they have basic ingredients for a story. But as any chef knows, ingredients can …
Pacing and escalating tension
A few weeks ago, I went to see Star Wars The Force Awakens. What a movie! Of course, with all the hype about the movie there was always a risk that it wouldn't live up to fans expectation, or that it would not true be to the the original trilogy. But most of the critics …
Unbelievable Endings
Movies and novels are two very different mediums of story telling. Some great novels don’t necessarily translate into great movies. And some great movies would not necessarily make a great novels. But despite the obvious differences in the medium, there is a lot a novelist can learn about storytelling from the analysing the story elements …
First Draft
Typing those magic words, ‘The End’, can be a satisfying moment for any first time writer. If you have got that far in your writing, then congratulations. You’ve made it further than most aspiring writers do. You haven’t given up. But then when you read the draft, reality kicks in. Let’s put it kindly: it …
The Darkest Moment
Stories are all about conflict and transformation. If the main character in your story can achieve all of his/her desires without any struggle at all, then it wouldn’t be much of a story. It is therefore the job of the writer to make things difficult for the hero/heroine. One writer likened this to getting your …
JMJ Williamson 