Archive for April, 2006
What Makes Gilmore Girls the Best Show on TV
When I read Michael Ausiello’s recent interview with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, two things impressed me. Not what’s going to happen to Gilmore Girls now that the show’s creators have left. Not who fans will blame. Not what will happen in the show’s storyline.
What I noticed was about Dan and Amy:
They’re passionate.
They’re story geeks!
Spotlight: The Notebook (the movie) (Review)
Review of The Notebook, directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.
An elderly woman (Gena Rowlands) stands, looking out of the nursing home window. An elderly man (James Garner) visits her. She doesn’t know him, but he clearly considers her an old friend. He reads to her a story from a small [...]
Setting the Mood With Milieu
This is the second part of a series, after Setting the Mood With Expectations.
Another mood-generating device authors use is milieu.
Pet Peeves: Loose Instead of Lose
I have a long list of pet peeves, some that bug me more than others. One that I see popping up more and more is that people spell lose with two o’s. Lately, I’ve taken to passing over even potentially interesting articles that have this misspelling, such as this recent one: “How inventors and entrepreneurs [...]
Setting the Mood With Expectations
How do you write moody stories? How do you imbue your prose with overwhelming emotion? It’s all about manipulating the feelings of the audience. Over the next couple of weeks, I want to look at different ways to set the mood. This week, using expectations to set the mood.
Facts Tell, But Stories Sell
I know I’ve been preoccupied with life recently. So I thought I’d pass along this inspirational tale from Kim Klaver’s blog, “A blind man’s new words get new results.” I originally found it linked from Seth Godin’s blog.
-TimK
Justice, Masthead Style
Magazine Man recently posted a particularly good story on his blog Somewhere on the Masthead. Actually, everything he posts is particularly good, and we’re fortunate to have him in the blogosphere. But this story, in particular, is particularly good. It’s the true story of a bully, a hero, and a jackass with a little power [...]
Character Ideas Through Substitution
Here’s another way to generate character ideas. Substitute one reaction for another. We all tend to make our characters behave like ourselves or like people we know. So let’s say I’m a computer geek who tends to be shy and reserved, except when I’m talking about computers. Then I’m talkative and outgoing. They say, write [...]
Spotlight: Holly Lisle’s Website
Do you love good writing? Do you want to learn to write? Check out fantasy author Holly Lisle’s website.
My New Blog
I’m not posting today, because last night I started a personal blog. This is a professional and career blog, as opposed to my LiveJournal on which I riff and complain and post creative writing projects (not necessarily in that order).
I’ve been putting off “J. Timothy King’s Blog” for some time, because I haven’t been able [...]