The Confusion About Dialog
If I told you I knew how to write dialog I would be lying. I have no clue how I do it. I listen and type what I hear. (Yes, these are the voices in my head.) So when people go on and on about dialog it bores me. And not just because I feel [...]
How to Succeed in Evil #11
Edwin settles the accounts and slips away.
Expectations – the ball the game is played with
There are many ways to dissect a story. One of the ways that has proven to be most rewarding for me is to consider only the reader’s expectations. Plot, story, theme, character, point of view — all of it, right out the window (it’s fairly liberating). The only analysis becomes what is expected vs. what [...]
Expectation Pt. II
Let’s analyze a few storires using the expectations model. Nothing rigorous here, just what popped off the top o my head.
The Book of Job: A man’s life falls apart. We expect him to curse his maker. We would totally sympathize if he did. (Since it’s his maker’s fault.) But he does not.
Gospel according to Mark: [...]
"Yes, but…" The Cardinal Rule of Drama
I have an friend who is a very talented actor. And one day he explained to me the secret of improv. No matter what happens, you have to respond with “Yes, but.” For example.
“Your hat is on fire.”
“Yes, but I bought it on sale.”
If you just agree with the other person, the tension is dissipated. [...]
New How to Succeed in Evil Episode
Just posted on succeedinevil.com. You can find it here.
(It’s a doozy.)
Episode XI – Going Out of Business
Edwin settles the accounts and slips away.
Story Construction – Intro
The business of building stories seems not much different from the business of building anything else.
This is the insight of Lester Dent, the pulp writer who created Doc Savage. This was a guy who would regularly churn out 90,000 to 100,000 words a month on a manual typewriter. There’s no two ways about it, he [...]
Story Construction
The business of building stories seems not much different from the business of building anything else.
This is the insight of Lester Dent, the pulp writer who created Doc Savage. This was a guy who would regularly churn out 90,000 to 100,000 words a month on a manual typewriter. There’s no two ways about it, he [...]
Rhetoric of Audio – Introduction
If you’ve heard more than one or two episodes of the Seanachai, you’ve got an inkling that I’m up to something more than just reading my own stories. For the most part, I’m composing specifically for the medium. And along the way, I’ve been experimenting and refining my ideas about how audio storytelling works. And [...]
Hey, where's my damn Seanachai episode?
A fine question (even if the tone was a little rude) and I’m glad you asked.
I’ve been travelling, working on a pitch for a thing with a guy at a company (I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s more of a Thing with a Guy at a Company.) and trying to make a little [...]
Blame Abraham
Maybe current events are nothing more than ancient events with better TV coverage?
What’s in this coffee?
Take a Class.
Patrick's Tweets
- RT @SVAllie: Come and join us at http://bit.ly/df9kBy for @PatrickEMcLean's reading at 9:30 pm EST #dragoncant
- Getting ready for a reading on #dragoncant at 9:30 -- first few chapters of Unkillable
- @KatCutler Thanks for your kind words. Make those little kids into readers will ya ;-)
- Rule of Creation No. 5 -- The middle of everything is hard. #creating
- @Cianmm Safe travels my friend. You'll have a blast. Sadly, I will be unable to attend. But enjoy it to the hilt for me.