Perfect Counterparts, by Erik Bork

From: http://blog.artella.com/post/141211270456/on-developing-story-ideas-by-pete-docter What makes an audience root for two people to be together? The Save the Cat books have a name for the type of story where the primary external conflict is that two people who are “perfect counterparts” have something big in the way of “living happily ever after.” It’s called “Buddy Love.” And it includes most types of love stories, including the classic “Forbidden Love” (Brokeback Mountain, Twilight, Moulin Rouge) or… Read More

On Developing Story Ideas, by Peter Docter

From: http://blog.artella.com/post/141211270456/on-developing-story-ideas-by-pete-docter “Where do you get your ideas?” This is a question people ask a lot, and frankly it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding about the creative process. For some geniuses like Walt Disney or Miyazaki, their movies show up to them fully formed. Kapow: Dumbo. Pinocchio. Spirited Away. If you’re lucky enough to be born brilliant, ideas just appear all at once in your head. I used to believe this. But here’s the… Read More

Birth vs. Battle, by David Corbett

  From: http://writerunboxed.com/2016/04/12/birth-vs-battle Let me kick things off with blasphemy: Conflict is not the engine of story. Allow me to explain. The longer I teach, the more writing texts I seem to read, if only to find out if someone else has a clearer, simpler, or more insightful way of presenting the material. (To my chagrin, that’s often case. Fortunately, I’m not so old a dog that I’ve forsaken new tricks.) In… Read More

7 Lessons in Outlining, by Jeanne Veillette Bowerman

From: http://www.scriptmag.com/features/balls-of-steel-7-lessons-in-outlining-first-draft-fear-oh-my By Jeanne Veillette Bowerman | October 10, 2013 I have a problem starting scripts. I am a self-proclaimed outline junkie, allowing myself to linger in all the possibilities of characters and conflict for far too long before opening my screenwriting software and diving in. For this new project, I’m trying something new on multiple fronts: I did a rough outline, not as detailed a one as I normally do (the one… Read More

Congratulations, Jeanette Mendell! 2016 PNWA Finalist!

Congratulations to Jeanette Mendell who has been selected as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest. Jeanette is being recognized among middle grade authors. In addition to receiving a bargain on the registration for the 2016 PNWA Conference July 28 – 31, Jeanette will be honored at the Awards Celebration and Dinner at the conference. Well done, Jeanette!