Tag: online TV writing workshop

The Mirror Maze World of the Private Eye Part 2

PI-red

by Diana Black

EDITOR’S NOTE: Haven’t read Part 1 yet? You really should GO HERE

#3. First deception uncovered, usually perpetrated by the Client.

  • Q. What is this Dick embarking on?
    What dangers are looming?
    What’s different about this Dick’s journey compared with other Dicks’? How is it typical?
    Why the deception in the first place? What is the client hiding from the Dick (or from themselves)?PI-Dick-flipped
    Why the ‘red herring/s’ –
    why is the client trying to throw the Dick off the scent?

#4. Detective hassled by the cops. read article

How to Get Writers Guild Coverage for Your Work on the Web

Speaking of indie video and film, as we have been this week HERE and also HERE, this is something we all should know:

The WGAW rides to the rescue again!

Cartoon: “Writers Style Guide”

Grant Snider is here to satisfy your every writerly need:

StyleGuide-web1

StyleGuide-web2 read article

AQUARIUS 1969 – America on the Brink of a Nervous Breakdown

aquarius20

by Lew Ritter

“We didn’t start the fire – The World ‘s been burning since the world’s been turning.”- Billy Joel

Are you tired of the endless mind numbing headlines about corrupt “say anything to get elected politicians.”, allegations of police brutality , overseas events that seemed to be spinning out of control and a world that seems to be collapsing around us? Need a break?

Well, let’s revisit a more tranquil place around fifty years or so in the past America, in the 1960’s. It was called the “Era of Peace and Love. “ However, in reality, the 1960’s was a chaotic time when America felt like it was falling apart due to strained race relations, student unrest and foreign wars without end. read article

The Mirror Maze World of the Private Eye Part 1

PI-red

by Diana Black

Think back to every detective story you’ve seen on screen – big or small. Even the briefest recollection makes it abundantly clear that detective stories follow a pattern. All stories do, hence the term ‘genre’ – a specific form or style associated with a narrative.

All of those detective stories you’ve recollected vary in some way, but the ‘structural arcs’ (of the good ones) contain specific scenes we’ve come to expect in this genre. Without them the reader will dump your master-piece in the trash can and if the project is miraculously green-lit, the viewer will channel-surf. So those scenes had better be there.

PI-DickYou’ll find lists of the essential – one might in fact say “obligatory” – scenes for almost every type of story (and much more) in TVWriter™ honcho Larry Brody’s Booklet, “Storytelling Patterns in Genre Films”. No, it isn’t available on the web or in stores. You can’t pay for it anywhere. But you can get it as a Free Bonus Gift when you enter the PEOPLE’S PILOT COMPETITION…which is worth entering for many more reasons as well. But here’s a sample scene listing from the booklet, which by no coincidence whatsoever is exactly what this article is about: read article