Tom Roston

Journo. Kombucha/coffee/lager. Author of The Writer's Crusade: Kurt Vonnnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five and lots of other nonfiction.

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Hey! It's my pub day! Please spread the word: THE WRITER'S CRUSADE (https://t.co/LpcLzXzhMJ) is about Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five & the writer's path from trauma. Tonight's virtual party: https://t.co/hyRm6qpz8w @MMFlint

[Marcus Baram @mbaram]

My latest story…

https://t.co/EPbNtzLlNa

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

A legacy of 9/11 is that our bipartisan nation took care of the families of the immigrant workers who died that day. (Most, if not all, of the undocumented who died worked at Windows on the World.) Our kitchens are still run by immigrants. Don't turn on them now.

[Nathan Baugh @nathanbaugh27]

Students at NYU asked the creators of South Park the million-dollar question:

“What makes a good story?”

They gave one of the best explanations of story I’ve heard:

“If we can take the beats of your outline, and the words ‘and then’ belong between those beats… you got something pretty boring.

What should happen between every beat you’ve written down is the words ‘therefore’ or ‘but.’”

They go on to say, “That gives you the causation between each beat, and that makes a story.”

Point 1:

There’s an idea in storytelling called ‘Promise, Progress, Payoff.’

Essentially, a story is a neverending cycle of promises that are paid off over the span of the story.

It’s a cycle of expectation and resolution. Cause and effect. Conflict and progress.

Point 2:

A story isn’t a bunch of random events thrown together.

A story is a series of but / because / therefore moments.

A famous example:

• Harry discovers he's a wizard. Because of this, he goes to learn magic at Hogwarts.
• But then he learns Voldemort wants to kill him and rule the world.
• Therefore, he must find a way to defeat him.

Point 3:

‘And’ implies a simple continuation.

‘But / Therefore’ give prior events meaning through causation.

‘But’ implies conflict. ‘Therefore’ implies progress.

I’m reminded of a Hemingway quote:

“Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.”

Great writing is intentional. It doesn’t wander. It builds upon itself.

***

I hope you enjoyed that! If so, follow @nathanbaugh27. I study the best storytellers ever and share what I learn.

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Journalist Tom Roston Examines Mental Health Issues Among Documentary Filmmakers https://t.co/qNxtIIURt7

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Doc filmmakers talk about the challenges of what they do: https://t.co/u4PJlW4Dya

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Thanks, Rebecca!

[Rebecca Keegan @ThatRebecca]

“Our only defense is a movie camera, and it can be a very thin shield to hold back the enormity of the world.”

Great piece by ⁦@DocSoupMan:⁩ Crisis of the Documentary Filmmaking Community https://t.co/QYNrT7VTXL

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Hey all; real question: how does the @WGAWest @WGAEast strike impact the documentary film industry? @MMFlint @alexgibneyfilm @realsarahpolley @HotDocs

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Saw @mstyslav9’s devastating, epic 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL @HotDocs. This is the window into the Russian invasion of #Ukraine that everyone must see: the horror and the humanity. Look for @frontlinepbs releasing it in July.

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Saw powerful doc After Work @HotDocs yesterday; great aesthetic narrative about the meaning of work/life with profound visits to Italy, Kuwait, South Korea and Noam Chomsky. Watch for it...

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

The Passport Perfect Storm might stop me from seeing @Spurs_ES this Saturday. Not only is my team imploding, so is traveling outside the USA https://t.co/75h5zwV601
@AmericanAir @britishairways

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

We're experiencing a Passport Perfect Storm and airlines like @AmericanAir are profiting from change/cancellation fees. We, the people, suffer. Sad! https://t.co/er2UzfCzHf @BellaKwai @mark_salisbury @GMA @TODAYshow

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

‘We Give a Sh*t’: Gun Safety Defines the John Wick Franchise as Much as the Weapons Do https://t.co/gPBUEJ2Z2Q via @indiewire

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

My tale of woe regarding the passport mess threatening all Americans who travel this year: https://t.co/pDReM1k8zR
#AmericanAirlines @Spurs_ES @StateDept @AmericanAir

[Choice.Reviews @Choice_Reviews]

#ICYMI
Our #reviewoftheweek provides a literary critique of Kurt Vonnegut’s "Slaughterhouse-Five" through the lens of Vonnegut’s PTSD as a combat-veteran in @DocSoupMan's “The Writer’s Crusade” from @ABRAMSbooks: https://t.co/FAJALD4OAW #Vonnegut #bookreview #ptsd

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

This is like writing a birthday card on used toilet paper but Vonnegut would've turned 100 today so HBD Kurt! He would've hated Twitter but maybe not @elonmusk. KV once sold cars and would've loved Tesla. And he had a strange fondness for. . .

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

Looking forward to celebrating Kurt Vonnegut tonight with @VonnegutLibrary @TheLewisBlack & other NYC free thinkers https://t.co/oFA4ozP0m8

[Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library @VonnegutLibrary]

Join KVML Board Chair, comedian Lewis Black and his friends, including musician Jason Yeager, journalist David Brancaccio, publisher Dan Simon, and more for an evening to benefit the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library on September 8th.
https://t.co/5K59dMB16u...

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

@LisaLakerFCHS @FTCSCFCHS @VonnegutLibrary @1DrewADO @barrywlynn @MMFlint @TheLewisBlack @AWMuseum (Tags are an ode to your earlier query.)

[Tom Roston @DocSoupMan]

@LisaLakerFCHS @FTCSCFCHS @VonnegutLibrary @1DrewADO @barrywlynn Thank you for teaching Vonnegut and giving the workshop a sense of practical immediacy! Your students are lucky to have you. @mmflint @thelewisblack @AWMuseum

[Lisa Laker @LisaLakerFCHS]

💥Participated in Teaching Vonnegut PD this week—so many ideas to start the @FTCSCFCHS school year! Thank you @VonnegutLibrary @1DrewADO @barrywlynn @DocSoupMan 📚✍🏼☀️