Actual dialog from Midnight Suns:
DEADPOOL: I wouldn’t know leadership if it walked up and kicked me in my fun bags.
HUNTER: What exactly are ‘fun bags?’
DEADPOOL: It’s where I keep my kazoos and party poppers!
WHY ARE YOU NOT PLAYING THIS GAME?
Getting fired is tough, but it’s important to handle it with dignity. Firing someone is also hard, requiring compassion and respect. Total disaster on both sides here.
Well. This sucks.
My creator owned book with IDW just got cancelled midway through making it. I’m devastated. After spending years on the pitch I’m truly gutted. This was a huge opportunity for me as a creator & now it’s gone. Guess I’m free if anyone wants to hire me…
Can we stop saying ‘Greta Gerwig scores biggest opening wkend ever for female director’ and start saying Greta Gerwig scores bigger opening weekend than any man this year - and most other years too. It’s the 24th highest opening in HISTORY. It’s bigger than TOP GUN MFING MAVERICK
Hey all! We made it into Previews! Thank you to every who has helped us along the way! Get your copy of Pocus Hocus Issue 1 on October 25th! CLICK HERE OR GO TO YOUR LCS https://t.co/715gd10P0j @BrianBalondo@Jasen_Smith @dlentzletters @SourcePtPress
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.
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I hope you enjoyed that! If so, follow @nathanbaugh27. I study the best storytellers ever and share what I learn.