Robyn Paterson's Blog, page 48
June 9, 2012
The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop ov...
June 7, 2012
FB fans aren’t seeing your posts and how to fix it | The Always Upward Blog
Well, FB has gone public, and the other shoe has dropped. The end of the free ride on Facebook has begun!
The number shown doesn’t represent the number of your fans online at the moment; it’s the abysmally small number Facebook bothered to publish in newsfeeds.
Yeah. You read that correctly. Most of your fans don’t receive your posts.
At all. In any way, shape, or form. Facebook is only sharing them with fans who repeatedly return to your page, post on your page, comment on your page, or otherwi...
June 6, 2012
TorchShips – Real 3-D Space Combat by johncarlgillespie — Kickstarter
As anyone who knows me, or reads this blog knows, I’ve got this thing about Space Combat (as in, I’m fascinated by it) and have often wondered what a realistic space combat simulator would look like. Well, today I got a message from John Gillespie, who has a kickstarter project to create exactly that!
The Game
This isn’t your grandpa’s space fighter. You’re not looking out a grimy cockpit window using a joystick to kill an enemy a kilometer away who flies like they’re an airplane in an atmosphe...
June 5, 2012
Just Two Days Left to get The Cat and the Whaler for Free!
The Secrets of the Five Lotus Stance are known by few, desired by many, and held by only one. Unfortunately for Little Gou, that happens to be him! Pursued by pirates, and caught in the clutches of a mysterious warrior sect, Gou must use the power of a scroll he can’t read to get it back to its rightful owner. Even if it kills him.
Little Gou’s second swashbuckling adventure is only free for two more days! So take the opportunity now to snag this ebook novelette from Smashwords!
Until June 7th,...
June 4, 2012
Time to Stop Reading Song of Ice and Fire (#GameofThrones)
Tonight, I watched the final episode of Season 2 of Game of Thrones, and with it, I have reached the conclusion that I need to stop reading the books.
(Spoilers for Season 2 of the TV show and book!)
In an earlier post, I stated that I found the first episode of this new season rushed, and wondered sincerely if it was going to be intimidating for new viewers. Well, now that I’ve seen the season, and Game of Thrones has become the most downloaded TV show of the year online, I think I can safely...
May 30, 2012
Ten rules for writing fiction | Books | guardian.co.uk
The Guardian published a huge collection of top 10 writing tips from various authors, I’ve posted Elmore Leonard‘s before, but I thought I’d post Neil Gaiman’s and a link to the rest.
Neil Gaiman
1 Write.
2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
3 Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
4 Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
5...
Writing Flash Fiction
Since some people might be considering doing the STC10 challenge, I thought I’d links to a few places with tips on how to write Flash Fiction. Enjoy!
Stories in your pocket: how to write flash fiction | Books | guardian.co.uk.
Tips for Writing Flash Fiction | MattMooreWrites
The Challenge of Writing Flash Fiction | Hubpages
May 29, 2012
The Save the Cat 10 (STC10) Story Writing Challenge!
Since my post on my little creative exercise, The Fox Cycle, yesterday, I’ve had a couple people write to me with questions about trying the Save the Cat 10 Story Writing Challenge (STC10) themselves. So, I thought I’d take a minute and write up a few simple rules for the challenge that people can use (or disregard) to keep themselves on an even keel.
Enjoy!
The Save the Cat 10 Story Writing Challenge (STC10)
Goal: The goal is to produce 10 stories in 10 weeks, at a rate of one a week, each one...
May 28, 2012
Creative Challenges: The Fox Cycle
I think it’s good for writers to challenge themselves, it helps them grow.
Back in January of this year, I picked up an amazing book for (script)writers called Save the Cat! by scriptwriting guru Blake Snyder. I’d heard about it online, tracked down a copy at the local bookstore, and poured through it to discover it wasn’t as good as advertised it was better. So much better. (So if you haven’t read it and you’re a writer of fiction, go buy a copy- NOW!)
Among Snyder’s revelations was his theory...
May 25, 2012
ECCC 2012: Star Wars Trilogy: The Radio Play
Most of the cast of Futurama, plus the cast of Animaniacs, plus Batman, doing a readthrough of the Star Wars radioplay script in various character voices. Has to be heard to be believed! 
