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Write!: Find the Truth in Your Fiction
Write! is a breakthrough book from a successful professional author, for an audience of writers of all levels seeking a guide to the craft. DiPego’s unique personal approach takes readers on a private tour of his well-lighted rooms and dark corners, revealing his way of pulling feeling, experience and invention from within and weaving them into a story. The result of this exciting method is the creation of rich, believable characters and an atmosphere of Emotional Realism.
Write! shows that the inspiration for a new work is not reducible to rules, the mechanics of plotting, or finding a “hook,” but largely rests in the emotional journey of the characters, so readers are personally engaged and live the journey as they read. DiPego’s method is delivered on the page in a personal, conversational style, laced with examples from his published and produced work as well as relevant anecdotes from the life of a working writer. DiPego offers useful prompts and exercises to help writers integrate his method into their own work.
DiPego is a veteran writer who has taught creative writing and screenwriting, spending four years on the faculty of the Santa Fe Screenwriter’s Conference. Write! distills wisdom from 45 years in his successful career as a writer of fiction in all forms, including novels (Cheevey, With a Vengeance, Keeper of the City and others) films (Sharky’s Machine, Phenomenon, Message in a Bottle, The Forgotten, Words & Pictures, and many more), short stories and stage plays.
He is twice nominated for the WGA screenwriting award, and his film for television, A Family Upside Down, won a Golden Globe award as best picture. His recent play, 154 and Paradise, was produced last year at Santa Barbara's Center Stage to sold-out audiences. His screenplays have attracted top talent such as Paul Newman, John Travolta, Anthony Hopkins, Juliette Binoche, Clive Owen, Kevin Costner, Jennifer Lopez, Robin Wright and others.
Write! shows that the inspiration for a new work is not reducible to rules, the mechanics of plotting, or finding a “hook,” but largely rests in the emotional journey of the characters, so readers are personally engaged and live the journey as they read. DiPego’s method is delivered on the page in a personal, conversational style, laced with examples from his published and produced work as well as relevant anecdotes from the life of a working writer. DiPego offers useful prompts and exercises to help writers integrate his method into their own work.
DiPego is a veteran writer who has taught creative writing and screenwriting, spending four years on the faculty of the Santa Fe Screenwriter’s Conference. Write! distills wisdom from 45 years in his successful career as a writer of fiction in all forms, including novels (Cheevey, With a Vengeance, Keeper of the City and others) films (Sharky’s Machine, Phenomenon, Message in a Bottle, The Forgotten, Words & Pictures, and many more), short stories and stage plays.
He is twice nominated for the WGA screenwriting award, and his film for television, A Family Upside Down, won a Golden Globe award as best picture. His recent play, 154 and Paradise, was produced last year at Santa Barbara's Center Stage to sold-out audiences. His screenplays have attracted top talent such as Paul Newman, John Travolta, Anthony Hopkins, Juliette Binoche, Clive Owen, Kevin Costner, Jennifer Lopez, Robin Wright and others.
147 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2016
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12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 9, 2016
‘How I make up stories and how I write them down.’
California author Gerald DiPego, born in Chicago has more than thirty screenplays to his name, several novels and plays, and now his first eBook, which is a conversational how-to on creative writing that draws from this long and fruitful career in film and television. Or as the book description reads, ‘WRITE! is a breakthrough book from a successful professional author, for an audience of writers of all levels seeking a guide to the craft. DiPego’s unique personal approach takes readers on a private tour of his well-lighted rooms and dark corners, revealing his way of pulling feeling, experience and invention from within and weaving them into a story. The result of this exciting method is the creation of rich, believable characters and an atmosphere of Emotional Realism.
DiPego shows that the inspiration for a new work is not reducible to rules, the mechanics of plotting, or finding a “hook,” but largely rests in the emotional journey of the characters, so readers are personally engaged and live the journey as they read. DiPego’s method is delivered on the page in a personal, conversational style, laced with examples from his published and produced work as well as relevant anecdotes from the life of a working writer. DiPego offers useful prompts and exercises to help writers integrate his method into their own work.’
For writers at any stage of advancement (including beginners of course) Gerald’s manner of putting on paper (or computer screen in this instance) is so natural you’ll find yourself mesmerized by how easy he makes it all seem. ALL writers have something to learn form the uncanny way Gerald gets right to the point on every topic of writing he addresses.
‘My goal as a writer is to move readers through my storytelling, placing them inside moments of my invention. I don’t want them simply observing. I want them feeling something about it. I want them invested, involved. If you’re writing an e-mail to a friend and you want to tell your friend the story of what happened to you at a party, you say, “Listen to this.” You’re about to report something. But if you create a story and tell it to your friend, you say, “Imagine this.” You’re creating something from your imagination, and this creation is one of the arts. Making art means making choices, even at the time of inspiration, even as the idea strikes you. “Where do your ideas come from?” people ask. They just show up, bless them. I’m speaking of fictional storytelling, where the idea may come in the form of a what-if. You can’t force ideas to show up. They appear when you are in the shower, on a walk, in your car, or even in the middle of a conversation when your eyes glaze over and your friend says, “Hey, where’d you go?”…At its simplest, a story is a journey. The protagonist sets out or is pushed into a journey toward a goal. This journey may be both an inner and outer journey, and our goal is to capture the reader so that he or she goes on the journey, too, and feels what the protagonist feels and learns what the protagonist learns. It can be a journey toward revenge or understanding or the end of loneliness and the beginning of love. It can be a journey toward safety in a hostile environment, a gold medal, a new life, or a meaningful death.’
Imagine honesty and guidance of this quality in an EBook. No matter the degree of experience or sophistication, every writer will benefit from Gerald’s experience and wisdom.
California author Gerald DiPego, born in Chicago has more than thirty screenplays to his name, several novels and plays, and now his first eBook, which is a conversational how-to on creative writing that draws from this long and fruitful career in film and television. Or as the book description reads, ‘WRITE! is a breakthrough book from a successful professional author, for an audience of writers of all levels seeking a guide to the craft. DiPego’s unique personal approach takes readers on a private tour of his well-lighted rooms and dark corners, revealing his way of pulling feeling, experience and invention from within and weaving them into a story. The result of this exciting method is the creation of rich, believable characters and an atmosphere of Emotional Realism.
DiPego shows that the inspiration for a new work is not reducible to rules, the mechanics of plotting, or finding a “hook,” but largely rests in the emotional journey of the characters, so readers are personally engaged and live the journey as they read. DiPego’s method is delivered on the page in a personal, conversational style, laced with examples from his published and produced work as well as relevant anecdotes from the life of a working writer. DiPego offers useful prompts and exercises to help writers integrate his method into their own work.’
For writers at any stage of advancement (including beginners of course) Gerald’s manner of putting on paper (or computer screen in this instance) is so natural you’ll find yourself mesmerized by how easy he makes it all seem. ALL writers have something to learn form the uncanny way Gerald gets right to the point on every topic of writing he addresses.
‘My goal as a writer is to move readers through my storytelling, placing them inside moments of my invention. I don’t want them simply observing. I want them feeling something about it. I want them invested, involved. If you’re writing an e-mail to a friend and you want to tell your friend the story of what happened to you at a party, you say, “Listen to this.” You’re about to report something. But if you create a story and tell it to your friend, you say, “Imagine this.” You’re creating something from your imagination, and this creation is one of the arts. Making art means making choices, even at the time of inspiration, even as the idea strikes you. “Where do your ideas come from?” people ask. They just show up, bless them. I’m speaking of fictional storytelling, where the idea may come in the form of a what-if. You can’t force ideas to show up. They appear when you are in the shower, on a walk, in your car, or even in the middle of a conversation when your eyes glaze over and your friend says, “Hey, where’d you go?”…At its simplest, a story is a journey. The protagonist sets out or is pushed into a journey toward a goal. This journey may be both an inner and outer journey, and our goal is to capture the reader so that he or she goes on the journey, too, and feels what the protagonist feels and learns what the protagonist learns. It can be a journey toward revenge or understanding or the end of loneliness and the beginning of love. It can be a journey toward safety in a hostile environment, a gold medal, a new life, or a meaningful death.’
Imagine honesty and guidance of this quality in an EBook. No matter the degree of experience or sophistication, every writer will benefit from Gerald’s experience and wisdom.
October 9, 2016
It’s a rare treat to have someone of Gerald Di Pego’s talent and success put together a non-threatening, easy to understand manual for aspiring writers and anyone looking to step up their game. What he reveals about his approach to writing – the cultivation of ideas, addressing the beginning-middle-end, and developing his characters so that they live and breathe – takes the fear out of putting thoughts and words together so they become a cohesive portrait that will grab your audience.
Using some of his own projects as learning tools, he takes the reader on tour of his work to illustrate the most critical elements of any good fiction, giving solid clues to his own process and a step by step roadmap for capturing one’s own ideas. What he reveals in this candid look at his craft is the importance of finding the humanity in your characters so they become believable. Thank you, Mr. Di Pego, for sharing your wonderful insights!
Using some of his own projects as learning tools, he takes the reader on tour of his work to illustrate the most critical elements of any good fiction, giving solid clues to his own process and a step by step roadmap for capturing one’s own ideas. What he reveals in this candid look at his craft is the importance of finding the humanity in your characters so they become believable. Thank you, Mr. Di Pego, for sharing your wonderful insights!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews