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If you’re anything like me and most of the planet, you binge-watched House of Cards on Netflix when they debuted the entire season (like they do) in February. Confession: I’ve watched Seasons 1 and 2 three times. Once for each new season because this is a show you have to pay attention to. The smallest detail, especially on the part of Frank or his wife, can mean huge repercussions later. Why are we so obsessed with Francis Underwood and his dirty doings? How is someone so amoral the protagonist of the story? To answer that, we have to talk about anti-heroes. According to dictionary.com anRead More →

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You, valued reader, may call me Ayaka. Before I lose your interest, let me tell you our topic: video games. Yeah, I went there. They are my passion and my future career. I don’t really have a specific type, to be truthful. My game quest is simply to find a few good things: good storyline, great main objective, and an engrossing protagonist back story. Even… no, wait–especially an engrossing antagonist back story. (What? I like psychopaths… You don’t?) It makes up for any bad graphics or glitches. I have many games to discuss, recommend, or tell you to avoid. I’m going start with one fairly knownRead More →

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Burn Notice. Love, love, love the characters. I’d watch Bruce Campbell clean out his gutters. And the story arcs like mad. Everything changes. I hate when writers are afraid to make changes because what they have works. In this moment.

But it can’t work forever. The nature of story is to change. Otherwise, it’s just a snapshot in time.

I can’t turn off the writer.Read More →

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This show has flaws: writing that serves the needs of the plot rather than the organic growth of the characters, for one. Reversals in feelings and character consistency are another, but those happen more in characters that are, quite frankly, rather flaky. Characters whose moral compass sometimes spins wildly with disastrous results. And all that makes it soapy fun, which–as I’ve established, I’m totally fine with.

But, at the end of the four or five episodes day, I care about the characters.Read More →

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Glee. Just…Glee. I’ve posted in the past about watching great shows to improve your writing (and because they’re awesome and we love good stories). I’ve been a fairly long-standing fan of Ryan Murphy (and later Brad Falchuk). The Shield, Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story. Good shows. Great characters. But, Glee. I’ve watched it on Netflix and my becoming enamored with it started one boring, cold Saturday morning. I turned it on. I gasped. I laughed. I called to my teenage daughter to get in there because I was watching the best television show I’d ever seen and she had to see it. I’ve fallen in loveRead More →

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This post is the first in a series I’m beginning on The Hero’s Journey story structure.  It’s important to note, you can use any structure you like.  In fact, go crazy, have fun.  But, some of the most popular (I won’t say best) films use this structure.  Notable examples include the Star Wars flicks and pretty much anything Disney makes. I’m not saying it’s the best structure you can use.  What I am saying is that if you’re writing popular fiction (as opposed to literary) you could do worse than to at least try to understand how this structure works.  The best way I knowRead More →

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The husband and I, we decided to go see a movie. Something we haven’t done since the first Transformers came out. You can thank my aunt, who bought us gift cards. “Now, you really use that!” As opposed to whatever else I was going to do with it, I suppose. Not a lot out right now. Rango and Hop were ruled out because I wanted to see a grown up movie. Because it was just us. The grown ups. I checked the site and tossed out my only two considerations: Limitless or Red Riding Hood. Now, Limitless has Robert De Niro in it. I shouldRead More →

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So I’m watching movies considered to be some of the most romantic movies for many decades. I’ve watched Gone With the Wind and An Affair to Remember more times than I’ve changed my clothes, almost, so I wanted to start with something new (to me). This is, technically, research for a character, who would’ve been watching these movies at a certain point in her life. But, I thought, if I’m watching some of the best romances ever, why not examine the GMC? Maybe I’ll learn something. Movie: Sabrina Hero: Linus Cold-blooded corporate raider GOAL MOTIVATION CONFLICT Internal To be compensated for the life his brotherRead More →