PROCRASTI-NATE Im procrastinathan cuz i check the news And Hill Street blues The herky-jerky fuse Of the day’s detonator— Old U2 lyrics And the preacher in The old gospel hour Taking money from the sick And the old. Spent all day knowing I’d need to get SOMETHING written. That’s the thing I swore to myself I’d do, yes? So do it. And tho I’ve had since 7pm And tho I’ve squandered it until now Almost 11. When I’m tired I’m still that kind of NATE today. Tho I’ve learned to jump in and get things done. I’m not perfect. I stare at the black screen Then open my eyes And stare at a black screen TURN ON THE LAPTOP COMPUTER I must work. I must write something tonight. I always feel better when I do.

Guys, I've enjoyed Tiffany Yates Martin's work for years. She writes excellent articles that help authors be their best writing selves, and this new one is no exception. Yes, she's more specifically about helping novelists, but story is story, and this new one is great. Enjoy! https://www.skool.com/understanding-the-zen-of-film-5119/had-to-share-this-excellent-article-on-how-to-build-and-keep-momentum-in-your-story-by-tiffany-yates-martin?p=3d5ab549

Here it is, folks! ENJOY! I often say that good story is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs and twists and turns, but never standing still. That last feature, steady narrative forward movement, is called momentum, and it’s what moves your story forward and propels readers through it. Many times—certainly in my own reading habits—if a reader loses interest or puts down a book it’s because it lost momentum, whether within the story itself or in the reader’s drive to continue to follow it. Effective story hooks readers, but then it keeps moving them along the narrative throughline: pushing, pulling, enticing, or otherwise propelling them along the characters’ journey. Some stories fail to launch, like your thirty-something son who is still living in your basement, never grabbing the reader or thrusting them into the action even from the beginning. Some lose steam partway in—the dreaded mushy middle—losing propulsion as the story develops. Perhaps most frustrating of all are the ones that gradually trickle to a halt, hobbling across the finish line and ending not with a bang, but a whimper. But as with all storytelling elements, momentum doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s connected to many other elements of good story, and looking at these possible causes can help you diagnose why your story (or your reader!) is no longer moving forward. Elements of momentum 1. Character’s pursuit of goal (agency and drive) The quickest way to bring your story to a screeching halt is for its protagonist to take their foot off the gas pedal. Because they are the ones who should be pressing it—if your characters aren’t driving the story, then that thing isn’t moving (or it’s careening randomly around, rather than propulsively forward). One of the most common and likeliest causes of stalled momentum is a lack or loss of character drive and agency. Drive means readers need to see (and feel, but we’ll get to that in a moment) what your character wants and how they’re trying to get it. A character working as an assistant to a big-shot movie producer who is privy to all the sordid inner workings of Hollywood? That’s a situation. But if they’re doing it to expose that dirty underbelly, or climb the ladder, or get revenge? Now you have a story.

Hey, everyone! Here's the link to the article: https://open.substack.com/pub/drnatesmithjones/p/bitchslap-from-the-universe-one-way?r=5zozpf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Hey, everyone. I had to share this. One of my favorite screenwriters and playwrights, David Mamet (Kevin Costner’s ‘The Untouchables’; Paul Newman’s ‘The Verdict’; Al Pacino et al.’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ among others) says that scholars infer themes, but writers should focus simply on telling a great story (He went from driving a cab and working nights and weekends on his writing to being a paid writer). Personally, I love dealing with themes, because (a) there’s no one way to tell a great story, (b) themes matter in the story you’re telling, because many people will infer them so why not be aware of them? and (c) I happen to be college-educated. Even so, this splash of cold water reality on our often over-thinking with our writing I hope will serve as a great reminder (to myself if no one else) that we SHOULD focus on telling the story we know will work. And, something else Mamet brought up in his Masterclass that bears reminding myself and perhaps others, is that often the stuff in our stories we LOVE THE MOST may blind us to what might ultimately be keeping our stories from being great. Food for thought! Hope it helps. See you Wednesday!