Category Archives: Screenwriting

Save the Cat Goes to the Movies by Blake Snyder: a book review

Posted on April 7, 2013 by

What do these movies have in common: Alien, Fatal Attraction, and Godzilla? How about these: Star Wars, The Bad News Bears, and Lord of the Rings?  The first trio belong to the genre that Blake Snyder called “Monster in the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Reviews, Books, Movies, Screenwriting, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

More about Dummlings and Fools

Posted on April 3, 2013 by

In an earlier post, Tales of the Dummling, (January, 2013) I discussed a theme from folklore, and specifically from The Brothers Grimm, which has long intrigued me.  In this story type, the youngest of three brothers, whom everyone else considers … Continue reading →

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Posted in Folklore, Movies, Screenwriting, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Dark Shadows – A Movie Review

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

I expected to like this movie. I wanted to like this movie.  At the theater, I tried to like this movie, but I couldn’t pull it off. Dark Shadows was a gothic soap opera that ran from 1966 – 1971. … Continue reading →

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Posted in Movies, Screenwriting | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder: A Book Review

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

I love (good) books on screenwriting, because of all the available guides to writing fiction, these focus most squarely on the primacy of story; first the forest, then the trees.  Last week a fortunate weblink led me to Save the Cat, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Books, Movies, Screenwriting, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Structure in Folktales, continued

Posted on November 9, 2011 by

In my last post, I said I was going to review some folktales to see if any conventions of the “three act structure,” used in contemporary fiction and cinema, apply.  Lest I be accused of hubris, I did not say … Continue reading →

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Posted in Movies, Myth, Novels, oral tradition, Screenwriting, Stories, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Structure in Folktales

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

I found a great post on story and movie structure on one of the blogs I follow, Albert Berg’s Unsanity Files.  http://unsanityfiles.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/building-on-the-bones-or-why-structure-doesnt-have-to-be-boring/ Despite Mr. Berg’s caution that discussions of structure has been known to cause some Californian’s heads to explode, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Movies, Novels, Publishing, Screenwriting, Stories, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments