Social Dramas and Stories about Them

Culture & truth : the remaking of social analysis

xii, 253 pages ; 22 cm; Argues for a new approach to thinking and writing about culture. Exposing old conceptions, the book argues that new ethnographic writing must come to terms with the dynamic nature of social reality - with history, spontaneity, and human emotions; Originally published: Boston: Beacon, 1989; Includes index; Self-Renewing 2017; Includes index

Revenge of the Dilettantes

Book club and AI adventures, age of bespokeness, study groups, new rules of engagement

Revenge of the Dilettantes

Book club and AI adventures, age of bespokeness, study groups, new rules of engagement

The Social Dilemma (2020) ⭐ 7.6 | Documentary, Drama

1h 34m | PG-13

In The Imagined Classroom: Hogwarts

Teaching Fictions #2

Interactive Fiction Study Course

An online, self-paced course exploring notable works of interactive fiction. The goal is not to just consume classics but to take them apart to build up your own craft repertoire.

Cory Doctorow: Stories Are a Fuggly Hack - Locus

I've mentioned before, stories are weird. I mean, really, really weird. Nothing that happens in a piece of fiction has any consequence in the real world. Romeo and Juliet did not live, did not die, and the ''tragedy'' they represent is objectively less important than the tragedy of the live yogurt culture I digested at the breakfast table this morning. My theory is that the parts of our brains that …Read More

The role of literature as the key to personal freedom | Aeon Essays

Stripped of easy moralising, literature makes us relish the search for truth in an age when many believe truth to be dead

Fundamentals of Interactivity | Interactive Storytelling Tools for Writers | Chris Crawford

The Anatomy of Story

”The Anatomy Of Story is concrete and practical without resorting to simplistic ‘Three Act Structure’ screenwriting clichés. It will be an indispensable guide to writing your first great script.” —Larry Wilson, co-writer /co-producer of Beetljuice and co-writer of The Addams Family THE ANATOMY OF STORY 22 STEPS TO BECOMING A MASTER STORYTELLER Faber & Faber launches John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller—a new Bible not just for screenwriters, but for any writer crafting the perfect story. Taking as his examples Jaws, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tootsie, The Great Gatsby, The Godfather, Chinatown, and A Christmas Carol, among many others, Truby illustrates in The Anatomy of Story (Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus and Giroux) what makes a great story and how to create that story, focusing on plot and premise, theme, characters, moral development, and crafting the kind of ending that brings readers and audiences back again and again. Additionally, Truby offers seven key story structure steps, which are the major stages of a story’s development and of the dramatic code under its surface. The Anatomy of Story is a step-by-step guide to constructing the best story possible—be it a screenplay, short story, or novel. Truby, who has taught his twenty-two-step Great Screenwriting and Genre classes to more than 20,000 students worldwide, is available to discuss: Top 10 mistakes writers make about story. Five best and worst questions about screenwriting. How the 22-step-approach is different from the 3-act structure. Five unique story elements of blockbuster films. Five best techniques of character and plot. John Truby is Hollywood’s premier story consultant and founder of Truby’s Writers Studio. He has worked as a story consultant and script doctor for Disney Studios, Sony Pictures, FOX, and HBO, among others. Booklist  “ Hollywood story consultant Truby commits his vast knowledge of screenwriting and storytelling to the page in this handy guide for aspiring writers of all types. Truby delves into the setup, from basic structure to the premise and the depth behind it. From there, he moves into character, emphasizing the importance of not only the hero but also the characters in the story who aid and oppose him. Truby illustrates the importance of setting to the story and how careful plotting is needed to weave the elements of the story together. He cautions that plot is not incidental and requires careful management and timely revelations. Although most of his examples are from movies, such as Tootsie, The Godfather, and Star Wars, Truby also draws from novels and plays, and his advice is applicable not only to the hopeful screenwriter but to the aspiring novelist as well. A comprehensive guide to writing stories of all kinds, Truby’s tome is invaluable to any writer looking to put an idea to paper.” —Kristine Huntley Tweet

Reading, and Understanding Media

A guidebook, and poetry more than prose, Marshall McLuhan's 1964 work remains one of our best resources for exploring the nature and effects of new media. It's not an easy read, so I'm going to help.

MATT THOMPSON

As part of my EngD project, I am creating ways for story authors to easily write narratives with multiple branches, along the lines of the Choose Your Own Adventure stories from the 1990s. Typically, this kind of story authoring is hard, as the number of material that needs to be written increases exponentially with the number of decision points.

REVIEW: Pauline Hopkins' Contending Forces should be leading the literary canon - The Maroon

Contending Forces tells the story of a Black family both before and after slavery ended in the United States.

In Depth: Miscellaneous

*this is a giant, everchanging collection of micellaneous tidbits about my life and career.* On The Moniker I had a habit as a kid of creating fictional enti...