Michael Stanton

@anna-brie Yeah, writing with multiple themes can be a tricky. When we polish this course, we may need to move that lesson closer toward the beginning since a lot of people here seem to be working with that. My recommendation here, though, would be to only focus on the theme of righteousness here and the specific message you’re drawing from that,…[Read more]

@gideon-sowdon Daeus took pretty much everything I had to say, so it looks good now! And great idea to think about using an autobiography in addition to a fictional story. Seeing these principles in real life like that can be really helpful for learning how to apply them in your own storytelling.

@audrey That’s awesome–especially since your role model is someone you can see and interact with on a regular basis. 🙂 And yes–I absolutely agree with you on the superhero front!

@audrey-caylin Yeah, Mockingjay especially certainly has a negative arc. In addition to the ones I mentioned in the video, King Lear (really, all of Shakespeare’s tragedies), Oedipus Rex, the Dark Knight, and Morte d’Arthur are all examples of good negative arcs.

@Daeus CONGRATULATIONS! *confetti everywhere* ME, OBVIOUSLY. Please. *grins*

@Mark-Kamibaya great. 🙂

@kate-flournoy That makes sense. That is a tricky path to weave. Haha, didn’t realize there was another book that came before this one! But that’s a good way of setting up theme for a series.

@Aratrea thanks. 🙂 It definitely still needs work, but thanks.

Good point— I’ll watch out for that, definitely.
I don’t want the book ending on a completely sour note— the resolution of Harold’s arc is pretty sour, but as this is the second book of a series, I need it to end with a question that leads into the other books— and that is, sin…[Read more]

@jenali I completely agree! Those types of stories are my absolute favorites, and are a great example of theme making a lasting impact on a reader. Can’t believe I never mentioned that aspect in the video! Great thoughts.

@shaina I completely agree! Those types of stories are my absolute favorites, and are a great example of theme making a lasting impact on a reader. Can’t believe I never mentioned that aspect in the video! Great thoughts.

One other thought as I’ve continued to think about the Denholm ending is that you probably want Harold to decide to resist Eldred’s arguments even after everything seems against him so that he then gets rewarded for the right choice by Denholm coming in. Otherwise, if Harold has completely succumbed to Eldred’s arguments, Denholm’s entrance may…[Read more]

@kate-flournoy Wow. Just reading a summary of that climax is beautiful. I am a firm believer of the fact that the climax makes or breaks the story’s climax, and at least on paper, you certainly seem to have that climax down. Other elements may need some work, but you’ve got the core down beautifully.

My one thought on the climax is that Denholm…[Read more]

@hope I see. Yeah, this gets into the tricky parts of fiction writing where everything isn’t as analyze-able as we might like it to be. =P I could see it as being either a second related EiL, or simply her deciding to expand her current EiL to include more than it did otherwise. In gray areas like this, you should probably go with whatever makes…[Read more]

@Daeus good. 😛
Sure. Sure. I’ll believe that when I see it.

And I hope you’re right. *nods solemnly*
Ack! Now I’m starting to sound like you. Haha! XD

@Daeus eeeep! Sorry! I didn’t tag you so it isn’t my fault! 😛

Okay though, great points. Yes. You’re right. Maybe because my grasp on that is too shallow… *groans**bangs head against the wall* HAROLD HAD BETTER APPRECIATE THE MENTAL AGONY I’M GOING THROUGH FOR HIS SAKE.
Okay. *settles down* I must definitely do brainstorming on that. Oh…[Read more]