A blog by an independent author with a particular interest in short stories.
Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story
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Filmmaker Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story," "WALL-E") shares what he knows about storytelling -- starting at the end and working back to the beginning. (Contains graphic language ...)
Summary: "A mythology grew up around the Ferrymen, fostered by a mystique which they wrapped around themselves. Some thought them amoral servants of a ruling elite, sanctioned to undertake work beyond legitimate resolution; others with more fanciful imaginations – or who were more devout, depending on your point of view – believed them emissaries of Evil, with a capital E." Could the Ferrymen become real in your lifetime? Should they? Read this thoughtful and disturbing near-future science fiction story and decide for yourself. Review: This was a fantastic short story. "Well-written" doesn't even begin to describe Ferryman ; it's engrossing. The simple, clean style perfectly highlights our precise protagonist. If this future Edwards presents to us does in fact become a reality, the character he describes is exactly the type of person who would become a Ferryman: highly competent with the hint of a god complex. What's especially clever abou...
“I’m afraid I’ll die before you kiss me.” “That should be the opening of your new novel,” Sam says to me. “Antonio, six-foot-six and every inch a man, peered down at her four-foot-two frame, and said, ‘From up here I can barely see you.’” “You’re cruel!” I say, slumping lower in my chair. “‘Antonio, you brute,’ she said. ‘I love you madly.’ Standing on her tippy-toes, stretching up her arms, straining through her fingertips, she reached for his nipples. They seemed as big as frying pans.” “Frying pans?” Sam looks at me askance. “Okay, pancakes.” I giggle. “With butter and maple syrup,” Sam says, and I nod. He continues, “Slowly, one millimeter at a time, she dragged herself along the ripples of his stomach, pulling herself ...
I recently received a review of Celebrity Space that kind of embodies what I've been saying for a long time is the biggest issue for short story writers: ignorance. Here's the review: "Ok I read it. It isn't much of a story, I'm not even sure what happened. Maybe as an outline for a story twice or even 3X as long it wound be good. i don't think you can write a good story this short" It's a two star review. It's neither the first two star review I've received nor the harshest. The first part is just him saying he didn't care for it. I'm fine with that. What bothers me about this review is the last line. It basically says it didn't matter what words I had written on the page. The reviewer didn't care for the story because there weren't enough of them. Maybe this guy is a reading connoisseur and has read hundreds of short stories to finally come to this opinion. But I doubt it. I think he would be shocked if...
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