#2 : 'PUTTING IT ON PAPER' Let's You Start FIXING IT. If It Stays in Your Head, A Perfect Idea, You'll Never Share It With Anyone.
#3 : DISCOUNT the FIRST THING that Comes to Mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th - Get the OBVIOUS OUT OF THE WAY. SURPRISE Yourself.
#4 : WHAT is the ESSSENCE of Your Story? Most ECONOMICAL WAY of Telling It? If You Know That, You Can Build Up From There.
#5 : You've got to keep in mind WHAT'S INTERESTING to you as an AUDIENCE, NOT what is FUN to you as a WRITER. They can be VERY DIFFERENT.
#6 : WHAT are the STAKES? Give Us Reasons to Root for the Character. What Happens If They Don't Succeed? STACK the ODDS Against Them.
#7 : You Admire a CHARACTER for TRYING More than for Their Success
#8 : If YOU We're Your CHARACTER, In This SITUATION, How Would You FEEL? Honesty Lends Credibility to Unbelieveable Situations.
#9 : Trying for THEME is IMPORTANT but You Won't See What the Story is About Until You're at the END of It. Now REWRITE.
#10 : 'Once upon a time, there was a __________.
Every day, __________.
One day, __________.
Because of that, ___________.
Because of that, ___________.
Until finally, ___________.'
#5 : SIMPLIFY. FOCUS. COMBINE CHARACTERS. Hop Over Detours. You'll Feel Like You're Losing Valuable Stuff But It Sets You Free.
#6 : What is Your Character GOOD at, COMFORTABLE with? Throw the POLAR OPPOSITE at Them. CHALLENGE Them. HOW do They DEAL?
#7 : GIVE You CHARACTER OPINIONS. Passive/Malleable Might Seem Likeable to You as You Write, But It's POISON to the AUDIENCE.
#8 : COINCIDENCES to Get Character in TROUBLE are GREAT; Coincidence to Get Them OUT of TROUBLE are CHEATING.
#9 : Come Up with Your ENDING Before You Figure Out Your MIDDLE. Seriously. Endings are Hard. Get Yours Working Up Front.
#8 : You Gotta IDENTIFY With Your SITUATION/CHARACTERS, Can't Just 'WRITE COOL.' WHAT Would Make YOU ACT That WAY?
#9 : FINISH Your STORY then LET GO even if it's NOT PERFECT. In an Ideal World You Have Both, But MOVE ON. Do Better Next Time.
#9 : When You're STUCK, Make a List of What WOULDN'T Happen Next. Lots of Times the Material to Get You Unstuck Will Show Up.
#10 : PULL APART the STORIES YOU LIKE. What You Like in Them is a PART OF YOU; You've Got to RECOGNIZE It Before You Can USE It.
#17 : EXERCISE: Take the Building Blocks of a MOVIE You DISLIKE, How Would You Rearrange Them Into What You Do LIKE?
#17 : You Have to KNOW YOURSELF: the Difference Between Doing Your Best and Fussing. Story is Testing, Not Refining.
#17 : No Work Is Ever Wasted. If It's Not Working, Let Go and Move On - It'll Come Back Around to be Useful Later.
You've Got to Recognize, Admire a CHARACTER for TRYING More than for Their Success
