Writing Tips: Serious and Silly

gpureview.com

I was recently sent a link to this Movieline post quoting advice from playwright David Mamet on how to create DRAMA.  He's talking mainly about plays and films, but he has some good advice for any kind of dramatic writing.  His point about considering the scene as if it were a silent movie is something I've actually done in fiction writing!  It works well for a dialogue-heavy or internal monologue-heavy scene.

Warning: Mamet's guidance is written ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS, so it's like he's screaming at you, which is a bit hard to take.  Perhaps he just wanted to be DRAMATIC.  In any case, I advise copying the text into a document and changing it to lower case.  Your sanity will thank you.

pdphoto.org

If you're not in the mood for a lecture and would prefer a laugh, here's author Lynn Coady's advice for writing fiction, from making sure to include something that will offend your relatives to avoiding writing about symbolic dogs -- or dogs of any kind.

---