And the rewrite begins...

"Storytelling is the creative demonstration of truth."

Robert McKee

I've just finished Story. It was a brilliant read and a good use of my time. I highly recommend it not only to anyone looking to enhance their grasp of the art of telling a story, but also to anyone who has been working in isolation as a tool to evaluate your work.

Let me share a few bons mots from my notes with you.

• Structure and character are interlocked. The event structure is created out of choices characters make under pressure.
• The proof of your vision is the victory of your controlling idea over the powerful forces you array against it.
• Extract your controlling idea from your climax. Ask yourself: Is this the truth?
• The art of story is not about middle ground but about life lived in its most intense states.
• Write from the inside out. Find the core of the protagonist and experience it from his POV. Ask: If I were this character in these circumstances, what would I do?
• Fine writing emphasizes reactions. Reactions focus less on what happened than on to whom, why and how it happened. Focus on reactions and the insights gained.
• The substance and energy of a story is found in the gaps. The 'oh, my god' moments.
• Story in a nutshell: For better or worse, an event throws a character's life out of balance, arousing in him the conscious and/or sub-conscious desire for that which he feels will restore balance, launching him on a Quest for his Object of Desire against forces of antagonism (inner, personal or extra personal.) He may or may not achieve it.

And now, on to draft #2 of my MS!

I wish you good writing,

Colleen