What is a story? You arrange some words on a page, speak some sentences aloud, place some images in a sequence, or even string them together at 24 frames per second to make moving pictures. Words and images, that through some near miracle… …make us believe they are real. As real, when done well, asContinue reading “It’s about the story, stupid!”
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Stories are selfish.
No, not shellfish. SELFISH! If one thing is certain about life, it’s that each of us will only ever see it through our own eyes. Go to the ends of the earth, climb the highest mountain, take a rocket into orbit. It will still be you, your eyes, your ears, your hands and other senses,Continue reading “Stories are selfish.”
A brief thought on Television Prose
Can we have an honest moment? Between us readers of sci-fi, fantasy, and possibly other genres of fiction, who are by and large most of the readers of this blog? That’s good, I’m glad you’re open to the idea. Now, I’m just going to come right out and say it. Most genre fiction is notContinue reading “A brief thought on Television Prose”
It’s actually fine to steal from writers you love.
Ideas are an odd form of property. We protect them under law with copyright, trademarks and patents, but when it comes to the inventions of fiction, it’s very hard to assert meaningful ownership in a court of law. Instead, writers and readers enforce an ad-hoc moral code against authors who are seen to have steppedContinue reading “It’s actually fine to steal from writers you love.”
Big Dumb Objects. Sci-fi’s USP.
We humans love things we can’t explain. Witness the vast array of outlandish claims made about Stonehenge, from ancient calendar to alien stargate, when in all likelihood it was just a big clock or an early marketplace, a neolithic branch of Tesco. When the unknown is also alien, the mystery only grows more magnetic. ThinkContinue reading “Big Dumb Objects. Sci-fi’s USP.”
Yes. There is a secret to great storytelling.
Is it a secret? Some times a thing is so obvious we can look at it a billion times and never know it. SOMETHING HAS GOT TO CHANGE. You can tell where a writer is in their development by the answer they give to a simple question. What’s your story about. “It’s an epic fantasyContinue reading “Yes. There is a secret to great storytelling.”
It’s not science fiction – it’s systems fiction
Seen in literary fiction as well as SF, this genre weaves together complex debates in a way that can offer a clearer view of the future – think Atwood, DeLillo and Asimov. Weirdly enough, science fiction is not the best lens through which to examine science fiction. In the 80s, critic Tom LeClair came upContinue reading “It’s not science fiction – it’s systems fiction”
Writers…do you know your Revenue Per Reader?
As regular readers will know, over the last few months I’ve been dedicating some of my professional time to building a Patreon. In around 6 months I went from $18 of support, to over $2oo per month, which buys me a couple of extra days each month to work on my own writing. But mostContinue reading “Writers…do you know your Revenue Per Reader?”
What is the rhetoric of story?
It’s that moment when you look up from Lord of the Rings, and it hits you, BLIMEY! I’m not in Middle Earth. It’s the feeling when the lights go up after three hours of King Lear and you remember you’re not a tragic hero. It’s the sensation of being so lost in the world orContinue reading “What is the rhetoric of story?”
Why is the Kindle store so cheap and seedy?
Imagine if your local bookshop was modelled on a Cash & Carry. Towering 3 storey riveted steel shelving units, housed in a cavernous warehouse unit on the edge of a nameless industrial park, echoing tinnily with the greatest hits of boy band One Direction. It has all the books, but they’re stacked inside cardboard boxes,Continue reading “Why is the Kindle store so cheap and seedy?”
Why writers have more to learn than ever
We live in exciting times for writers. There are more ways then ever to tell stories, and huge audiences hungry to consume them. It may sound strange if you’re not used to the idea, but the story is a kind of technology. Like the sword, or the motorcar, or the computer, the story has evolvedContinue reading “Why writers have more to learn than ever”
The storytelling technique that made ROCKY a classic
https://youtu.be/GkKTuONTgoc From the second talk in the Rhetoric of Story course…I make a short detour to wonder what it is that makes ROCKY the movie a champ, that people keep on watching. HINT: it’s all about desire. Learn more about the Writing Practice: http://damiengwalter.teachable.com/courses/rhetoric-of-story
Damien Walter 