http://www.storyrules.com Storyrules is a writing blog about creating natural stories using a technique called method writing. The rules and environment for the story are the foundation of Method Writing. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:37:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This isn't working. I've been writing a whole bunch these past months but Storyrules requires additional time and effort that I haven't been able to give. I'm going to be thinking about how I can rework this blog so that I can actually post things regularly. As it stands, when life ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/06/29/a-change-this-way-comes/ Whiskey is a friend In a room with cold floors, bare walls And compelling reasons to leave. It keeps strange company. The ice it mingles with tinkles against the glass, Crying out like a child with a loose bladder . And I listen. And I drink. It leaves me with nothing. Just the small understanding That a word of ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/03/08/keeping-it-simple-and-honest/ Backstory is overlooked way too often in fiction writing. For Aleria, the alternate reality cartoon series I'm developing, it has been a major challenge to provide a reasonable foundation for every character, action, setting and plot arc. Its more than just coming up with interesting backstories for characters and places. ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/03/07/story-philosophies/ I think I'll step into the rain that isn't falling and wallow in the mud that isn't there. I think I’ll fly in the sky to the rainbow that has the little man who is never really there. I’ll fold my wings on blue and lay my head on red like a ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/02/26/busted-imagination/ Something happened and its too late for me to fix it. Time moved and I was too stuck in the future to see the present How was I to know that my best chance to experience new things would be so short?I look back to see who I was and I’m surprised. I ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/02/19/gaining-in-age/ Prompt: Time Clock, watch, time telling device, waiting, rushing, stressed, wasting, watching, holding, feeling, unleashing, tracking, stopping, understanding, managing… Can one wash time? Does it get old? Does it get dirty? Is time a person, being, condition or setting? Is time a physical place? Is it an object? Is it quantifiable? Is ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/02/13/when-youve-got-writers-blockbe-stupid/ I’m sending emails to everyone I know in the business. Anyone who owes me a favor. It’s a message from a once corporate zombie. I gave up myself for the sake of a secure future. And now the illusion has been stripped away. My security was unceremoniously cracked last week ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/02/11/midlife-crisis/ The dumbest thing I ever saw was a bike commuter get hit by a vehicle at 14th and 3rd. I woke to sounds of skids and screams escaping in through my third floor window. I’m used to the whirl of ambulance sirens since my building is near a hospital but ... http://www.storyrules.com/2008/02/06/the-dumbest-thing-i-ever/ Caught, covered and carefully carried; The thief of my dreams appeared. Can I contain this, a carriage for my fears? How long will I remain a victim of inaction; Paralyzed by thought; deprived of my satisfaction? http://www.storyrules.com/2008/02/05/thoughts-on-the-future/ "Sort it out," they said. "We leave you two to sort it out." But it's not like we were even. He wouldn't let it be even. Dammit. They are supposed to be my arbitrators, brokering fairness and enforcing equality where it doesn't yet exist naturally. My chance to get out of the ... http://www.storyrules.com/2007/11/21/analysis-paralysis/