Category: Story Courses

Godlike superheroes

Holy Week encompasses extreme lows as we remember Jesus was beaten and crucified, and the brightest, incomprehensible joys in His resurrection. Herein also lies a fissure between the reality of Jesus and the expectations of humanity. Jesus’ life is well chronicles in the Bible. His humble, miraculous birth to a virgin is told in our […]

March 31, 2024 | Posted in faith, Story Courses
5 Essential Lessons from Shadow and Bone

It’s hard to know what to say with Shadow and Bone. Are these lessons in writing? Are they lessons in adaptation? I think they must be a bit of both since there’s only 8 episodes to work with, a popular book to draw from and all sorts of things to say. **there’s like spoilers everywhere […]

May 1, 2021 | Posted in 5 lessons
5 Essential Lessons from Timeless

Timeless is one of those shows that I misjudged, badly.  I saw the previews when it debuted on NBC and didn’t think it looked that interesting or that the characters seemed that compelling.  If they’d advertised the auspices of the show I’d probably have given the pilot a chance since I like Shawn Ryan and Eric Kripke […]

January 19, 2020 | Posted in 5 lessons, Story Courses, tv
5 Essential Lessons from Roswell, New Mexico

The first three minutes of the original Roswell pilot are some of my favorite moments on tv, ever. One scene in BSG also makes the top 5 list, but this is about Roswell. That haunting Sarah McLachlan song, the urgency and intimacy of it all was absolutely captivating when it first aired and it’s never […]

March 13, 2019 | Posted in 5 lessons, Story Courses, tv
5 Essential Lessons from Eureka

Eureka is now on Amazon Prime so it’s a good time to catch up if you haven’t watched it before. There’s 5 seasons which is a good blend of enough episodes to keep you entertained but not drown you in a show you never finish. When it first aired, I watched the pilot and a […]

May 28, 2018 | Posted in 5 lessons, Story Courses, tv
Once Upon a Time Exposes the Lie of the Moonlighting Curse

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Moonlighting Curse. The idea that once a couple gets together on a tv show it ruins either the relationship or the show entirely. It began, of course, with Moonlighting which starred Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis. Their bickering and sexual tension carried the show for 3 seasons. And then they […]

May 7, 2018 | Posted in Plot, Story Courses
5 Essential Lessons from The Brave

NBC recently cancelled The Brave which means, much like Haven, I was one of the few people watching it. Which is sad because it was really good. It’s not on Netflix or Amazon Prime (yet – hopefully soon…. or eventually). It’s only 13 episodes so they’re easy to catch up on. And, it’s not entirely […]

April 30, 2018 | Posted in 5 lessons, Story Courses
5 Essential Lessons from Haven

I feel like Haven is one of those shows that I’m the only person who watched it. But I still find it fairly interesting and it definitely has some valuable storytelling lessons to glean. I’ve tried to limit spoilers so you can access the writing lessons without ruining the show. I binged two and a […]

April 16, 2018 | Posted in 5 lessons, Story Courses
5 Essential Lessons from Reign

Sometimes I can’t explain what I like about Reign. I can tell you all the things I don’t like easily enough. And a lot of those are the essential lessons in what not to do in our storytelling. And yet, even with its flaws there’s a lot I enjoy about it. I enjoy most of […]

April 2, 2018 | Posted in 5 lessons, Story Courses
What is contrived conflict

Conflict is the life blood of drama. YA authors gleefully thrive on the tears and broken hearts of their readers. Readers wail and cry and tweet and then come back, hungry for more. But contrived conflict is another matter altogether. It destroys your reader’s trust and dare I even say it has the potential to […]

March 26, 2018 | Posted in Craft, Story Courses