Recent content by Sheriff Woody

Yes, by living vicariously through the characters. And if the character's don't grow or learn, then what does the reader learn? If, for example, you want to take your reader on an adventure, then you need a character to go on that same adventure. I think we're getting a bit off topic, but to...

Every story is a journey for the hero, and if your hero has nowhere to go or nothing to develop internally, then what is the purpose of your story? The mentor is the character that has already accomplished what the hero is struggling with, and can therefore provide assistance in getting the...

A Feast For Crows Ridiculously boring so far (half-way through). :/

Nice. I have that one sitting on my shelf behind me, just waiting to be read. ;) Thank you for all the suggestions! Please keep them coming. One can never have too much wanton pandemonium. :cool:

So, I watched the new Godzilla movie, and I was wondering if anyone knows of any good fantasy (or sci-fi) books that feature mass destruction along the lines of the aforementioned film. I'm in the mood for complete devastation in a make-believe landscape. Book titles will suffice, but please...

If you are not excited about what you still have to write, that is a story problem, not a first act problem.

If you pay something off later on, it needs to appear earlier in the story - and have a function that relates to its initial appearance. If you introduce something that is clearly not being used at the time, the reader will deduce that it must have some use later on, and this can give away...

I like villains that aren't necessarily "sympathetic", but rather, "understandable". If I can see from that person's point of view how they would benefit from their course of antagonistic action, awesome. But a bad guy/girl who's bad for the sake of being bad can get pretty boring. I don't...

Story, without hesitation. Interesting things happening is what makes a story, a story. And thus entertaining, engaging, and ultimately worth reading.

Totally agree. I see the end of a chapter as an opportunity for a big moment. When you have 150 chapters of 3 pages each, how important can each moment be? That's devaluing the story with a marketing gimmick. Not cool.

I thought it was a horribly-written story with shallow characters and no sense of wonder or enjoyment to be found at any point whatsoever. All style, no substance.

I like this. Less is more. Or... The gate stood between two guards.

I agree. One of the greatest films ever made. In fact, plenty of older films that didn't have action or special effects had to rely strictly on storytelling and dialogue to keep people entertained. Watch older films and you will see. Anything from Billy Wilder will do. Hitchcock, as well...

I'm looking forward to this in 2014: Black Sails First Trailer - YouTube

My reply: