“Instead of making kindergarten like the rest of school, we need to make the rest of school (indeed, the rest of life) more like kindergarten.” — Mitch Resnick I have Mitch Resnick (or, more specifically, his published work) to thank for sending me down the rabbit hole of innovation in education a few years ago. Mitch Resnick (aka […]
Pixar Animation Studios has launched the first of six free online lessons covering the art of storytelling, led by Pete Docter, Mark Andrews, and other filmmakers from the renowned Disney-owned studio.
The new series is available for free through online-education platform… Continue reading Let Pixar teach you how to tell stories! It’s Free!!
Watch as Steven Johnson takes viewers on an entertaining journey through time to illustrate the inspirations and rewards of progressively disruptive inventing. In just 7 minutes and 25 seconds, Johnson-perhaps inadvertently- argues Continue reading Video:The playful wonderland behind great inventions | Steven Johnson
Dramatic conflict is the backbone of quality screenplays. What better ways to raise the conflict in your screenwriting than modulating the tension in your story?
Tension in your writing can be defined as a period of elevated emotional intensity.
Here are some ways to effectively utilize tension in your story:
1) BURSTS OF TENSION
Tension can be either short lived or sustained. In order for tension to be effective in your script, it must be ACTIVATED, SUSTAINED and RELEASED. Prolonged tension will only tire and disengage your audience.
2) MACRO INTENSITY
The levels of tension must be manipulated to hook your audience. Firstly consider the overall level of danger in the story arc.
In the macro story, the tension needs to be escalated in a “SAW TOOTH” format. This is basically the attack-sustain-release model. Think about the set pieces in your story and how they correlate with periods of tension. My preference is for…
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We don’t want to give anything away, about the season 6 mid-season premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead. But there were rockets flying!! Continue reading Video Extra – The Walking Dead – (SPOILERS) Making of Episode 609: The Walking Dead: No Way Out – AMC
Mason jars are absolutely adorable and totally useful! Since I’m quite obsessed, I find ways to incorporate them on The Chic Site and in my home as much as possible. I’m sure, like me, you end up accumulating a variety of jars in your house throughout the week. Instead of recycling them, or worse tossing them out, try one of these creative ways to put them to good use. Continue reading From Huff Post: 13 Creative Ways You Could Be Using Mason Jars | Rachel Hollis
We have a whole new year ahead of us: a clean slate to get stuff done, tackle those creative pursuits, and make a better life. For us, that means exploring new creative projects and stretching ourselves a bit more. Continue reading 12 Creative Challenges You Need to Try This Year (From Visual News)
At a time when it’s so easy and convenient to whip out a smart device to jot down an idea or take notes, it’s refreshing to see that the good ol’ notebook hasn’t gone completely out of style. In this Creative Spark segment, writer and director Tina Gordon Chism (Drumline, ATL, Peeples) talks about her passion for the “slow burn” of Continue reading Writer Director Tina Gordon Chism on the Creative Process
“Creativity is like a dark room. You go in and you start shining light on things and build out from that… (genius) that’s not who I am. (But) I’m capable of letting it evolve and keep adding on to it; keep making it better. To me, creativity is about searching for something. And when you know it’s good, you need to not let it go. “ —Simon Otto Continue reading Creative Process by Animator Simon Otto (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
It’s almost November, the biggest month of the year for daily writing and blogging challenges — you know, the ones with names that sound like chemical formulas. There’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), National Non-Fiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo), National Playwriting Month (NaPlWriMo), a month-long drawing challenge, (NaNoDrawMo), and their blogging counterpart, National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo.
NaBloPoMo challenges you to publish a blog post every single day in November. There’s a huge community of participating bloggers, and the event’s organizers, BlogHer, maintain a blogroll and offer support, motivation, and prizes. It’s a great way to meet new bloggers, create a blogging habit, and try new things…
… but we know it’s daunting, and the excitement of Day One seems to wane a bit by Day Seventeen. That’s what we’re here for! The post ideas, resources, and tips below will…
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