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Job History by Annie Proulx Short Story Analysis
Reading “Job History” in 2017, I propose an updated subtitle: “The Life and Times of a Trump Voter”. Annie Proulx doesn’t seem to go public with her voting decisions but her interest in the environment and the ideas in her fiction suggest she’s probably not on board with what’s going on in the USA this year: [Annie Proulx’s] […]
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Wallace and Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf Or Death
In Wallace and Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf Or Death, Wallace and his dog, Gromit, open a bakery and get tied up with a murder mystery. But, when Wallace falls in love Gromit is left to solve the case. GENRE BLEND OF ‘A MATTER OF LOAF OR DEATH’ comedy, horror, romance >> cosy mystery STORY […]
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Ar Cannerez Nos: Violent French Washerwomen
There are a set of washerwomen called ar cannerez nos, or the nocturnal singers, who wash their linen always by night, singing old songs and tales all the time: they solicit the assistance of people passing by to wring the linen; if it be given awkwardly, they break the person’s arm; if it be […]
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Twist Endings, Reversals and Reveals In Storytelling
Reversals and reveals are vital for creating momentum and suspense in a story. Certain genres are required to be more page-turny than others, and all children’s literature must be page-turny. So you’ll find reversals and reveals everywhere in children’s literature.
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Le Week-end (2013) Storytelling Notes
Le Week-end is a comedy, drama, romance, but not a rom-com — unlike the bulk of romantic/comedy blends this is about a couple on their 30th wedding anniversary, attempting to fall in love with each other again. The promotional material shows the characters laughing, but this is not representative of the mood, which is heavy. The […]
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Badjelly The Witch by Spike Milligan (1973)
“Badjelly The Witch” is better known as a radio play than as a picture book, at least to any New Zealand child of the 80s. There wasn’t much in the way of media entertainment back then, and I looked forward to Radio New Zealand’s Sunday morning children’s show with Constable Keith and Sniff the German […]
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Must Fictional Heroes Be Likeable?
Short answer: Main characters don’t have to be likeable. But they do need to be interesting.
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The Homesman (2014) Film Study
With similarities to Million Dollar Baby, The Homesman is a film about an old man who has regrets but no character arc after meeting a young woman in desperate circumstances. The 2014 Homesman film is closely based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, first published 1988. Glendon Swarthout died just four years after this novel […]
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We Are The Best (2013) Storytelling
We Are The Best is a Swedish film adaptation of Coco Moodysson’s (director Moodysson’s wife’s) autobiographical graphic novel which she never completely finished. PREMISE OF WE ARE THE BEST Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band — despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead. STORY […]
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Desperate Housewives Storytelling Tips
Desperate Housewives ran for eight seasons from 2004 to 2012. This show is a great example of a ‘cozy mystery’. TAGLINES Taglines are for the marketing copy. Season One: Everyone has a little dirty laundry…/Secrets. Romance. Murder. All On One Street. THE LOGLINE/PREMISE For maximum narrative drive the premise should be all about the plot. […]
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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) Novel Study
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl is a metafictive coming-of-age film based on a young adult novel by the same name. The book is an example of ‘sick-lit‘. Greg […] is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films […]
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Storytelling Tips From Kings Of Summer (2013)
Sometimes when you find out a story used to be called something different right up until the marketing team stepped in, the original name can offer extra insight. Kings of Summer was originally called “Toy’s House”. The main character is called Joe Toy, and I did spend a bit of time wondering if this is a symbolic […]
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The Edge Of Seventeen Film Study
The Edge of Seventeen is a coming-of-age movie about an American girl called Nadine who struggles to fit in. That could describe many of us in our teen years, but with Nadine there’s a bit more to it. STORY STRUCTURE OF THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN The film opens to a witty, high stakes dialogue scene […]
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Father Tropes In Fiction
Turn Out Like His Father – A character has charge of a child (usually her son) and is desperate to keep this child from imitating another relative (usually his father). This is a fear of history’s repeating itself for his fate, which may be turning evil and usually ends with being dead. Harry Potter isn’t allowed to […]
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The Snail Under The Leaf Setting
In many folktales, visitors to fairyland see magnificent palaces and comely people until they accidentally rub the fairy ointment on their eyes. Then fairyland is revealed as a charnel-house, grey and grim, with the fairies as the grinning dead. Diane Purkiss, Troublesome Things The Utopian World is prevalent in contemporary children’s literature. Move into young […]