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Available at Amazon Barnes and Noble and local bookstores MY JOURNEY FROM STR EETS AND SALOONS TO THE STAGE AN O T OM DREESEN wm DARREN GRU B FOIIEIVORo BY B JOHNNY RU DAVID L SSO ETTERMAN
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Available at Amazon Barnes and Noble and local bookstores MY JOURNEY FROM STR EETS AND SALOONS TO THE STAGE AN O T OM DREESEN wm DARREN GRU B FOIIEIVORo BY B JOHNNY RU DAVID L SSO ETTERMAN
Tell us abou and your current projects t as I prepare for new leading roles the release 2020 looks Uo ug a a _ Jf of films I perforIQed iii and pro uced last season as well as a handful of exciting new projects on the horizon A Song of Greenwood by Tim Long and Jerome Johnson all started years ago as an original musical a bout the 1921 T a Race Massacre that occurred in what was known as Bia ck W ll Street in tli beloved Greenwood District of my town I played a lead in the first tour d am now an associate producer of ries fUming in time for the 100 year anniversary of the massacre R021 The cast features Brgad y starlets music and dancing of the e Makers con ues onto its third film traveling entary o dementia 50 million people and d its predicted to almost triple by 2050 Miracle Makers exists to tell stories tton and disappearance are example of a life lived in is to ca pt e as ber them future
Tell us abou and your current projects t as I prepare for new leading roles the release 2020 looks Uo ug a a _ Jf of films I perforIQed iii and pro uced last season as well as a handful of exciting new projects on the horizon A Song of Greenwood by Tim Long and Jerome Johnson all started years ago as an original musical a bout the 1921 T a Race Massacre that occurred in what was known as Bia ck W ll Street in tli beloved Greenwood District of my town I played a lead in the first tour d am now an associate producer of ries fUming in time for the 100 year anniversary of the massacre R021 The cast features Brgad y starlets music and dancing of the e Makers con ues onto its third film traveling entary o dementia 50 million people and d its predicted to almost triple by 2050 Miracle Makers exists to tell stories tton and disappearance are example of a life lived in is to ca pt e as ber them future
There isn t movies since I other way I c the world in a Where did ent beca feel i ure wi Debi Meyers iredtor of June R n School of Ballet 1n ahoma teacher who develop d my s ttills and stry from the veeyt t ltnnin I spe of hours each week from age 3 to 19 trfin1ng W1 th lliss Debi a ff of and theater pro ssionals Ce mpared tct many yo ng people enoe wi classical ballet I never felt Pf Ssured to be perfect only ins be as ore as I could be It was Sterling fM chann acting teacher and re f1lm guy at Runyon who s th or ator of all my acting knowledge and hom I a es directed and edit d flrst fllm My 6th and 7th es we t living wi family in Germ att ndin a German middle soh I and b emy anothe few years I travel d to 4 oo tries lea med to spe and discovered ent universe wit myself I never w had we not move so ti from home The CalArts d oe ti ulty included fo er memb dance companies olu Martha Gra b am Alvin oes on AMDA s faculty of Paul Taylor and t listf stories taught me sin compose and a Il the profe start working in t ind stry Which is en ot y wh there in seminary at E established my own Theola the core of everyt g I o Ten years in LA wor as a bartender and gen _ _ outgoing pe on I v connections that w a ke anyone s lit e bla ok t like a mindless mac e metimes but i reaJJy who all have some fasoin tion with movin picture Fortunately making fl 1e 1 s is one of my anger confidence if I m o as od as the peopl I span I m doing pretty gr t
There isn t movies since I other way I c the world in a Where did ent beca feel i ure wi Debi Meyers iredtor of June R n School of Ballet 1n ahoma teacher who develop d my s ttills and stry from the veeyt t ltnnin I spe of hours each week from age 3 to 19 trfin1ng W1 th lliss Debi a ff of and theater pro ssionals Ce mpared tct many yo ng people enoe wi classical ballet I never felt Pf Ssured to be perfect only ins be as ore as I could be It was Sterling fM chann acting teacher and re f1lm guy at Runyon who s th or ator of all my acting knowledge and hom I a es directed and edit d flrst fllm My 6th and 7th es we t living wi family in Germ att ndin a German middle soh I and b emy anothe few years I travel d to 4 oo tries lea med to spe and discovered ent universe wit myself I never w had we not move so ti from home The CalArts d oe ti ulty included fo er memb dance companies olu Martha Gra b am Alvin oes on AMDA s faculty of Paul Taylor and t listf stories taught me sin compose and a Il the profe start working in t ind stry Which is en ot y wh there in seminary at E established my own Theola the core of everyt g I o Ten years in LA wor as a bartender and gen _ _ outgoing pe on I v connections that w a ke anyone s lit e bla ok t like a mindless mac e metimes but i reaJJy who all have some fasoin tion with movin picture Fortunately making fl 1e 1 s is one of my anger confidence if I m o as od as the peopl I span I m doing pretty gr t
Any words of advice Believe in miracles Fear is a liar and we have the choice in every moment to listen to fear or to have faith Our decisions directly affect the outcome so choose hope and watch what happens
Any words of advice Believe in miracles Fear is a liar and we have the choice in every moment to listen to fear or to have faith Our decisions directly affect the outcome so choose hope and watch what happens
hughesmeleta@gmail.com
203-676-2151
Come Join The Party At AOF MEGAFEST More Submission Deadlines Coming Up Enter Your Scripts Films Docs Videos NOW www actiononfilmfest com COME SEE WHAT ALL THE FUN IS ABOUT There may be a guy in a bear suit but we doubt it
Come Join The Party At AOF MEGAFEST More Submission Deadlines Coming Up Enter Your Scripts Films Docs Videos NOW www actiononfilmfest com COME SEE WHAT ALL THE FUN IS ABOUT There may be a guy in a bear suit but we doubt it
Fite Near Death Experience of Dr John Dantry
Fite Near Death Experience of Dr John Dantry
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION ATTORNEYS www thorndal com
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION ATTORNEYS www thorndal com
XHdV HOOIH NV 1VJ I VOJ 1
XHdV HOOIH NV 1VJ I VOJ 1
Tell us about your work and your current project s When did you decide on your chosen Profession and Why
Tell us about your work and your current project s When did you decide on your chosen Profession and Why
A NOVEL IDEA PART TWO CREATING THE NOVEL PLAN By Harold Lea Brown FADE IN You ve selected the screenplay you want to turn into a full blown novel maybe a shorter form novella Now what It is time to create a concrete plan and make some key decisions What s the overall structure going to be Who and how many point of view characters will tell the story you want to tell to your reading audience Will you tell your story using first or third person narrators Will you tell your story in present or past tense Why spend time on a novel plan It s the first step I consider to make sure the project is going to have the legs to become the novel I don t want to be 40 000 words in and discover I am losing steam As I complete the novel plan I can gauge whether I have enough plot twists and complexities In the DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES SERIES I have five storylines a couple that are overarching ongoing storylines for the entire book series e g the truth about Kevin s wife s death finding his wife s killers at least one storyline to be resolved in each book e g foil the pipe bomb discover and foil attack on G7 countries etc NOVEL TIP A novel plan will help create or re enforce a writer s discipline When I begin writing I know the metrics of the journey and when I sit down in front of my computer on any given day I have a sense of where I am and where I need to get to At the end of the day I have a bit of a yardstick of how well I have done It creates discipline for me Five pages today might mean I need to prepare myself for 10 or 20 pages tomorrow It s like having an invisible hand or person looking over my shoulder AND it also provides for days when I can celebrate the success of what you ve created as a writer FADEOUT Example of My Script Metrics The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my script writing are THE NOVEL PLAN So why did I give you all of the information in A Novel Idea Part One about comparisons of script versus novel The simple answer is it all factors into planning your novel project Why consider the big picture early When considering the conversion of a script to a book I think about the length and structure of the novel early in the process This guides the depth to which I will develop a story for my audience In the case of a full blown novel the metrics I use to guide me in the process are Words 80 000 to 110 000 words Pages 320 500 pages Chapters longer style comprising 40 chapters of 8 10 pages each or shorter style chapters of 3 5 pages each Act Scenes Words Pages 1 15 15 15 15 4 500 4 500 4 500 4 500 25 25 25 25 60 18 000 100 2A 2B 3 An average scene runs 1 2 pages and averages 180 words per page One minute of script loosely translates into 1 minute of screen time The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my novel writing assuming a full blown novel not a novella are Part Chapters Words Pages 1 2 3 4 1 20 21 40 41 60 61 80 80 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 100 000 100 100 100 100 400
A NOVEL IDEA PART TWO CREATING THE NOVEL PLAN By Harold Lea Brown FADE IN You ve selected the screenplay you want to turn into a full blown novel maybe a shorter form novella Now what It is time to create a concrete plan and make some key decisions What s the overall structure going to be Who and how many point of view characters will tell the story you want to tell to your reading audience Will you tell your story using first or third person narrators Will you tell your story in present or past tense Why spend time on a novel plan It s the first step I consider to make sure the project is going to have the legs to become the novel I don t want to be 40 000 words in and discover I am losing steam As I complete the novel plan I can gauge whether I have enough plot twists and complexities In the DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES SERIES I have five storylines a couple that are overarching ongoing storylines for the entire book series e g the truth about Kevin s wife s death finding his wife s killers at least one storyline to be resolved in each book e g foil the pipe bomb discover and foil attack on G7 countries etc NOVEL TIP A novel plan will help create or re enforce a writer s discipline When I begin writing I know the metrics of the journey and when I sit down in front of my computer on any given day I have a sense of where I am and where I need to get to At the end of the day I have a bit of a yardstick of how well I have done It creates discipline for me Five pages today might mean I need to prepare myself for 10 or 20 pages tomorrow It s like having an invisible hand or person looking over my shoulder AND it also provides for days when I can celebrate the success of what you ve created as a writer FADEOUT Example of My Script Metrics The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my script writing are THE NOVEL PLAN So why did I give you all of the information in A Novel Idea Part One about comparisons of script versus novel The simple answer is it all factors into planning your novel project Why consider the big picture early When considering the conversion of a script to a book I think about the length and structure of the novel early in the process This guides the depth to which I will develop a story for my audience In the case of a full blown novel the metrics I use to guide me in the process are Words 80 000 to 110 000 words Pages 320 500 pages Chapters longer style comprising 40 chapters of 8 10 pages each or shorter style chapters of 3 5 pages each Act Scenes Words Pages 1 15 15 15 15 4 500 4 500 4 500 4 500 25 25 25 25 60 18 000 100 2A 2B 3 An average scene runs 1 2 pages and averages 180 words per page One minute of script loosely translates into 1 minute of screen time The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my novel writing assuming a full blown novel not a novella are Part Chapters Words Pages 1 2 3 4 1 20 21 40 41 60 61 80 80 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 100 000 100 100 100 100 400
How do I document my novel plan The final version of the novel comprised 121 chapters I use an Excel spreadsheet to initially map my screenplay to a novel structure The novelization workplan includes columns labelled with the screenplay Scene No Scene Headings Speaking Times Page No Length and the potential corresponding Novel Breakdown Part Chapter No Scene POV Character and Comments For each chapter I add the POV Character at least the initial one for the chapter and Comments if any I have included an early version of page one of my novelization workplan for Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 SCREEhPLAY NOYD IZATIOH WOR PIAN O AOt Y I S C SC _ He Prolocv Prolocv ISIBLE EHEM ES 1100 1 COM p 1 5 N 10A OOror POV mt11t plePOVPCS P 2 AVJCHSTit N 3 IGl f a JBO purtSc 2 Bl O POV EXT GLOBE COM SERVICES BUILD NG lATER u INT UV 5 tl AOJ Y 011 lflBLL I IMH S f lJt IIUulllM CTl ON flOOJlt I OU fUN EXT U S Junlc BUILOING DAY 6 6 VG V L RAN INT A SIP 6 B apt rJSc 1 8 16 CE a p 6 1 8 Ch in t S C 1 AG etera 23 B Joe Man sPOV E BndJllfl GESSl1 JOE 1J 1 1T CQYltTllO M O Y PROSEC ITINGATTORN EYUI B u c w ERl3 ROB RTWATER IB SI BURGESS INT A O EYGE ERAl E SIB p1 r cl f Ill 1 s sea ct t0 1 ON OIP lt 1 l trc d IM c ae bl n w 11 _JI _ 4fW Xavln I I 111 ui ch4dtl Nn fio _ 1 dlo P Ml t 3 5 iOtt Weddl A wilYSu 1Y Mwlil _ and if4 wtr pu hlnt c mna I NIii Qffvla P qcl KEY NOVEL PLANNING DECISIONS What is the overall structure to be used I have already talked about this a little bit but it s worth emphasizing again The use of part and chapter demarcations provide a basis for organizing the writing process for the author and when done well also contribute to the positive reading experience a reading audience expects As I continue to write and learn more about creating novels I have landed on the use of a four part structure to any novel I create from a screenplay and in fact I use four parts for any novel I write Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 was the first novel I wrote using the four part structure
How do I document my novel plan The final version of the novel comprised 121 chapters I use an Excel spreadsheet to initially map my screenplay to a novel structure The novelization workplan includes columns labelled with the screenplay Scene No Scene Headings Speaking Times Page No Length and the potential corresponding Novel Breakdown Part Chapter No Scene POV Character and Comments For each chapter I add the POV Character at least the initial one for the chapter and Comments if any I have included an early version of page one of my novelization workplan for Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 SCREEhPLAY NOYD IZATIOH WOR PIAN O AOt Y I S C SC _ He Prolocv Prolocv ISIBLE EHEM ES 1100 1 COM p 1 5 N 10A OOror POV mt11t plePOVPCS P 2 AVJCHSTit N 3 IGl f a JBO purtSc 2 Bl O POV EXT GLOBE COM SERVICES BUILD NG lATER u INT UV 5 tl AOJ Y 011 lflBLL I IMH S f lJt IIUulllM CTl ON flOOJlt I OU fUN EXT U S Junlc BUILOING DAY 6 6 VG V L RAN INT A SIP 6 B apt rJSc 1 8 16 CE a p 6 1 8 Ch in t S C 1 AG etera 23 B Joe Man sPOV E BndJllfl GESSl1 JOE 1J 1 1T CQYltTllO M O Y PROSEC ITINGATTORN EYUI B u c w ERl3 ROB RTWATER IB SI BURGESS INT A O EYGE ERAl E SIB p1 r cl f Ill 1 s sea ct t0 1 ON OIP lt 1 l trc d IM c ae bl n w 11 _JI _ 4fW Xavln I I 111 ui ch4dtl Nn fio _ 1 dlo P Ml t 3 5 iOtt Weddl A wilYSu 1Y Mwlil _ and if4 wtr pu hlnt c mna I NIii Qffvla P qcl KEY NOVEL PLANNING DECISIONS What is the overall structure to be used I have already talked about this a little bit but it s worth emphasizing again The use of part and chapter demarcations provide a basis for organizing the writing process for the author and when done well also contribute to the positive reading experience a reading audience expects As I continue to write and learn more about creating novels I have landed on the use of a four part structure to any novel I create from a screenplay and in fact I use four parts for any novel I write Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 was the first novel I wrote using the four part structure
POINT OF VIEW POV I then adapted the third novel in the techno thriller drama series into more season episode scripts for the Deadly Invisible Enemies Series I am developing Why consider how long chapters should be The length of a chapter is up to the author but readers have preferences some from long years of conditioning as readers others based on technology In writing Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 and Hunt for Evil Book 2 my approach was to use the more traditional longer chapter format Lee Child s Jack Reacher series uses the longer chapter format 15 25 pages per chapter As my experience in the novel writing world continues to grow I have found that in some instances shorter chapters are more appealing They help keep a reader s attention especially if the target audience reads in short spirts It also allows for more frequent change up of POV characters time and place and provides a nice scene length eBook readers on the go at the beach on the bus etc can zip through 3 5 page chapter increments quickly Authors such as James Patterson have adapted the shorter chapter approach for particular situations The Alex Cross series for example delivers books with shorter chapters 2 4 pages per chapter In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection I chose to use shorter 3 5 page chapters for the reasons discussed above It is important that you consider this as early as possible as it will guide most of the other decisions you will make What other decisions are important early in the writing process Beyond structure it is important to determine who how many the point of view characters will be and what role they will play Also will the story be told in present or past tense What role will the invisible narrator play NOVEL TIP Fiction novels are traditionally third person past tense with one or two POV characters BUT some successful authors are using first and third person past tense with several POV characters For me in writing the Deadly Invisible Enemies series I have 6 8 POV characters and have evolved to use first person for the major series protagonist and third person for all other POV characters along with a number of supporting characters who are not POV characters The following sections will go into more detail about these choices and decisions POV Initial Thoughts Point of view POV is one of the most critical decisions you will need to make before starting to write your novel The entire story will be experienced in depth by the reader through the POV characters When I write a screenplay it is for an intermediary audience a producer a director an actor or others involved in the creative process They will translate the screenplay into a visual experience for an audience When I write a novel there is no intermediary I am writing it for the readers to experience directly Some might consider publishers to be intermediaries but I do not as I am not writing the story for them I know they are gatekeepers but as a self publisher I do not need their endorsement book advances or access to their publishing apparatus to get my story out worldwide to the masses Unlike a screenplay where I might have ten twenty or more characters with the camera bouncing from scene location to another scene location in a novel I need to carefully consider POV Through whose eyes do I want the reader to feel the total experience By total experience I mean the reader experiences what a character sees feels thinks hears and touches as expressed in words This often includes the story s protagonist hero and or the story s antagonist villain In the Deadly Invisible Enemies because it is a series with several storylines I have half a dozen or so POV characters Beyond the POV characters I also make limited use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can add limited details about events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp or tossed and turned in bed If the character is alone and you need to convey information to the reader you are in effect introducing the invisible narrator who is not physically in the room or scene POV Viewpoint Nuances When writing the novel convention is to stay in the selected POV character for the chapter or the demarcated section of a chapter As much as possible keep the author invisible avoid interjecting the writer s personal biases or opinions into the story Often the words bridging two scenes or opening a chapter are places where a limited omniscient or invisible viewpoint can be introduced For example it was a rainy day the streets were busy or the autumn leaves covered the grass These snippets are not attributed to a specific character NOVEL TIP In this article I am merely touching on POV I will explore POV from several perspectives but I strongly recommend you do some reading maybe take a seminar on POV It s not a superficial consideration
POINT OF VIEW POV I then adapted the third novel in the techno thriller drama series into more season episode scripts for the Deadly Invisible Enemies Series I am developing Why consider how long chapters should be The length of a chapter is up to the author but readers have preferences some from long years of conditioning as readers others based on technology In writing Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 and Hunt for Evil Book 2 my approach was to use the more traditional longer chapter format Lee Child s Jack Reacher series uses the longer chapter format 15 25 pages per chapter As my experience in the novel writing world continues to grow I have found that in some instances shorter chapters are more appealing They help keep a reader s attention especially if the target audience reads in short spirts It also allows for more frequent change up of POV characters time and place and provides a nice scene length eBook readers on the go at the beach on the bus etc can zip through 3 5 page chapter increments quickly Authors such as James Patterson have adapted the shorter chapter approach for particular situations The Alex Cross series for example delivers books with shorter chapters 2 4 pages per chapter In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection I chose to use shorter 3 5 page chapters for the reasons discussed above It is important that you consider this as early as possible as it will guide most of the other decisions you will make What other decisions are important early in the writing process Beyond structure it is important to determine who how many the point of view characters will be and what role they will play Also will the story be told in present or past tense What role will the invisible narrator play NOVEL TIP Fiction novels are traditionally third person past tense with one or two POV characters BUT some successful authors are using first and third person past tense with several POV characters For me in writing the Deadly Invisible Enemies series I have 6 8 POV characters and have evolved to use first person for the major series protagonist and third person for all other POV characters along with a number of supporting characters who are not POV characters The following sections will go into more detail about these choices and decisions POV Initial Thoughts Point of view POV is one of the most critical decisions you will need to make before starting to write your novel The entire story will be experienced in depth by the reader through the POV characters When I write a screenplay it is for an intermediary audience a producer a director an actor or others involved in the creative process They will translate the screenplay into a visual experience for an audience When I write a novel there is no intermediary I am writing it for the readers to experience directly Some might consider publishers to be intermediaries but I do not as I am not writing the story for them I know they are gatekeepers but as a self publisher I do not need their endorsement book advances or access to their publishing apparatus to get my story out worldwide to the masses Unlike a screenplay where I might have ten twenty or more characters with the camera bouncing from scene location to another scene location in a novel I need to carefully consider POV Through whose eyes do I want the reader to feel the total experience By total experience I mean the reader experiences what a character sees feels thinks hears and touches as expressed in words This often includes the story s protagonist hero and or the story s antagonist villain In the Deadly Invisible Enemies because it is a series with several storylines I have half a dozen or so POV characters Beyond the POV characters I also make limited use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can add limited details about events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp or tossed and turned in bed If the character is alone and you need to convey information to the reader you are in effect introducing the invisible narrator who is not physically in the room or scene POV Viewpoint Nuances When writing the novel convention is to stay in the selected POV character for the chapter or the demarcated section of a chapter As much as possible keep the author invisible avoid interjecting the writer s personal biases or opinions into the story Often the words bridging two scenes or opening a chapter are places where a limited omniscient or invisible viewpoint can be introduced For example it was a rainy day the streets were busy or the autumn leaves covered the grass These snippets are not attributed to a specific character NOVEL TIP In this article I am merely touching on POV I will explore POV from several perspectives but I strongly recommend you do some reading maybe take a seminar on POV It s not a superficial consideration
POV Questions In considering POV I consider a number of questions to guide me in determining POV characters Whose story do I want to tell to the reader Who is telling the story in the novel or chapter scene What do the readers need to know to move the story forward so they fully get it and are coming along for the ride What does the character in the scene know so the readers are experiencing the scene rather than being told Who do I want the reader to have the strongest emotional connect to NOVEL TIP Who is telling the story As the author if you answer this question before the reader picks up your book they will not be left wondering whose story it really is POV Hero and the Reader For me good storytelling is about creating a strong emotional experience for the reader As I write a lot of thrillers I use suspense and surprise when writing stories chapters and scenes To do this I carefully consider what information I share with the reader and what information I withhold until the appropriate moment In effect there are times when the reader only knows only what the hero knows There are times when the reader knows things the hero doesn t To create suspense the reader learns something the hero does not know and is hanging on every word and scene to see what will happen to the hero To create surprise the reader learns something a twist when the hero does NOVEL TIP tool Withholding and revealing information is a powerful writer s POV Time and Place Considerations If you only have one POV character for the story you can only be in one time and place for the entire story that being the time and place of the POV character Think about Cast Away with Tom Hanks It s tough to have a single character carry a whole story especially in a movie If you have written such a script than a single POV character might be appropriate On the other hand if you have two or three POV characters for the story you can take the reader from the time and place of one POV character to the time and place of other POV characters POV Narrator In selecting the narrator for your novel there are three approaches or ways of describing the narrator first person second person and third person Traditionally once an author selects a narrator they stick with the same narrator for the entire novel However James Patterson and Andrew Gross have used both first and third person in the same novel First person When a narrator is talking about him herself that is things happen to them they generally speak in the first person I me mine my we and us are pronouns often used Writing in first person narrator might be good where you only have one main character Second person When a narrator tells story to another character they generally speak in the second person Another way to think of it is the POV belongs to the person being addressed Your your yours yourself and yourselves are pronouns often used The narrator is talking directly to the audience This is not used a lot in fiction writing It is used in technical process instructional manuals or self help books In fiction the narrator might say to the audience I know that you would never have made the choice the hero made Third person When a narrator talks about a character or characters they generally speak in the third person Third person pronouns include he him his himself she her hers herself it its itself they them their theirs and themselves Third person is most commonly used in novels NOVEL TIP Before starting your journey of writing a novel consider studying some of your favorite authors I studied Lee Child the Jack Reacher series and James Patterson the Alex Cross series and novels like The Firm by John Grisham Many of their books have also been adapted into movies As for a movie that was subsequently made into a novel I studied Passchendaele a novel based on Paul Gross s screenplay of the same title POV First or Third Person Decision When zeroing in on whether I will tell the story using first or third person I consider a number of factors including Is the story best told by a single person E g Cast Away Is it a story of events happening to a single person Is emotion a big component of the story A first person POV has the reader feel closer to the character while a third person POV feels more distant but good writing can effectively use techniques that bring the reader closer to the character NOVEL TIP Most novels are written in third person POV which for a first novel might be a good place to start If you are writing a thriller and are up to the challenge you might introduce a first person POV for the protagonist POV Narrator Details As I think about who can best tell the story to the reader is to think of the POV narrator in terms of who holds the camera or the lens into the story Is it the hero Is it the author The Hero Holds the Camera This is the first person POV I me we The reader is completely in the protagonist s antagonist or hero s villain mind discovering the moment completely as the hero does
POV Questions In considering POV I consider a number of questions to guide me in determining POV characters Whose story do I want to tell to the reader Who is telling the story in the novel or chapter scene What do the readers need to know to move the story forward so they fully get it and are coming along for the ride What does the character in the scene know so the readers are experiencing the scene rather than being told Who do I want the reader to have the strongest emotional connect to NOVEL TIP Who is telling the story As the author if you answer this question before the reader picks up your book they will not be left wondering whose story it really is POV Hero and the Reader For me good storytelling is about creating a strong emotional experience for the reader As I write a lot of thrillers I use suspense and surprise when writing stories chapters and scenes To do this I carefully consider what information I share with the reader and what information I withhold until the appropriate moment In effect there are times when the reader only knows only what the hero knows There are times when the reader knows things the hero doesn t To create suspense the reader learns something the hero does not know and is hanging on every word and scene to see what will happen to the hero To create surprise the reader learns something a twist when the hero does NOVEL TIP tool Withholding and revealing information is a powerful writer s POV Time and Place Considerations If you only have one POV character for the story you can only be in one time and place for the entire story that being the time and place of the POV character Think about Cast Away with Tom Hanks It s tough to have a single character carry a whole story especially in a movie If you have written such a script than a single POV character might be appropriate On the other hand if you have two or three POV characters for the story you can take the reader from the time and place of one POV character to the time and place of other POV characters POV Narrator In selecting the narrator for your novel there are three approaches or ways of describing the narrator first person second person and third person Traditionally once an author selects a narrator they stick with the same narrator for the entire novel However James Patterson and Andrew Gross have used both first and third person in the same novel First person When a narrator is talking about him herself that is things happen to them they generally speak in the first person I me mine my we and us are pronouns often used Writing in first person narrator might be good where you only have one main character Second person When a narrator tells story to another character they generally speak in the second person Another way to think of it is the POV belongs to the person being addressed Your your yours yourself and yourselves are pronouns often used The narrator is talking directly to the audience This is not used a lot in fiction writing It is used in technical process instructional manuals or self help books In fiction the narrator might say to the audience I know that you would never have made the choice the hero made Third person When a narrator talks about a character or characters they generally speak in the third person Third person pronouns include he him his himself she her hers herself it its itself they them their theirs and themselves Third person is most commonly used in novels NOVEL TIP Before starting your journey of writing a novel consider studying some of your favorite authors I studied Lee Child the Jack Reacher series and James Patterson the Alex Cross series and novels like The Firm by John Grisham Many of their books have also been adapted into movies As for a movie that was subsequently made into a novel I studied Passchendaele a novel based on Paul Gross s screenplay of the same title POV First or Third Person Decision When zeroing in on whether I will tell the story using first or third person I consider a number of factors including Is the story best told by a single person E g Cast Away Is it a story of events happening to a single person Is emotion a big component of the story A first person POV has the reader feel closer to the character while a third person POV feels more distant but good writing can effectively use techniques that bring the reader closer to the character NOVEL TIP Most novels are written in third person POV which for a first novel might be a good place to start If you are writing a thriller and are up to the challenge you might introduce a first person POV for the protagonist POV Narrator Details As I think about who can best tell the story to the reader is to think of the POV narrator in terms of who holds the camera or the lens into the story Is it the hero Is it the author The Hero Holds the Camera This is the first person POV I me we The reader is completely in the protagonist s antagonist or hero s villain mind discovering the moment completely as the hero does
The reader experiences the story as if the hero is holding the camera For example the story might say I pulled out my trusty sword and reflected on the many battles we d been through I ran my finger down the blade over its deep scars The Author Holds the Camera This is the third person POV he she they The reader is reading a play by play account of what happened as reported by the author For example the author might write The hero prepared for battle In the case of distant third person POV the author describes thoughts or feelings of a character for example He was angry In the case of close third person POV the author expresses thoughts or feelings of a character For example the author might write That bastard They are the all seeing lens that adds snippets of information to the reader to fill in the cracks so to speak Done well it s invisible to the reader Some call it the glue that holds the story together It might be bits of narrative to transition from POV character to POV character or chapter to chapter or scene to scene Basically the invisible narrator takes care of things outside the POV character s purview The invisible narrator might introduce a location or summarize a series of events that have transpired For example The day of the battle was set It was raining It had been raining for several hours and the field had turned to mud Tone command of detail relevant to the story and word selection are critical The narrator is story dependent and different for every book Most importantly the narrator is not there to provide author opinions or editorial In third person POV the reader is effectively placed inside the character s mind The POV character holds the camera reporting what they see and along with feelings thoughts and opinions For example James thought about the battle he was about to enter Did he have other options Who was this evil force he was about face As I read a script to be turned into a novel I consider who and how many POV characters I will need to tell my story in novel form NOVEL TIP One way to think about POV as an author Do I need one or several POV Characters unless it s your own story is that you are recording writing what the first or third person is doing or sharing with you along with what an invisible narrator shares with you As you think about using the various viewpoints think about who can tell story scene best Is it best told by a first or third person narrator or through the invisible narrator POV Third Person Objective Subjective and Distant Close When telling a story in third person POV I move between objective narration with no reference to a characters thoughts and feelings and subjective narration where I convey a characters thoughts and feelings to the reader I also move between distant and close third person narrator In distant POV narration I describe the thoughts and feelings of a character For example James was angry In close POV I quote express the thoughts and feelings of a POV character For example James hands turned into fists That bastard he thought In third person narration I am constantly changing between objective and subjective and distant and close narration POV Invisible Narrator When writing a novel convention is to limit the use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can relate events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp tossed in turned in bed etc The invisible narrator is sort of like a character but they are not in the story POV Characters In the case of a one off novel I usually select two three may four POV characters In the case of a novel series I select more maybe five to seven or more characters as I have more time and space to explore more characters in depth while keeping the reader engaged I also want to avoid confusing the reader with too many characters sharing all their thoughts and feelings with the reader It not only makes it difficult for them to remember It is also very difficult as a writer to remember keep track of and write POV characters in the stories POV Character Considerations As I consider POV characters I also keep the following in mind Character viewpoints define how they see the world POV characters must contribute to moving the story forward POV characters establish an emotional connection with the reader It s not necessary that POV characters be likable but they the must be interesting and offer alternative perspectives to the reader that they may not have thought about or perhaps have wondered about POV Character Selection POV character selection is somewhat like casting a movie First Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through one character Cast Away is a good example of this Third Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through several characters
The reader experiences the story as if the hero is holding the camera For example the story might say I pulled out my trusty sword and reflected on the many battles we d been through I ran my finger down the blade over its deep scars The Author Holds the Camera This is the third person POV he she they The reader is reading a play by play account of what happened as reported by the author For example the author might write The hero prepared for battle In the case of distant third person POV the author describes thoughts or feelings of a character for example He was angry In the case of close third person POV the author expresses thoughts or feelings of a character For example the author might write That bastard They are the all seeing lens that adds snippets of information to the reader to fill in the cracks so to speak Done well it s invisible to the reader Some call it the glue that holds the story together It might be bits of narrative to transition from POV character to POV character or chapter to chapter or scene to scene Basically the invisible narrator takes care of things outside the POV character s purview The invisible narrator might introduce a location or summarize a series of events that have transpired For example The day of the battle was set It was raining It had been raining for several hours and the field had turned to mud Tone command of detail relevant to the story and word selection are critical The narrator is story dependent and different for every book Most importantly the narrator is not there to provide author opinions or editorial In third person POV the reader is effectively placed inside the character s mind The POV character holds the camera reporting what they see and along with feelings thoughts and opinions For example James thought about the battle he was about to enter Did he have other options Who was this evil force he was about face As I read a script to be turned into a novel I consider who and how many POV characters I will need to tell my story in novel form NOVEL TIP One way to think about POV as an author Do I need one or several POV Characters unless it s your own story is that you are recording writing what the first or third person is doing or sharing with you along with what an invisible narrator shares with you As you think about using the various viewpoints think about who can tell story scene best Is it best told by a first or third person narrator or through the invisible narrator POV Third Person Objective Subjective and Distant Close When telling a story in third person POV I move between objective narration with no reference to a characters thoughts and feelings and subjective narration where I convey a characters thoughts and feelings to the reader I also move between distant and close third person narrator In distant POV narration I describe the thoughts and feelings of a character For example James was angry In close POV I quote express the thoughts and feelings of a POV character For example James hands turned into fists That bastard he thought In third person narration I am constantly changing between objective and subjective and distant and close narration POV Invisible Narrator When writing a novel convention is to limit the use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can relate events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp tossed in turned in bed etc The invisible narrator is sort of like a character but they are not in the story POV Characters In the case of a one off novel I usually select two three may four POV characters In the case of a novel series I select more maybe five to seven or more characters as I have more time and space to explore more characters in depth while keeping the reader engaged I also want to avoid confusing the reader with too many characters sharing all their thoughts and feelings with the reader It not only makes it difficult for them to remember It is also very difficult as a writer to remember keep track of and write POV characters in the stories POV Character Considerations As I consider POV characters I also keep the following in mind Character viewpoints define how they see the world POV characters must contribute to moving the story forward POV characters establish an emotional connection with the reader It s not necessary that POV characters be likable but they the must be interesting and offer alternative perspectives to the reader that they may not have thought about or perhaps have wondered about POV Character Selection POV character selection is somewhat like casting a movie First Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through one character Cast Away is a good example of this Third Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through several characters
Readers develop some kind of an attachment to POV characters They might like or dislike them as they begin a journey with them Over the span of the journey they learn understand grow with and root for the POV character s to achieve their goal Readers slip into the POV character s shoes and live their life being privy to their deepest thoughts and feelings Non POV Characters 4 As events unfold in the chapter the reader is brought in closer moving from objective to subjective narration and from describing a POV character s thoughts feelings to a POV character expressing their thoughts and feelings NOVEL TIP As authors you must slip into the mind of narrator seeing and hearing sights and smells and ultimately into the mind and body of POV character Much like movies with lead and supporting roles novels have POV characters lead and non POV characters supporting TENSE When writing non POV character parts in a novel a writer is limited to describing reporting what a non POV character can see and hear So readers expect things like how the non POV characters look speak and act Readers are not privy to the non POV character s internal thoughts or feelings POV and Tense In the case of non POV characters readers glean the information they need to move the story forward Their attachment to non POV characters is indifferent Writers use present tense when they want the reader to experience the story as it is occurring that is as the POV character is experiencing it Examples include verbs ending with s or es or words like am is are has have For example Kevin wakes up and walks to his computer and logs in NOVEL TIP Story rules and conventions continue to be challenged Think about air time In a thriller the hero usually gets 60 70 of time and space while victims and villains receive 30 40 of the time and space Also think about the genre you are writing in In the case of thrillers some writers use first person POV for the hero protagonist foiling an evil mission creating likability and connection and third person POV for the other characters antagonist villain victim or someone close to them or the law enforcement character trying to eliminate the looming threat For example James Patterson Alex Cross series and Andrew Gross use first person POV for the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 I use first person POV for Kevin Albright the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters POV Example of How Invisible Narrator and POV Character Decisions Shape a Typical Scene When I contemplate writing a chapter or a scene I envision it unfolding as follows 1 It begins with the invisible narrator setting the scene using a neutral and non opinionated voice Maybe it s describing the weather maybe a house or street where the action is about to take place 2 Next the invisible narrator hones in on a POV character I still see this character from the outside and the language in the scene remains neutral 3 Finally narrator slips into the POV character s mind and body seeing the scene through their eyes experiencing events actions and thoughts in real time first person or as reported after they have occurred third person It is the point that the writing begins to be colored by the POV character s own speaking voice Writers tell stories with verbs Readers experience POV character events in real time as they occur or after they have occurred Writers use past tense when they want the reader to experience the story that has occurred Examples include verbs ending in ed ing and words like had was were For example James woke up and walked to his computer and logged in Use of Tense Considerations There are pluses and minuses in considering whether to use present or past tense Present tense provides immediacy in storytelling but can diminish the suspense aspect of the story Use of past tense makes it easier to manipulate time For example the writer can use hindsight flashbacks or time slip to take the reader back and forth between different timeframes Use of Tense in Screenplays and Novels As discussed verb tenses describe the action that takes place either as it is happening or after it has happened Related to this are the various techniques available to deal with time real time fast forwarding and skipping time altogether Screenplays typically use present tense verbs to describe action It gives a cinematic feel with a string of scene after scene after scene with events playing out in real time with no novelesque narration in between In the case of novels some writers have experimented with the use present tense but it s tough to pull off a four hundred page novel in present tense and keep the reader engaged It should be noted that history tells us that authors should not try to fast forward midstream in a chapter through time when using present tense We are limited to real time and skipping time all together That means that everything must play out in real time until a writer reaches the end the chapter or section and starts a new one skipping over the time in between the two Otherwise fast forwarding through the story sounds all wrong
Readers develop some kind of an attachment to POV characters They might like or dislike them as they begin a journey with them Over the span of the journey they learn understand grow with and root for the POV character s to achieve their goal Readers slip into the POV character s shoes and live their life being privy to their deepest thoughts and feelings Non POV Characters 4 As events unfold in the chapter the reader is brought in closer moving from objective to subjective narration and from describing a POV character s thoughts feelings to a POV character expressing their thoughts and feelings NOVEL TIP As authors you must slip into the mind of narrator seeing and hearing sights and smells and ultimately into the mind and body of POV character Much like movies with lead and supporting roles novels have POV characters lead and non POV characters supporting TENSE When writing non POV character parts in a novel a writer is limited to describing reporting what a non POV character can see and hear So readers expect things like how the non POV characters look speak and act Readers are not privy to the non POV character s internal thoughts or feelings POV and Tense In the case of non POV characters readers glean the information they need to move the story forward Their attachment to non POV characters is indifferent Writers use present tense when they want the reader to experience the story as it is occurring that is as the POV character is experiencing it Examples include verbs ending with s or es or words like am is are has have For example Kevin wakes up and walks to his computer and logs in NOVEL TIP Story rules and conventions continue to be challenged Think about air time In a thriller the hero usually gets 60 70 of time and space while victims and villains receive 30 40 of the time and space Also think about the genre you are writing in In the case of thrillers some writers use first person POV for the hero protagonist foiling an evil mission creating likability and connection and third person POV for the other characters antagonist villain victim or someone close to them or the law enforcement character trying to eliminate the looming threat For example James Patterson Alex Cross series and Andrew Gross use first person POV for the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 I use first person POV for Kevin Albright the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters POV Example of How Invisible Narrator and POV Character Decisions Shape a Typical Scene When I contemplate writing a chapter or a scene I envision it unfolding as follows 1 It begins with the invisible narrator setting the scene using a neutral and non opinionated voice Maybe it s describing the weather maybe a house or street where the action is about to take place 2 Next the invisible narrator hones in on a POV character I still see this character from the outside and the language in the scene remains neutral 3 Finally narrator slips into the POV character s mind and body seeing the scene through their eyes experiencing events actions and thoughts in real time first person or as reported after they have occurred third person It is the point that the writing begins to be colored by the POV character s own speaking voice Writers tell stories with verbs Readers experience POV character events in real time as they occur or after they have occurred Writers use past tense when they want the reader to experience the story that has occurred Examples include verbs ending in ed ing and words like had was were For example James woke up and walked to his computer and logged in Use of Tense Considerations There are pluses and minuses in considering whether to use present or past tense Present tense provides immediacy in storytelling but can diminish the suspense aspect of the story Use of past tense makes it easier to manipulate time For example the writer can use hindsight flashbacks or time slip to take the reader back and forth between different timeframes Use of Tense in Screenplays and Novels As discussed verb tenses describe the action that takes place either as it is happening or after it has happened Related to this are the various techniques available to deal with time real time fast forwarding and skipping time altogether Screenplays typically use present tense verbs to describe action It gives a cinematic feel with a string of scene after scene after scene with events playing out in real time with no novelesque narration in between In the case of novels some writers have experimented with the use present tense but it s tough to pull off a four hundred page novel in present tense and keep the reader engaged It should be noted that history tells us that authors should not try to fast forward midstream in a chapter through time when using present tense We are limited to real time and skipping time all together That means that everything must play out in real time until a writer reaches the end the chapter or section and starts a new one skipping over the time in between the two Otherwise fast forwarding through the story sounds all wrong
Past tense is used extensively in writing novels and it s typically what readers expect It s more invisible in story telling Story events are told after they have already happened Think of a news reporter at an accident scene They are reporting on what occurred They interview people and perhaps interject their thoughts on what might have happened In past tense authors can use all three techniques to deal with time real time fast forwarding through time and skipping time altogether In turning a screenplay into a novel one of the steps will be to turn the present tense form of writing of the screenplay action blocks into past tense I will discuss this in more detail later NOVEL TIP Most fiction novels are written in past tense it s the natural form we use when we tell stories and it s the way we have learned take in written stories Newspapers and personal journals are written in past tense It s the way my Norwegian grandfather told stories to me Examples of Present and Past Tense Use Present tense Julia munches down a quick breakfast and runs out to her car The traffic is gridlocked as usual but she manages to make it to the meeting with thirty seconds to spare Past Tense Julia munched down her breakfast and ran to her car She fought her way through the traffic gridlock as she had done many other days because of the road construction but she made it to the meeting and had thirty seconds to spare Present tense provides a moment by moment real time approach to what Julia is doing Past tense reports describes what happened but the author can provide as little or as much detail as they want PACE Pace is critical to keeping the reader s attention In writing the novel this includes paying attention to Sentence structure using a mix of long and short sentences Sprinkling a mix of dialogue and narrative text Use of different POV characters and objective and subjective and distant and close narration Chapter section length combined with changing POVs Timing and frequency of plot twists BASIC CONVENTIONS SUMMARIZED POV NARRATOR TENSE The following summarizes the basic conventions used in writing a novel 1 The history of written storytelling reflects that most novels are written as author invisible third person in past tense There are some evolving exceptions for example the use of both first and third person POV characters in the same novel as writers experiment with what readers like 2 Once present or past tense is selected it is important to stick to that tense for the entire novel 3 Only one POV character narrator should be used in a chapter section 4 If a POV character is third person they should remain third person for that character for the entire the book or series If they are first person they should remain first person for the entire book or book series 5 If a POV character time or place changes start a new chapter or signify the change by starting a new section within a chapter 6 Always think about pacing including a mix of long and short sentences and dialogue and narrative text NEXT STEPS The next article in the series will explore writing the novel from a screenplay I will be using a screenplay that I converted into a novel DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES FINAL THOUGHTS In a few short months since we welcomed in 2020 and a new decade our world has forever changed in ways we could not have even imagined It is a time of worry fear hesitation pause and reflection It is also a time of rebirth and excitement as a new frontier opens up We are presented with opportunities we never thought we would see in our life time opportunities to shed the old and embrace the new What was once thought to be only plausible as science fiction is our new reality The paradigm shift happening is presenting storytellers with a whole new world new stories a new writing frontier of blank pages to be filled Story is life well told Harold L Brown NOVEL TIP Without all the special effects and big name actors authors need to work harder to attract and keep the readership s interest www storychaser com
Past tense is used extensively in writing novels and it s typically what readers expect It s more invisible in story telling Story events are told after they have already happened Think of a news reporter at an accident scene They are reporting on what occurred They interview people and perhaps interject their thoughts on what might have happened In past tense authors can use all three techniques to deal with time real time fast forwarding through time and skipping time altogether In turning a screenplay into a novel one of the steps will be to turn the present tense form of writing of the screenplay action blocks into past tense I will discuss this in more detail later NOVEL TIP Most fiction novels are written in past tense it s the natural form we use when we tell stories and it s the way we have learned take in written stories Newspapers and personal journals are written in past tense It s the way my Norwegian grandfather told stories to me Examples of Present and Past Tense Use Present tense Julia munches down a quick breakfast and runs out to her car The traffic is gridlocked as usual but she manages to make it to the meeting with thirty seconds to spare Past Tense Julia munched down her breakfast and ran to her car She fought her way through the traffic gridlock as she had done many other days because of the road construction but she made it to the meeting and had thirty seconds to spare Present tense provides a moment by moment real time approach to what Julia is doing Past tense reports describes what happened but the author can provide as little or as much detail as they want PACE Pace is critical to keeping the reader s attention In writing the novel this includes paying attention to Sentence structure using a mix of long and short sentences Sprinkling a mix of dialogue and narrative text Use of different POV characters and objective and subjective and distant and close narration Chapter section length combined with changing POVs Timing and frequency of plot twists BASIC CONVENTIONS SUMMARIZED POV NARRATOR TENSE The following summarizes the basic conventions used in writing a novel 1 The history of written storytelling reflects that most novels are written as author invisible third person in past tense There are some evolving exceptions for example the use of both first and third person POV characters in the same novel as writers experiment with what readers like 2 Once present or past tense is selected it is important to stick to that tense for the entire novel 3 Only one POV character narrator should be used in a chapter section 4 If a POV character is third person they should remain third person for that character for the entire the book or series If they are first person they should remain first person for the entire book or book series 5 If a POV character time or place changes start a new chapter or signify the change by starting a new section within a chapter 6 Always think about pacing including a mix of long and short sentences and dialogue and narrative text NEXT STEPS The next article in the series will explore writing the novel from a screenplay I will be using a screenplay that I converted into a novel DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES FINAL THOUGHTS In a few short months since we welcomed in 2020 and a new decade our world has forever changed in ways we could not have even imagined It is a time of worry fear hesitation pause and reflection It is also a time of rebirth and excitement as a new frontier opens up We are presented with opportunities we never thought we would see in our life time opportunities to shed the old and embrace the new What was once thought to be only plausible as science fiction is our new reality The paradigm shift happening is presenting storytellers with a whole new world new stories a new writing frontier of blank pages to be filled Story is life well told Harold L Brown NOVEL TIP Without all the special effects and big name actors authors need to work harder to attract and keep the readership s interest www storychaser com
Available at Amazon Barnes and Noble and local bookstores MY JOURNEY FROM STR EETS AND SALOONS TO THE STAGE AN O T OM DREESEN wm DARREN GRU B FOIIEIVORo BY B JOHNNY RU DAVID L SSO ETTERMAN
Available at Amazon Barnes and Noble and local bookstores MY JOURNEY FROM STR EETS AND SALOONS TO THE STAGE AN O T OM DREESEN wm DARREN GRU B FOIIEIVORo BY B JOHNNY RU DAVID L SSO ETTERMAN
CLICK HERE TO WATCH - DEL THANKS YOU IN ADVANCE
CLICK HERE TO WATCH - DEL THANKS YOU IN ADVANCE
Art by Suzette Troche Stapp
Art by Suzette Troche Stapp
JACOB H eKINS MERIT BENJAMIN LBGHTO STOCKHAM PLANE
JACOB H eKINS MERIT BENJAMIN LBGHTO STOCKHAM PLANE
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To Hong Kong With Love It all starts with what happened to Hong Kong On May 28th China s legislature approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong which threatens fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties in the semi autonomous territory Since the Xi administration broke the promise of one country two systems Deng Xiaoping had made before Hong Kong s return to China in my opinion sadly the so called Hong Kong its culture people s freedom this prosperous city everything is coming to an end On May 29th the next day of the approval of the national security law over 2000 Hong Kong artists actors singers directors producers painters made a statement together they claimed they agreed with the national security law which they had to if they don t want to be banned or go to jail however they also stated that they hope Chinese government can make some other policies to protect their freedom of creation which seems so ironic to me because why it is necessary for them to be asking for policy making to protect their creative freedom if they really do agree with the national security law and they actually think what Beijing did to Hong Kong doesn t cause any harm Isn t it a joke I personally don t think the Xi administration will really care about those Hong Kong artists request of protecting their freedom of creation Xi got what he wants the total control of Hong Kong and that s all Critics estimated there will be over 700000 Hong Kong people lose their jobs after this national security law move patterns of economic damage started to emerge I saw the news on TV saying Stephen Chow the legendary Hong Kong filmmaker had hypothecated his assets to J P Morgan bank because the stock of his production company dramatically went down after the approval of the national security law Don t you love Stephen s movies Fight Back To School From Beijing With Love A Chinese Odyssey Journey To The West Forbidden City Cop The God of Cookery King of Comedy Kung Fu Hustle When my western filmmaker friends talking about their favorite Chinese filmmakers two names came up all the time Bruce Lee and Stephen Chow and these two filmmakers are all related to Hong Kong As a Chinese I understand how western people love Bruce Lee but I was a little bit surprised at the beginning that they all feel so connected with Stephen Chow s works Stephen s films so typically reflected the culture of Hong Kong the majority of his stories are about how small potatoes struggling to live in this modern and extremely crowded city how people without wealth and power make their ways his films even show the audience delicious Hong Kong food a lot of them Stephen has a great sense of humor he tells his stories in his own ridiculous and stupid way He makes people laugh at the same time touched However at this point I don t know if Stephen will be able to carry on with that kind of works he used to create I feel sad when I realized we are losing Hong Kong and we are very likely to be losing those beautiful works that Hong Kong filmmakers can be creating Thinking about those names of great Hong Kong filmmakers Tsui Hark Ann Hui John Woo Wong Kar Wai personally my favorite Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To Alan Mak Flelix Chong I want to salute them for them and for their magnificent works We won t forget about their creations no matter or what X Laureen Wu
To Hong Kong With Love It all starts with what happened to Hong Kong On May 28th China s legislature approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong which threatens fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties in the semi autonomous territory Since the Xi administration broke the promise of one country two systems Deng Xiaoping had made before Hong Kong s return to China in my opinion sadly the so called Hong Kong its culture people s freedom this prosperous city everything is coming to an end On May 29th the next day of the approval of the national security law over 2000 Hong Kong artists actors singers directors producers painters made a statement together they claimed they agreed with the national security law which they had to if they don t want to be banned or go to jail however they also stated that they hope Chinese government can make some other policies to protect their freedom of creation which seems so ironic to me because why it is necessary for them to be asking for policy making to protect their creative freedom if they really do agree with the national security law and they actually think what Beijing did to Hong Kong doesn t cause any harm Isn t it a joke I personally don t think the Xi administration will really care about those Hong Kong artists request of protecting their freedom of creation Xi got what he wants the total control of Hong Kong and that s all Critics estimated there will be over 700000 Hong Kong people lose their jobs after this national security law move patterns of economic damage started to emerge I saw the news on TV saying Stephen Chow the legendary Hong Kong filmmaker had hypothecated his assets to J P Morgan bank because the stock of his production company dramatically went down after the approval of the national security law Don t you love Stephen s movies Fight Back To School From Beijing With Love A Chinese Odyssey Journey To The West Forbidden City Cop The God of Cookery King of Comedy Kung Fu Hustle When my western filmmaker friends talking about their favorite Chinese filmmakers two names came up all the time Bruce Lee and Stephen Chow and these two filmmakers are all related to Hong Kong As a Chinese I understand how western people love Bruce Lee but I was a little bit surprised at the beginning that they all feel so connected with Stephen Chow s works Stephen s films so typically reflected the culture of Hong Kong the majority of his stories are about how small potatoes struggling to live in this modern and extremely crowded city how people without wealth and power make their ways his films even show the audience delicious Hong Kong food a lot of them Stephen has a great sense of humor he tells his stories in his own ridiculous and stupid way He makes people laugh at the same time touched However at this point I don t know if Stephen will be able to carry on with that kind of works he used to create I feel sad when I realized we are losing Hong Kong and we are very likely to be losing those beautiful works that Hong Kong filmmakers can be creating Thinking about those names of great Hong Kong filmmakers Tsui Hark Ann Hui John Woo Wong Kar Wai personally my favorite Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To Alan Mak Flelix Chong I want to salute them for them and for their magnificent works We won t forget about their creations no matter or what X Laureen Wu
BY DEL WESTON NAB I ZEE THERESA WESTON CREATORS OF THE ACTON ON FILM INTERNATI ONAL F ILM FESTIVALS BROADCAST TELEV ISION FEATURES FILMS AND MORE
BY DEL WESTON NAB I ZEE THERESA WESTON CREATORS OF THE ACTON ON FILM INTERNATI ONAL F ILM FESTIVALS BROADCAST TELEV ISION FEATURES FILMS AND MORE
Behind the Gate lh 28min Documentary Biography Family 2013 1 August 2013 USA 9 5 18 7 Rate This NOW AVAILABLE ON amazon primevideo BEHIND THE AT E
Behind the Gate lh 28min Documentary Biography Family 2013 1 August 2013 USA 9 5 18 7 Rate This NOW AVAILABLE ON amazon primevideo BEHIND THE AT E
By Del Weston
By Del Weston
Available at Amazon Barnes and Noble and local bookstores MY JOURNEY FROM STR EETS AND SALOONS TO THE STAGE AN O T OM DREESEN wm DARREN GRU B FOIIEIVORo BY B JOHNNY RU DAVID L SSO ETTERMAN
Available at Amazon Barnes and Noble and local bookstores MY JOURNEY FROM STR EETS AND SALOONS TO THE STAGE AN O T OM DREESEN wm DARREN GRU B FOIIEIVORo BY B JOHNNY RU DAVID L SSO ETTERMAN
CLICK THE PHOTO TO ORDER
CLICK THE PHOTO TO ORDER THE BOOK
Tell us abou and your current projects t as I prepare for new leading roles the release 2020 looks Uo ug a a _ Jf of films I perforIQed iii and pro uced last season as well as a handful of exciting new projects on the horizon A Song of Greenwood by Tim Long and Jerome Johnson all started years ago as an original musical a bout the 1921 T a Race Massacre that occurred in what was known as Bia ck W ll Street in tli beloved Greenwood District of my town I played a lead in the first tour d am now an associate producer of ries fUming in time for the 100 year anniversary of the massacre R021 The cast features Brgad y starlets music and dancing of the e Makers con ues onto its third film traveling entary o dementia 50 million people and d its predicted to almost triple by 2050 Miracle Makers exists to tell stories tton and disappearance are example of a life lived in is to ca pt e as ber them future
Tell us abou and your current projects t as I prepare for new leading roles the release 2020 looks Uo ug a a _ Jf of films I perforIQed iii and pro uced last season as well as a handful of exciting new projects on the horizon A Song of Greenwood by Tim Long and Jerome Johnson all started years ago as an original musical a bout the 1921 T a Race Massacre that occurred in what was known as Bia ck W ll Street in tli beloved Greenwood District of my town I played a lead in the first tour d am now an associate producer of ries fUming in time for the 100 year anniversary of the massacre R021 The cast features Brgad y starlets music and dancing of the e Makers con ues onto its third film traveling entary o dementia 50 million people and d its predicted to almost triple by 2050 Miracle Makers exists to tell stories tton and disappearance are example of a life lived in is to ca pt e as ber them future
There isn t movies since I other way I c the world in a Where did ent beca feel i ure wi Debi Meyers iredtor of June R n School of Ballet 1n ahoma teacher who develop d my s ttills and stry from the veeyt t ltnnin I spe of hours each week from age 3 to 19 trfin1ng W1 th lliss Debi a ff of and theater pro ssionals Ce mpared tct many yo ng people enoe wi classical ballet I never felt Pf Ssured to be perfect only ins be as ore as I could be It was Sterling fM chann acting teacher and re f1lm guy at Runyon who s th or ator of all my acting knowledge and hom I a es directed and edit d flrst fllm My 6th and 7th es we t living wi family in Germ att ndin a German middle soh I and b emy anothe few years I travel d to 4 oo tries lea med to spe and discovered ent universe wit myself I never w had we not move so ti from home The CalArts d oe ti ulty included fo er memb dance companies olu Martha Gra b am Alvin oes on AMDA s faculty of Paul Taylor and t listf stories taught me sin compose and a Il the profe start working in t ind stry Which is en ot y wh there in seminary at E established my own Theola the core of everyt g I o Ten years in LA wor as a bartender and gen _ _ outgoing pe on I v connections that w a ke anyone s lit e bla ok t like a mindless mac e metimes but i reaJJy who all have some fasoin tion with movin picture Fortunately making fl 1e 1 s is one of my anger confidence if I m o as od as the peopl I span I m doing pretty gr t
There isn t movies since I other way I c the world in a Where did ent beca feel i ure wi Debi Meyers iredtor of June R n School of Ballet 1n ahoma teacher who develop d my s ttills and stry from the veeyt t ltnnin I spe of hours each week from age 3 to 19 trfin1ng W1 th lliss Debi a ff of and theater pro ssionals Ce mpared tct many yo ng people enoe wi classical ballet I never felt Pf Ssured to be perfect only ins be as ore as I could be It was Sterling fM chann acting teacher and re f1lm guy at Runyon who s th or ator of all my acting knowledge and hom I a es directed and edit d flrst fllm My 6th and 7th es we t living wi family in Germ att ndin a German middle soh I and b emy anothe few years I travel d to 4 oo tries lea med to spe and discovered ent universe wit myself I never w had we not move so ti from home The CalArts d oe ti ulty included fo er memb dance companies olu Martha Gra b am Alvin oes on AMDA s faculty of Paul Taylor and t listf stories taught me sin compose and a Il the profe start working in t ind stry Which is en ot y wh there in seminary at E established my own Theola the core of everyt g I o Ten years in LA wor as a bartender and gen _ _ outgoing pe on I v connections that w a ke anyone s lit e bla ok t like a mindless mac e metimes but i reaJJy who all have some fasoin tion with movin picture Fortunately making fl 1e 1 s is one of my anger confidence if I m o as od as the peopl I span I m doing pretty gr t
Any words of advice Believe in miracles Fear is a liar and we have the choice in every moment to listen to fear or to have faith Our decisions directly affect the outcome so choose hope and watch what happens
Any words of advice Believe in miracles Fear is a liar and we have the choice in every moment to listen to fear or to have faith Our decisions directly affect the outcome so choose hope and watch what happens
Come Join The Party At AOF MEGAFEST More Submission Deadlines Coming Up Enter Your Scripts Films Docs Videos NOW www actiononfilmfest com COME SEE WHAT ALL THE FUN IS ABOUT There may be a guy in a bear suit but we doubt it
Come Join The Party At AOF MEGAFEST More Submission Deadlines Coming Up Enter Your Scripts Films Docs Videos NOW www actiononfilmfest com COME SEE WHAT ALL THE FUN IS ABOUT There may be a guy in a bear suit but we doubt it
Fite Near Death Experience of Dr John Dantry
Fite Near Death Experience of Dr John Dantry
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION ATTORNEYS www thorndal com
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION ATTORNEYS www thorndal com
XHdV HOOIH NV 1VJ I VOJ 1
XHdV HOOIH NV 1VJ I VOJ 1
Tell us about your work and your current project s When did you decide on your chosen Profession and Why
Tell us about your work and your current project s When did you decide on your chosen Profession and Why
A NOVEL IDEA PART TWO CREATING THE NOVEL PLAN By Harold Lea Brown FADE IN You ve selected the screenplay you want to turn into a full blown novel maybe a shorter form novella Now what It is time to create a concrete plan and make some key decisions What s the overall structure going to be Who and how many point of view characters will tell the story you want to tell to your reading audience Will you tell your story using first or third person narrators Will you tell your story in present or past tense Why spend time on a novel plan It s the first step I consider to make sure the project is going to have the legs to become the novel I don t want to be 40 000 words in and discover I am losing steam As I complete the novel plan I can gauge whether I have enough plot twists and complexities In the DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES SERIES I have five storylines a couple that are overarching ongoing storylines for the entire book series e g the truth about Kevin s wife s death finding his wife s killers at least one storyline to be resolved in each book e g foil the pipe bomb discover and foil attack on G7 countries etc NOVEL TIP A novel plan will help create or re enforce a writer s discipline When I begin writing I know the metrics of the journey and when I sit down in front of my computer on any given day I have a sense of where I am and where I need to get to At the end of the day I have a bit of a yardstick of how well I have done It creates discipline for me Five pages today might mean I need to prepare myself for 10 or 20 pages tomorrow It s like having an invisible hand or person looking over my shoulder AND it also provides for days when I can celebrate the success of what you ve created as a writer FADEOUT Example of My Script Metrics The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my script writing are THE NOVEL PLAN So why did I give you all of the information in A Novel Idea Part One about comparisons of script versus novel The simple answer is it all factors into planning your novel project Why consider the big picture early When considering the conversion of a script to a book I think about the length and structure of the novel early in the process This guides the depth to which I will develop a story for my audience In the case of a full blown novel the metrics I use to guide me in the process are Words 80 000 to 110 000 words Pages 320 500 pages Chapters longer style comprising 40 chapters of 8 10 pages each or shorter style chapters of 3 5 pages each Act Scenes Words Pages 1 15 15 15 15 4 500 4 500 4 500 4 500 25 25 25 25 60 18 000 100 2A 2B 3 An average scene runs 1 2 pages and averages 180 words per page One minute of script loosely translates into 1 minute of screen time The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my novel writing assuming a full blown novel not a novella are Part Chapters Words Pages 1 2 3 4 1 20 21 40 41 60 61 80 80 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 100 000 100 100 100 100 400
A NOVEL IDEA PART TWO CREATING THE NOVEL PLAN By Harold Lea Brown FADE IN You ve selected the screenplay you want to turn into a full blown novel maybe a shorter form novella Now what It is time to create a concrete plan and make some key decisions What s the overall structure going to be Who and how many point of view characters will tell the story you want to tell to your reading audience Will you tell your story using first or third person narrators Will you tell your story in present or past tense Why spend time on a novel plan It s the first step I consider to make sure the project is going to have the legs to become the novel I don t want to be 40 000 words in and discover I am losing steam As I complete the novel plan I can gauge whether I have enough plot twists and complexities In the DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES SERIES I have five storylines a couple that are overarching ongoing storylines for the entire book series e g the truth about Kevin s wife s death finding his wife s killers at least one storyline to be resolved in each book e g foil the pipe bomb discover and foil attack on G7 countries etc NOVEL TIP A novel plan will help create or re enforce a writer s discipline When I begin writing I know the metrics of the journey and when I sit down in front of my computer on any given day I have a sense of where I am and where I need to get to At the end of the day I have a bit of a yardstick of how well I have done It creates discipline for me Five pages today might mean I need to prepare myself for 10 or 20 pages tomorrow It s like having an invisible hand or person looking over my shoulder AND it also provides for days when I can celebrate the success of what you ve created as a writer FADEOUT Example of My Script Metrics The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my script writing are THE NOVEL PLAN So why did I give you all of the information in A Novel Idea Part One about comparisons of script versus novel The simple answer is it all factors into planning your novel project Why consider the big picture early When considering the conversion of a script to a book I think about the length and structure of the novel early in the process This guides the depth to which I will develop a story for my audience In the case of a full blown novel the metrics I use to guide me in the process are Words 80 000 to 110 000 words Pages 320 500 pages Chapters longer style comprising 40 chapters of 8 10 pages each or shorter style chapters of 3 5 pages each Act Scenes Words Pages 1 15 15 15 15 4 500 4 500 4 500 4 500 25 25 25 25 60 18 000 100 2A 2B 3 An average scene runs 1 2 pages and averages 180 words per page One minute of script loosely translates into 1 minute of screen time The metrics I use as guides or yardsticks in my novel writing assuming a full blown novel not a novella are Part Chapters Words Pages 1 2 3 4 1 20 21 40 41 60 61 80 80 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 25 ooo 100 000 100 100 100 100 400
How do I document my novel plan The final version of the novel comprised 121 chapters I use an Excel spreadsheet to initially map my screenplay to a novel structure The novelization workplan includes columns labelled with the screenplay Scene No Scene Headings Speaking Times Page No Length and the potential corresponding Novel Breakdown Part Chapter No Scene POV Character and Comments For each chapter I add the POV Character at least the initial one for the chapter and Comments if any I have included an early version of page one of my novelization workplan for Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 SCREEhPLAY NOYD IZATIOH WOR PIAN O AOt Y I S C SC _ He Prolocv Prolocv ISIBLE EHEM ES 1100 1 COM p 1 5 N 10A OOror POV mt11t plePOVPCS P 2 AVJCHSTit N 3 IGl f a JBO purtSc 2 Bl O POV EXT GLOBE COM SERVICES BUILD NG lATER u INT UV 5 tl AOJ Y 011 lflBLL I IMH S f lJt IIUulllM CTl ON flOOJlt I OU fUN EXT U S Junlc BUILOING DAY 6 6 VG V L RAN INT A SIP 6 B apt rJSc 1 8 16 CE a p 6 1 8 Ch in t S C 1 AG etera 23 B Joe Man sPOV E BndJllfl GESSl1 JOE 1J 1 1T CQYltTllO M O Y PROSEC ITINGATTORN EYUI B u c w ERl3 ROB RTWATER IB SI BURGESS INT A O EYGE ERAl E SIB p1 r cl f Ill 1 s sea ct t0 1 ON OIP lt 1 l trc d IM c ae bl n w 11 _JI _ 4fW Xavln I I 111 ui ch4dtl Nn fio _ 1 dlo P Ml t 3 5 iOtt Weddl A wilYSu 1Y Mwlil _ and if4 wtr pu hlnt c mna I NIii Qffvla P qcl KEY NOVEL PLANNING DECISIONS What is the overall structure to be used I have already talked about this a little bit but it s worth emphasizing again The use of part and chapter demarcations provide a basis for organizing the writing process for the author and when done well also contribute to the positive reading experience a reading audience expects As I continue to write and learn more about creating novels I have landed on the use of a four part structure to any novel I create from a screenplay and in fact I use four parts for any novel I write Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 was the first novel I wrote using the four part structure
How do I document my novel plan The final version of the novel comprised 121 chapters I use an Excel spreadsheet to initially map my screenplay to a novel structure The novelization workplan includes columns labelled with the screenplay Scene No Scene Headings Speaking Times Page No Length and the potential corresponding Novel Breakdown Part Chapter No Scene POV Character and Comments For each chapter I add the POV Character at least the initial one for the chapter and Comments if any I have included an early version of page one of my novelization workplan for Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 SCREEhPLAY NOYD IZATIOH WOR PIAN O AOt Y I S C SC _ He Prolocv Prolocv ISIBLE EHEM ES 1100 1 COM p 1 5 N 10A OOror POV mt11t plePOVPCS P 2 AVJCHSTit N 3 IGl f a JBO purtSc 2 Bl O POV EXT GLOBE COM SERVICES BUILD NG lATER u INT UV 5 tl AOJ Y 011 lflBLL I IMH S f lJt IIUulllM CTl ON flOOJlt I OU fUN EXT U S Junlc BUILOING DAY 6 6 VG V L RAN INT A SIP 6 B apt rJSc 1 8 16 CE a p 6 1 8 Ch in t S C 1 AG etera 23 B Joe Man sPOV E BndJllfl GESSl1 JOE 1J 1 1T CQYltTllO M O Y PROSEC ITINGATTORN EYUI B u c w ERl3 ROB RTWATER IB SI BURGESS INT A O EYGE ERAl E SIB p1 r cl f Ill 1 s sea ct t0 1 ON OIP lt 1 l trc d IM c ae bl n w 11 _JI _ 4fW Xavln I I 111 ui ch4dtl Nn fio _ 1 dlo P Ml t 3 5 iOtt Weddl A wilYSu 1Y Mwlil _ and if4 wtr pu hlnt c mna I NIii Qffvla P qcl KEY NOVEL PLANNING DECISIONS What is the overall structure to be used I have already talked about this a little bit but it s worth emphasizing again The use of part and chapter demarcations provide a basis for organizing the writing process for the author and when done well also contribute to the positive reading experience a reading audience expects As I continue to write and learn more about creating novels I have landed on the use of a four part structure to any novel I create from a screenplay and in fact I use four parts for any novel I write Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 was the first novel I wrote using the four part structure
POINT OF VIEW POV I then adapted the third novel in the techno thriller drama series into more season episode scripts for the Deadly Invisible Enemies Series I am developing Why consider how long chapters should be The length of a chapter is up to the author but readers have preferences some from long years of conditioning as readers others based on technology In writing Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 and Hunt for Evil Book 2 my approach was to use the more traditional longer chapter format Lee Child s Jack Reacher series uses the longer chapter format 15 25 pages per chapter As my experience in the novel writing world continues to grow I have found that in some instances shorter chapters are more appealing They help keep a reader s attention especially if the target audience reads in short spirts It also allows for more frequent change up of POV characters time and place and provides a nice scene length eBook readers on the go at the beach on the bus etc can zip through 3 5 page chapter increments quickly Authors such as James Patterson have adapted the shorter chapter approach for particular situations The Alex Cross series for example delivers books with shorter chapters 2 4 pages per chapter In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection I chose to use shorter 3 5 page chapters for the reasons discussed above It is important that you consider this as early as possible as it will guide most of the other decisions you will make What other decisions are important early in the writing process Beyond structure it is important to determine who how many the point of view characters will be and what role they will play Also will the story be told in present or past tense What role will the invisible narrator play NOVEL TIP Fiction novels are traditionally third person past tense with one or two POV characters BUT some successful authors are using first and third person past tense with several POV characters For me in writing the Deadly Invisible Enemies series I have 6 8 POV characters and have evolved to use first person for the major series protagonist and third person for all other POV characters along with a number of supporting characters who are not POV characters The following sections will go into more detail about these choices and decisions POV Initial Thoughts Point of view POV is one of the most critical decisions you will need to make before starting to write your novel The entire story will be experienced in depth by the reader through the POV characters When I write a screenplay it is for an intermediary audience a producer a director an actor or others involved in the creative process They will translate the screenplay into a visual experience for an audience When I write a novel there is no intermediary I am writing it for the readers to experience directly Some might consider publishers to be intermediaries but I do not as I am not writing the story for them I know they are gatekeepers but as a self publisher I do not need their endorsement book advances or access to their publishing apparatus to get my story out worldwide to the masses Unlike a screenplay where I might have ten twenty or more characters with the camera bouncing from scene location to another scene location in a novel I need to carefully consider POV Through whose eyes do I want the reader to feel the total experience By total experience I mean the reader experiences what a character sees feels thinks hears and touches as expressed in words This often includes the story s protagonist hero and or the story s antagonist villain In the Deadly Invisible Enemies because it is a series with several storylines I have half a dozen or so POV characters Beyond the POV characters I also make limited use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can add limited details about events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp or tossed and turned in bed If the character is alone and you need to convey information to the reader you are in effect introducing the invisible narrator who is not physically in the room or scene POV Viewpoint Nuances When writing the novel convention is to stay in the selected POV character for the chapter or the demarcated section of a chapter As much as possible keep the author invisible avoid interjecting the writer s personal biases or opinions into the story Often the words bridging two scenes or opening a chapter are places where a limited omniscient or invisible viewpoint can be introduced For example it was a rainy day the streets were busy or the autumn leaves covered the grass These snippets are not attributed to a specific character NOVEL TIP In this article I am merely touching on POV I will explore POV from several perspectives but I strongly recommend you do some reading maybe take a seminar on POV It s not a superficial consideration
POINT OF VIEW POV I then adapted the third novel in the techno thriller drama series into more season episode scripts for the Deadly Invisible Enemies Series I am developing Why consider how long chapters should be The length of a chapter is up to the author but readers have preferences some from long years of conditioning as readers others based on technology In writing Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil in the Air Book 1 and Hunt for Evil Book 2 my approach was to use the more traditional longer chapter format Lee Child s Jack Reacher series uses the longer chapter format 15 25 pages per chapter As my experience in the novel writing world continues to grow I have found that in some instances shorter chapters are more appealing They help keep a reader s attention especially if the target audience reads in short spirts It also allows for more frequent change up of POV characters time and place and provides a nice scene length eBook readers on the go at the beach on the bus etc can zip through 3 5 page chapter increments quickly Authors such as James Patterson have adapted the shorter chapter approach for particular situations The Alex Cross series for example delivers books with shorter chapters 2 4 pages per chapter In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection I chose to use shorter 3 5 page chapters for the reasons discussed above It is important that you consider this as early as possible as it will guide most of the other decisions you will make What other decisions are important early in the writing process Beyond structure it is important to determine who how many the point of view characters will be and what role they will play Also will the story be told in present or past tense What role will the invisible narrator play NOVEL TIP Fiction novels are traditionally third person past tense with one or two POV characters BUT some successful authors are using first and third person past tense with several POV characters For me in writing the Deadly Invisible Enemies series I have 6 8 POV characters and have evolved to use first person for the major series protagonist and third person for all other POV characters along with a number of supporting characters who are not POV characters The following sections will go into more detail about these choices and decisions POV Initial Thoughts Point of view POV is one of the most critical decisions you will need to make before starting to write your novel The entire story will be experienced in depth by the reader through the POV characters When I write a screenplay it is for an intermediary audience a producer a director an actor or others involved in the creative process They will translate the screenplay into a visual experience for an audience When I write a novel there is no intermediary I am writing it for the readers to experience directly Some might consider publishers to be intermediaries but I do not as I am not writing the story for them I know they are gatekeepers but as a self publisher I do not need their endorsement book advances or access to their publishing apparatus to get my story out worldwide to the masses Unlike a screenplay where I might have ten twenty or more characters with the camera bouncing from scene location to another scene location in a novel I need to carefully consider POV Through whose eyes do I want the reader to feel the total experience By total experience I mean the reader experiences what a character sees feels thinks hears and touches as expressed in words This often includes the story s protagonist hero and or the story s antagonist villain In the Deadly Invisible Enemies because it is a series with several storylines I have half a dozen or so POV characters Beyond the POV characters I also make limited use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can add limited details about events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp or tossed and turned in bed If the character is alone and you need to convey information to the reader you are in effect introducing the invisible narrator who is not physically in the room or scene POV Viewpoint Nuances When writing the novel convention is to stay in the selected POV character for the chapter or the demarcated section of a chapter As much as possible keep the author invisible avoid interjecting the writer s personal biases or opinions into the story Often the words bridging two scenes or opening a chapter are places where a limited omniscient or invisible viewpoint can be introduced For example it was a rainy day the streets were busy or the autumn leaves covered the grass These snippets are not attributed to a specific character NOVEL TIP In this article I am merely touching on POV I will explore POV from several perspectives but I strongly recommend you do some reading maybe take a seminar on POV It s not a superficial consideration
POV Questions In considering POV I consider a number of questions to guide me in determining POV characters Whose story do I want to tell to the reader Who is telling the story in the novel or chapter scene What do the readers need to know to move the story forward so they fully get it and are coming along for the ride What does the character in the scene know so the readers are experiencing the scene rather than being told Who do I want the reader to have the strongest emotional connect to NOVEL TIP Who is telling the story As the author if you answer this question before the reader picks up your book they will not be left wondering whose story it really is POV Hero and the Reader For me good storytelling is about creating a strong emotional experience for the reader As I write a lot of thrillers I use suspense and surprise when writing stories chapters and scenes To do this I carefully consider what information I share with the reader and what information I withhold until the appropriate moment In effect there are times when the reader only knows only what the hero knows There are times when the reader knows things the hero doesn t To create suspense the reader learns something the hero does not know and is hanging on every word and scene to see what will happen to the hero To create surprise the reader learns something a twist when the hero does NOVEL TIP tool Withholding and revealing information is a powerful writer s POV Time and Place Considerations If you only have one POV character for the story you can only be in one time and place for the entire story that being the time and place of the POV character Think about Cast Away with Tom Hanks It s tough to have a single character carry a whole story especially in a movie If you have written such a script than a single POV character might be appropriate On the other hand if you have two or three POV characters for the story you can take the reader from the time and place of one POV character to the time and place of other POV characters POV Narrator In selecting the narrator for your novel there are three approaches or ways of describing the narrator first person second person and third person Traditionally once an author selects a narrator they stick with the same narrator for the entire novel However James Patterson and Andrew Gross have used both first and third person in the same novel First person When a narrator is talking about him herself that is things happen to them they generally speak in the first person I me mine my we and us are pronouns often used Writing in first person narrator might be good where you only have one main character Second person When a narrator tells story to another character they generally speak in the second person Another way to think of it is the POV belongs to the person being addressed Your your yours yourself and yourselves are pronouns often used The narrator is talking directly to the audience This is not used a lot in fiction writing It is used in technical process instructional manuals or self help books In fiction the narrator might say to the audience I know that you would never have made the choice the hero made Third person When a narrator talks about a character or characters they generally speak in the third person Third person pronouns include he him his himself she her hers herself it its itself they them their theirs and themselves Third person is most commonly used in novels NOVEL TIP Before starting your journey of writing a novel consider studying some of your favorite authors I studied Lee Child the Jack Reacher series and James Patterson the Alex Cross series and novels like The Firm by John Grisham Many of their books have also been adapted into movies As for a movie that was subsequently made into a novel I studied Passchendaele a novel based on Paul Gross s screenplay of the same title POV First or Third Person Decision When zeroing in on whether I will tell the story using first or third person I consider a number of factors including Is the story best told by a single person E g Cast Away Is it a story of events happening to a single person Is emotion a big component of the story A first person POV has the reader feel closer to the character while a third person POV feels more distant but good writing can effectively use techniques that bring the reader closer to the character NOVEL TIP Most novels are written in third person POV which for a first novel might be a good place to start If you are writing a thriller and are up to the challenge you might introduce a first person POV for the protagonist POV Narrator Details As I think about who can best tell the story to the reader is to think of the POV narrator in terms of who holds the camera or the lens into the story Is it the hero Is it the author The Hero Holds the Camera This is the first person POV I me we The reader is completely in the protagonist s antagonist or hero s villain mind discovering the moment completely as the hero does
POV Questions In considering POV I consider a number of questions to guide me in determining POV characters Whose story do I want to tell to the reader Who is telling the story in the novel or chapter scene What do the readers need to know to move the story forward so they fully get it and are coming along for the ride What does the character in the scene know so the readers are experiencing the scene rather than being told Who do I want the reader to have the strongest emotional connect to NOVEL TIP Who is telling the story As the author if you answer this question before the reader picks up your book they will not be left wondering whose story it really is POV Hero and the Reader For me good storytelling is about creating a strong emotional experience for the reader As I write a lot of thrillers I use suspense and surprise when writing stories chapters and scenes To do this I carefully consider what information I share with the reader and what information I withhold until the appropriate moment In effect there are times when the reader only knows only what the hero knows There are times when the reader knows things the hero doesn t To create suspense the reader learns something the hero does not know and is hanging on every word and scene to see what will happen to the hero To create surprise the reader learns something a twist when the hero does NOVEL TIP tool Withholding and revealing information is a powerful writer s POV Time and Place Considerations If you only have one POV character for the story you can only be in one time and place for the entire story that being the time and place of the POV character Think about Cast Away with Tom Hanks It s tough to have a single character carry a whole story especially in a movie If you have written such a script than a single POV character might be appropriate On the other hand if you have two or three POV characters for the story you can take the reader from the time and place of one POV character to the time and place of other POV characters POV Narrator In selecting the narrator for your novel there are three approaches or ways of describing the narrator first person second person and third person Traditionally once an author selects a narrator they stick with the same narrator for the entire novel However James Patterson and Andrew Gross have used both first and third person in the same novel First person When a narrator is talking about him herself that is things happen to them they generally speak in the first person I me mine my we and us are pronouns often used Writing in first person narrator might be good where you only have one main character Second person When a narrator tells story to another character they generally speak in the second person Another way to think of it is the POV belongs to the person being addressed Your your yours yourself and yourselves are pronouns often used The narrator is talking directly to the audience This is not used a lot in fiction writing It is used in technical process instructional manuals or self help books In fiction the narrator might say to the audience I know that you would never have made the choice the hero made Third person When a narrator talks about a character or characters they generally speak in the third person Third person pronouns include he him his himself she her hers herself it its itself they them their theirs and themselves Third person is most commonly used in novels NOVEL TIP Before starting your journey of writing a novel consider studying some of your favorite authors I studied Lee Child the Jack Reacher series and James Patterson the Alex Cross series and novels like The Firm by John Grisham Many of their books have also been adapted into movies As for a movie that was subsequently made into a novel I studied Passchendaele a novel based on Paul Gross s screenplay of the same title POV First or Third Person Decision When zeroing in on whether I will tell the story using first or third person I consider a number of factors including Is the story best told by a single person E g Cast Away Is it a story of events happening to a single person Is emotion a big component of the story A first person POV has the reader feel closer to the character while a third person POV feels more distant but good writing can effectively use techniques that bring the reader closer to the character NOVEL TIP Most novels are written in third person POV which for a first novel might be a good place to start If you are writing a thriller and are up to the challenge you might introduce a first person POV for the protagonist POV Narrator Details As I think about who can best tell the story to the reader is to think of the POV narrator in terms of who holds the camera or the lens into the story Is it the hero Is it the author The Hero Holds the Camera This is the first person POV I me we The reader is completely in the protagonist s antagonist or hero s villain mind discovering the moment completely as the hero does
The reader experiences the story as if the hero is holding the camera For example the story might say I pulled out my trusty sword and reflected on the many battles we d been through I ran my finger down the blade over its deep scars The Author Holds the Camera This is the third person POV he she they The reader is reading a play by play account of what happened as reported by the author For example the author might write The hero prepared for battle In the case of distant third person POV the author describes thoughts or feelings of a character for example He was angry In the case of close third person POV the author expresses thoughts or feelings of a character For example the author might write That bastard They are the all seeing lens that adds snippets of information to the reader to fill in the cracks so to speak Done well it s invisible to the reader Some call it the glue that holds the story together It might be bits of narrative to transition from POV character to POV character or chapter to chapter or scene to scene Basically the invisible narrator takes care of things outside the POV character s purview The invisible narrator might introduce a location or summarize a series of events that have transpired For example The day of the battle was set It was raining It had been raining for several hours and the field had turned to mud Tone command of detail relevant to the story and word selection are critical The narrator is story dependent and different for every book Most importantly the narrator is not there to provide author opinions or editorial In third person POV the reader is effectively placed inside the character s mind The POV character holds the camera reporting what they see and along with feelings thoughts and opinions For example James thought about the battle he was about to enter Did he have other options Who was this evil force he was about face As I read a script to be turned into a novel I consider who and how many POV characters I will need to tell my story in novel form NOVEL TIP One way to think about POV as an author Do I need one or several POV Characters unless it s your own story is that you are recording writing what the first or third person is doing or sharing with you along with what an invisible narrator shares with you As you think about using the various viewpoints think about who can tell story scene best Is it best told by a first or third person narrator or through the invisible narrator POV Third Person Objective Subjective and Distant Close When telling a story in third person POV I move between objective narration with no reference to a characters thoughts and feelings and subjective narration where I convey a characters thoughts and feelings to the reader I also move between distant and close third person narrator In distant POV narration I describe the thoughts and feelings of a character For example James was angry In close POV I quote express the thoughts and feelings of a POV character For example James hands turned into fists That bastard he thought In third person narration I am constantly changing between objective and subjective and distant and close narration POV Invisible Narrator When writing a novel convention is to limit the use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can relate events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp tossed in turned in bed etc The invisible narrator is sort of like a character but they are not in the story POV Characters In the case of a one off novel I usually select two three may four POV characters In the case of a novel series I select more maybe five to seven or more characters as I have more time and space to explore more characters in depth while keeping the reader engaged I also want to avoid confusing the reader with too many characters sharing all their thoughts and feelings with the reader It not only makes it difficult for them to remember It is also very difficult as a writer to remember keep track of and write POV characters in the stories POV Character Considerations As I consider POV characters I also keep the following in mind Character viewpoints define how they see the world POV characters must contribute to moving the story forward POV characters establish an emotional connection with the reader It s not necessary that POV characters be likable but they the must be interesting and offer alternative perspectives to the reader that they may not have thought about or perhaps have wondered about POV Character Selection POV character selection is somewhat like casting a movie First Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through one character Cast Away is a good example of this Third Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through several characters
The reader experiences the story as if the hero is holding the camera For example the story might say I pulled out my trusty sword and reflected on the many battles we d been through I ran my finger down the blade over its deep scars The Author Holds the Camera This is the third person POV he she they The reader is reading a play by play account of what happened as reported by the author For example the author might write The hero prepared for battle In the case of distant third person POV the author describes thoughts or feelings of a character for example He was angry In the case of close third person POV the author expresses thoughts or feelings of a character For example the author might write That bastard They are the all seeing lens that adds snippets of information to the reader to fill in the cracks so to speak Done well it s invisible to the reader Some call it the glue that holds the story together It might be bits of narrative to transition from POV character to POV character or chapter to chapter or scene to scene Basically the invisible narrator takes care of things outside the POV character s purview The invisible narrator might introduce a location or summarize a series of events that have transpired For example The day of the battle was set It was raining It had been raining for several hours and the field had turned to mud Tone command of detail relevant to the story and word selection are critical The narrator is story dependent and different for every book Most importantly the narrator is not there to provide author opinions or editorial In third person POV the reader is effectively placed inside the character s mind The POV character holds the camera reporting what they see and along with feelings thoughts and opinions For example James thought about the battle he was about to enter Did he have other options Who was this evil force he was about face As I read a script to be turned into a novel I consider who and how many POV characters I will need to tell my story in novel form NOVEL TIP One way to think about POV as an author Do I need one or several POV Characters unless it s your own story is that you are recording writing what the first or third person is doing or sharing with you along with what an invisible narrator shares with you As you think about using the various viewpoints think about who can tell story scene best Is it best told by a first or third person narrator or through the invisible narrator POV Third Person Objective Subjective and Distant Close When telling a story in third person POV I move between objective narration with no reference to a characters thoughts and feelings and subjective narration where I convey a characters thoughts and feelings to the reader I also move between distant and close third person narrator In distant POV narration I describe the thoughts and feelings of a character For example James was angry In close POV I quote express the thoughts and feelings of a POV character For example James hands turned into fists That bastard he thought In third person narration I am constantly changing between objective and subjective and distant and close narration POV Invisible Narrator When writing a novel convention is to limit the use of an invisible narrator who can see all the characters from the outside and can relate events For example the hero looked beaten had a lisp tossed in turned in bed etc The invisible narrator is sort of like a character but they are not in the story POV Characters In the case of a one off novel I usually select two three may four POV characters In the case of a novel series I select more maybe five to seven or more characters as I have more time and space to explore more characters in depth while keeping the reader engaged I also want to avoid confusing the reader with too many characters sharing all their thoughts and feelings with the reader It not only makes it difficult for them to remember It is also very difficult as a writer to remember keep track of and write POV characters in the stories POV Character Considerations As I consider POV characters I also keep the following in mind Character viewpoints define how they see the world POV characters must contribute to moving the story forward POV characters establish an emotional connection with the reader It s not necessary that POV characters be likable but they the must be interesting and offer alternative perspectives to the reader that they may not have thought about or perhaps have wondered about POV Character Selection POV character selection is somewhat like casting a movie First Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through one character Cast Away is a good example of this Third Person POV The reader deeply experiences the story through several characters
Readers develop some kind of an attachment to POV characters They might like or dislike them as they begin a journey with them Over the span of the journey they learn understand grow with and root for the POV character s to achieve their goal Readers slip into the POV character s shoes and live their life being privy to their deepest thoughts and feelings Non POV Characters 4 As events unfold in the chapter the reader is brought in closer moving from objective to subjective narration and from describing a POV character s thoughts feelings to a POV character expressing their thoughts and feelings NOVEL TIP As authors you must slip into the mind of narrator seeing and hearing sights and smells and ultimately into the mind and body of POV character Much like movies with lead and supporting roles novels have POV characters lead and non POV characters supporting TENSE When writing non POV character parts in a novel a writer is limited to describing reporting what a non POV character can see and hear So readers expect things like how the non POV characters look speak and act Readers are not privy to the non POV character s internal thoughts or feelings POV and Tense In the case of non POV characters readers glean the information they need to move the story forward Their attachment to non POV characters is indifferent Writers use present tense when they want the reader to experience the story as it is occurring that is as the POV character is experiencing it Examples include verbs ending with s or es or words like am is are has have For example Kevin wakes up and walks to his computer and logs in NOVEL TIP Story rules and conventions continue to be challenged Think about air time In a thriller the hero usually gets 60 70 of time and space while victims and villains receive 30 40 of the time and space Also think about the genre you are writing in In the case of thrillers some writers use first person POV for the hero protagonist foiling an evil mission creating likability and connection and third person POV for the other characters antagonist villain victim or someone close to them or the law enforcement character trying to eliminate the looming threat For example James Patterson Alex Cross series and Andrew Gross use first person POV for the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 I use first person POV for Kevin Albright the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters POV Example of How Invisible Narrator and POV Character Decisions Shape a Typical Scene When I contemplate writing a chapter or a scene I envision it unfolding as follows 1 It begins with the invisible narrator setting the scene using a neutral and non opinionated voice Maybe it s describing the weather maybe a house or street where the action is about to take place 2 Next the invisible narrator hones in on a POV character I still see this character from the outside and the language in the scene remains neutral 3 Finally narrator slips into the POV character s mind and body seeing the scene through their eyes experiencing events actions and thoughts in real time first person or as reported after they have occurred third person It is the point that the writing begins to be colored by the POV character s own speaking voice Writers tell stories with verbs Readers experience POV character events in real time as they occur or after they have occurred Writers use past tense when they want the reader to experience the story that has occurred Examples include verbs ending in ed ing and words like had was were For example James woke up and walked to his computer and logged in Use of Tense Considerations There are pluses and minuses in considering whether to use present or past tense Present tense provides immediacy in storytelling but can diminish the suspense aspect of the story Use of past tense makes it easier to manipulate time For example the writer can use hindsight flashbacks or time slip to take the reader back and forth between different timeframes Use of Tense in Screenplays and Novels As discussed verb tenses describe the action that takes place either as it is happening or after it has happened Related to this are the various techniques available to deal with time real time fast forwarding and skipping time altogether Screenplays typically use present tense verbs to describe action It gives a cinematic feel with a string of scene after scene after scene with events playing out in real time with no novelesque narration in between In the case of novels some writers have experimented with the use present tense but it s tough to pull off a four hundred page novel in present tense and keep the reader engaged It should be noted that history tells us that authors should not try to fast forward midstream in a chapter through time when using present tense We are limited to real time and skipping time all together That means that everything must play out in real time until a writer reaches the end the chapter or section and starts a new one skipping over the time in between the two Otherwise fast forwarding through the story sounds all wrong
Readers develop some kind of an attachment to POV characters They might like or dislike them as they begin a journey with them Over the span of the journey they learn understand grow with and root for the POV character s to achieve their goal Readers slip into the POV character s shoes and live their life being privy to their deepest thoughts and feelings Non POV Characters 4 As events unfold in the chapter the reader is brought in closer moving from objective to subjective narration and from describing a POV character s thoughts feelings to a POV character expressing their thoughts and feelings NOVEL TIP As authors you must slip into the mind of narrator seeing and hearing sights and smells and ultimately into the mind and body of POV character Much like movies with lead and supporting roles novels have POV characters lead and non POV characters supporting TENSE When writing non POV character parts in a novel a writer is limited to describing reporting what a non POV character can see and hear So readers expect things like how the non POV characters look speak and act Readers are not privy to the non POV character s internal thoughts or feelings POV and Tense In the case of non POV characters readers glean the information they need to move the story forward Their attachment to non POV characters is indifferent Writers use present tense when they want the reader to experience the story as it is occurring that is as the POV character is experiencing it Examples include verbs ending with s or es or words like am is are has have For example Kevin wakes up and walks to his computer and logs in NOVEL TIP Story rules and conventions continue to be challenged Think about air time In a thriller the hero usually gets 60 70 of time and space while victims and villains receive 30 40 of the time and space Also think about the genre you are writing in In the case of thrillers some writers use first person POV for the hero protagonist foiling an evil mission creating likability and connection and third person POV for the other characters antagonist villain victim or someone close to them or the law enforcement character trying to eliminate the looming threat For example James Patterson Alex Cross series and Andrew Gross use first person POV for the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters In the case of Deadly Invisible Enemies Evil Resurrection Book 3 I use first person POV for Kevin Albright the protagonist and third person for all other POV characters POV Example of How Invisible Narrator and POV Character Decisions Shape a Typical Scene When I contemplate writing a chapter or a scene I envision it unfolding as follows 1 It begins with the invisible narrator setting the scene using a neutral and non opinionated voice Maybe it s describing the weather maybe a house or street where the action is about to take place 2 Next the invisible narrator hones in on a POV character I still see this character from the outside and the language in the scene remains neutral 3 Finally narrator slips into the POV character s mind and body seeing the scene through their eyes experiencing events actions and thoughts in real time first person or as reported after they have occurred third person It is the point that the writing begins to be colored by the POV character s own speaking voice Writers tell stories with verbs Readers experience POV character events in real time as they occur or after they have occurred Writers use past tense when they want the reader to experience the story that has occurred Examples include verbs ending in ed ing and words like had was were For example James woke up and walked to his computer and logged in Use of Tense Considerations There are pluses and minuses in considering whether to use present or past tense Present tense provides immediacy in storytelling but can diminish the suspense aspect of the story Use of past tense makes it easier to manipulate time For example the writer can use hindsight flashbacks or time slip to take the reader back and forth between different timeframes Use of Tense in Screenplays and Novels As discussed verb tenses describe the action that takes place either as it is happening or after it has happened Related to this are the various techniques available to deal with time real time fast forwarding and skipping time altogether Screenplays typically use present tense verbs to describe action It gives a cinematic feel with a string of scene after scene after scene with events playing out in real time with no novelesque narration in between In the case of novels some writers have experimented with the use present tense but it s tough to pull off a four hundred page novel in present tense and keep the reader engaged It should be noted that history tells us that authors should not try to fast forward midstream in a chapter through time when using present tense We are limited to real time and skipping time all together That means that everything must play out in real time until a writer reaches the end the chapter or section and starts a new one skipping over the time in between the two Otherwise fast forwarding through the story sounds all wrong
Past tense is used extensively in writing novels and it s typically what readers expect It s more invisible in story telling Story events are told after they have already happened Think of a news reporter at an accident scene They are reporting on what occurred They interview people and perhaps interject their thoughts on what might have happened In past tense authors can use all three techniques to deal with time real time fast forwarding through time and skipping time altogether In turning a screenplay into a novel one of the steps will be to turn the present tense form of writing of the screenplay action blocks into past tense I will discuss this in more detail later NOVEL TIP Most fiction novels are written in past tense it s the natural form we use when we tell stories and it s the way we have learned take in written stories Newspapers and personal journals are written in past tense It s the way my Norwegian grandfather told stories to me Examples of Present and Past Tense Use Present tense Julia munches down a quick breakfast and runs out to her car The traffic is gridlocked as usual but she manages to make it to the meeting with thirty seconds to spare Past Tense Julia munched down her breakfast and ran to her car She fought her way through the traffic gridlock as she had done many other days because of the road construction but she made it to the meeting and had thirty seconds to spare Present tense provides a moment by moment real time approach to what Julia is doing Past tense reports describes what happened but the author can provide as little or as much detail as they want PACE Pace is critical to keeping the reader s attention In writing the novel this includes paying attention to Sentence structure using a mix of long and short sentences Sprinkling a mix of dialogue and narrative text Use of different POV characters and objective and subjective and distant and close narration Chapter section length combined with changing POVs Timing and frequency of plot twists BASIC CONVENTIONS SUMMARIZED POV NARRATOR TENSE The following summarizes the basic conventions used in writing a novel 1 The history of written storytelling reflects that most novels are written as author invisible third person in past tense There are some evolving exceptions for example the use of both first and third person POV characters in the same novel as writers experiment with what readers like 2 Once present or past tense is selected it is important to stick to that tense for the entire novel 3 Only one POV character narrator should be used in a chapter section 4 If a POV character is third person they should remain third person for that character for the entire the book or series If they are first person they should remain first person for the entire book or book series 5 If a POV character time or place changes start a new chapter or signify the change by starting a new section within a chapter 6 Always think about pacing including a mix of long and short sentences and dialogue and narrative text NEXT STEPS The next article in the series will explore writing the novel from a screenplay I will be using a screenplay that I converted into a novel DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES FINAL THOUGHTS In a few short months since we welcomed in 2020 and a new decade our world has forever changed in ways we could not have even imagined It is a time of worry fear hesitation pause and reflection It is also a time of rebirth and excitement as a new frontier opens up We are presented with opportunities we never thought we would see in our life time opportunities to shed the old and embrace the new What was once thought to be only plausible as science fiction is our new reality The paradigm shift happening is presenting storytellers with a whole new world new stories a new writing frontier of blank pages to be filled Story is life well told Harold L Brown NOVEL TIP Without all the special effects and big name actors authors need to work harder to attract and keep the readership s interest www storychaser com
Past tense is used extensively in writing novels and it s typically what readers expect It s more invisible in story telling Story events are told after they have already happened Think of a news reporter at an accident scene They are reporting on what occurred They interview people and perhaps interject their thoughts on what might have happened In past tense authors can use all three techniques to deal with time real time fast forwarding through time and skipping time altogether In turning a screenplay into a novel one of the steps will be to turn the present tense form of writing of the screenplay action blocks into past tense I will discuss this in more detail later NOVEL TIP Most fiction novels are written in past tense it s the natural form we use when we tell stories and it s the way we have learned take in written stories Newspapers and personal journals are written in past tense It s the way my Norwegian grandfather told stories to me Examples of Present and Past Tense Use Present tense Julia munches down a quick breakfast and runs out to her car The traffic is gridlocked as usual but she manages to make it to the meeting with thirty seconds to spare Past Tense Julia munched down her breakfast and ran to her car She fought her way through the traffic gridlock as she had done many other days because of the road construction but she made it to the meeting and had thirty seconds to spare Present tense provides a moment by moment real time approach to what Julia is doing Past tense reports describes what happened but the author can provide as little or as much detail as they want PACE Pace is critical to keeping the reader s attention In writing the novel this includes paying attention to Sentence structure using a mix of long and short sentences Sprinkling a mix of dialogue and narrative text Use of different POV characters and objective and subjective and distant and close narration Chapter section length combined with changing POVs Timing and frequency of plot twists BASIC CONVENTIONS SUMMARIZED POV NARRATOR TENSE The following summarizes the basic conventions used in writing a novel 1 The history of written storytelling reflects that most novels are written as author invisible third person in past tense There are some evolving exceptions for example the use of both first and third person POV characters in the same novel as writers experiment with what readers like 2 Once present or past tense is selected it is important to stick to that tense for the entire novel 3 Only one POV character narrator should be used in a chapter section 4 If a POV character is third person they should remain third person for that character for the entire the book or series If they are first person they should remain first person for the entire book or book series 5 If a POV character time or place changes start a new chapter or signify the change by starting a new section within a chapter 6 Always think about pacing including a mix of long and short sentences and dialogue and narrative text NEXT STEPS The next article in the series will explore writing the novel from a screenplay I will be using a screenplay that I converted into a novel DEADLY INVISIBLE ENEMIES FINAL THOUGHTS In a few short months since we welcomed in 2020 and a new decade our world has forever changed in ways we could not have even imagined It is a time of worry fear hesitation pause and reflection It is also a time of rebirth and excitement as a new frontier opens up We are presented with opportunities we never thought we would see in our life time opportunities to shed the old and embrace the new What was once thought to be only plausible as science fiction is our new reality The paradigm shift happening is presenting storytellers with a whole new world new stories a new writing frontier of blank pages to be filled Story is life well told Harold L Brown NOVEL TIP Without all the special effects and big name actors authors need to work harder to attract and keep the readership s interest www storychaser com
Art by Suzette Troche Stapp
Art by Suzette Troche Stapp
JACOB H eKINS MERIT BENJAMIN LBGHTO STOCKHAM PLANE
JACOB H eKINS MERIT BENJAMIN LBGHTO STOCKHAM PLANE
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0 _ ff i 0 I
To Hong Kong With Love It all starts with what happened to Hong Kong On May 28th China s legislature approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong which threatens fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties in the semi autonomous territory Since the Xi administration broke the promise of one country two systems Deng Xiaoping had made before Hong Kong s return to China in my opinion sadly the so called Hong Kong its culture people s freedom this prosperous city everything is coming to an end On May 29th the next day of the approval of the national security law over 2000 Hong Kong artists actors singers directors producers painters made a statement together they claimed they agreed with the national security law which they had to if they don t want to be banned or go to jail however they also stated that they hope Chinese government can make some other policies to protect their freedom of creation which seems so ironic to me because why it is necessary for them to be asking for policy making to protect their creative freedom if they really do agree with the national security law and they actually think what Beijing did to Hong Kong doesn t cause any harm Isn t it a joke I personally don t think the Xi administration will really care about those Hong Kong artists request of protecting their freedom of creation Xi got what he wants the total control of Hong Kong and that s all Critics estimated there will be over 700000 Hong Kong people lose their jobs after this national security law move patterns of economic damage started to emerge I saw the news on TV saying Stephen Chow the legendary Hong Kong filmmaker had hypothecated his assets to J P Morgan bank because the stock of his production company dramatically went down after the approval of the national security law Don t you love Stephen s movies Fight Back To School From Beijing With Love A Chinese Odyssey Journey To The West Forbidden City Cop The God of Cookery King of Comedy Kung Fu Hustle When my western filmmaker friends talking about their favorite Chinese filmmakers two names came up all the time Bruce Lee and Stephen Chow and these two filmmakers are all related to Hong Kong As a Chinese I understand how western people love Bruce Lee but I was a little bit surprised at the beginning that they all feel so connected with Stephen Chow s works Stephen s films so typically reflected the culture of Hong Kong the majority of his stories are about how small potatoes struggling to live in this modern and extremely crowded city how people without wealth and power make their ways his films even show the audience delicious Hong Kong food a lot of them Stephen has a great sense of humor he tells his stories in his own ridiculous and stupid way He makes people laugh at the same time touched However at this point I don t know if Stephen will be able to carry on with that kind of works he used to create I feel sad when I realized we are losing Hong Kong and we are very likely to be losing those beautiful works that Hong Kong filmmakers can be creating Thinking about those names of great Hong Kong filmmakers Tsui Hark Ann Hui John Woo Wong Kar Wai personally my favorite Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To Alan Mak Flelix Chong I want to salute them for them and for their magnificent works We won t forget about their creations no matter or what X Laureen Wu
To Hong Kong With Love It all starts with what happened to Hong Kong On May 28th China s legislature approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong which threatens fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties in the semi autonomous territory Since the Xi administration broke the promise of one country two systems Deng Xiaoping had made before Hong Kong s return to China in my opinion sadly the so called Hong Kong its culture people s freedom this prosperous city everything is coming to an end On May 29th the next day of the approval of the national security law over 2000 Hong Kong artists actors singers directors producers painters made a statement together they claimed they agreed with the national security law which they had to if they don t want to be banned or go to jail however they also stated that they hope Chinese government can make some other policies to protect their freedom of creation which seems so ironic to me because why it is necessary for them to be asking for policy making to protect their creative freedom if they really do agree with the national security law and they actually think what Beijing did to Hong Kong doesn t cause any harm Isn t it a joke I personally don t think the Xi administration will really care about those Hong Kong artists request of protecting their freedom of creation Xi got what he wants the total control of Hong Kong and that s all Critics estimated there will be over 700000 Hong Kong people lose their jobs after this national security law move patterns of economic damage started to emerge I saw the news on TV saying Stephen Chow the legendary Hong Kong filmmaker had hypothecated his assets to J P Morgan bank because the stock of his production company dramatically went down after the approval of the national security law Don t you love Stephen s movies Fight Back To School From Beijing With Love A Chinese Odyssey Journey To The West Forbidden City Cop The God of Cookery King of Comedy Kung Fu Hustle When my western filmmaker friends talking about their favorite Chinese filmmakers two names came up all the time Bruce Lee and Stephen Chow and these two filmmakers are all related to Hong Kong As a Chinese I understand how western people love Bruce Lee but I was a little bit surprised at the beginning that they all feel so connected with Stephen Chow s works Stephen s films so typically reflected the culture of Hong Kong the majority of his stories are about how small potatoes struggling to live in this modern and extremely crowded city how people without wealth and power make their ways his films even show the audience delicious Hong Kong food a lot of them Stephen has a great sense of humor he tells his stories in his own ridiculous and stupid way He makes people laugh at the same time touched However at this point I don t know if Stephen will be able to carry on with that kind of works he used to create I feel sad when I realized we are losing Hong Kong and we are very likely to be losing those beautiful works that Hong Kong filmmakers can be creating Thinking about those names of great Hong Kong filmmakers Tsui Hark Ann Hui John Woo Wong Kar Wai personally my favorite Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To Alan Mak Flelix Chong I want to salute them for them and for their magnificent works We won t forget about their creations no matter or what X Laureen Wu
BY DEL WESTON NAB I ZEE THERESA WESTON CREATORS OF THE ACTON ON FILM INTERNATI ONAL F ILM FESTIVALS BROADCAST TELEV ISION FEATURES FILMS AND MORE
BY DEL WESTON NAB I ZEE THERESA WESTON CREATORS OF THE ACTON ON FILM INTERNATI ONAL F ILM FESTIVALS BROADCAST TELEV ISION FEATURES FILMS AND MORE
Behind the Gate lh 28min Documentary Biography Family 2013 1 August 2013 USA 9 5 18 7 Rate This NOW AVAILABLE ON amazon primevideo BEHIND THE AT E
Behind the Gate lh 28min Documentary Biography Family 2013 1 August 2013 USA 9 5 18 7 Rate This NOW AVAILABLE ON amazon primevideo BEHIND THE AT E
By Del Weston
By Del Weston
0 Before you start your next film or television project think about what it will take to get it right Whether you are doing something on an idie budget or something bigger DON T risk losing it all over mistakes or lack of knowledge or experience V _ O 0 0 tl r 0 0 When you re serious about your dreams in the industry leave nothing to chance From Script to Screen and Everything in between Give me a call when you need a Producer who can get the most bang for your buck Free 30 Min Consulation for your project if you are an AOF Accepted Filmmaker or Writer I
HEAR THE SHANE BORZA INTERVIEW HERE
0 Before you start your next film or television project think about what it will take to get it right Whether you are doing something on an idie budget or something bigger DON T risk losing it all over mistakes or lack of knowledge or experience V _ O 0 0 tl r 0 0 When you re serious about your dreams in the industry leave nothing to chance From Script to Screen and Everything in between Give me a call when you need a Producer who can get the most bang for your buck Free 30 Min Consulation for your project if you are an AOF Accepted Filmmaker or Writer I
