Storytelling Rules

Are there rules to storytelling? Probably. Me, I usually like to know the rules, so that I can figure out creative ways of breaking them. Still, io9 posted something interesting the other day -- the 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar, which includes:

• #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
• #6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
• #13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.
• #15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
• #16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

I cherry-picked the rules dealing mostly with character, because, well, building strong character is essential to storytelling, after all. Plot can be fun -- hell, I love a good plot -- but without strong characters moving the plot along, the story comes up dry.

One thing I notice younger writers doing -- at least those in the horror genre -- is making characters that are simply a means to an end. Meaning, basically, that the characters exist simply to die at the end of the story. Now there isn't anything wrong with that per se, but you have to at least make the reader care about your character, so that when they do die, it means something. Or at least give your character purpose. Have them at least try to fight back and survive. They might not always win, but at least they put up a good fight. I mention this from experience -- a lot of my earlier horror stories were just as I mentioned: characters presented just to die. The stories relied too much on the idea or plot. Which, again, can work sometimes, but it's still best to give your characters purpose.

Which leads me to the big movie of the moment Prometheus. I saw it yesterday, in IMAX 3D. Let me tell you -- don't waste your money on IMAX 3D. I don't mind IMAX, and I hate 3D, but I was told from a reliable source I had to see it in both. So I saw it in both. And you know what? Eh. The movie, I don't believe, was made for 3D in the same way Avatar was made for 3D. They made it, and they turned it into 3D for the big bucks, which is what Hollywood seems to think it's good at. But the movie itself? It's impressive visually, but that's about it. The story is blah, the characters are blah (again, most of them exist just to die), and the action, well, almost all the action you already saw in the trailer, if you're somebody like me who loves trailers even though he knows he shouldn't watch them because they always give away most of the movie. So who knows, maybe I would have enjoyed the movie more if I hadn't seen the trailer a bunch of times, or if I had seen it in good ol' 2D. Then again, maybe not. A turd is a turd, no matter what dimension you see it in. Now, having said that, I think I will see it again at some point in the future, most likely on DVD, to see if I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure I won't be, though.

But I'm sure there are others who disagree and think Prometheus was an AMAZING movie. Okay, fair enough. Let me ask you this then: why?

In Which Kelli Owen And I Talk About Stuff

Kelli Owen was kind enough to talk with me about some recent publishing news -- like 10 Reasons You Should Skip The Traditional Publishers and Self-Publish Ebooks Instead and half of self-published authors earn less than $500 and Stephen King's next novel will be paperback only. We'll also recap the Undead Press fiasco and what's happened since, like this ebook. Also, Kelli has a new ebook available called Six Days that you should check out -- oh, and there's even a chance to win a digital copy in the podcast. Enjoy!

In Which Kelli Owen And I Talk About Stuff

Don't You Hate When This Happens?

I've talked about this before, yes, but it's always worth bringing back up. When searching for a cover image, you might find the best stock photo ever, but be careful -- others probably found it or will find it eventually. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, as long as the designer tweaks the image a bit, but still ...

Of course, I have no room to talk.

So yeah, don't you hate when this happens?

In Which J.F. Gonzalez And I Talk About Publishing

J.F. Gonzalez was kind enough to take an hour out of his day to talk with me about publishing, especially the recent fiasco of Undead Press screwing over writers. The links for those two writers in particular are here -- When publishing goes wrong…Starring Undead Press -- and here -- Suffering in Silence. Also, while we were talking, this shit happened. Seriously, this Anthony Giangregorio is insane, and I hope he gets his ass locked up. For the time being, enjoyed today's podcast.

In Which J.F. Gonzalez And I Talk About Publishing

And So It Begins

For the past few years I've come to believe that the days of the mass market paperback were limited. I mean, look at what happened to Leisure. With more and more readers adopting ereaders and purchasing ebooks that are priced just as much as the paperbacks (sometimes even less, but sometimes even more), publishers will eventually accept that they're losing more money than usual on these paperbacks and decide to go strictly digital. So it was no real surprise to see this today:

As e-books continue to capture more readers that had read mass market paperbacks, Simon & Schuster is re-launching its Pocket Star mass market line as an e-book only imprint. According to the company, “Pocket Star will continue to feature bestselling and debut authors in popular genres including women’s fiction, romance, thrillers, urban fantasy, and mystery.” The revised imprint will feature a mix of new and old title, with the majority being new.

Louise Burke, executive v-p and publisher of Pocket, was clear that she expects the e-book Pocket Star imprint to serve in much the same way the mass market version did in the book ecosystem. “Similar to how mass market has served as a platform to develop future hardcover authors, it is our mission to use Pocket Star’s new digital-only format to establish new voices in the marketplace. An eBook imprint is flexible, cost-effective, cutting-edge and makes sense in today’s marketplace. Under the Pocket Star banner we will publish original works including full-length novels and novellas from some of our most popular authors,” Burke said. Price points will vary according to the work.

And this, my friends, is only the beginning. Soon the rest of the major publishers will create strictly digital imprints. Hell, Dutton has already started doing just that.

Now let the unanimous cry begin: But what about the bookstores???

Well, what about them? Publishers don't care about bookstores, not when those bookstores aren't making them money. If publishers can make even more money going strictly digital, then they're going to go strictly digital. It's an unpopular opinion, I know, but writers need to look out for themselves. Meaning yes, we all want to support bookstores, but quite honestly, do the bookstores really give a shit about you? Some do, sure -- some have great relationships with authors and do what they can to help promote those authors, and that's great. But the majority are looking at the bottom line, and that bottom line is all that matters. So if your book doesn't sell, well then it's goodbye, see you never, no hard feelings.

What I would be most interested to see in regards to today's announcement is just what terms these Pocket Star ebook authors will get. I'm assuming (or halfheartedly hoping) that the terms are better than the standard 25%. But something tells me that might not be the case. After all, it's a proven fact that publishers will try to get away with as much as they can to screw over authors.

But let's assume Pocket Star is offering at least 50% royalties. Okay, that's not bad, even after the agent gets his 15%. You could get 70% doing it on your own, but again, 50% isn't bad if you don't have to worry about editing and formatting and cover art. But is it worth signing all your rights away? Is it worth giving up all your creative control? It is worth knowing the ebook will most likely be overpriced and won't sell nearly as much as it could if it were competitively priced?

For some authors, the answer will be yes, yes, yes. Some authors shouldn't have any input in their creative control, because let's be honest -- just because you can write doesn't mean you know what good cover art looks like, even if it slapped you across the face. And let's face it -- many authors still want that validation of having their work "vetted" by a major publisher. They don't care that they could make more money doing it themselves by reaching the same amount of readers. They just want to be able to impress their friends. And you know what? That's their decision. There's nothing wrong with it. Me, well, you know how I feel about it, but that's beside the point. The point here is that Pocket Star going strictly digital is just the beginning. I can't wait to see who joins the bandwagon next.