randy obrien

Are your dreams trying to tell you something? Dreams are intriguing phenomena that have captivated humans for centuries. Some people believe dreams are messages from our subconscious, revealing our hidden desires, fears, or conflicts. Others think dreams are just random images and sensations our brain produces during sleep. But what does science say about the relationship between dreams and the subconscious mind? And how can we use our dreams to better understand ourselves and our conscious minds? And what can creative writers take away from the idea that our subconscious minds are where we do our best writing? One way to approach this question is to examine the process of dream recall, or how we remember our dreams. Dream recall is not straightforward, as most of us forget our dreams soon after waking up. However, some people can recall their dreams more frequently and vividly than others, and some factors can influence the likelihood of dream recall, such as sleep quality, emotio...

 Writing your novel can feel nearly impossible, but many techniques can help keep your readers engaged. One such method is using parallel stories, which writers can use to create tension and suspense. An effective way to do this is to end your scenes so that you cut between them at moments that leave your readers hanging. Writers sometimes call this technique “Meanwhile, back at the ranch.” The nickname dates back to silent movies when title cards between scenes signaled transitions. In the earliest days, studios didn’t make new cards for each movie but used a set of stock cards: “One Year Later,” “Comes the Dawn,” or “Wedding Bells.” “Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch” was the card used most often when the action, for example, cut away from the heroine being tied to a log just as the villain turned on the sawmill. The literary version of this technique dates back to at least Homer. Still, it was probably perfected in the nineteenth century when newly popular magazines serialized nov...

For me, a story's genre is like a painting's frame. The story fits into the frame and meets the expectations of the viewer. You won't see a portrait or landscape if you're in a gallery featuring abstract work. But, if you do, you'll notice something added to or taken away from that depiction. However, the frame around the picture could be similar.   Like the contents of the picture, framed by the viewer's expectations, most stories can fit into a specific genre. Go to a bookstore, and you'll see books shelved under different levels. Some stories are not as easy to classify and cross genres, like a Romance with Comedic elements. There are Horror stories with Thriller elements, etc. Here are some of the genres available to storytellers. A loose definition of genre is a category that groups novels with similar themes, tones, or styles. Choosing a genre can help novelists meet their readers' expectations and follow some conventions and guidelines for the...

 Will AI change society? How could it not? Creative projects generated by typing in just a few words in a prompt that can produce emails, letters, pictures, and soon, videos.  Will they be any good? At first, no. But as the machines learn the quality will improve. I think there needs to be a watermark indicating what was created by AI. It's only fair to creators like me. We need to know how our competition works and what the final outcome will be. 

The Harmon Story Circle Have you ever wanted to write an enthralling story that captures the imagination of the audience? Here’s some helpful information about the Harmon Story Circle. Developed by Dan Harmon, the creator of television's Rick and Morty and Community, the Harmon Story Circle is a powerful tool for narrative storytelling. In this blog post, we will discuss how to develop engaging narratives through characters and plot structures and the benefits of using the Harmon Story Circle. By the end of this post, you will have a better understanding of the Harmon Story Circle and how it can help you create captivating stories. A Guide To Narrative Storytelling Storytelling is one of the essential skills that you can develop as a writer. It's a skill applied in many different contexts, from personal essays to novels to movies. However, storytelling isn't easy – creating genuinely captivating stories takes practice and much finesse. That's where the Harmon Story Circ...

  Joseph Campbell And the Hero's Journey The Hero's Journey is a concept that novelists and filmmakers have used for decades, but few know its origin. Joseph Campbell first developed it in his 1949 book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This blog post will discuss the specifics of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey and how those ideas can help writers create better stories. We will also discuss the differences between using the Hero's Journey in movies and literature. By the end of this post, you should have a better understanding of the Hero's Journey and how to use the ideas to craft compelling stories. What is The Hero's Journey Joseph Campbell is one of the most influential thinkers in history, and his work has dramatically impacted the world of storytelling. Campbell was born in the late 1800s, and during his lifetime, he wrote extensively on mythology and the hero's journey. The hero's journey is a popular model used to explain how creators ...

Here's a great article on adding more variety to your writing vocabulary.  https://nofilmschool.com/strong-verbs

 You've studied, read, and found authors you like; now, it's time to get busy and start. I've found it helpful to produce a single word or sentence about the theme/question/issue before I get started. Some people decide what the story is about after they finish. It works either way, and the only way to find out what works for you is to try different methods. James Patterson, a very successful and productive best-selling author, claims that making a detailed outline for your novel is the best way to organize your thoughts and story. So do J.K. Rowling, E.L. Stein, and John Grisham. They're Plotters. Best-selling novelists Margaret Atwood, Pierce Brown, and Stephen King are writers who plop down in front of their keyboards and start typing. They're Pantsers, writing by the seat of their pants. Obviously, either method works, but only trial and error will determine what you like best. Also, if you're writing screenplays or television, it's vital that yo...

Once you've decided on the question or issue you want to write about, it's time to construct a series of events that best place your diametrically opposed characters in direct and indirect conflict. The protagonist and antagonist work best when they both explore the same issue but with differing world views. For example, in Star Wars, the question is, "Is good stronger than evil." If you believe that democratic power comes from the wishes of the ordinary people, then Luke Skywalker is the protagonist. On the other hand, Darth Vader's world view is that power comes from a select, small group of people who believe control comes from a religious designation governing the people. How you portray this conflict is best described over two thousand years ago by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his work Poetics. I highly recommend you read his principles on writing. He advised playwrights of the time that a story should include fear, pity, and eventually, catharsis for a...

When planning a story, think of what form the story might take. The format can be a short story, novel, screenplay, play, graphic novel, poem, song, but remember, the way it's told is not as important as what you're trying to say. For example, you may start a story as a play and realize it would be better told as a screenplay, etc. There are expectations in all of these formats, and deciding before you start can save time. I think it's good to start with one kind of format before you begin. Now, it's time to produce characters to explore the theme of your story. I like to use Star Wars as an example of how a theme helps create characters. You can, of course, do this the other way round. The essay here is called one way, not the only way. To me, the theme of Star Wars is "Is good stronger than evil?" We've all read novels, short stories, seen movies, and television shows where this question is asked. Most times, good proves stronger, but on occasion, evil w...

When I was teaching creative writing I would give the students a process that could help them begin and shape their stories. It's just one way and it's not the only way, but it can help with writing and more importantly, rewriting.  IMO, all stories are about revealing identity. That end goal can be most successfully reached by characters who are diametrically opposed when exploring a philosophical question that had no settled answer. For example, Star Wars. For me, the question of SW is, Is good stronger than evil? The main character is Luke and his nemesis is Darth Vader. Luke doesn't know his true identity at the beginning of the story and by the end a farm boy becomes a war hero. That's his new identity. Darth is the biggest obstacle to him becoming the celebrated pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Along the character's journey he meets others who are allies, Han and Liela, and minor enemies. All of these characters work with or against Luke as he takes on his ...

George Carlin famously said, "Write stoned, edit sober." He was right. When he indulged, he accessed subconscious ideas that might not bubble to the surface when he wrote. I used to blast loud music when I wrote. Not just in the background—I'm talking about full-volume, room-filling sound. Rock, jazz, ambient electronica—whatever could drown out the chaos of the outside world and, ironically, the chaos of my thoughts. It was almost like I was trying to outpace my brain, out-shout my inner critic, by enveloping myself in noise. For a long time, this method seemed to work. The music became a kind of armor, a protective layer that allowed me to slip past distractions and into a state of focus. But over time, that need changed. My process evolved. Now, I prefer silence. A quiet writing room, sunlight pouring in through the blinds, the subtle hum of life outside—these are my companions. Where I once needed a carefully curated soundtrack to enter a creative state, now I welco...