Fiction tends to fall into two camps (or so I think): serious lit and fantasy/action/adventure, which includes mysteries. Romance is probably a third. But why is it you don’t see much popular fiction that’s just fun, like TV? Kind of like Two and a Half Men in print? Or Rocky and Bullwinkle? Or a Saturday Read More …
This CAN’T be original … it’s more of a realization sinking in. I constantly criticize strategies I see as pointless … and yet my own strategies are often pointless, too. Aha, I realize: You need to figure out how to give yourself advice. OK, let’s try that painful exercise. The Mucha rules: (1) Do some market research! Know your Read More …
Been reading a great book, Made to Stick. Basically, it’s a great guide to shaping ideas so they’ll catch on better. I’m sure I’ll be writing a whole series of posts about its advice and insights. Here’s a great tip related to storytelling, credited by the book to screenwriter Robert McKee: Get viewers/readers hooked by Read More …
Instead of a collection of jokes, how about a book that’s a collection of punchlines? I’m just thinking it would be fun to browse through punchlines, then look up the joke. OK, it’s still a joke book, but the punchline variation would make it different. OK, it’s probably a better idea for the Web. Hmm … Read More …
Woke up the other day and this title just hit me: Unqualified Success. We all know people, some of them famous, who really didn’t deserve their success in life. This would be a collection of such stories. Got any nominations? Has it really been six weeks since I last posted? Sorry. Been working on a Read More …
Idea for a novel … maybe. A psychic can see the future, knows the future. Probably a long-range future. But it raises a mystery: How will that finale come to pass? The steps are hidden from the psychic’s view. But she has to figure out the steps, even knowing she can’t change the future. Hmm, Read More …
It’s one thing to be a detective, doing the actual sleuthing that can get you killed. Or a scientist doing the actual research. It’s another to be a professional theorist. The ultimate specialist. He doesn’t gather any clues. No, when all your theories seem to go nowhere, you seek him out, and he comes with another, Read More …
I’m inching forward with a spinoff from Steal My Ideas, Please. Rather than just give away ideas, through posts or emailed answers, I’m moving into developing some with friends and even total strangers. If you’re an illustrator, software designer, writer or JUST LOADED AND LOOKING FOR PLACES TO INVEST, check out www.wackydadandfriends.com. I hope to Read More …
*SPOILER ALERT!!* What didn’t I like? Hardly anyone but Harry figures anything out! Or gets their proper moment to shine … (Read on only if you’ve already read the book)
I’ve made only a little progress since my last Harry Potter speculations. Still believe I’m onto something with the theory that Harry’s mother, Lily, did something, used a potion to protect him. Believe she made him/his scar a horcrux, which made him invulnerable to Voldemort’s killing curse. To do that, my hunch is, she marked his forehead Read More …
Canned warning about formulas goes here. But, seriously, don’t most compelling classic stories boil down to something like this? Hero, who has suffered all his or her (often parentless) life, faces seemingless insurmountable obstacles, including at least one persistently present powerful villain, but ultimately gets by with pluck (not just luck), stick-to-it-iveness and a little help from friends — and Read More …
Loved the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It explores the mystery of how, sometimes, we just have a deep understanding instantly. In some cases, there’s a wellspring of knowledge and expertise that bubbles up. In others, in chaotic moments of danger, we just know to react. Since reading it, I’ve strived to trust my initial judgments Read More …
SPOILER ALERT, PART 3: As the release of Harry Potter 7 approaches (July 21), I’ve been theorizing about the biggest mystery of the series: How did Harry become “The Boy Who Lived,” not just surviving a killing curse but somehow causing it to rebound against its perpetrator, Lord Voldemort, destroying his body and exiling what was left Read More …
SPOILER ALERT: This post continues “What Was Lily Potter’s Trick?” [and is continued in “A Bloody Better Theory“]. Many have speculated that Harry’s scar is the final horcrux, or hidden piece of Lord Voldemort’s soul. How Harry got it, however, remains mysterious. We know from the Dark Lord’s own mouth that he was trying to kill Harry, not create a horcrux: “You all know that Read More …
DON’T READ THIS if you don’t want to know what might happen in the next Harry Potter book. But basically, here’s my thinking: Lord Voldemort, we know, stashed pieces of his soul in places like an enchanted diary and a ring, so he couldn’t easily be killed. We also know that Harry Potter’s scar links Read More …