Where It Went Wrong

Yes, I'm breaking out the red pen.

At this juncture in my life, no one is going to confuse me for a successful writer. Outside of two short plays to be performed in the near future, none of my works have ever seen the light of day. I don't have a degree in creative writing. Or literature. Or even English. Some people might think this would disqualify me from passing judgment on others whose writing has been more successful, both commercially and critically. They may even be right.


Not like that has ever stopped me.

Every time I think of a Chuck plot point dropped. 

I delve into every story I consume, whether it be a television series, feature films, novels, or short story magazine series (don't see many of those these days, unfortunately). Characters are scrutinized; plots investigated. Pleasing me is not easy. I love complex characters (they make me giddy). I need plot points that are followed through until their conclusion (otherwise I'm engaging in epic facepalms).

The famed author Kurt Vonnegut had eight rules for writing fiction. If you want an excellent summary/explanation, and encouraging words on how to be a better writer, Frea O'Scanlin is doing a series about the rules on her blog. Rules 1-6 can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here. Rules 7 and 8 should be up sometime soon, hopefully. She's kind of busy. I also want to give a shout out to Frea because 1) she's helped me become a better writer, and 2) her essay series on the rules inspired this one. Thanks Frea!

I'm doing this a little differently, though. Taking a comprehensive look at all the TV series I've watched over the past few years, I want to find where each story could have been better if the writers had followed the rules closer. It'll be an adventure in discovery for all of us. Just remember, these are my opinions, so they are as good as fact.

The first article will be published this Thursday and every subsequent Thursday to follow (except April 26th because I'll be in SoCal on vacation).

Here's a schedule:

Rule #1: March 29th
Rule #2: April 5th
Rule #3: April 12th
Rule #4: April 19th
Rule #5: May 3rd
Rule #6: May 10th
Rule #7: May 17th
Rule #8: May 24th

I hope everyone likes this idea. And if you don't, I'm doing it anyway. It should be fun.

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