Read books by AWers!

Welcome to the AbsoluteWrite Water Cooler! Please read The Newbie Guide To Absolute Write

editing for authors ad

A publisher or agency using Google ads to solicit your novel probably isn't anyone you want to write for.


Go Back   Absolute Write Water Cooler > Discussion > AW Roundtable
Reload this Page Clues to a great story - TED
Register FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-09-2013, 09:33 PM   #1
simonalexander2005
Reflectric
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: England/Slovenia
Posts: 99
simonalexander2005 is on a distinguished road
Clues to a great story - TED
Hey, so I just watched this TED talk on "the clues to a great story" - if you're interested, it's here:

http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stan...eat_story.html

(is it possible to embed videos? I don't know.)
__________________
"As everyone knows, the earth is made up of four elements - earth, air, fire and water. Everyone is wrong. There is a fifth element - surprise"
-Terry Pratchett
simonalexander2005 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2013, 11:54 PM   #2
ishtar'sgate
living in the past
 
ishtar'sgate's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,714
ishtar'sgate leaves trails of profuse coolnessishtar'sgate leaves trails of profuse coolnessishtar'sgate leaves trails of profuse coolnessishtar'sgate leaves trails of profuse coolnessishtar'sgate leaves trails of profuse coolness
Loved that. The talk was by Andrew Stanton and he showed clips from his movie , "John Carter" as well as clips from "WALL-E", "Toy Story", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Bambi" and "Finding Nemo".

Some of the points he made that resonated with me -

Make me care

First scenes should be a well-told promise like a pebble being pulled back in a slingshot and propelled forward to the end

We are born problem solvers and readers like a well-organized absence of information

Well drawn characters have a spine - an inner motive, an itch they can't scratch that drives all their choices

Drama is anticipation mixed with uncertainty

A strong theme is always running through a well told story

The best stories infuse wonder

Capture a truth from your own experiences
__________________

The First Vial

www.linneaheinrichs.com

Student-produced YouTube video parodies a few scenes from the novel
ishtar'sgate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2013, 12:15 AM   #3
bearilou
(wannabe) writer of Orcotica
 
bearilou's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: in the depths of my tbr pile
Posts: 4,471
bearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
I transcribed that entire talk so I would have a copy for myself. It was a fabulous talk and said some things that I really needed to hear at the time.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phaeal View Post
The first draft is a huge pile of clay that you've laboriously heaped on your table, patting it into a rough shape as you go along. From the second draft onward, you'll cut away chunks, add bits, pat and punch and pinch, until you finally have a gorgeous figure of, oh, Marcus Aurelius. Or a duck. But a damn fine duck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KTC View Post
Try everything. Discard what doesn't work for you. <--- the basic rules of writing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacia Kane View Post
Write what excites you.
I've hidden it for as long as I can. I tweet. Not often, maybe not interestingly, but I tweet.
My sort-of-not-really blog.
bearilou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2013, 01:12 AM   #4
WillSauger
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
 
WillSauger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Posts: 3,892
WillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsWillSauger is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments


I've been trying to say exactly what he has assembled. I'm taking notes.

People! Watch this!
__________________
Don't Fear Failure.

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" -- Alvin Toffler.
WillSauger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2013, 01:19 AM   #5
aixsponsa
This is not Kelly Kapoor Story Hour
 
aixsponsa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Fort Stewart, GA
Posts: 188
aixsponsa is well-respected
Thanks for sharing!
aixsponsa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2013, 01:54 AM   #6
Sophia
Moderator
AW Moderator
 
Sophia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: U.K.
Posts: 3,138
Sophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsSophia is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Thanks very much for posting this, simonalexander2005!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bearilou View Post
I transcribed that entire talk so I would have a copy for myself.
This might be the process you followed, but just in case it wasn't and this might be useful in the future: below a lot of TED talks is a drop-down menu saying "Show transcript". You can click on it, select the language you want, and it will display the transcript for you.
Sophia is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2013, 02:42 AM   #7
bearilou
(wannabe) writer of Orcotica
 
bearilou's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: in the depths of my tbr pile
Posts: 4,471
bearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsbearilou is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophia View Post
This might be the process you followed, but just in case it wasn't and this might be useful in the future: below a lot of TED talks is a drop-down menu saying "Show transcript". You can click on it, select the language you want, and it will display the transcript for you.


I'll know for next time!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phaeal View Post
The first draft is a huge pile of clay that you've laboriously heaped on your table, patting it into a rough shape as you go along. From the second draft onward, you'll cut away chunks, add bits, pat and punch and pinch, until you finally have a gorgeous figure of, oh, Marcus Aurelius. Or a duck. But a damn fine duck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KTC View Post
Try everything. Discard what doesn't work for you. <--- the basic rules of writing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacia Kane View Post
Write what excites you.
I've hidden it for as long as I can. I tweet. Not often, maybe not interestingly, but I tweet.
My sort-of-not-really blog.
bearilou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-10-2013, 04:37 PM   #8
simonalexander2005
Reflectric
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: England/Slovenia
Posts: 99
simonalexander2005 is on a distinguished road
There's loads of other good stuff on TED too - well worth exploring
__________________
"As everyone knows, the earth is made up of four elements - earth, air, fire and water. Everyone is wrong. There is a fifth element - surprise"
-Terry Pratchett
simonalexander2005 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Thread Tools
Display Modes
Linear Mode Linear Mode

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Custom Search

If this site is helpful to you,
Please consider a voluntary subscription to defray ongoing expenses.

Buy Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Regular Licence)


All times are GMT +4.5. The time now is 08:49 AM.

Contact Us - Absolute Write - Archive - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.