The Detective Story.-Many of my readers will be especially fitted to write detective stories, stories involving the untying of a knot that seemingly has worked itself into a dizzy jumble of strands leading nowhere and incapable of any sensible solution. For their benefit I am appending an analysis of the detective story. Working from Puzzle […]

Sequence.— Before dealing with the revision of the story, I will take up first its actual writing. First of all, the efficient and systematic, the sure and careful, author will make out an outline of his plot. All important events, even of minor value, will be included in their natural order. In pursuance of this […]

Unity of Time.— Ordinarily, the plot of a short story is based on a sequence of events culminating in a simple crisis in the life of one person. A novel might deal with several such crises in the life of one individual, for very few persons pass through only one; or the novel may be […]

The Distinctiveness of Your Story.— Unity of impression presupposes unity of conception, deep sympathy with the story and its characters, and the maintenance of a general tone throughout. A story may progress logically, swiftly, and clearly from the preliminary situation right through to the conclusion, without halt or hesitation; it may be a model of […]

When to Choose the Title.—With regard to whether the title should be chosen before or after the story has been written, no absolute rule can be fixed. Some writers find they can decide with greater facility upon the best title for a script after all the constituents of the plot have been grounded firmly in […]

Why Stories Are Judged by Their Beginning.— Many are the stories upon whose merit a searching ray of illumination can be thrown by the manner in which they are begun, just as we may judge people by the way in which they respond to an introduction. If a woman, when a man is presented to […]

A Simple Definition of the Photoplay.—Numerous attempts have been made to define the photoplay. Most of the definitions have been unsatisfactory, however, because ambiguous. The simplest definition possible is: a story told in picture action instead of words. That is, a photoplay is a story told almost entirely in pantomine by actors, whose thoughts and […]

Before proceeding with a study of the component parts of a photoplay, it is desirable that the beginner get a complete understanding of the meaning of the technical terms used in photoplay writing and in the studio. Below is a complete list of all technical words and phrases now in use. It is important to […]

The Importance of Plot.— In all fiction, plot is one of the most important elements. Plot is the story itself. Without plot there is no story. But, in the photoplay, plot has even greater weight than in the story. This is because the photoplay does not permit description or character drawing, as we know both […]

The Function of Plot.-Before the actual writing of the four principal parts of the photoplay is taken up, it is desirable to get a thorough knowledge of just what constitutes a photo-play plot. This is desirable for the reason that the actual writing of a photoplay cannot begin until a plot is first worked out. […]