[Spoilers for as much of Black Mirror as I feel like mentioning]

Let's talk about twists a bit. Our culture loves twist endings, and for good reason. A twist recontextualizes everything we've experienced in the story so far, and it can really only be done successfully by the most talented writers. It requires a ton of setup and thought to write stories that must be interpreted two or more different ways.

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I've talked previously about bookends: two scenes at the beginning and the end of your story that demonstrate the change (or lack thereof) within the main character. This is a related principle, but somewhat more restrictive in its execution: the First Encounter. Let me dig into it to explain what I'm talking about.

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So I managed to watch the most recent episode this morning. I'd heard some rumblings about the portrayal of the characters in this one, so I wanted to see for myself. First of all... the description really didn't do it justice. Neither the characters nor the fanbase argued about which section was "the best." The episode was all about missing the point--latching onto Pinkie Pie's humor, or Applejack's sense of family, or... whatever the heck was the problem with Rarity, rather than

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Hey, all! I'm reading a book right now that just implemented a chess match into its symbolism, so I'm feeling the urge to talk about chess symbolism today. If you don't know how to play chess, this will sort of be a tutorial; if you do, hopefully this will give you some insight into how chess symbolism can be used in stories. Let's begin. Pawn to e4.

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Hey, all! Y'all know me; I'm an inchoate half-asser. So, uh... here's my half-assed attempt at my official Writer's Workshop Compendium!

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Writer's Workshop Compendium
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If you've read anything on narratology and story structure, you probably know most of the basics. The more I read, I tend to see the same ideas being offered, with only minor variations between them. There's a pretty general consensus on the fundamentals of what makes story work: characters with strong desires, growth over the course of an arc, obstacles and moral weakness that test the main character's resolve, and so on. So when I read John Truby's "Anatomy of Story," while I was hopeful for

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Hey, I'm back! Let's go back to basics with a concept I should have covered a long time ago: the want/need dichotomy. ...Okay, I've actually danced around it here and there in my other posts, but I think we should put it here in black and white. More importantly, it means I can ask my clients, "What is your Main Character's want/need," and they'll know what I mean.

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I'd like some help understanding the nature of Starlight Glimmer as a main character. Watching her episodes, I've had a lot of trouble divining critical aspects of her personality. (I suppose that's the nice way of saying I think she's bland and pointless. ) So if you could, I'd like for you to pick one of the following models and tell me what Starlight's characterization is through that.

Model 1: FAE Card

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I.

Say the words, and I am forgiven.

Say the words, and a thousand years will melt away like snow.

I come to you, crossing the River Styx on a raft made of burning tears,

backwards in time, color to black-and-white,

with nothing on my back but the vain hope of undoing my mistakes.

My heart, like a compass, points to you,

is pulled to you through my heavy chest.

I am dying, I am dead, a corpse walking.

I ask only for the words, and I can die without regret.

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Oh, sure, I could use a nice literary term like "cipher," but why not use the most inflammatory term I can think of? Let's talk about bland, faceless characters and how to give them the color and flair they need to be interesting characters.

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