What’s the Story?
Mankind’s first recordings of communication came in the form of cave paintings. Long before written language was commonly read, people shared their ideas through pictures. Often simplified to key symbols, we still see remnants of this communication today: automobile emblems, the Nike “wing” graphic, the Golden Arches. These images elicit a general thought or emotion from us.
[read_more text="Read more" title="Read more" url="http://www.amyatwell.com/art-as-story/" align="left"]This past week my husband and I got serious about our training for this half-marathon. We tied on our shoes and headed onto the streets of our local neighborhood.
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Yesterday marked the first anniversary for the release of my self-published historical romance, AMBERSLEY. I try not to make a habit of hawking my own books on this blog, but I do want to mark this occasion and share some statistics that might be of help to other writers who are exploring the possibility of self-publishing their work.
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International director of mystery. Absolute master of suspense. Loved his heroines blonde, cool and courageous. Seriously, is there anyone here who has not seen a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock?
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Cinderella. Snow White. Sleeping Beauty. Need I say more? Fairy tales have endured for generations. Their story structure continues to inspire, intrigue and excite us.
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I may be one of the few people who view stand-up comedy as an art form. It’s funny—I think we all agree on that. But stand-up has roots that grow deeply into history. The court jesters and troubadours dealt in comedy. Tales of humor and mirth. Even as children, one of the early social skills we develop is understanding jokes. Later, we even learn to tell them.
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Many story-lovers will agree that they like their characters “flawed.” Perfection is, well,annoying to read about. Heroines tend to not quite fit the social norm, and heroes often desperately need to be redeemed in some way. But I’m fascinated with the number of ‘addictive’ personalities that have cropped up in popular stories.
[read_more text="Read more" title="Read more" url="http://www.amyatwell.com/addictive-characters/" align="left"]I’ve signed up to participate in a half-marathon at Walt Disney World in January 2013. Join me on Wednesdays as I discuss my preparations over the next 6 months.
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Weigh in on what digital ereader devices you own or which ones you covet. I’m looking for advice.
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I love a good surprise. Sometimes the reader or audience is in on the secret, while it’s kept from other characters. Twists and surprises make for a memorable story.
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