tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post2785484270777736455..comments2023-09-23T04:56:51.617-07:00Comments on Forensics & Faith: Rules, Rules, Rules--Starting With Action~ Brandilyn Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04771812607327238979noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-26683804165789172042008-03-10T20:50:00.000-07:002008-03-10T20:50:00.000-07:00Thanks so much, Brandilyn. I will definitely be lo...Thanks so much, Brandilyn. I will definitely be looking up your archives lessons on this subject. Guess I should have done that already. :) <BR/><BR/>Have a great day.Lianne Lopeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02267078942292204376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-21975229709515189042008-03-10T20:42:00.000-07:002008-03-10T20:42:00.000-07:00I wanted to throw in a comment that I'm really enj...I wanted to throw in a comment that I'm really enjoying this series, and it is good to see you back in the teaching vein. We hear these "rules", and people decry them at times, but the value in you showing us how the rules work is very practical.<BR/><BR/>I can't usually comment because I'm reading this at 5:20 am while tying my shoes getting ready to catch the work bus - but it is the first thing I open on the web each day!Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18363518142334125056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-51402760971523366682008-03-10T08:26:00.000-07:002008-03-10T08:26:00.000-07:00One suggestion I’ve seen is to write the story, th...One suggestion I’ve seen is to write the story, then go back and chop off the first chapter. If there’s anything there that the story can’t do without then work it into some later sections. Stereotypes can be helpful in acclimating the reader and interesting when the reader learns later that the character doesn’t match the stereotype, but there is more to this than the question of how to set the scene for the reader.<BR/><BR/>Many people confuse beginning in the middle of the action with beginning in the middle of the story. One of my favorite examples of beginning with action is the opening scene of Men in Black. The audience gets to see a highway from a bug’s point of view, until he goes splat on a windshield. The bug gives context to the villain, and the opening action is exciting, but it is just part of the setup for the story.<BR/><BR/>The beginning of a story tells the reader the state of the characters before transition begins to occur. It introduces the problem. An example, a rich man who has everything, except he has no children. The action at the beginning, such as the man yelling at his neighbor’s kids for being too loud, will help to show that this is a real problem, but this action is different from the action in the middle of the story where he tries to find someone to take his nieces after his brother dies. It is also different from the finale in which the man takes action to get his nieces back after he thinks he has lost them.Timothy Fishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06554064732811895577noreply@blogger.com