The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. To do this Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. Publication history[edit] “Gozzi maintained that there can be but thirty-six tragic situations. This list was published in a book of the same name, which contains extended explanations and examples. The list is popularized as an aid for writers, but it is also used by dramatists, storytellers and many others. The 36 situations[edit] Each situation is stated, then followed by the necessary elements for each situation and a brief description. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit]
100 Exquisite Adjectives By Mark Nichol Adjectives — descriptive words that modify nouns — often come under fire for their cluttering quality, but often it’s quality, not quantity, that is the issue. Plenty of tired adjectives are available to spoil a good sentence, but when you find just the right word for the job, enrichment ensues. Practice precision when you select words. Subscribe to Receive our Articles and Exercises via Email You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed! 21 Responses to “100 Exquisite Adjectives” Rebecca Fantastic list! How To Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | More… Here’s what a few folks have said about it: “Brilliant and real and true.” Read an excerpt below… Tags: steal like an artist
25 Things You Should Know About Word Choice 1. A Series Of Word Choices Here’s why this matters: because both writing and storytelling comprise, at the most basic level, a series of word choices. Words are the building blocks of what we do. They are the atoms of our elements. They are the eggs in our omelets. 2. Words are like LEGO bricks: the more we add, the more we define the reality of our playset. 3. You know that game — “Oh, you’re cold, colder, colder — oh! 4. Think of it like a different game, perhaps: you’re trying to say as much as possible with as few words as you can muster. 5. Finding the perfect word is as likely as finding a downy-soft unicorn with a pearlescent horn riding a skateboard made from the bones of your many enemies. 6. For every right word, you have an infinity of wrong ones. 7. You might use a word that either oversteps or fails to meet the idea you hope to present. 8. Remember how I said earlier that words are like LEGO, blah blah blah help define reality yadda yadda poop noise? 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
DarkCopy - Simple, full screen text editing Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo The sentence's meaning becomes clearer when it's understood that it uses three meanings of the word buffalo: the city of Buffalo, New York, the somewhat uncommon verb "to buffalo" (meaning "to bully or intimidate"), as well as the animal buffalo. When the punctuation and grammar are expanded, the sentence could read as follows: "Buffalo buffalo that Buffalo buffalo buffalo, buffalo Buffalo buffalo." The meaning becomes even clearer when synonyms are used: "Buffalo bison that other Buffalo bison bully, themselves bully Buffalo bison." Sentence construction Bison engaged in a contest of dominance. A comic explaining the concept The sentence is unpunctuated and uses three different readings of the word "buffalo". Marking each "buffalo" with its use as shown above gives: Buffaloa buffalon Buffaloa buffalon buffalov buffalov Buffaloa buffalon. "New York bison New York bison bully, bully New York bison", or:"New York bison whom other New York bison bully, themselves bully New York bison". Usage
My World and Welcome... Funny Pages: Handy Latin Phrases - StumbleUpon Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat. It's not the heat, it's the humidity. Di! Ecce hora! Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre? Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est. Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare. Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris. Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari? (At a barbeque) Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri? Sona si Latine loqueris. Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes If you can read this you're over-educated Vidi Vici Veni I saw, I conquered, I came Vacca foeda Stupid cow Mihi ignosce. Raptus regaliter Royally screwed Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes! Gramen artificiosum odi. Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione. Noli me vocare, ego te vocabo. Nullo metro compositum est. Non curo. Fac ut gaudeam. Visne saltare? Re vera, potas bene. Radix lecti Couch potato O!
How To Create Deep & Compelling Magic Item Backgrounds In Just 60 Seconds Image via Wikipedia Give your magic item a quick history. Then use the history to tie a whole bunch of things together that will make you look like a genius. We’ll get into genius part in a sec, but let’s first create a simple background that you can do in just 60 seconds. To flesh out your item’s lore fast, give four questions a one line answer each: Lore Question #1: Origin Story Who made the item and why? We’re dealing with how the item came into existence. I’ve assumed the item was crafted on purpose by someone or some thing, but that need not be the case. Origin Ideas Some ideas for why the item came into existence: Date Stamp Next, give the item a date stamp. For example, is the item ancient or new? If you have a campaign management information system, like I do for my campaigns using My Info, then a date stamp also helps you log the item into it. Example origins: Created by Servis, a humble village priest, to help protect his northern community from orcs 53 years ago. Loot or Possession?
Story Starters & Idea Generators One of the best ways to break through writer's block or stretch your writing skills is to pick a story starter and just start writing. Suggestions on how to use each generator are included with the generator. Caveat: There's always a temptation to keep looking for the "perfect" idea, but then you need to ask yourself...are you really just trying to avoid writing? Problem: You can't get a story started Solution: Archetype's Plot Scenario Generator What it is: This generator provides you with the event that gets the story rolling and a secondary conflict to keep you going! Problem: Your characters lack depth Solution: Archetype's Character Generator What it is: A quick character sketch filled with the kinds of little details that makes stories engaging: character gender, cardinal traits, weaknesses, and most prized possession. Problem: Your characters don't feel like "real" people Solution: Archetype's Everyday Problems Generator Looking for something you don't see? Getting Yourself Started
Kurt Vonnegut -- troubling.info Eight rules for writing fiction: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. -- Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Kurt Vonnegut: How to Write with Style