The Collected Writings

The following document is a personal collection of Writing Advice and mechanics that I have collected from years of trying to understand how storytellers mechanically craft stories. For personal use, I have removed written citations, to condense the full document; I have added links in leu of written citation. For example, the first advice ' Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. ' includes a link that reveals that it is one of the lessons of Kurt Vonnegut. Any advice that is without a link is a personal supposition. I do not mis-credit anything in this document. Last Updated June 4, 2015 Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY - 'How does it feel to be those guys ' . The effective use of silence... In music and everything else. Character Building: You admire a character for trying more than for their suc...

On the Assassination of JFK By Cameron Byerly July 4, 2016 I guarded lives for several years. More accurately, I was a lifeguard. I managed chlorine levels and provided an atmosphere of safety. The hours often burned, so I would cool in the water. And no matter how many years I’d do this, or how refreshing the result, I would think the same words every time the water rose over my chest. ‘Why would I do this to myself?’ The question has become a close friend. Self-inflicted discomfort always summons this same reaction. In the specific case of jumping in a pool, the question of ‘why’ has an easy answer. In moments of pure reaction, when all thought is the doctor’s needle in the arm, these words are a knee-jerk reaction to life’s many mallets. So when watching the footage of John F. Kennedy’s assassination again during my sunny vacation days, I have to properly answer this question. Something so horrid warrants a hefty excuse. JFK’s death was a captivating historic ...