Stories of Suspense with a Sense of Humor
Our world is shaped by the stories people tell. A good story can change the world.
Growing up, there were a couple of years during which I didn’t have close friends in my neighborhood. It started when Wayne B. moved away just before Kindergarten, and there weren’t any boys my age. There were plenty of kids–a couple of girls my age, a few younger kids, and then a ton of kids … Read more
Continuing my earlier post regarding the Five Degrees of Jokes, here now is a brief discussion of second degree jokes. Second degree jokes juxtapose the sacred with the profane. This is fairly easy to explain because it can be shocking, and the shock to the system is what raises tension and elicits laughter. If the … Read more
But it’s the anger and frustration that ripples through the holiday crowds that truly unites us as a people.
The NYC Midnight Madness screenwriting contest (nycmidnight.com) challenges contestants to write a five page script in 48 hours of an assigned genre using an assigned location. I really get a charge out of this format because I imagine that professional writing assignments would be in the same vein. What helped me for the most recent … Read more
I saw “Due Date” and I knew going in that it was basically like “Plane, Trains, and Automobiles” or “Midnight Run.” Those movies I love. I didn’t love “Due Date” but I can see how you might. I laugh at everything that John Candy does, and I would have Deniro’s children if I could. So … Read more