Writing Excuses this week covers a topic that I find very, very interesting. I had this conversation informally with Lou in a bar and it blew my mind. This week, on writing excuses, we get him to sit down and talk in depth about the Hollywood Formula.
Lou Anders, Hugo-winning editorial director from Pyr books, joins Mary, Dan, and Howard at Dragon*Con for a discussion of the Hollywood Formula. Lou shared this with Mary originally, and she used it to tighten up some of her work. It’s useful enough that we decided to invite Lou onto the ‘cast to share it with everybody else, too.
The formula centers around three characters – the protagonist, the antagonist, and the relationship character. Lou explains how these terms have, in this formula, different meanings than we might be accustomed to.
Among the things that we learn: The Dark Knight has an antagonist none of us could guess, Die Hard and Stargate are third-act movies, and Howard is criminally ignorant of classic cinema.
via Writing Excuses 6.18: Hollywood Formula » Writing Excuses.
Speaking of Dragon*Con…
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/310316_2257866081609_1097081420_32654687_6699028_n.jpg
As the caption states: “Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo-winning author, and some goofy giant fangirl of hers.”
Yay! I should have gotten a photo of your Cassie doll! I was kicking myself after we parted.
Oh, no problem! I’ll take her outside later and get her playing with Vivi. 🙂