James Preston “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” We’ll come back to that in a minute. Story is important. What we do is important. My guess is you believe that or you wouldn't be reading this blog. I had that knowledge driven home one year on vacation. Welcome to another installment of […]

James Preston Once upon a time my wife and I were sitting up late at night, reading. She had a romance novel, I probably had something by Heinlein or Asimov or Andre Norton. Suddenly, she yelled, “Arrrrrgh!” Or maybe it was “Gaaaah!” And she threw the paperback across the room, bouncing it off the wall, scaring the cat, […]

James Preston Tips for doing Bad Things to Your Characters. As I write this I am watching an old episode of CSI. Ray Langston, (Laurence Fishburn) is testifying in the trial of a psychotic who stabbed him. It is an excruciating series of scenes, definitely not for the faint of heart. As a child when […]

"Disneyland! That's the answer." (Fiction 101 -- Drop your reader into the action immediately.) My wife and I went to Disneyland recently. The trip was fun, of course, but it was also a revelation. Suddenly, Nancy turned to me and said, "The essay you are working on for Writers in the Storm! This is it! […]

James Preston In Back to the Future, Marty McFly's mother's kid brother asks "What's a re-run?" Marty replies, "You'll find out." Pop quiz: What was on TV when Marty said that? I am old enough to remember that if I missed an episode of "77 Sunset Strip" (BTW if in your mind you heard the […]