Thursday, March 11, 2010

All or Nothing?

Clicking around the web today I ran across this essay by Brian Hodge http://storytellersunplugged.com/blog/2010/03/09/leave-it-all-on-the-page It's a wonderful essay about writing a story without holding back, putting everything you have right there on the page for everyone to see.

Then I read "The Truth and All Its Ugly" by Kyle Minor over at Fifty-two Stories. http://www.fiftytwostories.com/?p=1149#more-1149 Damn. There it was, all laid out, everything Mr. Hodge talked about in his essay. The story is a simple father and son story but there's nothing simple about it. It's a sci-fi story, taking place in 2024, and yet, you could walk out on the street today and meet this man and his son. And in the end, Mr. Minor breaks your heart with the simple truth about life and how ugly it can be. Well done, once again, Mr. Minor.

Writing isn't just about putting words down on the page, its about creating life on the page, with living, breathing characters who make you laugh and cry all at the same time.

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