Story on the Brain

I think that fiction began articulating this well in the 50s and 60s, though I could be convinced it started earlier with the aftermath of WWII, or even WWI. I'll probably talk about alienation elsewhere, but this is about outsiders, particularly found family groups of outsiders, particularly in cult television series. Outsider status is fascinating because everyone feels like an outsider while also fearing that more than just about anything, to the point that I suspect it has some kind of survival value to us as a species. Don't go off on your own! It's dangerous! Stay with the group where it's safe! It's so pervasive as a fear that it's easy to exploit, also. Threaten exclusion and you win. In this episode I consider a lot of cult television shows in the context of the S.E. Hinton novel The Outsiders , the grandparent of them all. I also get into frontier thinking and all that American obsession with being the outlaw, not the establishment. Lots of good materi...

I love this show! Another beautiful loser! Charlie has to lose at the end of each episode so she has to move on to the next place. I have a lot to say about the show Poker Face. Some of it is structural. Some of it is character. Some of it is just viewing experience. Let's start with what works. Charlie! Highly engaging, empathetic, relatable, kind, cares about her friends, even the new ones she just met. This is so appealing. She picks up an obnoxious stray dog that won't stop barking at her. She befriends the obnoxious drummer boy who the rest of the band can't stand and kick out. She likes the old anarchist ladies who are kind of dicks to everyone. She's such a great character! She stops and talks to everyone along the way, people someone else might skip over or be rude to, such that this is a constant feature of solving her story of the week. She befriends everyone! I love her. Also she sounds exactly like Marge Simpson. I don't know what to do with that inform...

I'm looking at story engine here in terms of the element that drives a series, whether TV or novel. For example, in the TV show Wonderfalls , there are little animal tchotchkes that give Jaye obscure orders about how to help someone. She has to help the person to make the animals shut up and leave her alone. That engine drives the whole show. So if I'm developing an idea for a series, what should I use as a story engine?  I get into all sorts of series here, from procedurals to cozy mystery novels. I think I might have solved my series idea, what with how I'm not in a sensible position to be writing a TV pilot these days. I mean. But what should I do with it? I think I've got a workable plan now. Also working on finishing the novel draft OMG. I have a couple of issues I have to solve. It would help if I would stop cutting down trees and injuring myself. Go sit down and write your book! Sacred cheese of life!