Re: How can screenwriters control pace? Any thoughts on unintentional slowness?
Agreed. However, after reading the book I can say it's certainly not written in a how-to format or this is what the xyz symbol in your dream means.
Not at all. It guides the reader to awareness of archetypal content much like reading produced screenplays helps a writer gain awareness of character development, theme, structure, et al.
It's important to point out Larsen takes Campbell's work on comparative mythology deeper into the realm of psychology. Yet neither Larsen or Campbell ever intended their books as instructional for fiction writers.
Yes, they both use examples of art and writing to identify how universal and personal myths rose to the consciousness of the creators of those works.
But neither said, nor implied, Hey writers -- you can reverse engineer these myths to write fiction.
And, since the STC template heavily echos Campbell's Hero's Journey, it's entirely possible that's where Snyder went wrong.
He deconstructed Campbell's Hero's Journey to create his template yet totally missed WHY these mythic components can be found in various scripts. As a result, he completely missed the boat on HOW Campbell's work can be of value to a writer.
The work of Larsen and Campbell helps us understand that our impulse to write this story and not that story rises from personal and universal myths embedded in the writer's own consciousness. And when the writer becomes aware of this they can dig deeper to write a more compelling story only they can tell. But their work in no way dictates that every script should follow the The Hero's Journey identified by Campbell. Quite the opposite.
They both essentially advise: Look to discover the myths that exist within you. The myths that drive your choices, your thoughts, your life. For the writer who can do this it opens conscious passageways to discover personal myths that can result in more compelling stories; stories that will more deeply resonate with their target market.
For example, we all know Hollywood keeps making big budget Super Hero movies because the huge Chinese market loves them. Is it any wonder why they love them? They live in a repressive society in the grip of state rule that limits their freedoms and access to information. The Super Hero owns his/her super powers and can do anything he/she wants to do. The Super Hero answers to no one.
Seems to me the Chinese like these films because they resonate with their own unexpressed, unexplored, unconscious myths centered around freedom, no? The question is, can writers of Super Hero scripts use this knowledge to write more compelling stories for their market? I say yes.
Originally posted by bioprofessor
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Not at all. It guides the reader to awareness of archetypal content much like reading produced screenplays helps a writer gain awareness of character development, theme, structure, et al.
It's important to point out Larsen takes Campbell's work on comparative mythology deeper into the realm of psychology. Yet neither Larsen or Campbell ever intended their books as instructional for fiction writers.
Yes, they both use examples of art and writing to identify how universal and personal myths rose to the consciousness of the creators of those works.
But neither said, nor implied, Hey writers -- you can reverse engineer these myths to write fiction.
And, since the STC template heavily echos Campbell's Hero's Journey, it's entirely possible that's where Snyder went wrong.
He deconstructed Campbell's Hero's Journey to create his template yet totally missed WHY these mythic components can be found in various scripts. As a result, he completely missed the boat on HOW Campbell's work can be of value to a writer.
The work of Larsen and Campbell helps us understand that our impulse to write this story and not that story rises from personal and universal myths embedded in the writer's own consciousness. And when the writer becomes aware of this they can dig deeper to write a more compelling story only they can tell. But their work in no way dictates that every script should follow the The Hero's Journey identified by Campbell. Quite the opposite.
They both essentially advise: Look to discover the myths that exist within you. The myths that drive your choices, your thoughts, your life. For the writer who can do this it opens conscious passageways to discover personal myths that can result in more compelling stories; stories that will more deeply resonate with their target market.
For example, we all know Hollywood keeps making big budget Super Hero movies because the huge Chinese market loves them. Is it any wonder why they love them? They live in a repressive society in the grip of state rule that limits their freedoms and access to information. The Super Hero owns his/her super powers and can do anything he/she wants to do. The Super Hero answers to no one.
Seems to me the Chinese like these films because they resonate with their own unexpressed, unexplored, unconscious myths centered around freedom, no? The question is, can writers of Super Hero scripts use this knowledge to write more compelling stories for their market? I say yes.
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