Wannabe writers, like me, spend a great deal of time looking for magic formulas. And people who sell books on writing oblige them.--Superman IIIKRYPTONITE . . . AN INTENSE HEAT FUSION OF:
PLUTONIUM . . . 15.08%
TANTALUM . . . 18.0%
XENON . . . 27.71%
PROMETHIUM . . . 24.02%
DIALUM . . . 10.62%
MERCURY . . . 4.08%
UNKNOWN . . . 0.57%
Don't get me wrong. Many of the books on writer are fantastic and they can teach you a great deal. Dwight Swain's Motivation-Reaction Unit is a good example of this. Sadly, you can still be away of the need for characterization, tension, the MRU, and the hero's journey and write a technically sound and throughly boring piece.
After all the study, there is still an unknown element in what makes a good story. Unlike Gus Gorman in Superman III, we can't just substitute tar...
Or can we...
Sorry, I was just on an odd tangent.
I think when it comes down to it, there are just some things that can't be explained easily. There may be some formula for producing that perfect piece, but it is probably much too complicated to easily state in a blog entry, magazine article, or book. All we can do is keep practicing.
