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Books by D.J. Butler
Monthly Archives: March 2011
A Good Opening (2)
This is not my picture. It is the opening frame (post-prologue) of the Joss Whedon comic book Fray, which is (ring high concept gong) Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but cyberpunk. This is a great opening frame, and worth emulating in … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write
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Laugh When the Characters Fall Down
… “Tomorrow night you plan to take your disgusting little harp-plucker to see – and murder – an important person. As you said in my drawing room on the night you murdered me, a ‘very significant person’. Tell me now … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Writing Sample
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High Concept
High concept is a short-hand way of describing any writing project designed to leverage vividly off existing projects with which the audience is familiar. I associate it particularly with Hollywood producers, but I’ve seen it used plenty by people in … Continue reading
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Recycle!
I own a small home recording studio (the core of my setup is a Tascam 2488 Mk ii, for those who follow these things) and I write and record songs. A couple of years ago, I recorded an album of … Continue reading
Posted in Song
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It’s Sunday
I’ve got a new religion. I wrote this song originally thinking it would be posted on Facebook, and the lyrics referred to John Rodat. Then my friend John Stukel left our common employer, and I swapped in his name instead … Continue reading
Posted in Song
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Other Drivers
Q. My plot is not strong enough to carry a reader through to the end of the book. Also, my setting is weak. And my characters, uh, well… So, can my story be driven by something else besides those three? … Continue reading
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Laugh When the Characters Joke
“Why, gentlemen, what have we here?” Cathy said, holding a small pouch. “It appears that the Prince travels armed with a pistol and a bag of shot.” “Is it by any chance a half inch bore, ma’am?” Sir William asked … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Writing Sample
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When Plot Takes the Wheel
So what are some examples of plot-driven books? Thrillers and mysteries tend to be plot-driven (meaning, it isn’t the setting or the characters that keep you reading to the end of the book; you turn the pages to find out … Continue reading
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Presenting E.J. Patten
Eric Patten, one of my fellow Story Monkeys, will be published this fall. His first book is an epic fantasy-horror for middle readers entitled Return to Exile, and you can see the cover art (a nice piece by John Rocco, … Continue reading
Posted in Story Monkeys
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Laugh at the Characters
They were approaching the Hulks, and Bill squinted to get a better look. There were six of them, large sailing ships that after their years of service had been brought through the deeper-dredged channels of the … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Writing Sample
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