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Films, television series, and books ultimately come down to the same thing: the written story. Something that is beginning to annoy me in storytelling – particularly in film and television – is the use of flashbacks. To the best of my knowledge, JJ Abrams’ television series Lost popularised the use of flashbacks to introduce backstory. Lost has an ensemble cast of characters. In the two seasons I watched (before the constant baiting and switching turned me off), each episode would focus on somebody different. Throughout that episode, we’d get flashbacks about the character’s life before they got on the island. A younger, much-less cynical version of me enjoyed this –…
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This has been a lacklustre week in terms of productivity for a variety of reasons. One is just general busyness in everyday life – something I’m sure every writer has to navigate. There’s always work, household responsibilities, social obligations, and the list goes on. I always try to put some time aside every night to write, because I do believe writing – if you’re to be successful in finishing anything you begin – is about two things: routine and momentum. You build momentum, the writing comes easier – you think more about your story, possibilities start occurring to you, you look forward to getting back to it. You don’t build…