Hi, Alex Simmons here. I've taught 100s of aspiring and struggling writers how to overcome their fears and frustrations and create compelling plots, characters, and stories that appeal to a broader audience. Over the years, I've been honored to be a professional author (award-winner), writing coach/teacher, and consultant. I’ve written for many mainstream publishers, Marvel/DC/Archie Comics, and penned plays, interactive games, and video and animation scripts. And I’ve been a global speaker on empowering people through the arts. I have much to share, starting with my Simmons Says Newsletter.
YES, IT WAS A MISTAKE (Simmons Says #177 A)
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Simmons Says
Hi, Alex Simmons here. I've taught 100s of aspiring and struggling writers how to overcome their fears and frustrations and create compelling plots, characters, and stories that appeal to a broader audience. Over the years, I've been honored to be a professional author (award-winner), writing coach/teacher, and consultant. I’ve written for many mainstream publishers, Marvel/DC/Archie Comics, and penned plays, interactive games, and video and animation scripts. And I’ve been a global speaker on empowering people through the arts. I have much to share, starting with my Simmons Says Newsletter.
Welcome to my newsletter! One year, I determined to write a short story every month. I didn't promise to write a publishable short story, just a short story. Some people do this once a week, some every two weeks, and some every day. I challenged myself to write a short story once a month. With everything else I was working on, I would write one short story. How I set that up and met the challenge is another story. I'll tell you bits of it as we go along, but I now challenge you to write a...
Welcome to my newsletter! Opening Scenes are not just -- the story starts here. It's true, Reader. The beginning of a story is possibly the most important moment in any film or novel. Even nonfiction narratives rely on a writer’s ability to create an opening moment that stimulates the audience to turn the page or sit back and follow along in the film. How writers construct the opening scenes varies. But there are certain basic techniques that we all utilize. Here are three. Opening scenes...
Welcome to my newsletter! "How do you know when an idea is just too stupid?" You ever wondered about that Reader? Many students have asked me, how do you determine what's a stupid idea? How do you know when an idea is really, really dumb, crazy, pointless, and worthless? One of my favorite answers goes like this: Try to imagine now that someone comes to you with a jar, a glass jar. You can see in the jar that there's this sort of milky gelatos-like fluid sitting in there. It's not pretty in...