Michael T. Starks

Category: Storytelling

  • Storytelling Rules

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    Many writers have documented rules, tips, tricks, and suggestions for new writers to improve their craft. Some of the books I recommend for this include Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat, Stephen King’s On Writing, Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, and The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. You can also find great advice from MasterClass.…

  • William Shakespeare

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    Is William Shakespeare the most extraordinary playwright the world has ever known? I’m tempted to say “yes”. And he has been one of my heroes for a long time. Unfortunately, I’m not able to recount the exact details of my relationship with Shakespeare. What follows is my best guess. In grade school, my class went…

  • The Unknown

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    We all tend to fear the unknown. I remember the first time I was in a lightning storm as a kid. It got very dark, and the rain got heavy. It seemed to happen fairly suddenly while I was walking home from school all alone. I was cold and getting wetter by the minute. I…

  • Victor Hugo

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    My all-time favorite fiction author is Victor Hugo. So, of course, he’s one of my heroes. While I can’t be certain, here’s how I think I found out about him. I didn’t learn about the musical version of Les Miserables until I was in college (probably in 1989). I initially listened to some of the…

  • Jack McDevitt

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    Let me begin by saying that Jack McDevitt is not my favorite author. He’s not even my favorite science fiction author. Still, he’s one of my heroes. Here’s why. He writes fascinating mystery stories that happen to take place in a well-realized future for humanity that I would like to see. Yes, I would like…

  • Robert McKee

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    I first became aware of Robert McKee when I read Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principals of Screenwriting. This book alone impressed me enough to consider him one of my heroes. Even as a kid, I wanted to understand stories. I wanted to be able to create stories at least somewhat similar to the…

  • “Not worth living”

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    A priest gave a homily during a funeral service today. He talked about the large number of people committing suicide daily. And he said that he agreed with them. He said, “With all of the suffering in this world, life is not worth living.” I found this repeated remark of his to be inappropriate and…

  • Steven Pressfield

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    Here is a post about another one of my heroes. Steven Pressfield has the distinction of introducing us to the personification of RESISTANCE. Resistance is the part of us that resists forward motion. I think the first Steven Pressfield book I read was The War of Art. The struggle to do creative work is real.…

  • I’m Harvey Milk

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    Last night, Karilyn and I experienced the pleasure of watching Mike Broemmel’s wonderful play I’m Harvey Milk. Ben Beasley did an excellent job in the title role. One of the things that impressed me about this play is that it really gave the audience an understanding of who Harvey Milk was BEFORE he became elected…

  • Greta Gerwig

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    This morning, I watched an interview about Greta Gerwig on YouTube. Here’s the link. She’s so amazing! And here’s the thing. Greta Gerwig is a relatively new director. I loved what she did with Lady Bird. I haven’t seen Little Women yet. Nevertheless, I am confident that I can look to Barbie to understand who…