Hi everybody! My course, The Tools (Not Rules) of Story Structure, is back and bigger than ever! Yes, it's about structure, but more than anything it's about what your story really means and how it goes about meaning it! For more info, check out the Irish Writers Centre and their list of courses!

I understand that film is a director's medium, and I have no problem with that (he says, gritting his teeth). But why is it that when you Google a film, you only see the screenwriter listed on the search page if it's the director? If even then? Screenwriting is HARD!

With every passing year, those sudoku puzzle collections they sell in hospital shops look more and more like a damn good time.

What was the point in those hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution if I'm still too stupid to realise I need to drink water?

The @imirt.bsky.social Steam Curator List is so close to 600 followers! All follows and shares help Irish game devs! Please and thank you. 😊 #speirghorm #irishgamedev #speirgorm #indiedev #gamedev #irishcreatives #indiegame store.steampowered.com/curator/4145...

Can't talk now everybody, I've got a class to teach! ... In October / November... Tickets available at irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/the-... #screenwriting #storystructure

I realise I might literally be the last buffalo here, and she doesn't always hit for me, but man #taylorswift knows a thing or two about storytelling. I've been listening (a lot / too much?) to Anti-Hero — a great pure pop song — and I've become a little obsessed with this verse:

One of my favourite things about Galway is that on a sunny day, Shop St is filled with buskers — of all ages — performing music, and passers by — also of all ages — stopping, listening, and recording on their phones to remember their time in Galway or the performance itself.

#FinalFantasyVIIRebirth did some very complicated things amazingly well... and got the story very wrong. The single biggest issue I have with it is the single biggest issue I have with a lot of stories these days: the writers thought more about their audience than their characters...

If you want to figure out what a story is really "about", there's a go-to question. When you look at the beginning and at the end, how has the protagonist and their world changed? #MulhollandDrive begins with Diane recalling her glory days of being chosen — looking radiant under the spotlight...

#Thelmaandlouise is the best go-to example I know of how to stop a long Act II from feeling flat or shapeless. Most 2nd acts have 4 stages. You can call them a bunch of things. The problem with most screenwriting books / theories (in my view) is that they focus on plot or external stakes...

Anyone else ever notice that #2001:ASpaceOdyssey DOESN'T start with Thus Spoke Zarathustra and the planets? It actually opens on black with the Star Gate music playing. I think this is because the film itself aims to send its audience on the journey #Bowman goes on in its final act. Let me explain!

Listen, I know this is a bit of a weird one... but I think the best sequel to the original #StarWars trilogy was... #BackToTheFuture. The reason I believe this admittedly insane thing is that the prequel trilogy was just not as good sadly, and once George Lucas sold it, Star Wars lost its soul.

#thelordoftherings: The #Fellowship of the Ring has a classic 5-act structure! Act I: Bilbo and Frodo in the Shire Act II: Running from Wraiths Act III: Rivendell and the formation of the Fellowship Act IV: The Mines of Moria and Lothlorian Act V: The River, and the dissoution of the Fellowship

I've a theory: in #thelastofus, Joel (and humanity) and the cordyceps are alike: 1) they are violent and paranoid. 2) they both spread their sense of self. The cordyceps does this via infection. Joel does it via possessive, protective love.

Hi bsky! I'm a story consultant/structure nerd. I've a podcast on how films use story principles (markoveranalysesfilm.buzzsprout.com) & I'm starting a YT channel on how video games do the same. Suggestions for films/games that NEED to be overanalysed, hit me up! #film #videogames #filmanalysis