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Welcome to my blog! Use this space to soak up writing tips or to get the skinny on Vancouver's theatre scene. Just click the links on the right. (Bet you knew that already.)
Three-Act Template
When I work on novels and screenplays, I often work with the three-act structure. It's a useful tool that can really help to focus and enliven your story. Check out the template below and feel free to apply it to your work. If the template doesn't make complete sense...
Re:Union at Pacific Theatre
The best show in town right now is Re: Union at Pacific Theatre. Amazingly, it's playwright Sean Devine's first produced play. He based it on a historical incident from 1965, in which a young Quaker protesting American involvement in the Vietnam War, burned himself to...
Three-act basics
Substantive editors such as myself help writers to structure their stories. For full-length manuscripts, I work a lot with a three-act model. The three-act model breaks down pretty simply. In Act 1, we find out what the ordinary world of the protagonist (the hero) is...
On Criticism
A few years ago, I was talking with a local director in a theatre lobby. I had recently given a show of his a mixed review and, as we spoke, he became so enraged that I braced myself for a blow to the head. He and I had already had an extended and difficult...
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Drop a line to colinthomas@telus.net.
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