We said in last week’s post that an extremely useful principle of storytelling is “Get to ‘I love you’.” Meaning structure the novel or movie so that two clashing opposite or unlikely people move from indifference to each other (or outright hostility) to that great moment when they can look in each other’s eyes and say, “I love you.”

One of the principles I (sometimes) use in structuring a story is: Get to “I love you.”

My friend Paul is writing a cop novel. He’s never written anything so ambitious before; he’s in unknown territory, over his head. Even scarier for him, his story is coming out very dark.  “I mean twisted, weird-dark,” he says. “So dark it’s scaring me.”

The Fifth Rule of the Artist’s Journey is:

The Fourth Rule of the Artist’s Journey is:

The Third Rule of the Artist’s Journey is:

The Second Rule of Artist’s Journey is this:

The First Rule of Artist’s Journey is this: However hard you think it will be, the reality is ten times harder.

When we embark on the artist’s journey, we take control of our lives.

Why are so many gay people artists? Because their sexual orientation (within the context of the fears and prejudices of contemporary mainstream society) has forced them to come to grips with an identity that clashes head-on with the norm.