tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033598682489350651.post5287900662612153495..comments2023-05-27T01:53:21.676-04:00Comments on Diane L. Major: What Comes Before Alpha?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033598682489350651.post-42224793800075973482015-06-04T20:36:52.634-04:002015-06-04T20:36:52.634-04:00Donna, my friend, YOU ARE THE GINCHIEST.
https://...Donna, my friend, YOU ARE THE GINCHIEST.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Ks_f5D3jU<br /><br />Brian, you're not half bad either! LOVE the cheese analogy. Though, being the cheesophile I am, I probably would buy that tray ... :)<br /><br />Thanks for coming by, y'all! Stay tuned for ... Janet Jackson, and yet more thoughts on clothes ...<br />DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033598682489350651.post-90369378313197679882015-06-04T19:39:35.552-04:002015-06-04T19:39:35.552-04:00Ah, the Alpha and Beta phases of testing. Oh, wai...Ah, the Alpha and Beta phases of testing. Oh, wait, I'm NOT at Nortel..., but honestly, you did remind me of those days.<br /><br />I like what Brian says above, about the pre-test phase, i.e., more like a sampling, or maybe "design." I like design first, and then you give a "sampling" of the design.<br /><br />I agree too, that with the early writing for me, it's conceptual (again, back to design). There's a lot of tearing down, and changing around, and the structure doesn't really exist yet. If this individual is willing to go it the long haul, it would be GREAT. You just have to be sure they don't get burned out on reading stuff too quick/too soon.<br /><br />(Thank you for what you said on JR's blog. I was feeling rather glum. XOXO)Donnaevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09026536210749494257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3033598682489350651.post-46562587926876447832015-06-02T21:40:56.905-04:002015-06-02T21:40:56.905-04:00Learning good storytelling, to me at least, comes ...Learning good storytelling, to me at least, comes from more than reading books.<br /><br />It comes from listening to good, well formed songs. It comes from poems that hit the right spot. Good storytelling is told around campfires or in long form jokes. It (dare I say it?) comes from movies and television series and all of those things that are a waste of a writers time as well.<br /><br />Now I realize, you can't write books if you don't know them. I think it is of the utmost importance to be well read if you want to be a writer, and well read in your genre. But we writers get so caught up in the rules that we occasionally forget to throw them out once in a while.<br /><br />Last year I read a book on writing a screenplay. I don't write screenplays, but I figured anything that helps me tell a better story is worthy of my time. Much like you, I am a panster and not big on the whole plotting piece, but what I found so interesting about reading a book about screenplays was exactly how much of it applied to storytelling in general.<br /><br />The first and most incredible thing that was illustrated in this book was what writing really is. Back in the day, when people went to movies with friends after reading showtimes in the paper, you had 3 sentences to sell your movie to people. That's it. You had to prove your movie was better than all the other movies, and better than going to the bowling alley or the bar or the club or than sitting on a hill and watching the stars, all in three sentences or less. <br /><br />It got me thinking a lot about what you're saying above.<br /><br />The writer drew the conclusion that you sell movie tickets to a lot more strangers than you do friends and family (if you're doing it right) and so he would come up with a one line pitch for whatever project he had and start market testing it in the line at the grocery store. He said "The less people wanted to listen to me, the more accurate the result." Because no one wants to be bothered, especially in NYC. I'm surprised he didn't get punched out a few times. But the concept, oh the concept, is brilliant. Like walking around with a sampling tray and shoving things into people's mouths and saying "Would you buy a tray of this cheese if it were $6.99?"<br /><br />This, in my humble opinion, is what comes before Alpha. This is, to me, what is missing from the process for so many writers. Because when we start to treat writing (even half-formed testing-the-waters writing) <b>as</b>... well... writing... we start to learn what it is we have. <br /><br />I take every opportunity to give feedback as if a product is finished for the sole intent of bringing to light, if only for a brief moment, exactly how long and winding the road ahead really is. Because if we're going to take the journey, we should probably have a general sense of the work it requires of us.<br /><br />I believe in the pre-alpha system because lots of other creatively-driven industries use it. It's market testing. It's a way to discover how the thing in your head comes across to the average Joe, because I hate to say it but Joe's the most important guy you know. <br /><br />He's the one buying your movie tickets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com