39. Common Mistakes that Writers Make: Passive Objectives & Flawed Mythologies

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:     

On Thanksgiving 2020, one of the things we can be grateful for is knowledge that helps us to maximize our time and create the best first draft possible. To that end, Zena shares two major writing mistakes that she's been seeing lately in client work in the hopes that those listening will be able to correct these mistakes in their own projects before they get too far into it.

Major mistake 1: Not giving the main character an active objective, but inadvertently giving them a passive one. This happens when other characters solve problems that the main character should solve, or when the main character is simply reactive and fails to drive the action of the story.

Major mistake 2: Not thinking through the "mythology" of the story so that you can have clear, "concrete" evidence/logic/goals, and instead having abstract or nebulous evidence, logic or goals.

UP NEXT

We will cover 4 more major mistakes that writers commonly make, and the week after that, we will address some of the biggest A-Ha moments that Zena has ever had as a writer and an Artist, and how this transformed her life and writing.

QUESTIONS OR TOPIC REQUESTS? 

If you have a question about this or any other episode, or if you have a specific topic that you would like Zena to address, click on the link below to leave a voicemail recording with your problem, question, or issue.

https://www.speakpipe.com/ZenaDellLowe

SPECIAL THANKS

The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe would like to thank composer Carla Patullo for the original music she graciously permits us to use in the intro and outro of this podcast. To find out more about this amazing talent, go to  www.carlapatullo.com

Tags: Common Mistakes, Artist, Artists, Writing tips, Writing Advice, Writing Podcast, Crafting a Story, Writers, Writer, Author, Novelist, Screenwriter, Story, Storytelling, Storytellers, Zena Dell Lowe, Mission Ranch Films, The Storyteller's Mission, The Mission with Zena Dell Lowe