The Writer Emergency Pack

Screenwriter John August created this delightful card deck, a tool for writers to confront and break up difficulties in their stories. Of all the writer's tools I've come across, it's one of the few I find myself using consistently.
"The Writer Emergency Pack" at Amazon.com: www.amazon.com/dp/B00R6ZLIOY
Opening music: "Crystal City" by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
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[@jonlittle5032]

"Talk it out" - Heat. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro take time out to talk it out in a dinner. All Talk. All Show. No Tell. Sets up the Climax and, more importantly, the Resolution. It is one of the best scenes in movie history. Arguably, the Resolution is the only scene better.

[@Infinimata]

Great example!

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

I wonder if what makes this so effective is it removes some of our neurotic self-consciousness as writers and allows us to see our ideas afar and judge as readers. We become our own anticipated readers, branching and pruning on the basis of taste and desire. Love this!

[@Infinimata]

I think you're right - it takes you out of your own canned responses for not only what solutions you want to use but even what problems you actually have. John Cage (I plan to talk about him in future videos) was a big fan of letting random operations show us what we couldn't see because our egos got in the way.