So what can we conclude from this breakdown? Is it useful to know the personality types of your heroes before you write them? I think a ...

The Fifth and Final Group: Fun Lovers . Obviously this is a type most associated with comedies, but they can also be surprisingly effective...

Group C: Sensitive Types . These are some of the hardest characters to make sympathetic. Americans are hard-wired to hate losers. Of co...

If yesterday was about the underappreciated, that would make today’s group the justly-appreciated. It’s hard to write sympathetic bosses: ...

Group B in our survey: The Underappreciated Subtype #1: The unrewarded but talented worker surrounded by users :This is the most common ty...

I’ve broken down heroes by type before on this blog. Specifically, I sorted them out by job type into nine (and then eleven ) possible ca...

Title: Ronin Year: 1998 Director: John Frankenheimer Writers: Story by J. D. Zeik, Screenplay by Zeik and David Mamet (credited as “Ri...

“Hey, Matt, why didn’t you write any pages last month?” Those of you who keep an eye on the calendar to the right must have been pret...

So I finally finished “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and WOW. That may or may not be the greatest TV epic ever, but it certainly had the bes...

Title: Be Kind Rewind Year: 2008 Director: Michel Gondry Writers: Michel Gondry Stars: Mos Def, Jack Black, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Mel...

If you hear someone say, “You shouldn’t write an alien invasion movie because nobody’s making those these days…” then it’s time to write a...

Tomorrow: Content resumes!

Can anyone save us? Come back tomorrow...

This one is the cumulative conclusion of yesterday’s and three previous rules, as cited below…   I pointed out before that money is t...

Earlier this week, I talked about how Scott Z. Burns made The Informant! work by investing our interest in Damon’s character’s ethical viol...

Yet another rule complaining about a recent movie! ( 106 , 110 ) I’ve been a curmudgeonly moviegoer recently! Young Adult is a very ...

Title: The Informant! Year: 2009 Director: Steven Soderbergh Writer: Scott Z. Burns, based on the non-fiction book by Kurt Eichenwald Star...