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Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

April 23, 2013

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time. This time, I’m doing something a bit different: one shot, no cuts. I figure what better way to explore the idea of moving on to new projects than to fully embrace the idea of letting go of a current one.

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 7 – Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

April 22, 2013

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front. A good outline lays the foundation for a story that honors the core of this rule: you must know your ending of your story so that you can be sure to support that ending with a well-structured beginning and middle. Vonnegut, too, knew what he was talking about when he said “Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible... Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves,…

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 6 – What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them.

April 19, 2013

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal? Meet my cat, Burrito, which I received as a gift from my caring girlfriend (now wife). I wasn’t expecting to own a cat. I had a certain lifestyle, with a set routine, and established boundaries. How did I handle this change? Watch and find out.

Week Four of Reading Harry Potter for Babies

April 19, 2013

Every year I raise money for March of Dimes, which is a foundation established to study the causes and develop cures for premature birth. This year, rather than simply beg friends and family for donations, I'm taking donations to read Harry Potter. More about this strange donation tactic at the full intro video here. In this video, I discuss my thoughts on the first 295 pages of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Well, well, well, the book has gotten much better. I never thought I’d say this, but ever since the unicorn scene, the book has been legitimately fun to read. Here’s hoping I can get the next $20 worth of donations to help me read the final 10 pages. If you think Harry Potter is a great series, and feel that I should read it, please consider donating to March of Dimes by visiting https://calebjross.com/potterbaby. This link takes…

I get naked with this book! A review of The Cost of Living (a novel) by Rob Roberge

April 16, 2013

The Cost of Living will easily make my top 10 of 2013 list. I've read all of Roberge’s work, all that I’m aware of (Drive [novel], More than they Could Chew [novel], Working Backwards from the Worst Moment of My Life [stories]) and I’d read anything else in the future. He’s one of my favorite writers, so you know, having the history I do, you can trust my words. To read The Cost of Living is to read the rock and roll story that everyone’s always wanted, but could never find; there’s too much glitter and groupies, too much ego in other rock and roll stories. With The Cost of Living, you’re forced to deal with, and ultimately fall in love with, a life that’s been destroyed by the stage. Every rock and roll story you've read before will seem cliche compared to The Cost of Living. Buy the book:…

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 5 – Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

April 13, 2013

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar’s 22 Rules for Storytelling (the full list can be found here). Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week. Rule #5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free. There are two classic pieces of writing advice that support this storytelling rule: The first, from William Faulkner, author of The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, goes: “In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” meaning you must get rid of those elements of your story that serve your ego rather than the story. The second, from Anton Chekhov, author of countless stories, plays, and novellas, goes: "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it."…

4 Terrible Father/Son Bonding Moments

April 9, 2013

I'll never win father of the year. But I won’t win worst father of the year, either. Though, these guys might. Here I look at four father/son bonding moments which I would say are some of the worst. Though, I reserve the right to happen upon some crazy sex and murder fest to take over one of these spots. Bad Father/Son Bonding #1: In late 2012 in Albuquerque NM, a father and son team, armed only with a wheelchair were caught shoplifting. Bad Father/Son Bonding #2: In October 2012, a father and his 9-year old son were caught on tape mocking a young girl’s cerebral palsy. Bad Father/Son Bonding #3: In 2009 in Nottingham, England a man attempted to solicit a prostitute to take his 14-year old son’s virginity. Bad Father/Son Bonding #4: In 2011 a father and son went fishing in the Gulf of Mexico in a kayak. They…