Monday, April 30, 2007

On the plane, I was listening to Neil Gaiman read his Sheherezade story from Fragile Things. To go by his blog and his take on the famous storytelling wife, Neil depends on inspiration to visit him. Which she does a lot, to judge by his output. Me, I'm one of those blessed with few inspirations and a lot of analytical tools.

But the story of the 1001 Nights struck me because it's a metaphor for TV and its relationship with the audience. Every night, Sheherezade told a fantastic story ... and stopped at the moment where her king and husband would most want to know the outcome.

That way, he wouldn't cut off her head in the morning. Because if he did, he wouldn't find out how it turned out.

That's an act out.

Would your act outs prevent a homicidal king from chopping off your head in the morning? Is there a way you could twist or amp up your act out so that you get to keep your head?

Because the king could also tune to American Idol. And that Jordan Sparks sure does sing good.

Labels: act structure, Crafty TV Writing

3:52 PM

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