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Wildman Reviews Dekker's Latest for thefish.com
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In "The Bride Collector," Best-selling author Ted Dekker explores the line between genius and insanity through the eyes of a brilliant serial killer who thinks he's working for God.

Read more in my latest review for thefish.com

Filed under: culture links reviews thefish
 

On location in Plano

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Every year, a group of adoptive parents and birth moms reunite at Arbor Hill Nature Preserve. Today, the Phosphorus crew captures their stories for an upcoming promo video for AdoptionWorks. Good shoot, heartwarming stories & fun crew = a great event.

 

It's not another vampire novel: Wildman reviews Patterson's "Fang" for thefish.com

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Don't judge this book by it's cover. It's not another teen vampire novel. It's something parents, teachers and teens can agree on. And, it's the subject of my latest review for thefish.com. 


 

 

Filed under: culture links reviews thefish
 

At work with Kidworks

KidWorks is a safe, supportive place for children who have experienced the divorce of their parents and its consequences. In the eight-week program provided without charge at KidWorks, children and their parents can share their experiences and express their feelings through play, drama, art and other creative activities under the supervision of trained, caring listeners. More at christian-works.org

Filed under: Kidworks documentary non-profit stories video
 

The Anatomy of a Story
Whether you're reading a book or writing one. Whether you're watching a movie, a commercial, or viewing a magazine; 

you are experiencing Story and you might not even know it.
 
I've been studying story for the past 8 years now. How to build them, interpret them, transfer them, capture and retell them, and how to assess their potential emotional impact on an audience. I'm still not very good at any of those things...but I have seen and told a tale or two.

The past couple of weeks I've been reading the Old Testament in large chunks. No, it's not because I'm spiritual. It's because I'm playing catch-up on all the semester end projects I should have been working on since October.(It's amazing what procrastination can do for your time in the Bible when you're in seminary.)

Anyway, reading it in large sections give you a great bird's-eye view of the major themes and movements. Usually when you read the Bible, you get bogged down in the details. You can't see the forest for the trees... You can't see the point for the facts.

In the middle of all this reading, I had an epiphany about Story. From a TV ad to a feature news story, to a travel magazine article, to the "greatest story ever told," I'm seeing a simple pattern in the little stories that make up Story. It's kind of a meta script for how good stories are put together in a way that keeps us interested, engages emotions and provokes response.

Others have already seen this pattern, this meta script for assembling good stories I'm sure...but I'm calling it:

Anatomy of Story

1. A hope is held.
2. A problem interferes.
3. The problem deepens.
4. The hope is revived.
5. The hope is realized.

Try putting the stories you come across through this filter. Does it work?

Filed under: culture perspectives stories
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