Blood
tragedies. Atonement. Harry Potter.
I, Robot. Ironman. Hubris.
The 13th Warrior. The scariest
woman in all literature. The Hobbit.
Dudley
Dooright. 5 Stages of
the Hero . . . and the Monster. Jurassic Park, in all its iterations.
What does this
oddly-matched list have in common?
All have origins
with the ancient Greeks and Romans.
The first
writers developed techniques to influence their audiences. Through an early look at what worked and what
didn’t, they laid the foundation for writers today. Many techniques of these old geeky Greeks are
still in use, re-packaged as glittery infographics and Wham-Pow webinars,
three-point seminars and exclusive insights to Buy Now!
Old Geeky Greeks: Write Stories with Ancient
Techniques presents techniques such as the Blood Tragedy and dulce et utile in a clear, organized method for writers who want to write
rather than invest hours getting three snippets of information.
Chapters in OGG cover understanding characters to
the five stages that established the modern protagonist from the ancient hero.
Aristotle’s
requirements for plot precede a survey of the oldest plot formula, the Blood
(or Revenge) Tragedy.
Concepts such
as in medias res and dulce et utile can help writers solve
sticky problems and develop new ideas.
Old Geeky
Greeks (and Romans) tried to understand the writing sense that emerged from the
chaos. They looked at successful plays
and other story-telling methods to determine what influenced the audience.
Which
characters were still talked about weeks and months after a performance? Which play structures failed—and which were
consistently winners? Which ideas helped
writers develop their celebrated writings?
Writers today
are still searching for the answers to these questions.
The bright
minds of Classical Antiquity first explored these questions, and their answers
are applicable in the age of the internet, open-source software, special
effects, and infographics.
Aristotle,
Seneca, Plato, Horace, and many other ancient geeks have their ideas matched to
Harry Potter, Avatar, Last of the Mohicans, and Shakespeare.
Whether we’re
writing novels or plays, blogs or non-fiction, poems and songs, Old Geeky Greeks is a seminar in 28,000
words.
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