Writing Without Rules: Deep Dives

Writing Without Rules: Deep Dives

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‘Sinners’ and the Sturdiest Plot Structure Known to Man
‘Sinners’ does a lot of things right. One of the most important is its choice to put the band back together.
‘Squid Game’ Season 3: It’s All Your Fault
This grim and somewhat silly show works because it understands that everything that happens should be due to characters making decisions.
The Fine Art of the Bullshit Dream Sequence
There has to be a better way to pad out your stories.
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‘Doctor Who’ and The Exposition Machine
Doctor Who has always been an exposition factory, but boy howdy things got out of hand.
1
‘Stick’: Several Cliches Standing on Each Other’s Shoulders, Wearing a Trenchcoat
Have you seen a redemptive sports story ever in your life? Whatever you liked about that, you’ll find it somewhere in Stick.
3

June 2025

‘Mountainhead’ and Weightless Storytelling
This enjoyable romp with awful billionaires (and one half-billionaire) would be more effective with a little more chaos.
2
‘Sirens’ Sets Its Sights Too High
This limited series confection on Netflix has ambition, and that is its undoing.
3
‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ Loses the Thread
Sometimes writers get distracted by shiny things just like kittens.
3
‘Hacks’ and the Character Loop
The show loves this trope so much it just keeps doing it.

May 2025

© 2025 Jeff Somers
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