Archive - Writing Without Rules: Deep Dives

‘Doctor Who’ and The Exposition Machine

Doctor Who has always been an exposition factory, but boy howdy things got out of hand.

Jul 8

‘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.

Jul 1

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.

Jun 24

‘Sirens’ Sets Its Sights Too High

This limited series confection on Netflix has ambition, and that is its undoing.

Jun 17

‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ Loses the Thread

Sometimes writers get distracted by shiny things just like kittens.

Jun 10

‘Hacks’ and the Character Loop

The show loves this trope so much it just keeps doing it.

Jun 3

May 2025

‘Babygirl’ and The Character Vacuum

Part of a story’s job is to make you care about the characters.

May 27

‘The Last of Us’ Season 2: YMMV

Killing off a major character is always a risk, and this time it probably won’t pay off.

May 20

‘The Conclave’ is Just a Thriller in Costume

The Oscar-nominated film about electing a new Pope is a locked-room mystery in robes.

May 13

‘Companion’ and Timing the Twist

Companion is a fun story involving a sex robot that makes two pretty smart storytelling choices.

May 6

April 2025

‘The White Lotus’ and Dumb Character Syndrome

Sometimes your characters have to suffer temporary brain damage to get your plot where you want it to be.

Apr 29

‘Y2K’: Premise and Nothing Else

This dumb comedy didn’t have to be quite so dumb, but all they care about is the concept.

Apr 22

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