127I – The 5-Part Story: An Interview with Sean Gaffney

Today's guest is the fun and multi-talented writer, http://gaffneyinkwell.com (Sean Gaffney). He has written professionally for theater, film, television, and the web. He has also taught most of these forms of writing for universities and arts organizations.
In our interview, Sean and I cover a wide range of topics, but it all comes back to one thing - story. How do you write a compelling story that makes people want to continue with it until the end?
We talk about the pros and cons of specialization versus writing anything and everything. One of the best things about specializing in one genre and/or medium is that you get better faster. If gaining a foothold in the market, increasing revenue, and moving up in your field are the more important things to you, specialization is the way to go. If you prefer to follow your heart and understand that it may be a slower, more difficult road, writing what you want and taking any writing work that appeals to you at the time could be the best choice for you.
One of the things to keep in mind when you're putting your story together is that structure, character, dialogue, theme - these are not separate parts of a story, they are all intertwined together. Our conversation about the Marvel movies and the DC movies really highlights this.
Get more details about https://gaffneyjournal.wordpress.com/2019/02/13/five-part-story/ (the 5-part story) and other storytelling tips on Sean's https://gaffneyjournal.wordpress.com/blog/ (blog) and http://gaffneyinkwell.com (website).

Today's guest is the fun and multi-talented writer, Sean Gaffney. He has written professionally for theater, film, television, and the web. He has also taught most of these forms of writing for universities and arts organizations.

In our interview, Sean and I cover a wide range of topics, but it all comes back to one thing - story. How do you write a compelling story that makes people want to continue with it until the end?

We talk about the pros and cons of specialization versus writing anything and everything. One of the best things about specializing in one genre and/or medium is that you get better faster. If gaining a foothold in the market, increasing revenue, and moving up in your field are the more important things to you, specialization is the way to go. If you prefer to follow your heart and understand that it may be a slower, more difficult road, writing what you want and taking any writing work that appeals to you at the time could be the best choice for you.

One of the things to keep in mind when you're putting your story together is that structure, character, dialogue, theme - these are not separate parts of a story, they are all intertwined together. Our conversation about the Marvel movies and the DC movies really highlights this.

Get more details about the 5-part story and other storytelling tips on Sean's blog and website.