Desmond’s Drops: Mystery v. Backstory, Oppositional Dialogue, and Conflict Analysis
By Desmond Hall | April 15, 2022 |
Welcome to a new edition of Desmond’s Drops!
This month, enjoy three drops about:
- Mystery vs. Backstory
- Oppositional Dialogue
- Conflict Analysis
Email subscribers, please click through directly to staging-writerunboxed.kinsta.cloud to view.
Look for more of Desmond’s Drops in May!
Have your own bit of wisdom to share? Drop it in comments.
Desmond Hall, author of YOUR CORNER DARK, was born in Jamaica, West Indies and then moved to Jamaica, Queens. His second novel, BETTER MUST COME, a fiercely evocative, action-packed YA thriller that examines that darker side of light-filled Jamaica, released in May, 2024. He’s worked as both a high school biology teacher and English teacher, counseled at-risk teens, and served as Spike Lee’s creative director at SpikeDDB. He’s also written and directed the HBO movie, A DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE, which was nominated for the Gordon Parks Award. He’s written and directed the theater play, STOCKHOLM, BROOKLYN, which won the audience award at the Downtown Theater Festival at the Cherry Lane Theater. He’s also served on the board of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and was a judge for the Addys, and the Downtown Urban Arts Film Festival. Named one of Variety Magazine’s 50 creatives to watch.
Great suggestions, Desmond! Thanks for giving such clear steps for using them.
I love the working examples you’ve provided with each drop, Des. Thanks so much for sharing your insights and for producing these shorts for WU.
I’ll share something my son said recently when reflecting on some well-drawn characters in a television series: “Every character wanted something, but needed something else.” This reminded me of ‘internal’ and ‘external’ goals, but I liked the fresh, clean way he phrased it.
Thanks again, Des!
Hi Des. I always take notes when you post. Great examples here, and because I am editing and doing some rewriting, perfect time to use some of your prompts to ratchet things up a bit. Thanks.
Another trio of great drops, Desmond. But that all writing advice would be so useful and actionable. Thanks!