Story and Myth magazine

Music of the Mythospheres, The City of God, Part I. By Richard Farley. "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God . . ." --Ralph Waldo Emerson Prologue : The Children of Creation Imagine you are a newborn, a child less than a day old. Envision your sense of wonder and … [Read more...] about July 1997

Music of the Mythospheres By Richard Farley. Prologue Imagine with me for a moment a universe without form or dimension. Nothing exists. Not even time. Imagine this "nonbeingness" is centered within itself. Now visualize this "dimensionless centeredness" as something like a navel. And fancy that this navel may "nonexist" in consummate contemplation of itself. And behold, this centered … [Read more...] about June 1997

Gate Guardians and Shape Changers By John Jarvis. A number of writers have asked me to explain more about these two concepts -- Gate Guardians and Shape Changers -- which are discussed in StoryCraftNet and in the StoryCraft software. For a good example, let's look at Star Wars. A Gate Guardian impedes the Hero from performing his or her task. The stepparents at the beginning of the Star … [Read more...] about May, 1997

Magic Fire: The Search for Superman By John Jarvis. The aesthetically life is the only phenomenon that justifies both existence and ourselves. -- Nietzsche, THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY In the last 200 years, since the time of Rousseau, artists of all kinds have espoused a common rather than an aristocratic viewpoint. From late 18th century plays on -- throught the 19th century Russian novels, the … [Read more...] about April, 1997

Keeping an Eye On Format By John Jarvis. When I was in Hollywood, one of my first jobs was that of script reader. Work! A kind of magic word in LA. Most of us who didn't have to stay at the studio grabbed a trusty old beach umbrella and towel, and headed for one of the many beaches around LA. (Making sure that you had a book cover over the script. Else, you'd suddenly find yourself will a lot … [Read more...] about March, 1997

Making the Torches Burn Bright O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright... Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet By John Jarvis. February is the month of love. Indeed, we even celebrate the guy with the little bow and arrow on the 14th. But that little guy, although powerful, is also evasive. The love story is one of the hardest stories to write. Make that: write and SUCCEED. For almost all … [Read more...] about February, 1997