#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
你會敬佩一個角色的努力多過於他的成功。
(也就是你要想辦法呈現角色努力奮鬥的過程，這是最感人的部分。)
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
你必須時時注意什麼能引起觀眾的興趣，而不是身為作家的你覺得什麼很有趣，這兩者非常不同。
(好的作家會隨時注意觀眾的期待和興趣。)
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about until you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
試著找尋主題是重要的，但在未寫完之前，你往往無法知道故事真正的主題。現在重寫吧。
(主題必須在你下筆時就先確定好，但是寫完後你可能會發現有些出入，有可能會需要修改故事或是修改主題)
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
很久很久以前，那裡有個__每天__某一天__因為所以__因為所以__最後終於__
(每個故事都能簡單地用一兩句話呈現出來。並且簡單地分成了幾個階段和結構。)
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
簡化、專注、整併角色、別繞道，你會覺得失去寶貴的東西但它卻能讓你更自由。
(說的多不如說的巧，少就是多。仔細地把簡單的故事說得漂亮，較為重要。)
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
你的角色擅長什麼?對什麼感到舒適?讓他們遇到完全相反的狀況，挑戰他們。他們該如何應對?
(別讓角色一直處在舒適圈，要給他們壓力和挫折。)
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
結局要在你故事完成一半之前想出來。這很重要，結局不容易處理，你需要及早完成它。
(有結局才不會讓故事走偏。你也許會需要在故事中多做安排才能完成偉大的結局)
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
完成你的故事，即使不夠完美就讓它過去吧。現實和理想有差距，但你需要繼續前進，下次你會更好的。
(永遠不要停止創作，經驗會讓你成長。)
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
當你陷入瓶頸時，列一張表寫下你覺得之後不可能發生的事情。很多時候，裡面的素材會突然讓你突破瓶頸。
(這是一個刺激靈感的好方法。故事要往死裡去寫才會好看。)
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
分解你喜歡的故事。你所喜歡的地方正是你自己的一部分，在你會用它之前你必須先認識它。
(有意識地廣泛研究故事才會變成你真正的養分。)
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
把它寫在紙上並開始處理。一個好的點子若只是放在你的腦海裡，你沒辦法與其他人分享。
(寫出來才會遇到真正的問題，必須要處理它之後點子才能真正變為故事。)
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
通常最先出現在心中的幾個想法都有些常見，別落入俗套，你得讓自己都覺得驚訝。
(最容易想到的點子通常別人也想的到，你要有些與眾不同。)
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
讓你的角色有主見。你也許喜歡寫被動或溫順的角色，但觀眾並不喜歡他們。
(西方的角色比較主動和有主見，但確實這樣的角色比較容易展開故事。)
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
你為什麼必須要說這個故事?是什麼信念讓你的故事長大茁壯?這就是它的核心。
(信念是支撐你寫完故事的動力，有強大的信念，更容易產生好故事。)
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
在這種情況下，如果你是角色，你會有什麼感覺。你誠實的反應會讓它即使不可信也會變得可信。
(從角色的內心寫出故事，而不是作家的內心。)
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
賭注是什麼?給我們一個理由支持角色。萬一他們失敗會怎樣?把賭注提高吧。
(困難的故事有人看，觀眾喜歡戲劇性衝突。)
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.
每一個想法都有價值，即使它現在派不上用場，未來也有機會再次做出貢獻。
(別氣餒，繼續創作就對了。)
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
你要弄清楚你是瞎忙還是盡心盡力。故事是檢驗出來的，而非提煉出來的。
(寫每個情節你需要從好幾個選項中找出一個最棒的。)
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
巧合不能幫角色解決問題，那跟作弊沒有兩樣，但讓角色陷入困境是不錯的。
(也不要讓角色的困境是由旁人幫他解決。)
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
試著拆開一個你不喜歡的電影故事。你會如何重組它變成你喜歡的故事?
(你會發現故事的每個安排都有意義。)
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
你要認清你和角色的不同。必須設身處地融入角色的處境去行動和思考。
(這是讓角色活起來最關鍵的地方。)
(這裡的identify with用法有點微妙，但不影響整句語意。)
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
你故事的本質是什麼?最簡單精準地說出來?如果你很明白，你就能由它建構出故事。
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