Features. They are a tough cookie to crack. And when dealing with a story like ROM it is made all the tougher by the very things that make it unique. Characters, situations, stories. There must be order. But where to start and better yet where to start over? There are i’m sure endless ways to tell a story. If you were to stand 50 feet away from this story and look at with fresh eyes you might only see one. But the question would remain. Is it the right one?

Yep. Tough cookie to crack. Seems like it should be made easier by the fact that a short is in the can that uses a portion of the same idea. I’m here to tell you no, it doesn’t. It complicates things in new and maddening ways. As the storyteller your job is IMHO to find the core of the story and start a fire with it. Burn down the forest and with what’s left make notebooks. Let no words stand in your way. Strangely I thought I knew the core of ROM. But I was wrong.

This discovery was paramount to cracking the cookie that is ROM. It was stale and tasteless. Now it is moist and flavorful. Simply put I learned that I knew my story but not my character. I thought I did. THAT’s the key. I THOUGHT I did. When you think you do is exactly the point they are taken for granted. Without your characters you’re not telling a story, you’re just telling actions. And no matter how clever your actions are they still aren’t a story.

So I’m happy to say I know Daniel now. And ROM is better for it.