Category: Code of the Woosters

  • Fun With Lists…or Not Really…or Reading Like a Writer

    Wodehouse, I don’t think anyone will disagree, is a clever writer. There’s a dryish wit that feeds his prose. British, yes? Yes. When Wodehouse describes a regular situation (man falls off bike) he conveys all the normal information like: 1. If you’re not careful, you can fall off your bike. 2. Falling off the bike will hurt. 3. A…

  • In Which Stephen Fry Says It Better Than Myself: Novels vs Screenplays

    Novels and screenplays work very differently. (Please, save the ‘Duh, Jennys’ for the end.) However, sometimes it’s difficult to see why they work differently without thinking about it. Novels: You get the words and only the words to describe scene, character motivation, dialogue, etc. Basically, novels have to cover everything and be complete in and…

  • Trouble on Your Hands: Complications

    You know how they tell you creating complications is a good thing in writing a story? Challenge your characters? Well, Wodehouse is The Master. I remember thinking this way back when I read The Code of the Woosters. Now I’m reminded of his skill in The Luck of the Bodkins. In this funky love larger-than-triangular-geometric-pattern,…