Lots of tidbits today, both here and at MPOW. Jenica has a post that starts off being about Joss Whedon and ends up discussing what makes a good story good.
Rule #1, there are no rules. She makes the point that good storytelling reveals facts in stages, not all at once. I have read many books where the entire backstory of a character is explained, though not well and very grotesquely, in one sentence.
–Jane, sits at her desk typing while trying to concentrate on her job but secretly wanting to just read which has been her escape from life since she was a child and had too much imagination for her own good causing her mother to go crazy