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A-story, action, antagonist, efficient storytelling, MAD MAX, narrative construction, protagonist, THE ROAD WARRIOR -

EFFICIENT STORYTELLING

EFFICIENT STORYTELLING

I recently had the pleasure of seeing The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2) on the big screen for the first time. This film is wonderful for a variety of reason, not least of which is it’s a set-up that’s so high concept it established its own sub-genre. The other thing that stands out is the ruthless efficiency of its storytelling. We open with a voiceover telling us about the world. This is essentially a car chase movie, so we cut to a car chase in media res; we’re immediately delivering the goods. At the end of the chase, Max...

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A FISH CALLED WANDA, incident-driven, punching into a scene, punching out of a scene, structure -

AVOIDING INCIDENT-DRIVEN NARRATIVE

AVOIDING INCIDENT-DRIVEN NARRATIVE

I have read a lot of scripts that might be described as “incident-driven.” Rather than crafting a cohesive narrative, the storytelling is comprised of a bunch of semi- or un-connected beats and scenes. It’s this happens, then that happens, then this other thing happens, and so on. A bunch of stuff happens, the end. Scripts of this nature are often a slog to read, as they lack both momentum, and are less-satisfying in terms of emotional pay-off. We don’t crescendo to a finale; the story just kind of sputters to a stop, everyone shrugs and goes home. There are two...

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focus, insight, polish, production, tightening, writing -

ON THE VALUE OF WRITING EVERY DAY

ON THE VALUE OF WRITING EVERY DAY

There’s a school of thought that suggests a writer should write every day. And there’s another that suggests it isn’t necessary. The right answer is whatever works for you. As with any art, writing is a personal journey. That said, I wrote every day for fifteen years. I wrote on Christmas, on my birthday, on the day my father passed away. Even if I was sick as a dog, I made it a point to write one word before I went to bed, just to have written something that day. I can describe what I experienced during those years. Polish....

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10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, BACK TO THE FUTURE, CABIN IN THE WOODS, execution-driven, FLEABAG, high-concept, HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART VIII, PULP FICTION, SCREAM, SNATCH -

HIGH-CONCEPT VS EXECUTION-DRIVEN

HIGH-CONCEPT VS EXECUTION-DRIVEN

The definition of “high-concept” is nebulous. But it can often be described as a logline with which you get the idea at the pitch. For example, you have a sci-fi comedy about a guy who goes back through time and meets his mother; she’s way more into him than his actual dad, so our protagonist has to find a way for his parents to fall in love so he can exist. This is a huge high-concept, and the pitch is right there in the title: BACK TO THE FUTURE. High-concept is indestructible. Various writers can take various takes, and the...

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Aristotle, denouement, density, focus, length, POETICS, structure, unity -

ON PACING

ON PACING

A script should be a fast and easy read. There are several ways to accomplish this. Length. The standard length of screenplay used to be 120-ppg. It’s been a long time since that has been the case, especially when it comes to spec scripts. In fact, a script that’s exactly 120-ppg tends to send up an additional red flag, as it implies that the script is making artificial storytelling choices in order to pad itself to this old-fashioned length. Generally, it’s better to aim for a sweet spot between 90-105-ppg, with some genres (action, horror, comedy) tending toward the shorter...

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