How important is story?

Very.

Once you've lured us into a darkened theatre, it's your job to entertain us. Unless you specifically advertise that, "No Storytelling Shall Take Place, Only Pretty Images and Disconnected Themes," you're wasting our time. Or at least mine.

I've attended a number of film festivals, screened several independent filmmakers' films as potential movies to use in my classes and workshops, and watched countless hours of films in theaters and in my living room. And if there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's trying to determine the story when the filmmakers clearly had no clue what their narrative was.

Which means that we have a job to do as scriptwriters. We need to tell a compelling story about our character. Returning to an earlier post, we're examining what our character wants and what she'll do to get it. And we're not just tossing random obstacles in her way, but weaving in an equal and opposite-minded antagonist whose own goal will make it difficult or potentially even impossible for our protagonist to achieve her mission.

We also need to know what's at stake; what is the character willing to give up in order to chase her dream? There better be huge risks, or you may bore us. Please don't bore us.

So, how important is story? You tell me. But please make it interesting.

Show, Don't Tell

What does this really mean?

Consider that we're writing for a visual medium, and answer this: would you rather have one character tell another character about an accident that just happened, or would you like to see that accident unfold on the screen? You can substitute accident for another event, and you still have the same idea. Do you want to be told how two lovers met, or do you want to see it happen?

In my Introductory Scriptwriting course at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, each student is required to pen a dialogueless short screenplay of one to three pages. There's no better exercise than to write an all-visual script. It's also a strenuous task.

For playwrights, the challenge tends to be how to describe what's happening in the scene. For novelists and even short story writers, the difficult task is often how to reduce the amount of description while writing on the page what will occur on the screen once the script is filmed.

If you want to try this, you might attempt to write a scene between two people who each want the same thing, but only one person can have it. Want more specifics? Fine: Two seven year olds. Twins. One brand new bike. What will each do to get the bike?

Here's another exercise: try to take a scene from a favorite story and write it without dialogue. I'm picturing the fence-painting scene in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. How can Tom get the other kids to paint the fence for him without using any dialogue?

Finally, stop and notice next time there's a scene in a film where no dialogue is exchanged, yet the story is clearly advanced. Or did the lack of dialogue not work? If not, why do you suppose that is?

Until next time, write on!

What does your antagonist want?

Opposites may attract, but in good storytelling they repel.

However, a well-rounded antagonist does not simply seek to quash every forward movement of your protagonist. In fact, from your antagonist's point of view, if she is written well, she will consider herself the hero of the story. That's because to her, she is the hero of her particular tale.

As I sit and watch the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins in Monday Night Football, I'm reminded of the best example of equal and opposite forces, trying like heck to get what they want: to win the game. From the Pat's point of view, they deserve to win; yet Miami feels they deserve to win. But there can only be one winner. And do we viewers care? Judging from the cheers and jeers from the fans, I'd say we're vested in the outcome of this particular tale.

So not only must you make sure your audience empathizes with your protagonist, but you must give your antagonist more than just a two-dimensional personality, so that even if for only a moment, we can see from the antagonist's point of view. We may not agree with your antagonist, but perhaps we can comprehend his actions and his do-or-die goal.

Storytelling is about keeping us absorbed in your tale. Developing good, well-rounded characters is a sure bet that we'll care...and we might even stay with your story till the final FADE OUT.