The art of telling a story three times

A movie is a story told three times - once in the writer's study, once in front of the cameras and once in the edit suite. I had heard this said, but it was during the making of the feature film “How to make a movie for £43” that I saw the proof.

I came up with the concept behind the movie. I wrote the screenplay. I might have fondly thought that it was therefore MY story. But then I saw what other people did with it: the genius of the director Rhys Davies in being able to take scenes I had written and transform them into a visual vocabulary that told so much more than I had anticipated, the actors, discovering depths and comedy in the characters that I could not have imagined. I could go on and list all the different production roles, because each of them is a storyteller, from make-up artist to DOP and everyone in between.

As for the editor - anyone who doubts the amount of storytelling that happens in the edit suite should definitely watch this re-cut trailer for Mary Poppins. The same footage used to tell an entirely different story. Not for those of a nervous disposition!

Five ways to generate story ideas

Where do you get your story ideas from? Here are five tips:

Many stories come from asking questions. What would happen if... Thought is free so be as wild as you like. What would happen if a whale materialised high above the planet? No, wait - someone already wrote that one. Stories can come from extrapolation. Read the driest news article from the most serious paper, then ask yourself about the people the story implies. The people in the background.

Don't be afraid of using up all your story ideas. The more stories you tell, the faster you'll find new ideas coming to you. The world is full of stories. All we have to do is train ourselves to notice them. One way to do that is to keep a notebook and get into the habit of jotting down ideas when they flit through our minds.

Other people's lives are a great source of story ideas. Happily, people love to talk about themselves. It is their favourite subject. Be a good listener and you'll have more stories than you can write.

I have a faulty digital radio that cuts out at random, usually leaving sentences unfinished. It is exasperating at times, but perfect for a storyteller. When the radio dies, my mind jumps forward, trying to complete the story.

I am willing to sell the faulty digital radio/story generating machine. All reasonable offers considered. Now, that gives me an idea for a story...

~

 

The first version of this article was first published in the original Author Intrusion blog in September 2010.



The Plotting Problem

The plotting problem goes like this:

• The plot of a novel can fit in a barrel.
• The plot of a feature film can fit in a bucket.
• But the working memory in our brains only holds a cup-full.
• Therefore, the plot of a work of long fiction is more than fits in your head.

The miracle is that writers DO manage to conceive of and manipulate the plot of long fiction.

But how they do it - this seems to vary from writer to writer.

Ten reasons people read stories

"There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories."


Ursula Le Guin’s famous observation hints at the fundamental importance of story and storytellers. But how has narrative come to have a central role in every culture?


Ursula Le Guin - photo by Eileen Gunn

Some years ago I decided to try to find an answer. I started asking people why they chose to spend time with stories. In book clubs, film clubs and writing workshops - whenever I had a group of people together, I asked what stories meant to them.

My investigation is a work in progress. But having already canvassed thousands of people, I can share ten reasons that people put forward to explain their love and need for story. We start with the most common responses and work down to rarer but deeply insightful answers at the bottom of the list

1.      Escape from the daily grind. Escapism is always the first answer to be called out. On hearing it, others in the audience will nod. “Yes, I also read to escape.” It is the desire to be taken away from the difficulties of our lives and to be transported somewhere else.

2.      To learn. This is another common answer, usually offered by an older member of the group. “I like to learn about people who’ve lived in different times and places.”
 

3.      A favourite character. Many people admit to enjoying the company of characters from stories. Harry Potter perhaps. Or maybe the character they fall in love with is the distinctive voice of the author. Either way, once the story is finished they find themselves missing their friend. The hunt for a sequel begins.

4.      Escape from self. This is slightly different from the first form of escapism. It is not tasks or surroundings that are being fled, but internal conflict or sadness. “I read novels so that I can disappear.”

5.      To understand ourselves. Some people choose to engage with fiction concerning life events that they have experienced in reality. Reading about the struggles of a fictional character who is dealing with bereavement, for example, may shed light on our own real experiences of the same thing.
 

6.      To find means of expression. We value our story makes for their insight and ability to express subtle realities. We may agree or disagree with Tolstoy when he says “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” But either way, he has given us the words to express an idea.

7.      To see the world differently. When storytellers show us the world, they are lending us their eyes. Once we have seen through those eyes, the world may never look quite the same to us. This is one of the distinctive qualities of real art - that it changes the way we see things.

8.      Vicarious pleasure. When we identify with the characters in a story, we start to feel what we imagine they are experiencing. If they are excited or triumphant, we feel the same. If they gain power or pleasure we get a share of it.

9.      Vicarious trials. Identification with fictional characters also gives us a share of their fear, pain and loss. It may seem strange that people would voluntarily look for those experiences. But our real life fears are soothed by going through the ritual of facing trials in fiction. Each time Red Riding Hood is not devoured by the wolf, we have defeated death once more.

10.  To heal. Fictional characters seem to be a series of different people, quite separate from us. One of them may be angry, another kind, another lustful, another sad. These are things that we will have felt at different times in our lives. Therefore all these aspects subsist within us. When fictional characters talk, argue, fall in love or come to blows, it can be as though our own different aspects are interacting. And when the story finds resolution, so may we. Some people believe that fiction can work in this way to promote healing.  

Like I said above, this investigation is a work in progress. If you can think of a reason for loving stories that I have not mentioned here, please let me know. And if you have any comments, I'd love to hear your views.

 

How to plot novels and screenplays

“How should I plot my novel?”

“How should I plot my screenplay?”

In ten years of teaching creative writing, these are the questions I’ve been asked more than any other. I’m not sure what kind of answer is expected. Something about the Hero’s Journey? Three Act Structure anyone? How about a dash of Vladimir Propp or Gustav Freytag?

I have just started teaching a course on plotting novels and screenplays for Writing School Leicester, so these questions have been much on my mind. And I have been researching the ways different writers go about it.

Some do indeed build works of long fiction on an understanding of archetypal plot structures and story blueprints. But many others do not. Whereas most structural models tend to be quite similar to each other, there is a wide variation in the approaches to plotting used by writers.

I find that diversity strangely comforting.

Some people recommend plotting everything first and then – when the story has been completely conceived – writing it down. Others like to start writing about an interesting situation, but have no knowledge of where the story is going to end up. And between those two extremes, the total planners and the story explorers, there is an infinite range of possibilities.

“How should I plot?”

The short answer seems to be: “In whatever way suits you best.”