The five most important elements of good storytelling
When you read your own work, ask yourself—and then answer—five questions about every single page: Where’s the Conflict? How does Action reveal Character? How does Character drive Plot? How does Dialogue counterpoint Action? What is this story ABOUT?
1. Where’s the conflict? Point to it.
Janie slapped Johnny. “Don’t you give up on me!”
That’s conflict you can point to.
Janie hugged Johnny. “Good idea.”
That’s not conflict. Hugs are for happy endings. On the Last Page. Only.
2. How does Action reveal Character? Not thoughts, not dialogue, not summary. Action.
Janie turned off her cell phone, turned on some sentimental music, opened a bottle of Cold Duck with a bent steak knife, then poured one glass for herself and one for her cat, Beezelbub. Then she ate a pie with her fingers. Beezelbub meowed, hungry. Janie kicked him across the linoleum and under the microwave cart. She wiped her hands on her pants, grabbed another bottle of Cold Duck, and headed for the living room to watch “Desperate Housewives” and polish her nickel-plated Desert Eagle “Point Five-Oh.”
And so on.
3. How does Character drive Plot? In other words, things happen because people MAKE them happen. Right?
Janie finished cleaning her Desert Eagle, popped in a fully loaded clip of soft-nosed shells, polished off the second bottle of Cold Duck, took aim at a spot on the wall a quarter inch above Beezelbub’s head, and fired. The bullet passed through the wall and made a meaty slapping sound on the other side.
“Ow!” her next door neighbor, Johnny, shouted. “My kidneys!”
4. How does dialogue COUNTERPOINT action? Dialogue that just narrates action is wasted words. Good dialogue is always contrasted against action. One example is irony.
Johnny banged on Janie’s door with rapidly diminishing energy. Janie flung the door open and stood there, without speaking, while Johnny’s blood dribbled like urine on the hallway carpet. Beezlebub rushed to the growing puddle and lapped at it hungrily.
“No pets in this building,” Johnny said, woozily. Then he passed out, falling half-in and half-out of Janie’s door.
5. What is this story about? If this story is about “True Love Conquers All,” then how does each and every chapter, episode, or scene add up to prove that?
(The next scene, where Janie gives Johnny one of her kdneys, proves that she loves him so much that she is willing to give up a kidney, and doing so makes it possible for them to unplug his dialysis machine, fly to Bali, and get married in the last chapter.)
Wonderful.
If, on the other hand, the next scene is about Janie winning a Nobel Peace Prize for making commercials about global warming, just to prove to her brother that she’s not lazy, then your audience is going to get lost. And then they’ll watch SOMETHING ELSE.
1. Where’s the conflict? Point to it.
Janie slapped Johnny. “Don’t you give up on me!”
That’s conflict you can point to.
Janie hugged Johnny. “Good idea.”
That’s not conflict. Hugs are for happy endings. On the Last Page. Only.
2. How does Action reveal Character? Not thoughts, not dialogue, not summary. Action.
Janie turned off her cell phone, turned on some sentimental music, opened a bottle of Cold Duck with a bent steak knife, then poured one glass for herself and one for her cat, Beezelbub. Then she ate a pie with her fingers. Beezelbub meowed, hungry. Janie kicked him across the linoleum and under the microwave cart. She wiped her hands on her pants, grabbed another bottle of Cold Duck, and headed for the living room to watch “Desperate Housewives” and polish her nickel-plated Desert Eagle “Point Five-Oh.”
And so on.
3. How does Character drive Plot? In other words, things happen because people MAKE them happen. Right?
Janie finished cleaning her Desert Eagle, popped in a fully loaded clip of soft-nosed shells, polished off the second bottle of Cold Duck, took aim at a spot on the wall a quarter inch above Beezelbub’s head, and fired. The bullet passed through the wall and made a meaty slapping sound on the other side.
“Ow!” her next door neighbor, Johnny, shouted. “My kidneys!”
4. How does dialogue COUNTERPOINT action? Dialogue that just narrates action is wasted words. Good dialogue is always contrasted against action. One example is irony.
Johnny banged on Janie’s door with rapidly diminishing energy. Janie flung the door open and stood there, without speaking, while Johnny’s blood dribbled like urine on the hallway carpet. Beezlebub rushed to the growing puddle and lapped at it hungrily.
“No pets in this building,” Johnny said, woozily. Then he passed out, falling half-in and half-out of Janie’s door.
5. What is this story about? If this story is about “True Love Conquers All,” then how does each and every chapter, episode, or scene add up to prove that?
(The next scene, where Janie gives Johnny one of her kdneys, proves that she loves him so much that she is willing to give up a kidney, and doing so makes it possible for them to unplug his dialysis machine, fly to Bali, and get married in the last chapter.)
Wonderful.
If, on the other hand, the next scene is about Janie winning a Nobel Peace Prize for making commercials about global warming, just to prove to her brother that she’s not lazy, then your audience is going to get lost. And then they’ll watch SOMETHING ELSE.
Comments