Writing Screenplays, Satire and Novels

Before you start forming your story, think about what the characters in it will be like. You have a story in mind; therefore you already have an idea who it is that will carry out the events that make up the plot. Most of my students begin their narratives by bringing a character on stage, have the character do something, and say the lines that are appropriate to the scene. Unfortunately, that approach does not provide the richness that the story can achieve. When Wilson and Mark suggest the addition of a character, they usually begin by saying what sort of person the character is.

In Matter of Coincidence, Mark suggested we include a young woman, Tina Nix, in the ensemble. When he came up with the idea, he knew why he wanted her in the story but not much else. Read more

My usual comment is a gripe about the loss of great storytelling in film. Where are the stories that are so breathtaking you could talk about them for hours afterward with your friends? Where are the comedies that make you laugh and make you think? You counter my glum countenance by reminding me that Avatar is a very conventional story—yeah, it’s kitty cat aliens and space miners instead of Indians and settlers or catholic girl and Jewish guy that drives the love story—but it is a traditional story:  the clash of cultures as the hero falls in love with the doomed society. What about the cool CGI, the glowing forest, and the state of the art battle scenes, you ask? Isn’t that why the audience turned out in half-a-billion-$-plus droves? Eh, no. Read more