Recommended Screenwriters
Rethinking Your Story for Greatness
- September 3, 2010
- Posted by: HalCroasmun
- Category: Articles
M. Night Shyamalan said that he was stumped on his tenth draft of SIXTH SENSE. He had a good story about a psychologist who helps a kid that sees dead people.
Ten drafts had produced a good story. But Shyamalan wanted a great story. He wanted something that would put him on the Hollywood map and create demand for his work.
So he rethought the story and…
…had the major breakthrough he needed — the psychologist is one of the dead people and it is the kid who has been helping the psychologist accept his new situation.
This ending made the entire movie exceptional! (See our Writing Great Endings Class for strategies to create impactful endings.)
There’s nothing wrong with rethinking your script. In fact, it is a normal — and required — part of the rewrite process.
When Shyamalan made that one change, he elevated his story to a level of greatness. No amount of wordsmithing could have done that. Before that, he had a good story, but it wouldn’t have propelled him into the public stardom and financial success that he received.
So what am I saying?
To be a GREAT writer, you have to be able to RETHINK your story.
This isn’t an optional skill. It is a necessary one. Even if there is nothing wrong with your story, until it is great, there is value that can come from rethinking it.
HOW TO RETHINK
Rethinking starts with a decision, then a set of questions, and ends when you have a breakthrough.
FIRST, the decision…
Decide that you want to elevate your STORY, not your words. This is a decision to reconsider your structure, your plot, and maybe even your concept.
SECOND, pose questions that will help clarify the story and engage your creative mind to solve each part of the story.
Those questions may include any of the following:
– What is the essence of this story? Is that fully expressed through the structure and plot? If not, this will be your most important place to brainstorm.
– What is the main conflict in the story? Is this powerful enough to keep people engaged throughout the entire story? If not, you need to rethink this area.
– Is my lead the best person to tell this story through? Try on the other characters to see if a different perspective will elevate the story. You could tell a football story through the player, coach, team owner, audience member, sports reporter, sports agent, or many other people. There isn’t just one perspective that will work. By trying on different perspectives, you’ll experience the same story in different ways. Who knows which is best until you try each of them.
– Is there a better environment for this story to be set in? Is this football story set in a small town or a college town or a major city? Is it set in the NFL? Or is it set in the world of sports betting? Or is the story set in Congress where they are passing new laws about sports? Each of those environments will cause you to write the story in a different way.
– Can you elevate the set up (opening, inciting incident, etc) to increase tension or create more curiosity?
Many times, the exact same 2nd Act conflict will feel very different with a different set up. Think about the experience you want us to have in that 2nd Act and then look for a set up that will enhance that experience.
– Can the ending take this story to a whole new level that expresses the concept at more of an extreme or in a more unique way?
Even if your ending works well, there may be something even better you’ll discover by doing this process. Or you may discover something to add to your current ending that will elevate it.
Of course, with each question, you’ll want to brainstorm many possible answers and solutions.
THIRD, THE BREAKTHROUGHS…
If you are reading this and it makes sense to any degree, pull out your current script and apply it immediately. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve worked with people who had already dismissed this kind of process, but…
…when I did it with them, they had huge breakthroughs.
Much of the magic of great screenwriting is actually APPLYING processes like this, instead of just reading about them.
—————
WHAT TO DO?
My advice: Do this process on your current script NOW.
At minimum, it will give you more insight into your story. But it is very possible that you will discover areas of your story that can be elevated and that will cause major improvements to follow.
Remember, creativity isn’t limited to the early stages of writing. In the movie business, the creative process continues right up until the moment the film is released to the public.
M. Night Shyamalan used this process to become one of the highest paid writers and directors in Hollywood. Hopefully, someday, we’ll hear the same about you.