Dispatch From The Quest: Paul Wie
Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding of the craft from the experiences of the Questers. I should also add they are a great group of people, so I expect you will enjoy getting to know them.
Today: Paul is both inspired and conflicted by the concept of “voice”:
“Write something that truly stands out. Write the most daring and uninhibited story you can think of and in the most cinematic way that can draw in an audience. There isn’t a dearth of screenwriters in Hollywood so what the industry needs and is looking for is the next great original voice.” — Matt Dy, AFF Screenplay Competition Director
I love this quote. Not only is it fitting for this week’s Quest, it encapsulates what I believe to be important in movies: an original voice, a sense of daring, a story that is honest and cinematic. We should always be pushing to create something new. Playing it safe is death. The great movies don’t conform to conventions and categories; they break them. They elevate their genre to new heights. And because the best storytellers stay true to their own voice, the best stories can’t be replicated. We can learn from them, we can steal from them, but we each have to find our own way of telling stories.
That’s why I’m both inspired and conflicted after this week’s lectures and exercises.
Inspired because now I have an intellectual understanding of the tools to best write my story. Inspired because my characters are starting to feel real and come alive. Inspired because I’m seeing the voices of my fellow Questers emerge, and no two are alike.
Conflicted because I see a gap between what I’m aspiring to write and what I’m writing. Conflicted because my story is tricky to navigate, yet I want people to get it and love it. Conflicted because I see how much work there is left to do.
But I embrace both. Inspiration fuels my writing as much as conflict does. I need be lifted up and encouraged as much as I need to be challenged and punched in the face. Because in the end, all that matters is a great work I’m proud of — a story that couldn’t have been told without me. And that’s when I’ll have found my voice.
A great script will have a strong concept, unique characters, and a compelling plot. But it will also almost assuredly have a unique voice. When we read a script with a distinctive voice, it is inspirational. But as Paul notes, it can be a challenge to find and execute that voice on the page.
That’s why I like the idea of Narrative Voice, your screenplay’s invisible character. Starting with the principle [Genre + Style = Narrative Voice], you develop a narrator with a specific personality, an attitude toward the story s/he tells and the way s/he tells it. To me, this is the simplest and most direct way to craft a voice that is unique and entertaining.
So get inspired and find your voice. Your Narrative Voice.
Tomorrow: Another Dispatch From The Quest.
About Paul: Director + Writer. Loves Spielberg, Truffaut, Abrams, Kurosawa, Attack the Block, cinematic stories beautifully told. @paulhwie.