“There is only one story: nothing is as it seems”

This is one of my favorite quotes about writing, one that comes from author Jim Thompson. It speaks to multiple facets of a story:

* What character’s want and what character’s need.

* Initial goals that belie actual goals.

* Characters who don different ‘masks’ from scene to scene, relationship to relationship.

This adage is going to be true about any story worth its salt. A story — a good one — cannot exist at surface level where everything is as it seems. Instead we, as writers, need to look for multiple layers of meaning and emotions, tracking the physical and psychological journeys.

First draft, you can cut yourself some slack. But know going into rewrites, you will want to dig into your narrative universe and embrace this attitude:

“There is only one story: nothing is as it seems.”

The Quest” has entered Week 23! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s a 24-week immersion in the screenwriting process and you can do it here — for free!

Today and every Monday through Friday for 10 weeks, I’ll use this slot to post something inspirational as GOYOQ participants pound out their first drafts.

For background on “Go Into The Story: The Quest,” go here and here.

For all the previous weeks of Go On Your Own Quest posts, go here.

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