“This quest was a lot more fun…”

In honor of Go On Your Own Quest which begins Monday:

Thanks to Jeff Kirschner for sending this to me. Not only funny, also raises a point: Has learning about story structure made watching movies, TV shows and reading stories more enjoyable for you… or less?

Reaching way back in my memory cells, I remember how amazing it was to first become aware of some of the fundamentals of screenwriting, especially the idea that specific narrative elements tended to fall at certain points.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s when I was first learning the craft, I would always check my watch when a plot point hit. Sure enough, boom! End of Act One: Minute 25. Midpoint: Minute 55–60. End of Act Two: 85–90. And so forth.

Remarkable at first. But then I began to experience something like this moment in The Wizard of Oz:

All the magic… gone because what I had learned had in effect pulled back the curtain on screenplay structure.

I remember once when I was working at Trailblazer Studios, we were screening a small indie movie together as a possible investment opportunity. As we went through it, I obnoxiously said, “Okay, now this is going to happen.” And it did. Then some minutes later, “Now this is going to happen.” And it did.

My cohorts thought I was a seer. Not true, of course. Just a formulaic movie hitting the beats that I just happened to know.

So it became something of a challenge: How does a writer watch a movie knowing what one does about story structure, yet still enjoy it for what it is?

Over time, I’ve managed to find a balance where I can track the plot points while still staying in the story. But the best movies are the ones where I lose all track of time and seemingly manage to forget everything I’ve learned.

How about you? Is your personal writing quest more fun now that you know what you know? Or less so? Do you ever wish you could go back to your blissful ignorance? Or have you managed to find a balance point?

See you Monday for Week 1, Day 1 of Go On Your Own Quest. And you’ll meet the first of our the 2013 Questers.

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