Trust Your Story’s Characters, Not Writing ‘Gurus”

Over in the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group, a disturbing theme has popped up here and there: Some writers whose confidence in their projects has waned as their concern rises about how their stories don’t conform to the formulas and patterns espoused by a variety of so-called screenwriting ‘gurus’. The net result: They hit a mental roadblock. Doubts appear, throwing cold water on what had been strong positive energy. Some stop writing. Others go back instead of forward to try to rearrange their story so certain things happen by certain page counts. All of this the antithesis of the spirit of the Zero Draft approach.

Here are excerpts from a thread in which I attempted to combat this dynamic:

There is no secret to screenwriting.
There is no authoritative “how to” guide.

This notion of ‘certain things happening on certain pages.’ First of all, that reduces the creative act of telling a story to some sort of pre-fab numeric formula. There are LOTS of ‘gurus’ out there with their language systems and structural paradigms, all trying to sell writers the same sort of bull shit: There is a system, a formula, a golden pattern.

Yes, there are conventions, but there is no universally prescribed systemic approach to screenplay structure.

Moreover this way of thinking diminishes the craft of screenwriting. Have THIS happen by THIS page. Then THIS must happen by THIS page. Ultimately this is more like paint by numbers than creative writing.

Where is the MAGIC? Where is the SURPRISE? Where is room for the WRITER’S VOICE?

Almost every pro screenwriter I know LOATHES these ‘gurus’. Why? Because what they are peddling is FAR REMOVED from the actual creative experience of engaging characters and writing a story. They reduce screenwriting to a formula. And formula almost always leads to formulaic writing.

So please, for the love of God, set aside the pontifications of the screenwriting ‘guru’ set. They have SO LITTLE to do with ACTUAL CREATIVITY.

You need look no further than the annual Black List. Or any of those scripts FORMULAIC?

Instead scripts make the Black List because they reflect a writer’s unique voice. A compelling story concept. Well-defined characters. Surprising plot twists and turns.

Not formulas, but MOVIES!

Here’s a quote from a truly legitimate screenwriting guru — Obi-Wan Kenobi: “Go with your feelings.”

Screw convention. Follow your gut. Tell the story YOU want to tell. Tell the story IT wants to be.

So yes, I was pissed. Here the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge has resulted in amazing results, hundreds of writers freed up from the chains of perfectionism and procrastination, only to get caught up in the paradigms and patterns purveyed by this cottage industry of ‘gurus’. I calmed down the next day and wrote this:

Let me add this point as I may have come off a bit strident in my comments last night. It’s just that I intersect with SO MANY WRITERS who have read this book, bought that webinar, attended those weekend seminars, and have come away from the entire process confused, confounded, and reduced to thinking that screenplay structure is somehow getting certain things to happen by certain page counts.

While it’s entirely possible to read one of the zillion books by the cottage industry of screenwriting ‘gurus’ and learn something helpful, it’s also possible to get all messed up in the head.

Moreover in my dealings over the years with literally thousands of writers, the apparent focus of many, if not most of these ‘gurus’ is on PLOT. That’s only PART of screenplay structure. I have posted on this on the blog many times.

We may think of the screenplay universe as comprised of two worlds: The External World of Action and Dialogue. That’s what we See and Hear. But there is ALWAYS something else going on in what we may call the Internal World. So where there is Action, in the Internal World there is a character’s Intentions. And where there is Dialogue, in the Internal World there is a character’s Subtext.

That domain — the psychological and emotional realm of the character’s individual and collective experience — is, I would argue, at least as important to screenplay structure as the plot. Indeed, if you engage you characters deeply and directly, the plot should emerge organically through that process. And THAT is how you will best come to understand one of the biggest keys to your story: The nature of the characters’ — specifically the Protagonist — metamorphosis / transformation / change.

That is what I call an Inside Out approach to writing, where you spend a lot of your time INSIDE the story universe and the story structure emerges OUT of that character development work you do. As opposed to an Outside In approach whereby it’s more about plugging in scenes per some sort of preassigned set of plot points, page count numbers, sequence theory, etc.

Part of the power of the Zero Draft is instead of being so concerned about page count and act breaks and scene length and so forth, we allow ourselves the freedom to trust in the characters, see where they take us. That’s where surprises come in. And if something surprises you as you’re writing it, it’s likely to surprise a reader, a great antidote to writing a formulaic script.

So since one of my ‘rules’ is there are no rules when it comes to screenwriting, let me amend my comments from last night: There may very well be a ‘guru’ out there whose books, webinars, etc have some value for you. I can’t make a blanket statement against that practice. My comments last night were more of an emotional reaction to, as I say, the hundreds and hundreds of writers I’ve heard from and worked with who have been messed up by reading the conflicting theories and language systems of a variety of consultants and ‘gurus’. And spent a great deal of money in the process.

You may find something of value there.

However you can learn the craft by doing certain things for little cost. Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. Heck, there are 18,000 plus posts on my blog that are all FREE. And now that I think about it, you can add this FB group to your available free resources.

But if there’s one thing you take away from the this experience with the Challenge, I hope it’s this: Start with characters. End with characters. And the story will emerge in between.

As we all pound our way through our pages in the Challenge, we are compelled to FEEL more than THINK when we write. This forces us into the lives of our characters, basically saying, “Okay, guys and gals. You want me to write this thing? Then you gotta talk to me and show me what you got going on.”

Some quotes:

Ethan Canin: “Don’t write about a character. Become that character, and then write your story.”

Ann Charters: “Plot is what keeps you going when you read a story, character is what stays with you.”

William Faulkner: “It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.”

Naomi Foner: “As the characters become alive to me, there are things that I think they’re going to do that they refuse to do and as I get closer, they won’t do and then I have to let them tell me where they’re going.”

Bob Gale: “The three things that matter most in a story are characters, characters and characters.”

If you find something of a value from a ‘how to’ screenwriting book, great. But you cannot beat the fundamentals of learning and practicing the craft. Watch movies and analyze them. Read scripts and break them down. And when you write pages, immerse yourself in the lives of your characters and let them lead you into and through plotting process. You are much more likely to create a vibrant, compelling, entertaining, and lively story… and avoid the trap of formulaic writing.