BPS 087: The Essentials of Great Screenwriting with John Truby

1 Comment

1. Mike on October 7, 2020 at 6:45 am

   Just listened to this show today and thought it was fantastic. Loved the reasoning that plot is everything, that if you become stuck it’s not writer’s block but a failure of the plot. It’s soooo great to hear that. Also, dismissing the idea of a 3/5 whatever act structure was music to my ears – anything can be retrofitted to fit within a structure you have a bias towards. Simple stories can fit into a simple structure (beginning, middle, end), but more complex stories (Lost, Reservoir Dogs, Being John Malkovich, Dark) feed off intricate plots littered with challenges and reveals – something the gaming industry has refined down to hyper addictive levels.

   I’ve had a story in my head for over a decade now, and because of COVID I actually have an opportunity to devote time to writing it; which is kinda weird. I’ve become ‘stuck’ once or twice – or maybe a few more times – not because of my characters or the story I want to tell, but purely because I reach a point where the plot wasn’t well enough thought through. If the internal logic of the story world dictates I can go no further along a particular path without jeopardising the belief that, yes, these characters would absolutely do that in that situation then I have a dilemma: do I force a solution, or do I give attention to the plot? Personally, I prefer to fix the plot, even if it means unravelling a thread.

   BTW: Avatar. Once Neytiri shows up it was always going to be a love story that drove the plot.
   Cameron loves love stories that come up against super-obstacles which, though thinly written (because he’s never that interested in the antagonist), provide just enough pressure to juice things on:

   Terminator: Sarah & Kyle V Terminator
   True Lies: Harry & Helen V mid-life crisis and terrorists
   Titanic: Jack & Rose V Billy Zane and history
   Avatar: Jake and Neytiri V Toxic Masculinity and Greed