I've been looking for the building blocks of story for a while now. With the overwhelming amount of information out there, a lot of it contridictory, on story I always thought their had to be a simple underlying principal that worked in all situations. From the three line joke to the 1000 page novel to the 120 page screenplay.
That's when I ran across Chris Soth's Million Dollar Screenwriting Method and I found what I was looking for. Chris's method is a modified version of what he learned at the USC Graduate Screenwritng Program. Chris teaches that all the pleasure we recieve from story is from the building up and releasing of tension, which is derived from Sigmund Freud's pleasure principal. And you create that tension by playing with the hope and fears of an audience. First you make them think their worst fear is coming true and that builds up the tension, then you make them think their fondest hope is just around the corner and it releases that built up tension. He's even has developed a shorthand equation for it. T = H v. F
Now I always look for the tension in everything I write. From The logline to treatments to scene work, all the way down to a simple beat or dialogue exchange. It's the most elementary of things and really helps focus your attention on what's important and breathes life into anything your working on. Give it a try!
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Building Blocks Of Story
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