The Screenwriter's Quest: 3 Dragons Every Novice Must Slay
The Make-or-Break Elements Even Pro Writers Miss
While writing a story can go wrong in countless ways, three critical mistakes stand out above the rest.
Now, I’ve been teaching screenwriting for over a decade (yes, I’m old), and I’ve seen scripts crash and burn for just about every reason imaginable. Most of the time it’s for obvious reasons, you know like forgetting you need a coherent plot or character development, but in my experience, the real story killers are not so obvious.
Today, we’re going to look at three kinds of traps that mostly all beginners and a lot of pros mess up. I can’t promise you’ll be able to crush these obstacles just by reading this article, but knowing the challenges is the first step to solving them.
Your Characters are Archetypes, Not People
Characters aren’t real people. Obvious, right? But you’d be surprised how many writers forget this fundamental fact.
Anything can be a character - animals, cars, talking toasters. So what really separates humans from characters? It’s not quirks or unique qualities.
Here’s the deal: Audiences don’t give a crap about your character’s favorite ice cream flavor or their cute habit of whistling when they’re nervous. What they care about is seeing themselves in the character.
Characters are emotional avatars. They're vessels for the audience to pour their feelings into for a couple of hours. Your job is to create a character that lets the viewer tag along on an adventure they couldn't experience in real life. And at the end, that character needs to grow a little, giving the audience hope that they can grow too.
That's what characters are for. Not to be "realistic" or "unique," but to be universal enough that anyone can slip into their shoes for a while, and pretend their life doesn’t suck absolute balls.
You've Got Your Stakes All Wrong
Let's talk stakes. Most writers think piling on external factors justifies their character's crazy actions. They figure, "If I want my guy to rob a bank, he needs to owe money, have a sick mom, a dying dog, and maybe a weird obsession with rubbing cash all over his body."
THAT’S NOT HOW STAKES WORK!
Here's the real deal: Stakes answer one question:
"Why now?"
That's the question lurking in every viewer's mind. Your job is to make them believe this slice of time you're showing is the most crucial moment in the movie world's history.
Remember, your story's world existed before your script started and will keep existing after "The End" fades out. So why should we care about this particular moment?
The secret: Make the stakes personal and tied to your character's core. It's not about the money or the sick relatives. It's about what achieving (or failing) this goal will mean for who your character is at their deepest level.
Get this right, and your audience will be on the edge of their seats. Get it wrong, and they'll be checking their phones, wondering why the hell they got out of their man-cave to watch your hot garbage of a movie.
You Can’t Handle the Truth!
This is where most writers really drop the ball. There's a massive difference between showing events and revealing truth. It's what separates a forgettable script from one that makes people question their entire existence.
Here's the deal:
THE truth and A truth are not the same thing.
It's what separates the good from the great.
It's like how great documentaries don't just show you something real, they tell you a story that hits you in the gut.
So how do you find this elusive "universal truth"?
Look inside yourself.
What have you learned about life? About the world? About your sorry self? We've all experienced some kind of universal truth, and we're dying to express it. You just have to dig it out.
Caution: This might hurt. It involves facing your trauma, your pain, all the crap you've been avoiding. But guess what? That's where the gold is. Treat it like therapy. Only by facing your inner demons and finding your personal truth can you write something people actually give a damn about.
If you're not willing to go there, do us all a favor and stick to writing greeting cards. Because without truth, your script is just another pile of words that'll end up in a producer's trash can.
Look, conquering these screenwriting dragons is a bitch. It's not for the faint of heart or the easily discouraged. But here's the thing: every badass writer you admire has walked through this same fire. It's tough, it's painful, and sometimes it feels like you're bashing your head against a wall. But trust me, it's worth it (maybe… what do I know?). But don’t let my failures get you down. Keep fighting, keep writing, and don't dare give up.
Your story matters.