Photo via Go Into the Story.
You have a blind date. Nothing to go on, just a name. You smile, you shake hands, and then without preamble, your date sits down and launches into a monologue of therapy-grade personal disclosure.
They tell you what the weather was like and what they were wearing during an event in their past, the significance of which is not even slightly apparent. This goes on for ten minutes. You checked out eight minutes ago. This is a terrible, terrible date.
- How memorable is it? A coffee date is not as promising as an ice-climbing or backstage passes date.
- How charming is it? Is it focused completely on illuminating all the corners of itself, or does it understand which details are better left to the reader’s imagination?
- Does it pick up the check? Good stories are cathartic. They don’t resort to half-measures at the end. The writer did the asking, so the writer pays.
Set out fully intending to get that second date.
Annie is a screenwriter, story consultant, and reader for major screenplay competitions.
nywift
Related Posts
Notes from a Screenreader: Hoarder Edition
Photo via Go Into the Story. A first draft is a hoarder house. It is piled full of things of great value to the writer,...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Pitch Me
Photo via Go Into the Story. Ninety seconds is more than enough time to pitch a well-defined story. The elements that make a story interesting...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Well, Obviously
Photo via Go Into the Story. The post “Writing Advice So Obvious It Gets Overlooked” covers the most fundamental of all story fundamentals (thanks to...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Bad Contractors Build Great Characters
Photo via Go Into the Story. Like badly built houses, when your characters suffer from faults in their very foundation they can get by just...
READ MORE
