How to Twist an Old Story Formula to Create a New Story

The original Karate Kid films of Robert Mark Kamen were very well done and popular, with the first film especially being smartly written and dramatic. Mr. Miyagi from these films has become a cultural figure.

Recently I was watching and enjoying the new sequel television series to the Karate Kid films, Cobra Kai, currently on Netflix. The series was developed very well and applies a classic principle of story development:

Reverse or twist a clichéd or old story premise.

In this case, the series creators twisted some of the premises of the original Karate Kid “formula”. For those of you who know the original three Karate Kid movies, the Cobra Kai series pulls off some smart reversals and changes.

In the series, former poor kid Daniel LaRusso is now wealthy and lives in a mansion. His former nemesis Johnny Lawrence has reversed from rich kid to unemployed worker and alcoholic. And it’s Johnny who still has an interest in karate and is now helping bullied kids, while he struggles to grow as a person and a dad. Johnny is the lead character in the story so far, not Daniel. Daniel in the series so far is more the rich jerk who hassles his over-protected daughter and others. Important dramatically is that Daniel no longer practices karate and has forgotten some of its key life lessons taught to him by Mr. Miyagi.

Daniel’s life becomes complicated when his teen daughter begins hanging out with a group of spoiled rich girls and accidentally smashes Johnny’s car. As a consequence, Daniel and Johnny re-meet and because of a misunderstanding and their different backgrounds they soon clash.

The character and plot reversals in this series (in contrast to the original films) are captivating story development and dramatic storytelling! These changes (and others) make the old premise of The Karate Kid fresh and emotionally engaging.

The Writing Tip Takeaway

Don’t offer up the old cliches we’ve seen a thousand times in stories. But do use these cliches: Reverse them or turn them on their head in a new and clever way. When confronting a story cliché or a successful but old story, ask yourself: How can I make this story formula different or the opposite of what it is? Developing an old story idea takes strong imagination and hard work but reversing old ideas is a tried and tested way to make something new, and a good story to boot.

Here is the trailer for the newly adapted and enjoyable Cobra Kai season 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y

Stories are ideas in action!

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