How to Fix Your Story Problems

I recently had a colleague assess the first draft of my new adventure/romance script set during the founding of Israel. One of his biggest notes re the script (there were also some big compliments) was that my act two crisis point (plot point two) was muddled. That’s a serious problem! Everything in act two must drive to this crisis point and in my script it should have been a clear, big failure point for the heroes. It wasn’t.

In this newsletter, I don’t want to go into the actual concrete content of how I fixed this problem (adding this failure, increasing that stake, etc.). I want to show in principle how I used my mind to find the answers to this big story problem.

I always tell my story clients the following:

You have to ask the right questions to get the best answers.

What was especially helpful about the notes I received on my script was that they clearly showed what I had done wrong or in fact hadn’t done. But the notes didn’t give me any practical suggestions or solutions of on-the-page fixes for the problem. Thus, I had to ask myself the right questions so I alone could find the concrete solutions or answers.

Actionable Creative Takeaway

This is how I got the solutions to my crisis point crisis:

Of course, the answers came just as I was trying to get to sleep. I couldn’t stop my mind ticking over about my script and this plot point issue. That’s good! I had primed my subconscious to look for answers. I had in effect given it a standing order to think about this crisis point problem. But that was not enough. I also had to explicitly question all the related material in my subconscious mind. I had to push myself. I did that in this sequential way:

1) I clarified to myself exactly what the problem was. This included thinking about precisely what is a Crisis Point and what is its purpose in a story.

2) I then recalled the events of this part of the script and brought up that whole dramatic context.

3) I then asked myself relevant questions like: What is missing from this scene/series of scenes? How can I make this a bigger failure and loss for the heroes? How can I increase the stakes?

And so on.

You get the point.

One of the keys to becoming a creative is learning how to use your mind to create stories, especially to develop the creative interaction between your conscious and subconscious mind. Ayn Rand in her The Art of Fiction book (chapter one) explains this vital writing principle and I encourage you to study this chapter, and book.

Next time you learn about a vital story or character issue in one of your scripts, remember to ask the right questions to get the best answers! As a writing coach, I teach my clients what are the key questions.

….

Scott McConnell is a writer and story consultant for producers and writers.

  “Scott McConnell is an excellent Script Editor.” Snorri Þórisson, CEO Pegasus Pictures 

Stories are ideas in action!

© 2023 COPYRIGHT SCOTT MCCONNELL