How To Write A Great Story (Decades Of Wisdom Distilled Down To 17 Minutes)

Summary

This script delves into the art of storytelling, emphasizing the importance of character development, conflict, and transformation. It highlights the necessity of a clear goal and obstacles for the protagonist, creating a dramatic question that drives the narrative. The speaker encourages writers to explore their ideas deeply, refine their process, and maintain their unique voice, while also stressing the emotional truth and human experience at the core of every compelling story.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The core of every story is a character with a goal and the obstacles they face in trying to achieve it.
• 🔑 A story's 'magic sauce' involves creating a dramatic question that keeps the audience engaged and wanting to know the outcome.
• 🌟 Characters should undergo a transformation, which is a key element of storytelling and a reflection of self-understanding for the audience.
• 🛣️ The protagonist's journey is driven by their desires and the conflicts that arise from pursuing those desires.
• 🤔 Characters should have flaws that create conflict and drive the narrative forward, making the story more interesting.
• 💡 Idea generation is crucial; the best ideas often come from persistent thought and the rejection of less compelling ones.
• 📝 The log line is a one-sentence summary of the story that can capture interest and serve as a guiding principle during writing.
• ✍️ Every writer must find their own process, with no right or wrong way, as long as it works for them and facilitates creativity.
• 🎯 Clarity of goals and stakes in each scene is vital for creating suspense and tension, driving the narrative forward.
• 🔍 Scenes should be evaluated based on whether they advance the character toward their goal or force them to confront an obstacle.
• 📈 The process of writing involves asking questions that shape the narrative, character development, and plot progression.

Q & A

What is considered the 'magic sauce' in turning a feeling or idea into a story?

The 'magic sauce' is the transformation that occurs within the story, which is the core of every narrative and the driving force that propels the plot forward.

Why is it important for a story to have a character trying to accomplish something?

A character with a goal creates a dramatic question, which is the central conflict of the story and keeps the audience engaged, wondering if the character will achieve their objective.

What is the significance of obstacles in a story?

Obstacles challenge the character's goals and create conflict, which is essential for driving the narrative and revealing the character's depth and growth.

How do character flaws contribute to a story?

Character flaws introduce mistakes and conflict, making the story more interesting and allowing the audience to understand the character more deeply.

What is the purpose of transformation in a story?

Transformation serves as the purpose of a story, as it helps the audience understand themselves better by providing insight into the human experience and emotional truth.

Why is it crucial for a character to struggle in their pursuit of a goal?

Struggle adds depth to the character's journey, making it relatable and engaging for the audience, who often want to see characters display strength and resilience.

What is the role of a log line in the story development process?

A log line is a one-sentence summary of the plot that encapsulates the story's essence, serving as a 'North Star' to guide the writer through the development process.

How does the writer ensure that every scene in a story moves the narrative forward?

Each scene must have a clear goal and stakes for the character, creating tension and suspense that propel the story towards its resolution.

What is the importance of the inciting incident in a story?

The inciting incident is a pivotal event that sets the character on their journey, introducing a problem or goal that needs to be resolved.

How should a writer approach the development of their writing process?

A writer should find a process that works for them, whether it involves writing at specific times of the day or in bursts, and should be open to experimentation and self-reflection.

Why is it beneficial for a writer to ask questions during the writing process?

Asking questions helps a writer clarify the story's direction, character motivations, and plot development, ensuring that every scene and element serves the narrative.

Outlines

00:00

🚗 The Essence of Storytelling

This paragraph delves into the fundamental question of what makes a story compelling, likening it to the 'magic sauce' that propels a car. It emphasizes the importance of a character's journey, obstacles, and the actions they take as the core of the narrative. The paragraph also touches on the dramatic question that hooks the audience, the transformation of the protagonist, and the significance of conflict and character flaws in driving the story forward. It suggests that stories are a means to understand ourselves better and that the struggle and growth of characters are what captivate the audience.

05:00

🔍 The Creative Process of Writing

The second paragraph focuses on the writer's journey to create original work by forcing oneself to explore deeper levels of ideas. It discusses the process of refining an idea, the importance of a log line to encapsulate the story, and the writer's individual process. The paragraph highlights the need to experiment with different writing methods to find what works best for the individual. It also touches on the importance of having a clear theme and understanding the characters' emotional needs and goals, suggesting that the writing process is about asking and answering questions that shape the narrative.

10:04

📝 Crafting the Story Structure

This paragraph outlines the process of developing a story's structure, starting with an inciting incident and moving through key plot points such as the midpoint and the all-is-lost moment. It discusses the creation of a beat sheet to organize the sequence of events and the importance of each scene contributing to the story's progression. The paragraph stresses the significance of conflict and tension in driving the narrative and the necessity of every scene to advance the character's visible goal or confront an obstacle. It also emphasizes the importance of clarity of goals and stakes in creating suspense.

15:06

🎭 The Emotional Core of Storytelling

The final paragraph emphasizes the emotional aspect of storytelling, stating that the emotion in a scene arises from conflict, anticipation, or audience expectation. It argues that stories are fundamentally about the human experience and should resonate with the audience's fears and desires. The paragraph encourages writers to explore and excavate the elements of their story, ensuring that there is an emotional truth at its core. It concludes with advice to maintain one's unique voice and storytelling instincts, and to be brave and bold in the creative process.

Keywords

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the art of conveying events in a narrative form to an audience. It is central to the video's theme, emphasizing the process of turning ideas into a narrative that engages the audience. The script discusses the importance of storytelling as a means to understand ourselves better, illustrating this with the metaphor of a car that needs to 'go' or move the audience through a compelling narrative.

💡Character

A character is a person or figure in a narrative. The script underscores the significance of characters in driving a story forward. It mentions that every story revolves around a character trying to accomplish something, facing obstacles, and taking actions that define the narrative. The character's journey, transformation, and conflict are highlighted as key elements of storytelling.

💡Obstacle

An obstacle is a hindrance or barrier that opposes the achievement of a goal. In the context of the video, obstacles are what create tension and drama within a story. The script describes how characters must confront obstacles in their pursuit, which in turn shapes the narrative and propels the story forward.

💡Transformation

Transformation refers to a significant change in form, appearance, or character. The script posits that transformation is a key element of a story, signifying the personal growth or change that a character undergoes. It is the purpose of the story, as it allows the audience to gain insight and understand themselves better through the character's journey.

💡Dramatic Question

A dramatic question is a central issue or problem that drives the narrative and keeps the audience engaged. The script explains that the dramatic question, such as whether the character will achieve their goal, is crucial for maintaining audience interest and suspense throughout the story.

💡Conflict

Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces or characters, central to creating drama in a story. The script discusses how conflict arises from characters' interactions, their internal struggles, and the obstacles they face in pursuing their goals. It is a driving force that propels the narrative and adds depth to the story.

💡Flaw

A flaw in storytelling refers to a weakness or imperfection in a character that can lead to mistakes and create conflict. The script highlights the importance of flaws, suggesting that they make characters more interesting and human. It argues that flaws are essential for a character's development and the unfolding of the story's drama.

💡Idea

An idea in the context of the video is the initial concept or inspiration for a story. The script emphasizes the importance of selecting and refining a viable idea for a story. It suggests that the best ideas are those that recur and resonate with the storyteller, and that a large number of ideas should be considered to find the most compelling one.

💡Log Line

A log line is a one-sentence summary of a story's plot, designed to be an interesting pitch. The script mentions the importance of crafting a log line as a 'North Star' for the story, providing a clear and concise encapsulation of the narrative that can quickly engage potential readers or audiences.

💡Process

Process in the video refers to the individual methods and steps a writer takes to create a story. The script discusses the importance of finding one's own writing process, emphasizing that there is no right or wrong way to write. It suggests that writers should experiment with different approaches to discover what works best for them.

💡Scene

A scene is a unit of action in a narrative that typically takes place in a single location and time. The script discusses the importance of clarity of goals and stakes within a scene to create suspense and tension. It also emphasizes that every scene should move the story forward, contributing to the overall narrative and character development.

Highlights

Turning feelings or ideas into a story requires understanding the core elements of storytelling.

Every story is about a character trying to accomplish something and facing obstacles.

The character's actions in response to obstacles form the narrative of the story.

A story creates a dramatic question that holds the audience's interest.

Transformation is a key element in storytelling, reflecting personal growth or change.

Conflicts and character flaws drive the narrative and create more engaging stories.

The protagonist's journey involves a series of experiences leading to transformation.

The character's struggle and growth are central to the audience's emotional investment.

Storytelling involves a push-pull of hope and fear as the character faces challenges.

Characters should not resolve their goals easily; struggle and conflict are essential.

Flaws are as important as strengths in the character development process.

The selection of a viable story idea is a critical and often overlooked part of the writing process.

Originality in writing comes from forcing oneself to explore ideas deeply.

A good story idea resonates with people and sparks their curiosity.

The process of writing is personal and should be adapted to the individual's preferences and habits.

Writing is a process of asking questions to develop the story and characters.

Scenes should have clear goals and stakes to create suspense and tension.

Every scene must move the story forward and contribute to the character's journey.

Emotion in storytelling comes from conflict and relatable human experiences.

The writer's voice and instincts are vital for creating an engaging and authentic story.

Transcripts

How am I going to turn whatever feeling or idea  I have into a story? How are they doing that?  

What is the magic sauce? If I got in a car, the  most beautiful car in the world, turn on the key,  

it doesn't work, I don't want the car. It's got to  go. What makes the car go? That's a big question,  

that's a great question because that's at the core  of everything. You have now this energy that's  

like just glowing inside of you to create. I just  could not let it go. It was a story I had to tell.  

Start by understanding what elements it takes to  have a story but every story is really about a  

problem, every story is about a character trying  to accomplish something and having an obstacle  

and what they do, what action they take in the  face of the obstacles is your story. If you don't  

have those basic elements and that's not the whole  story obviously but if you don't have those basic  

elements then really what is the story? You don't  have a character to sort of be our vehicle through  

a series of events and you don't have anything  propelling them forward or driving them forward  

if they're not trying to achieve something every  story creates a dramatic question and the dramatic  

question is will the person get what they want  or not and that's what holds us to the story I'm  

here because something is changing for them and I  now need to watch them to struggle through it grow  

through it whatever is going to happen on that  Journey that's why I'm here in other words your  

protagonist goes through a series of experiences  that lead to a transformation transformation in  

a story is a key element and whether it  comes through your main character or your  

main character changing everyone else it doesn't  matter it's just that transformation is actually  

the purpose of the story it's actually the purpose  of the story because the reason we tell stories is  

to actually understand ourselves better and that  Insight is a transformation for us I believe any  

story is really about how a character trying to  accomplish something runs into other people who  

either help or harm their intention it's because  characters have been in trouble characters have  

had a conflict characters had to discover things  about themselves that they didn't want to look at  

something happened they you know it that's what  makes drama they're kind of struggling suffering  

being punished by the situation they're in the  upside down World they find themselves in the  

problem or goal that they're trying to resolve  which they're an underdog and they're overmatched  

and the world is not giving them what they want  what are they doing to try to get it how does  

that make them face something in themselves  and how do they grow and do they finally get  

this thing or do they get it in a way that they  didn't expect if we know what that character is  

trying to achieve that gives us like a yardstick  to measure is he succeeding or is he failing is he  

making progress or is he had having setbacks right  and that's the that's that like push-pull of like  

hope and fear that we have when we're watching  the movie is we're hoping that he makes progress  

and gets to his destination but we're fearing  the worst we're fearing all these obstacles are  

going to derail him or you know um end up you know  damaging him in some way we don't want our heroes  

to resolve things easily you know we want them to  struggle we want them to fight you know we want we  

want us we want them to show the strength that  we wish we had or that we believe that we have  

if somebody has a goal and they go after it and  they get it we're like okay the story's over their  

flaws can be just as important to that process as  their strengths in fact probably more so because  

if they're put into something that's playing  perfectly to their strengths then it's probably  

too easy for them it's their flaws that make it  interesting it's so good to have a character that  

has a flaw because then they make mistakes  which creates more conflict and then they do  

things out of fear which allows us to understand  them more deeply if your character doesn't have a  

flaw that they need to overcome it's going to be  difficult I think as a Storyteller to figure out  

the journey that they need to go on to overcome  that flaw whatever your idea is is probably  

the thing that's going to come to you first the  most important part of the process most writers  

bypass too quickly which is selecting the idea and  understanding what makes a viable idea every day  

you should be thinking about story ideas because  there's some ideas you you know just come up with  

a mat throw it away you know it's pretty good but  it's not great but the ones that keep reoccurring  

you know are the ones that you know I I feel like  okay I gotta work on this there's something here  

they're out there all over the place they're in  newspaper articles they're in conversations you  

hear with people at the coffee shop they're on  the radio if I come up with one idea that's one  

idea and it could be a terrible idea if I come  up with a hundred ideas or 60 ideas or whatever  

I can comb through and find the very best idea and  eventually when you reach that past the 10 or 12  

15 all the way up to 20 you'll start getting some  really original ways because you forced yourself  

and so that's that's what the writer needs to do  you got to force yourself to go deeper in order  

to create some original writing I think you know  that it's working when you're like you know oh  

I really want to keep you know I want to keep  going I want to know I personally want to know  

what happens next so I'm going to pick it apart  first I want to find all the flaws with whatever  

ideas the idea is and try to get past those flaws  and and remove them so that the idea is great this  

is why you have a good idea yeah not when people  go that's great when they think about it for about  

three seconds and they go oh that's good that's  when you know it's actually connecting with people  

so you know if you have an idea and you say  that to 10 people and they kind of all go oh  

they ask you about it again later you know it's  a good idea the first process is getting the log  

line down what's a log line for your story and  that's just a really one sentence way to be able  

to encapsulate your plot and in a way that's  interesting it makes people want to read your  

script boiling it down to a sentence that you  can pitch to somebody like what's it about and  

you know people get it right away um if I can I  come up with a log line and I kind of use that  

as my North Star that way I remember okay it's  always about this moment that may change over time  

okay so how do we craft it every writer has to  find their own process the first important thing  

about your process is recognizing that it's  yours that there is not a right or wrong way  

um some people write at night some people write  in the day some people write in short bursts  

some people write in long extended verse it's  there's no particular Better or Worse process  

the important thing about a process is something  that you can do relatively easily for whatever  

reason it works for you and that means you have  to spend time paying attention to yourself trying  

different things and seeing which ones work and  which ones don't work you have to figure out what  

works well for you it's always better to try and  do some work and see how it goes you'll never get  

to the place where you absolutely know that you  can write and then you start writing it's always  

a question of let me try this see what comes  out do not care about doing anything wrong  

just spill your guts there's an idea for something  that I want to write great what do I want to say  

what's the theme so I go there first what do you  want to write about like what's your idea and they  

probably have the idea I usually have an idea or  a concept or a story I kind of want to tell and  

and in writing it I find the characters I find the  story give me three words about the story it could  

be just three three words Revenge um another word  so we'll we'll start with those words then give me  

a character what's the character's job what does  that person do and what does that character want  

to do I always like to break down what they want  into two parts like they have an emotional need  

like to find love or connection or for revenge  or power or whatever and then there's a specific  

immediate goal that they pursue in the story  that satisfies that emotional need it usually  

just starts with one scene where I'll see that so  crystal clear it's one of my favorite moments of  

the creation process when I'm starting to write  it's not coming from a from a starting place it's  

coming from a scene I already had so I write that  scene out the most Vivid thing about what I think  

about this idea I write that scene out without any  it doesn't have to fit anywhere I don't know where  

this is but I just see these characters doing this  at some point I don't want to know the whole story  

beat by beat by beat because I figured some things  out along the way that I would have never thought  

of now there's other times I've kind of thought  the whole thing out almost you know in in more  

you know bigger beats and bigger sections but  that's usually what it is I know the first act,  

how it ends, what happens in the middle and  then what happens to the end for some people  

they only need to know a g m and z right I need  to know a through z so my outlines are long and  

people usually know what the end is people  usually kind of know what the setup is and  

they kind of know what the resolution is where's  it ending where are we going I know whether it  

is going to be happy or sad and sometimes  it has a happy ending where the character  

triumphs learns to deal with it and sometimes  it has a tragic ending where the character  

is unable to deal with it eventually something  will end it either the end will be I don't get  

it or I do get it and whatever they do that they  had never tried before is How It Ends because if  

they had tried it before it would end before I  think the way you start is so much more important  

because your end organically comes from your  beginning what I want to have them in and then  

I start them with the exact opposite in the very  beginning so I have two pieces that I need I know  

I need an exciting incident what sets them off on  their Journey there has to be an exciting incident  

something has to come in and make change cause  problems cause a goal that needs to be achieved  

at the beginning of the story your character may  want something that they don't have right and  

they're just kind of living their life but we get  the sense that they want something that they don't  

have and then there is this inciting incident or  call to adventure where maybe they have the chance  

to get what they want but it's like super scary  then I need a midpoint so kind of twist that  

happens in the middle and then I need an all this  lost moment so I have those five points and then  

from there I go ahead and I start making beats so  I knowing that I need to get to these five points  

then I begin to create a beat sheet and the beat  sheet is literally just okay then this happens and  

then this happens and then this happens and then  meet this person then this happens writing is a  

process of questions that like if I could there's  a couple of things that I wish I could like get  

tattooed on the inside of people's eyelids  that they knew thinking scenes and writing is  

a process of questions it's not a thing you have  to fill out it's not a form that you have to fit  

into writing is a question is always a process of  having something it could be just I want to write  

a western or I want to talk about how love hurts  or I want to talk about how love saved my life  

whatever it is that you start with then you start  to ask questions how am I going to tell this story  

am I going to tell it through a character who gets  it or a story that doesn't get it everything is  

going to be a choice every question that  you ask if you write down that question  

how am I going to tell this story who is the  main character everything is a question and those  

questions are who's it about what do they want  why can't they get it what do they do about that  

why doesn't that work how does it end those six  questions basically will help you write anything  

you should have already asked the questions who  is my hero what is the hero's wound what are they  

afraid of what is their visible goal all these  questions that you set up in the story is really  

what holds us to the story and so you know in  setting up your character you don't want to  

just tell us a bunch of stuff about the character  you know maybe we see them do something and we go  

that's weird why are they doing that and we keep  wondering that until later we get the answer to  

that question as as we start to fully understand  kind of who this person is and why they are the  

way they are before you even start writing the  words of the scene you want to step back and as  

usual my suggest my advice is ask questions  so how do you make a good scene work every  

time you ask a question and you get a specific  answer you're moving closer to writing a scene  

the number one thing I think when it comes  to scene work is clarity of goals and stakes  

clarity stakes are really important for characters  because they create suspense and tension around  

the goal right so if they don't achieve what they  want to achieve something terrible will happen  

they will lose something it's interesting how  often writers tend to write scenes of characters  

kind of getting along and kind of having victories  aand I usually say that you know in a story the  

victories generally only come at the very end  if they come anywhere other than the very end  

they're usually very short-lived and often  overshadowed by the bigger problem that still  

demands resolution because what keeps the drama  or the comedy moving is that sense of there's a  

problem I'm trying to solve this problem there's  this goal I'm trying to reach this goal each scene  

has to move the story forward and conflict will  kind of ebb and flow but there always has to be  

tension in the story the next question you want to  ask is what does my character want in this scene  

and does that desire is that desire going to her  do they think it's going to move them closer to  

their goal or at least overcome an obstacle  to achieving their goal if the answer to that  

question is no then the scene should be jettisoned  it's not serving the story because every scene has  

to move the character closer to their visible goal  or force them to face an obstacle or anticipate an  

obstacle that they didn't know they were going to  previously then I'll go back after a day and I'll  

start looking at it and I'll go back into each  of these scenes and I make sure like is there  

are there nuances in there am I did I write  too much is there's too many words you know  

once you you've looked at that scene and you  kind of areas the rest of the story starting  

to fall into place do I see what's going to be  happening now in this story if the answer is yes  

keep going to make sure that it makes sense  that based upon these beats or these scenes  

this character is changing and they're making  decisions and there's conflict and who's com you  

know who's creating the conflict and I start  coming up with characters that can help to  

drive this protagonist one way or the other and  because every scene is supposed to be cause and  

effect what happens in this scene is because  of what happened in that scene then looking  

at that beat sheet lets you know these are the  scenes that I need to get to the next beat and  

these are the scenes that I need to get to the  next beat because you know that the point is I  

need to get from A to B to C to D to e you know  whatever it has to promise lots of conflict the  

emotion of a movie and the emotion of any scene  is primarily going to grow out of the conflict if  

it's not the conflict being faced right then  it's the conflict that they are anticipating  

or occasionally that the audience is anticipating  there have to be those human feelings and desires  

and fears that we can relate to if it's not  coming out of here it's not worth it it's just  

imagination it's good up to a point but it has  to have an emotional truth in its simplest form a  

story is the human experience there's something  in there that's scaring you and that's good  

you need to go there they don't care your  smartness that's not important they want  

the guts because that's what they want that's  what they pay for for the writers to go through  

the process of exploring excavating pulling apart  looking at all the elements of a story that they  

know better than anybody else everything that you  can do to put a little something down to to create  

a bit of something for your creativity to hang on  to you know I want people to just jump into it and  

write a story in 30 minutes and then kind of walk  away and go I can do it and this is like yeah you  

can keep your voice that's the most important  thing I was a it's like don't lose your voice  

don't lose your instincts your childlike  instincts for telling stories as Garrett  

just said be brave be bold and mighty forces  will come to your aid you got story to tell so…