the fundamentals of screenwriting and storymaking for writers and filmmakers by james bonnet

7/31/2019 The Fundamentals of Screenwriting and Storymaking for Writers and Filmmakers by James Bonnet

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introduced me to Leonard Stern, the Executive Producer, who referred me to Bochco.So Bochco had never seen my work and had no idea what I could do. We had a meeting, discussed a couple of ideas, butnothing happened.

Then one day, while I was in my kitchen making some coffee, a thought popped intomy head and on an impulse I called Bochco.

Whatve you got? he asked, after the usual amenities.

Susan gets lost in the Bermuda Triangle.

I love it, he said. Ill get back to you.

Ten minutes later he called me back and said: I hope you can write. Youve got adeal.

Now, as it turned out, Bochco had called the producer, who loved it and told Bochcoto call their contact at NBC. Bochco called the contact and the contact called hissuperior, and pitched it to him. Then the contact called Bochco back and Bochcocalled me. All within less than ten minutes.

It was the highest paying show on television, and at that moment, Susan gets lost inthe Bermuda Triangle was the sum total of what I knew about that story idea.

The High Concept is an important part of both the beginning and the end of theprocess. In the beginning, it is a powerful seed that can help you both create and sellyour story. At the end of the process, it is the face you will put on the story when you tryto market it. Its what the public will see on the book jacket or movie poster. And hereagain, your mission has to be accomplished in very few words. So what were talkingabout is going to be useful in both the front and the back ends. And it would be nice toknow up front that you have a concept that can be marketed.

Part Two

There are four elements that can help you accomplish this goal -- The FASCINATING

SUBJECT, The GREAT TITLE, The INCITING ACTION, which is the problem of your story, andThe HOOK, which reveals the uniqueness or special circumstances of your story.

Well begin with The FASCINATING SUBJECT

What is a fascinating subject? A fascinating subject is just that, a subject that is in itselfintriguing. The story arouses our interest just because of the subject. Thats a tremendousasset.

Not long ago, I walked into a bookstore. I walked past the first table and a book

caught by eye.I walked another 20 steps, stopped and went back. The title that caught my eye was:Cleopatras Secret Diaries . The thought of learning the intimate secrets of one of theworlds most famous lovers was very intriguing to me.


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What are some of the subjects that have worked in the past? Demonic possession,money, sex, power, dinosaurs, UFOs, scandalous love affairs, serial killers, extraterrestrials, cloning, survivors, eternal youth -- Im sure you can think of many others.

Some of my favorites are: justice and honor, immortality, secret societies, and lost

treasure. Also mysteries and mummies, which are subjects that have fascinated mesince I was a child. Give me a mystery in a pyramid and it can be Indiana Jones,Brendon Fraser, or Donald Duck, and Im hooked. I cant resist it.

So its important to find the subjects that really fascinate you and will fascinate theaudience you

are trying to reach. In any event, its helpful if your story is about something that is initself

intriguing.

Finding the fascinating subject is one of the things that forces you to discover what thestory isreally about.

What is a GREAT TITLE? A great title is a title that not only tells you what the story is about what the fascinating subject is -- it reveals the genre, which is to say, it whets your appetite for the type of feelings associated with that genre. The feelings associatedwith a thriller, a mystery, a love story, an adventure, and so on. Each of these differentgenres evoke a different emotional adventure.

Magic is a good subject. Merlin is a good title for a story with that subject becauseMerlin is associated with that event.Doomsday is another popular subject. Armageddon is a good title for that subject. Weimmediately know its about the end of the world and all of the activities and feelingsrelated to that event.Catastrophes. What better title than: Titanic ?Lost civilizations. Atlantis says it all.Murder. And this is one of my favorites: The Black Widow not a great movie but agreat title.

Some other good titles are: Shakespeare in Love . Im interested. The Perfect Murder . Isaw it.The Sixth Sense, Roswell, ER, Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider, Star Wars, Gladiator,

Jurassic Park, The Mummy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . I bought it.

A new film thats about to open is called: Original Sin . On the movie poster AntonioBanderas and Angelina Jolie relate to each other with suggestive intimacy. The captionreads: "Lead Us Into Temptation." If thats your kind of thing, you dont have to knowmuch more than that.

The words of a good title are words like Titanic, Roswell , and The Sixth Sense that havecome to be associated with significant events of a particular subject. And it helps theaudience identify the type of emotional experience they can expect.


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What, in my opinion, are some terrible titles? About a year ago there was a fairly wellpublicized

film called Illtown. What am I going to feel when I see that movie? Sick?Replacement Killers . That didnt excite me very much.Hollow Man . It was about an invisible man. Thats one of my favorite subjects, but that

titleleaves me absolutely cold. What does it mean? These are important considerations.

Finding a great title forces you to discover the subject and the genre -- the source ofthe feelings experienced by the audience. You know its a great title when it tells youeverything desirable to know up front. When you find a great title, it hits you like arevelation. You get very excited. And if you have a great title and a fascinatingsubject, you are half way there.

The third element is The INCITING ACTION. The inciting action is the onset or the causeof the problem. It is the cause of the action. It is the reason action has to be taken.

An asteroid the size of Texas is about to collide with the earth. Action has to be taken. Ithas to be destroyed or diverted.

A serial killer is loose in the neighborhood. Action has to be taken. He has to be caught.

A baby is left on a doorstep. It has to be properly cared for.

An invading army has to be confronted and defeated.

An erupting volcano has to be escaped from.

A man-eating shark has to be destroyed.

A raging fire has to be put out.A terrible disease has to be cured, and so on.

You will know it is an inciting action if action has to be taken -- if there is a problem andsomething has to be done about it NOW.

Finding the inciting action forces you to come to terms with the problem of your story.And stories are about problems. It is a prerequisite in all stories. You have a problemand that problem is resolved. It is one of the essences of story that without which therewould be no story. No matter how big or small the story, it will be focusing on aproblem. And everyone in that story will somehow be involved in that incident. Andeverything everyone does in that story will in some way effect the outcome of thatincident.

Revealing how that problem was created and how it can be resolved is at the heartand soul of a story.

The HOOK is a unique aspect of the problem which suggests intriguing possibilities. It is aspecial circumstance surrounding the problem that raises the stakes and increases our interest.

Susan gets lost, not in the mall but in the Bermuda Triangle.

A volcano erupts, not in the desert but in the middle of the city.


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A baby is left on the doorstep, not of a kindly nanny but of three bachelors.

Star-crossed lovers meet, not at a church social but on the Titanic.

A woman is kidnapped and her husband refuses to pay the ransom.

Satan takes possession of a teen-age girl.

The HOOK implies a difficulty which makes the threat more dangerous and intriguing.

In Fatal Attraction , a successful lawyer has an affair, not with your average other woman but with a beautiful psychopath.

Finding the hook forces you to come to terms with what is unique about your story. It isthe unique aspect which will make the idea fresh. You identify the problem andemphasize the difficulty.

So these are the four elements. The FASCINATING SUBJECT, the GREAT TITLE, theINCITING ACTION and the HOOK. All of which can be expressed in a few words. And ifyou are going to create a HIGH CONCEPT or a GREAT IDEA, youll find these four elements very useful.

The idea here is that you can create a super powerful seed working with theseelements. A seed that will not only help you create a great story, it will help you sell it onthe front and back ends.


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THE ROLE OF THE PROBLEM IN STORYBy James Bonnet

In this segment, I would like to discuss the role of the problem in story. Stories are, infact, about problems. It is a prerequisite in all stories. You have a problem and thatproblem is resolved. It is one of the essences of story that without which there wouldbe no story. No matter how big or small the story, it will be focusing on, or related to, aproblem. And everyone in that story will somehow be involvedin that incident. And everything everyone does in that story will in some way affect theoutcome of that incident. And revealing how that problem was created andhow it can be resolved is at the heart and soul of a story.

In Kiss The Girls and The Silence Of The Lambs a serial killer is on the loose. That is theproblem that has to be resolved. And the solution to those problems will be theprincipal actions that give a unity of action to these stories.

In Gladiator a tyrant has usurped the Roman Empire, preventing the restoration of theRepublic. In The Sixth Sense a murdered child psychologist is stuck in limbo and thespirits of dead people are haunting a little boys mind. In Independence Day alienshave invaded the Earth. In Star Wars the Evil Empire has taken possession of the galaxy.In The Iliad, the Greek army is being decimated because their bestwarrior has dropped out of the fight. In King Arthur the kingdom is in a state of anarchyand has to be reunified. In Jaws its a shark problem. In The Exorcist its a problem ofdemonic possession. In The Mummy its a mummy problem. In The Perfect Storm its aweather problem. In Jurassic Park its a dinosaur problem. In Traffic its a drug problem.In Armageddon its an asteroid problem. In Indecent Proposal its a temptationproblem. In Erin Brockovich its an environmental problem. Each of these stories andhundreds of others I could name revolve around a problem that has to be resolved.

Where does this story structure come from? It comes from real life. In real life, aproblem is anything that is contrary to the way we want things to be. It could beanything from finding lost keys or bugs in the pantry to serial killers and invading armies.It compromises the way we want things to be and it has to be dealt with. Action has tobe taken.

And so it is in story. The same problem-solving structures built into real events becomethe problem-solving structures of story. In real life, an erupting volcano has to be

escaped from. A serial killer has to be captured. A raging fire has to be put out. A lost or abandoned child has to be cared for. An invading army has to be confronted anddefeated. A man-eating shark has to be destroyed. A terrible disease has to be cured.An airplane with engine trouble has to land safely. And so on.Story has adopted these problem-solving structures. The principals of dramatic actionbeing the laws of action in real life artistically treated.

Can any problem be a story? Technically, any problem can be a story if its solutioninvolves complications, a crisis, a climax, and a resolution each of which is another essence of story, that without which there would be no story. Generally speaking,

however, an audience wouldnt be interested in a story about some minor problem likefinding your lost keys unless something truly funny or horrendous, like the end of theworld, would happen if you didnt find them.


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Story is especially interested in problem solving actions that involve crises criticalevents that threaten life, health, wealth, freedom, love, security, happiness, etc. whiletesting the limits of human endurance and ingenuity.

Story focuses on problems for the same reason the news only reports the bad thingsthat are happening in the world and not the good because thats where its at.Thats how you get to paradise by eliminating problems. If everything is in perfectharmony and there are no problems to worry about youre in Paradise.

Thats one of the functions of story: to help guide us to higher, more desirable, lessproblematic states of being. And one of the ways that it does this is by revealingthe truth and nature of problems and their solutions.

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James Bonnet, www.storymaking.com, is an internationally known writer, teacher andstory consultant. He was elected twice to the Board of Directors of the Writer's Guild ofAmerica and has written or acted in more than forty television shows and features. Theradical new ideas about story in his book Stealing Fire from the Gods: A CompleteGuide to Story For Writers And Filmmakers are having a major impact on writers in allmedia.


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STORY ALCHEMYThe Fundamentals of Screenwriting and Storymaking for Writers and Filmmakers

The Importance of the Threat in Great Stories and Its Relation to the Essence of Storyby James Bonnet

In an earlier segment, we discussed how the threat (the inciting action) was at the very heart

of the high concept great idea. In this segment well reveal how the threat is related to theproblem,the change of fortune, and the components of the classical structure i.e. thecomplications, crisis, climax, and resolution all of which constitute the very essence of story that without which there would be no story.

Stories are about changes of state and the problems that bring them about. There is an entityand that entity goes from a desirable to an undesirable condition or the reverse. Or as Aristotleput it: "The proper magnitude (of a story) is comprised within such limits that the sequence ofevents, according to the laws of probability and necessity, will admit of a change from badfortune to good or from good fortune to bad.

In The Exorcist, a little girl is possessed by the Devil and a state of misfortune exists. Then theprincipal action, casting out the Devil, brings about a state of good fortune. On the downside,it's the reverse. In Othello, a state of good fortune exists at the beginning. The principal action,perpetrated by Iago, destroys the Moor with jealousy and a state of tragic misfortune is theresult.

The threat is the agent or perpetrator which creates the problem that brings about thenegative state. In Kiss the Girls, the serial killer is the threat and the act of murder is the incitingaction which creates the problem that brings about the change to a state of misfortune.

Equally significant in a great story is the fact that this threat will become the source of

resistance that opposes the action when someone tries to solve this problem and restore astate of good fortune. And this resistance will create the classical structure that occurs when aproblem solving action encounters resistance.

In Harry Potter, Voldemort is the threat. His efforts to take possession of the wizard worldcreate the problem that brings about an undesirable state. And he will be the source of theresistance that creates the classical structure whenever Harry tries to solve these problems andrestore a state of good fortune.

In The Exorcist, the Devil is the threat. He takes possession of a young girl and that is theinciting action that creates the problem and brings about the change of fortune. And he is the

source of resistance that creates the complications, crisis, climax and resolution when the priesttries to solve that problem.

In Ordinary People, the mother is the cause of the problem that has brought about thenegative state. And she will be the source of resistance when the psychiatrist, Judd Hirsh, andthe boys father, Donald Sutherland, attempt to solve the mystery of the boys suicidaltendencies.

In Jaws, the shark is the threat that causes the problem. In Dracula, its the count. In On theWaterfront, its Johnny Friendly. In Gladiator, its Commodus. In Braveheart, its the Britsh. In TheIliad, it is the Trojan, Paris. In the Egyptian myth of OSIRIS, its Osiris brother Set.

In all of these cases, the threat performs the action which creates the problem that bringsabout the change of fortune and also is the source of resistance that creates the classicalstructure when someone tries to solve the problem and reverse the state of misfortune.


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You can see this same pattern at work in real life as well. In World War II, Hitler was the threatand his taking possession of Europe created the problem and the state of misfortune. He wasalso the source of the resistance that created the complications, crisis, climaxes and resolutionsof the classical structure when the Allies tried to solve this problem.

In our latest war, this is also very evident. Osama Bin Laden, his Al Qaeda terrorist network,and the Taliban are the threat. Their attack on the World Trade Center is the inciting action

which created the problem that brought a very undesirable state of fear to the United States.And they will be the source of resistance that creates the classical structure as we try to solvethis problem.

In all of these examples, the threat is the cause of the problem that brings about a change offortune, and is the source of the resistance that creates the classical structure when the goodguys try to solve the problem. And the problem, change of fortune, and components of theclassical structure constitute the very essence of story -- that without which there would be nostory.

If you think about it, this is easy to see. Without a problem and change of fortune, there is no

story. If the story ends in the same place it began without some significant progress up or down,the audience will wonder what the point of it was. It will be a very unsatisfactory experience.Without complications and a crisis, there is no story. If Cinderella goes to the ball, falls in lovewith the prince and marries him without a single hitch, or if Indiana Jones goes after the HolyGrail and finds it without running into any difficulty whatsoever, there is no story. The audience isleft muttering: So what? And if there are complications and a crisis but no climax and noresolution, you will have the same problem. You will leave your audience feeling completelyunfulfilled. They will have the distinct feeling that the story was left unfinished.

The threat, then, is not only to the heart of the high concept great idea, (see our article onthe high concept dated June 15th), it creates the problem that brings about the change of

fortune and provides the resistance that creates the classical structure all of which constitutethe very essence of story that without which there would be no story. And an element whichdoes all that is an element worth thinking about and understanding.


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The Metaphor is Kingby James Bonnet

All great stories have the same structure (see my article on The Essence of Story andBeyond Theme: Story's New Unified Field ) which, for the purpose of this article and in itssimplest form, can be summarized as follows: A threat, either agent or perpetrator,creates a problem that brings about a change to a state of misfortune and is the mainsource of resistance that opposes the action when someone tries to solve the problemand restore a state of good fortune. In stories that end tragically it's the reverse thestory starts in a state of good fortune and ends unhappily. In either case, the resistanceto the central action will create the classical story structure i.e. the complications,crisis, climax and resolution that occur when a problem solving (or problem creating)action encounters resistance. The problem, change of fortune, and complications,crisis, climax, and resolution constitute the very essence of story that without whichthere would be no story.

In this series of articles I will reveal the three other important dimensions beside thisuniversal structure that you need to master in order to create a truly powerful andunique great story and this is true in both a novel or a film.

The first of these important dimensions is the Metaphor; the second, the Genre; thethird, the Narrative Structure. These three qualities account for the differences thatmake great stories that have similar structures appear fresh and unique.

This article will be about the metaphor.

The metaphor creates the world the time and place; the who, what, when, whereand why. Metaphor literally means to "carry over," to substitute one thing for another. Todescribe one thing by means of another. To describe something that is unknown by theuse of things that are known. These metaphors are made of real things that have beentaken apart and artistically treated. The unique combination of these real things createthe characters, locations, atmospheres, etc. that construct the unique world you aretrying to create. Put another way, the underlying universal structure, which needs to beexpressed and revealed, is the thing that is hidden and unknown, and the uniquecombination of real things you use to create the world of your story is the metaphor that expresses and reveals this hidden structure. (see my article The Secret Language of Great Stories ).

For example, in The Lord of the Rings , Sauron is the threat. His desire to take possessionof Middle Earth creates the problem that brings about an undesirable state. And he isalso the main source of the resistance that creates the complications, crisis, climax andresolution of the classical structure when Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring try tosolve this problem and restore a state of good fortune.

In Harry Potter , Voldemort is the threat. His efforts in the seven books to take possessionof the wizard world create the problems that bring about an undesirable state. And he

is also the main source of the resistance that creates the classical structure whenever Harry tries to solve these problems and restore a state of good fortune.


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The underlying motifs of this universal story structure are adaptable to any age or timeand can be redressed as a hundred different metaphors, depending on the audienceyou're trying to reach.

Using these same underlying structures, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created a uniqueLondon for his famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Dashell Hamett created a SanFrancisco unlike any other, and William Faulkner created a fictional county in Mississippi

a world that was uniquely his own.

In short, given a well-constructed and well-told story, the surest way to success is abrilliant and unique metaphor i.e. you are only as good as the world you create,which is to say, you are only as good as the metaphor you create the new life youbreath into the underlying structure. In any event, if you can find your own, unique andoriginal world, there will be no stopping you. You will create your own Harry Potter ,Godfather , Pirates , Spiderman , or Shrek .

My next two articles will be about Genre and Narrative Structure two other important dimensions that play a critical role in making the great stories that rideupon the underlying, universal structure appear different and unique. The genregoverns the plots and subplots, the emotional adventure, and the entertainmentvalues of the story and arise when you focus on certain dominant qualities or dimensions. The Narrative Structure governs how the story is told the arrangement ofthe incidents, the sequence of events, the emphasis each dimension or quality is given

the central event, central character and central action that comprise the focus ofthe story and the various points of view by which the events of the story are perceived.This creates clarity and meaning and also power and magic.


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Hidden Structures In Great Stories And Their Enormous PowerbyJames Bonnet

When I speak of a great story, I mean stories or films that are critically acclaimed andgenerally acknowledged to be classics. I also mean best sellers, box office successes,and stories that have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years. So I'm talking aboutstories like The Iliad and The Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, TheGodfather and The Silence of the Lambs, Batman and Superman, Milk and CharlieWilson's War, The Verdict, The Lion King, Groundhog Day, Shrek and Macbeth, plus thehundreds of other stories that fit into this category.

Being familiar with the lesser known hidden structures that all of these great stories havein common, will not only help you improve the structures of your own stories and master the art form, they can open the door to deeper levels of understanding great stories -namely, the real source of their power, a profound understanding of yourself, and anequally profound understanding of the world, all of which might be translated into agreat success. The two stories I will analyze in this article are The Sixth Sense (whichgrossed over $660 million), and Casablanca (which appears on hundreds of all timebest lists).

You may already be familiar with some of the patterns - like the complications, crisis,climax and resolution of Aristotle's classical story structure - which are important but onlya small part of what you will need to know to create great stories on your own.

Others patternsyou may not be familiar with because they're hidden and a little harder to see. These are equally important because they reveal information about our psychological selves that the classical structure does not. There are more than thirtysuch hidden structures that can open the door to the deeper levels of understanding.I'll introduce a few that are related to the larger entity being transformed and the storyfocus, then use them to analyze the two stories.

The larger entity being transformed can be a family, an institution, a city, a country, theworld - any human group, in fact, that is organized around a leadership. These entitiesform the larger context which surround and support the stories being told. The structuresof this larger entity play a major role in all great stories and hold the keys tounderstanding story and also ourselves.

The problem of the larger whole story is the central, unifying event that is holdingtogether the larger entity surrounding the story.

The story focus is the part of the whole story that we actually see.It can be the mainproblem of the larger whole story or one of the smaller actions or problems that makeup the larger problem.

The subject of the story is, of course, what the story about,but in a great story there aretwo subjects - the subject of the larger whole story and the subject of the story focus.

The interplay of these two structures, the larger whole story and the story focus and their subjects, makes a psychological connection that is so powerful that it rivals the hero,the central action, and the classical story structure in importance.


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The threat is the causeof the problem which brings about the change to a negativestate. When the story focus is not the main problem of the larger whole story then theproblem of the focus will have its own threat and cause which has to be resolved.These threats will become the principal source of resistance that opposes the actionwhen someone tries to solve these problems and restore a state of good fortune. Thisresistance will create the classical structure that occurs when a problem solving actionencounters resistance.

The transformation of the hero (when he or she is the central character)is linked in agreat story to the transformation of the larger entity - which, in effect, links the destiny ofthe hero to the fate of that larger entity. When this occurs, you will get a story ofenormous power.

The narrative structure is the way the story is being told. And in a great story, once thelarger whole story and the story focus have been worked out, there are an infinitenumber of ways to tell that story. Not only can the story be focused anywhere, thegreat story can be told in almost any sequence and from the POV of any character.Given that all great stories have the same underlying structure, the narrative structure isone of the things, besides variations in the metaphor and genre, that makes one greatstory seem so different from every other great story.

So these are a few of the patterns that all great stories have in common, and on thislevel of understanding they are the structures that transform ordinary real events intodramatic actions that are entertaining, have meaning, emotional impact, long life anduniversal appeal.

To achieve the next level of understandingyou take these same patterns and look for similarities in yourself - in your own psychology - and very soon you will discover that thesame structures that form the foundations of a great story also form the foundations ofour psyches, revealing, among other things, how the psyche is organized, and how thestructures and dimensions of the psyche interact, evolve and are transformed. And withthat you will have discovered the real source of the great story's power.

In The Sixth Sense, the larger entity being transformed is the city, Philadelphia. Theproblem of the larger whole story is the legion of ghosts that have unfinished emotionalbusiness with the living and are haunting the little boy. The people responsible for their deaths are the threat, the cause of the larger problem.They will be the main source of

resistance that will create the complications, crisis, climax and resolution of the classicalstructure when someone becomes available to help solve this problem. The one personthe ghosts could communicate with who can help them is terrified of them. The story isfocused on the transformation of this little boy, and the problem of the focus is the fear that prevents him from realizing the value of his gift. He thinks that his ability to see themis a curse and a sign that he is going crazy. The solution to this problem is the resolutionof his fear. At the end of the story, it is clear that he was a hero-in-the-making and thathe intends to do his part to help solve the larger problem - and this links his destiny tothe fate of Philadelphia, the larger entity.

At this level the structures I've described help to create the drama and suspense of awell told story - but in truth, on a psychological level, these same structures arerevealing the relationship between the shadow, the subject of the larger whole story,and fear, the subject of the story focus. The larger whole story, and the ghosts who are


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haunting Philadelphia, are, in fact, a perfect metaphor for the psychological functionsof our shadow side - namely, how we repress vital functions of ourselves and how thoserepressed dimensions can be resolved and reintegrated into our personalities. And thestory focus is a perfect metaphor for what happens when our ability to see andcommunicate with these repressed elements is blocked. The revelation that results fromthis exploration is that we can never recover the lost and repressed dimensions ofourselves until we overcome our fear of this special gift.

To achieve the third level of understanding,you take these same patterns and look for similarities in the real world (and again you will discover they are the same) but nowthese structures will be revealing the psychology and dynamics that underlie the groupshuman beings form. They will also reveal how problems in the real world are createdand resolved - and why, in human affairs, managing crises is the most important thingwe have to learn to do in order to survive and succeed.

In Casablanca,the larger whole story is World War II and the larger entity beingtransformed is the world. Hitler is the threat. His taking possession of Europe creates theproblem that brings about the negative state; and he is the main source of resistancethat creates the classical structure, when the allies get together and try to solve thisproblem. The story is focused on the transformation of one ex-patriot, Rick, who hasbecome disillusioned with the war. The cause of the problem in the focus is themisunderstanding that developed when Ilsa didn't show up for their meeting at therailroad station. If that love was false, Rick decided, what's the point? And he drops outof the fight. The story explores the relationship between tyranny, the subject of thelarger whole story, and patriotism, the subject of the story focus. The fundamental truthbeing revealed: you can't defeat tyranny without patriotism. At the end of the story weknow that Rick has resolved the misunderstanding that created the problem. His heroicframe of mind has been restored, he is back in the fight and he will play an importantrole in the war - and this links his destiny to the fate of the larger entity.

And why is all of this important to writers and filmmakers? Because the world we live inis the larger entity being transformed, and the world, as we know, is in desperatetrouble. If you take the things you really want to write about and support them withthese structures, your stories will make a psychological connection and possessenormous power. Then if you link your destiny to the fate of the world, your great storieswill become a part of the solution. You will become a hero and that will transform your life into a great story.

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James Bonnet is an internationally known writer, teacher and story consultant. He waselected twice to the Board of Directors of the Writer's Guild of America and has writtenor acted in more than forty television shows and features. The radical new ideas aboutstory in his book Stealing Fire from the Gods: A Complete Guide to Story For Writers AndFilmmakers are having a major impact on writers in all media. In his forthcoming book,Cracking the Story Code: The Secret Structures all Great Stories Have in Common, he

will thoroughly analyze fifty of the world's great stories.


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Great Characters: Their Best Kept Secret

By James Bonnet

Have you ever wondered why characters like Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur, Achilles,Scrooge, Dorothy and Superman go on forever? The real secret of their immortality lies

in something youve probably never equated with the creation of a great character or a great story -- the quintessential. But if you fathom the secrets of this remarkablequality, you can use it to make your characters truly charismatic and merchandisableand just about everything else in your story more fascinating.

According to the dictionary, the quintessential is the most perfect manifestation orembodiment of a quality or thing. It is the ultimate, good or bad, best or worst,example. The worlds fastest runner is the quintessential runner. The worlds deadliestsnake is the quintessential deadly snake. Hitler is the quintessential megalomaniac.Einstein is the essence of mathematical genius. He is symbolic of genius.

Applied to story, it means making the story elements the best example of that element.And that is, in fact, what great stories are all about. Great stories, myths and legendsare dominated by quintessential elements.

Zeus is the most powerful god. Helen of Troy is the most beautiful woman. Achilles is thegreatest warrior. King Arthur is the most chivalrous king. Camelot is the most fabulouskingdom. Excalibur is the most powerful sword. Sampson is the strongest man. KingHerod is the nastiest tyrant. King Solomon is the wisest and richest king.

It is the key to their success. Why? Because if you make something the mostextraordinary example, you will make that idea more intriguing. A secret chamber isfascinating in itself, but you could make it even more fascinating by making it the mostintriguing secret chamber of all time. The black hole of Calcutta is more fascinatingthan an ordinary prison. A perfect murder is more fascinating than an ordinary murder,and the most perfect murder of all time is more fascinating than your run-of-the-millperfect murder.

If your story is about ghosts, injustice or romance, taking that subject to thequintessential will make that subject more fascinating. In Romeo and Juliet , the subjectof love is taken to the quintessential. It is the greatest love story of all time. Harry Potter isabout the most extraordinary magic the world has ever seen. Gladiator is about thegreatest tyranny. The Roman Empire is itself the quintessential empire. The Perfect Storm is about the storm of the century. Titanic is about one of the worlds worst disasters. All ofwhich adds considerably to our fascination and interest in these stories.

The quintessential can be applied to any element of your story but is especiallyeffective when applied to the professions and dominant traits of your characters. If youtake these dimensions to the quintessential, you will make your characters moreintriguing. They will make an important psychological connection and that will addsignificantly to the power of your work.


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Harry Potter is not just an ordinary young wizard, he is the most famous and powerfulyoung wizard of all time. Sherlock Holmes is the most brilliant detective. Dracula is thequintessential

vampire. Iago in Othello is the most treacherous servant. Don Juan is the greatest lover.King Kong is the biggest ape. Jack-the-Ripper is the most infamous serial killer.Superman is the most powerful super hero. Genghis Khan is the quintessence of

barbaric conquest. In Gladiator , Maximus is the greatest gladiator that ever lived. In ToCatch a Thief , Cary Grant is the worlds best cat burglar. In Armageddon , Bruce Willis isthe best oil driller in the world. The dead people haunting the little boys mind in TheSixth Sense are the most terrifying of specters.

The dominant trait is the dominant character trait which the character personifies. Everytruly great character has a dominant trait that has been taken to the quintessential.

Sherlock Holmes' dominant quality or trait is deductive reasoning. Achilles dominanttrait is anger. The Iliad is everything you ever wanted to know about anger. Othello'sdominant trait is jealousy. King Midas is greed. Ebenezer Scrooge is miserliness. DonJuan is lust. Macbeth is guilt. Sir Lancelot is chivalry. Jiminy Cricket is Pinocchio'sconscience. Ricks dominant trait, in Casablanca , is disillusionment -- hes a disillusionedpatriot and lover. They are quintessential personifications of these qualities. That is thesecret of their success. And that is the key to making your characters truly memorableand merchandisable. Take their dominant traits to the quintessential.

Archie Bunker is one of the most memorable characters that ever appeared on TV.

Why? Hes the quintessential bigot.

You take a quality like prejudice, arrogance, conceit, courage, sincerity, generosity,loyalty, jealousy, lust, greed, and so on learn as much as you can about that quality,personify it, put it in the context of a full human being, and slowly evolve this newlycreated character into the quintessence of that dominant quality.

How would you create a charismatic figure like Napoleon? You take a quality likeinflation or military genius and work with it until you evolve that character into thequintessence of those qualities.

How would you create a character like Stalin? You take a dominant quality likeparanoia and do the same thing -- you work with that dimension until you evolve thatcharacter into the personification of that trait.

How would you create an immortal character like Dracula? You take a dominantquality like blood lust and make that character the quintessence of that characteristic.

What qualities would you combine and evolve to create a Fred Astaire? Dance andcharm. He is the quintessence of those qualities.


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How about T-Rex? How would you create an adversary like that? You take a quality likeaggression and evolve that beast into the biggest, most aggressive carnivore that hasever lived.You make him the very essence of aggression. The ultimate example of aggression.

When you do this, your characters will become symbolic. You can put them on a T-shirtand they will have impact and meaning. If you put Harry Potter, Hannibal Lecter,Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, Beethoven, Mother Theresa, Charles Manson, or Nixon ona T-shirt it will mean something. Why? Because they have come to symbolize something.They personify some important human quality. Characters like Scrooge, Aphrodite, Eros,Hercules, and Sampson are unforgettable and symbolic because they have a fullyrealized dominant trait. Characters that cant be merchandized are probably not verygood characters. They need to have their dominant qualities further purified andevolved.

Can a story be about an ordinary person? Of course. But make him or her the mostordinary person that has ever lived. Make them the quintessence of ordinariness, thebest example of ordinariness, and you will make those characters fascinating.

What about a dull person? Yes. But make him the dullest person ever, and if you getBill Murray to play the part, it will be very funny. It will be fascinating. People will flock to

see it.

In fact, Peter Sellers character in Being There appears to have been just that. He is sodull hes fascinating.

When the characters, events, and dominant traits actually reach these ultimates andmake this psychological connection, they become charismatic, which is to saysymbolic. People will be attracted to them and influenced by them even if they don'tknow what they mean.

Characters that possess this charisma become like deities. Oedipus, Moses, Zeus, Jesus,Achilles, Krishna, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and King Arthur are unforgettable; andChaplin's tramp, Rhett Butler, Dorothy, E.T., Dracula, Mickey Mouse, and Superman aredefinite steps in the right direction. Put Superman on a little boy's pajamas and it makes

him feel stronger. He'll try to fly around the room. Put Nala, the young lioness in The LionKing , on a little girl's sneakers and it makes her feel frisky and ready for an adventure.Put Einstein on your T-shirt and it will make you feel smarter. Put Genghis Khan on your leather jacket and you're ready for a Harley.

That's charisma.

the fundamentals of screenwriting and storymaking for writers and filmmakers by james bonnet

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