It's Not Complicated
There seems to be confusion among some writers about complications within a story. What they often wind up with, as a result, is a story that is complicated.
That is not what we want.
Complications are reserved, primarily, for our protagonist. We need problems for them to solve; obstacles to overcome; issues that make them think and make difficult choices.
Complicating the story simply means making it too hard to follow. If it's too complicated, we risk losing the audience. They like to think, but they aren't in the theater to solve a Rubik's Cube.
I'm sure you've experienced it, just reading someone's novel or screenplay. If you have to keep going back and re-reading to keep up with what's going on, that's a problem, especially today, when audiences have such short attention spans.
What we do want, and this is where the confusion seems to lie, is a story that is complex, meaning a multi-dimensional story and characters. Every personality has dimension. Think about opposing characteristics as an example, or character flaws that can threaten the goal.
Everyone has an agenda. Sometimes, it's a surface agenda and sometimes it's a hidden agenda. So, how does one character's agenda either complement or conflict with another?
Story-wise, we want subplots, relationships, and actions by the characters that create positives and negatives. When does the worst thing that can happen turn out to be the best thing that can happen, and vice-versa? Does a positive action lead to a positive result for one character, but a negative result for another character?
I don't mean, a protagonist's positive result leads to a negative result for an antagonist. That's a given, and the simple choice.
But, what happens when a positive result for one protagonist character leads to a negative result for another protagonist character? Or, if a protagonist's positive result also leads to an antagonist's positive result? The good guy thinks he's achieved a victory, not realizing that it's exactly the action the bad guy wanted him to take.
That is complexity, which creates...wait for it...conflict.
Conflict is at the core of every story, and finding every little angle in every character that creates conflict adds complexity. Basically, we don't want the story to be simple or the characters to be superficial. It's a matter of using every tool in the toolbox to add depth and dimension to the story.
~Robert
"The Blue Collar Screenwriter and The Elements of Screenplay" is currently available at:
BIO:
A professional screenwriter for more than thirty years, Robert Gosnell has produced credits in feature films, network television, syndicated television, basic cable and pay cable, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of Canada.
Robert began his career writing situation comedy as a staff writer for the ABC series Baby Makes Five. As a freelance writer, he wrote episodes for Too Close for Comfort and the TBS comedies Safe at Home andRocky Road. In cable, he has scripted numerous projects for the Disney Channel, including Just Perfect, a Disney Channel movie featuring Jennie Garth.
In 1998, he wrote the Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace Awards, in the Comedy Special category.
In 1998, he wrote the Showtime original movie, Escape from Wildcat Canyon, which starred Dennis Weaver and won the national "Parents Choice Award." Robert's feature credits include the Chuck Norris/Louis Gosset Jr. film Firewalker, an uncredited rewrite on the motion picture Number One With A Bullet starring Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams, and the sale of his original screenplay Kick And Kick Back to Cannon Films. Robert was also selected as a judge for the 1990 Cable Ace Awards, in the Comedy Special category.
In 1990, Robert left Hollywood for Denver, where he became active in the local independent film community. His screenplay Tiger Street was produced by the Pagoda Group of Denver and premiered on Showtime Extreme in August of 2003. In 1999, Denver’s Inferno Films produced the action film Dragon and the Hawk from his script. In 2001, Robert co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature Siren for Las Vegas company Stage Left Productions. His feature script Juncture was produced by Front Range Films in March of 2006.
Robert is a principal member of the Denver production company "Conspiracy Films." He is frequently an invited speaker for local writers organizations, served on the faculty of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference in 2002, and in 2007 was chosen to participate as a panelist for the Aspen Film Festival Short Screenplay Contest. Robert regularly presents his screenwriting class "The Elements of Screenplay," along with advanced classes and workshops, in the Denver area.
Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to this blog.
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