cj Sez: Having worked as a journalist for a few years, I tend to write sparsely, more
often than not, too sparsely, and I catch myself revealing things way too early.
To justify my methodology, I usually point to Kurt Vonnegut’s eight rules.
Vonnegut's rule No. 4 says: “Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character
or advance the action.” I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right, rules
are made to be broken, or there are no rules. However, some rules are best kept
for a while, especially by yet-to-be-bestselling authors like me.
I pretty much
write like a screenwriter. I visualize the scene and write to that. There’s no
room for narrative in movies; it is all action. By necessity, writers of TV
series think in terms of every scene and every line, because for each hour-long
show, they have about forty-five minutes to tell the story, beginning to end.
I wrote about producer David Memet’s memo to his writers a
couple of years ago, but now that I’m in the midst of starting a mystery
series, I revisited the piece to help keep me on track.
David Mamet, executive producer of the TV series, “The
Unit,” had some serious instructions for the show’s writers. He was so serious
that his memo virtually shouted. (He wrote it in all capital letters, and he
had an "inviolable rule.") He directed his writers to concentrate on
writing drama if they expected to keep their audience entertained. Because
if they lost their audience, they’d be out of work. Following are excerpts of
that memorable memo:
QUESTION: WHAT IS DRAMA?
DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT
HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER (sic) DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER (sic) DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
(cj: Unless you’re writing a memoir, and perhaps even then, those
three questions are pertinent.)
/ / /
START,
EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. IT MUST
START BECAUSE THE HERO HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO
FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING “BOB AND SUE DISCUSS…” IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE. (cj: They write loglines for every scene.)
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING “BOB AND SUE DISCUSS…” IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE. (cj: They write loglines for every scene.)
cj’s Little Note:
A logline is a 25-word synopsis of
your book.
A tagline is a catchy “movie poster” phrase.
Examples for Jaws –
Logline – After a series of
grisly shark attacks, a sheriff struggles to protect his small
beach community against the bloodthirsty monster, in spite of the greedy
chamber of commerce. (from J. Gideon Sarentinos http://bit.ly/1D90FmH
Tagline – Don’t go in the
water.
Check out David Mamet’s whole memo at:
Okay, let me know if what you think. Agree? Disagree? Helpful?
Be sure to stop back by on Wednesday, Jan. 25, when the
guest is fellow Mystery Thriller Week author Morgan Talbot who writes cozy
mysteries.
Thanks for visiting Lyrical Pens. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj
cjpetterson@gmail.com
blog at: www.lyricalpens.com
PS: My short story "Bad Day at Round Rock" is one of six in the Western anthology THE POSSE slated to launch in February. Tales of action, romance, myth, and truth. Watch for it.
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