Since I think about screenwriting 24/7, I’m often juggling 2-3 big picture screenwriting questions in my head at a time. I mentally lay out the problem, work through potential solutions, and eventually come up with a few tiny insights, failing to crack the elusive equation, which bugs the heck out of me. My latest obsession: “How do you write a script that blows people away?”
I figure that’s what we’re all trying to do here. Write that story that gets the reader to place their laptop down, sit back, lose track of time before what they just read comes slamming back into them. They whisper to themselves, “Wow,” and then think about who they can e-mail to tell them about it.
But here’s the thing. When’s the last time anyone was blown away by a screenplay? I’m talking anybody! And I’m asking you because outside of Hollywood, the people on this site read more screenplays than anyone. I’d venture to guess a good portion of you have read more screenplays than the average agent. So if anyone’s an authority on getting blown away by a screenplay, it would be you. And yet, how many people here can say they’ve been blown away by something they’ve read in the past year? Hell, in the past three years?
On the surface this speaks to how hard it is to write a good screenplay. But I have a more optimistic view of things. This means that if you can learn how to blow someone away, you’re in a league all your own. So how do we access this elusive cheat code? By back-engineering, of course. I’ll go back to the scripts/movies that blew me away (Meat, Eighth Grade, Brigands of Rattleborge, Jojo Rabbit, Vivian Hasn’t Been Herself Lately) and ask what ingredients those scripts had that made them so special. In doing so, I was able to find five key “blow them away” ingredients. And the good news is, you only need one of them per script. I’m going to go through each, from least to most influential. Let’s get started!
5) Earth-shattering plotting – Truth be told, plotting (the act of constructing a storyline that zigs and zags and engages throughout) is the least influential element to blowing people away. Most readers will tell you plotting should be a given and I agree with that. I can count the number of times I was blown away by the technical proficiency of someone’s well-plotted screenplay on one hand. However, it you can construct a plot that keeps doing amazing unexpected things, you can blow readers away. The crown jewel example of this is Source Code (original script, not the movie). Source Code is all plot. It doesn’t have a ton of character development because it doesn’t have time for it. But it takes you on this wild ride that you can’t not be blown away by. So even though this is the option that’s the least likely to blow a reader away, if you’ve got a concept that allows for lots of great twists and turns, earth-shattering plotting can get you that elusive “Wow.”
4) Imagination for days – There’s definitely currency in imagination. Look at The Matrix. It’s such an inventive mythology, it’s hard not to be blown away by what’s going on. But like “earth-shattering plotting,” it’s hard to impress on imagination alone. That’s because the line between inspired and messy is thin. A cyborg race on the sixth moon of Kipsis run by Lord Soothsayer might sound great at 3am when you’re on your tenth red bull. But it doesn’t read that way. I would recommend staying away from this option. But if you’re a naturally creative person who has 5+ years to world build a killer concept, you’ve got a small chance (I’m not joking about the 5+ years. The Matrix’s mythology was built over 10 years. And if I’m correct, J.R. Tolkien spent 3 years coming up with the geography of his world alone).
3) A fascinating character – Now we’re approaching the true game-changers. A fascinating character can blow the top off a screenplay. That’s because human beings are fascinated by other human beings. So if you construct someone we can’t look away from, the rest of your script can be average and we’ll still be blown away. Recent examples are Liam Neeson’s character in The Grey. After he read that letter to his wife, I was all in on him. Abraham in The Brigands of Rattleborge. Holy S&#%. Silver Lining Playbook had two of these characters. Any character who’s a force of nature, a story in their own right, can captivate a reader. What does that mean, “a story in their own right?” It means even if your movie didn’t have a plot, we’d still want to keep reading because the character has so much going on. Coming up with an iconic character is easier said than done. But if you start off TRYING, you’re a step ahead of the guy hoping it will happen organically.
2) Voice – You taste that? It’s the taste of blowing away the reader! Voice, or a writer’s unique point of view conveyed through their writing, is what most industry types will tell you is the key to blowing them away. Voice is where you find that dialogue with an edge. It pops because of the writer’s talent to listen to the world and transcribe it back through their unique lens. Christy Hall’s Daddio and Get Home Safe are the current prized hams in this category. But voice can refer to a weird plot and weird characters as well, anything that feels like we’re somewhere we haven’t been before. Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit comes to mind. Unfortunately, most of your voice is already wired into you. But you can definitely hone it by paying attention to what parts of your writing are unique and how your view of the world is solidifying as you get older, then tap into that as your career matures. I believe Rodney Dangerfield spent 30 years in obscurity before he found his “I don’t get no respect” voice. He had to not get a lot of respect to realize that’s the lens he saw the world through. But beware of “unhinged voice” or “fool’s gold voice.” This is someone who writes with a unique voice but has no sense of structure or focus. They spit the world out onto the page and let the reader figure it out. That’s not the kind of voice that blows people away. It’s the kind that annoys them.
1) Emotion – Finally, we arrive at the top of the mountain. The most effective way to blow someone out of the water is to make them feel something, and make them feel it deeply. Unfortunately, this ain’t easy. It relies on you developing characters we both like and care for, a skill that takes time. But if you can pull it off, you can give the reader a cathartic emotional experience they’ll never forget. One of the most common emotional tools is “negative becomes positive.” You tease the audience that a negative result is coming, then rock them with a positive one. Will Hunting has lost the girl. Will Hunting gets in a car and goes after the girl! The more permanent the negative, the more effective the positive. This is probably why “death and rebirth” climaxes have led to some of the most emotionally explosive endings ever. E.T. is dead. No, E.T. is still alive! Andy Dufresne has hung himself. No, Andy has escaped! The act of taking us from the bottom to the top is so powerful that there’s no way the reader can’t be rocked when it’s executed well. But again, you have to know how to build compelling characters in the first place or we won’t care what happens to them, even if you execute what I just taught you perfectly. Nor is this the only way to pull off an emotional ending. Characters can die for good and it still blow us away (Braveheart). Also, an internal emotional switch can rock us to our core. A character who’s written off humanity learning to open himself up and love again can bring a grown reader to tears. Again, stock versions of this won’t work. You have to create compelling characters based in truth (so that we believe they’re real people) for the reader to feel anything. But watch out if you do. Your endings will be unforgettable.
Everything I’ve said assumes you know the basics. You know how to structure a screenplay. You know how to write compelling scenes. You know what ‘show don’t tell’ means. What ‘get in late and leave early’ means. What conflict is and how to use it to create tension. What a character goal is. What stakes and urgency are. If you know all that, then using one of these five options on your next script will work for you. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to read it and be blown away. :)
Hey guys. I’m still offering the Nicholl discount! That’s $100 off 4 pages of notes. If you send me your script this weekend, I can get you your notes back by the end of the month, which gives you a full month before the deadline. E-mail me (carsonreeves1@gmail.com) with the subject line: “NICHOLL.” Also, $25 for 1 logline consultation and $40 for 2! This is great if you want a logline rewrite or if you just want to know if your idea is any good. That’s the deal of the century. And it ends Sunday!
