There is a “magic bullet” theory of writing that goes something like this:
I’m going to take a week-end screenwriting class or novel writing class, and then I’ll write an award winning script for film or a manuscript for a novel.
OR …
I’ll just get my camera and start shooting a movie. I don’t need a script. I just need a clever idea. I’ll tell the story as I go.
Neither of these approaches will work.
You could spend your life taking classes and STILL not get the point which lies within you.
What WILL work for you and for a worldwide audience is the following:
A GREAT STORY! A uniquely great story!
How do you get to that level of greatness?
Through value systems.
So what do I mean?
A great story is the result of the writer’s ability to tell the audience about moral choices the Hero makes because the underlying story has as its CORE a psychological problem that results in a moral value challenge with which the Hero is faced.
To write a story with a Hero who has to choose between two value systems, you need to avoid the predictable scenario. For example, would a single woman choose a foul-mouthed loser, or would she choose a guy who brings her flowers and has a positive, supportive attitude toward her! Well, if the woman is a sociopath, she might choose the loser. But the choice here is too easy, too predictable.
Another example for your Hero:
The Road Less Traveled is to the right. … A huge sinkhole is rumored to be at the end of this road.
OR
The Road Time Tested is to the left… This road is made of unsinkable granite.
Which way will your Hero go? Left is very predictable. It’s seems to be the safest choice. But that’s exactly the point! Your audience will yawn.
The choice needs to be tough and it needs to challenge your Hero!
How about: The Road Time Tested has a monster lurking in the shadows and people have disappeared, never to be seen again.
A huge sink hole or a monster?
When you craft moral choices, make them tough:
The choice is between love and honor. In Vertigo, the Detective Hero falls in love with his client, who turns out to be the murderer. What does he do?
The choice is between following the rule of law, or dishing out justice for a mass murderer who is above the law in Shooter.
The choice is between sacrifice, but kill one’s soul, or love which results in death in Sophie’s Choice.
If you can reduce down your story idea to two main value choices, you’re on your way to a great story. In addition to structure and plot and character development, you need to go to value systems.
In Hamlet, what must the Hero do when he learns his mother and step-father murdered his father?
In A Christmas Carol, what must Scrooge do when he realizes he’s been a miserable, nasty miser all his life, but the realization comes when he’s with his own ghost?
In The Great Gatsby, what must the Hero do when he realizes his obsessive quest for unimaginable riches to win over a wealthy girl is based on a lie?
Figuring out moral value systems and choices is not something you’ll achieve in a week-end. But it can be a life-changing event for you, and your audience will remember your story for years to come.