I spend a lot of my time thinking about story and what story means and how stories should be told. I’ve read Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee, Making Movies by Sidney Lumet, The Playwright’s Guidebook by Stuart Spenser, and The Hidden Tools of Comedy by Steve Kaplan among others and you can learn something from all of them. In fact, I’m starting to reread some of these books because most of them I read seven or eight years ago. I’ve listed these books along with a dozen others at the end of this blog post that you can check out.
Plus if you’re looking for some submission opportunities have a look at my Submission Opportunities for Playwrights page. I’ve listed several opportunities and provided a short description of each as well as a link to each opportunities website for further information. This is a list I update and add to a few times a year adding new opportunities or removing old ones that have been discontinued.
When it comes to writing you’re always learning – always seeking knowledge – always on a quest to improve your ability to tell a good story. Which brings us to the subject of this blog. What do you say when somebody asks you about your story? Do you have a one-line description? Do you dive into a quick summary of the plot? Do you even know where to begin? It can be a challenging question to answer because it depends on how you define your story.
Do you define it by genre?
Do you describe your story based on its three-act structure?
Do you describe your story based on a classification system such as the one described in the book Save the Cat by Blake Snider where he identifies ten different types of movies including Monster in the House, Dude with a Problem, and Superhero? Each type of movie Snider discusses has particular storytelling elements. For example, in Monster in the House, the protagonist is trying to survive a monster. The house must be a confined space and some sort of sin is committed that unleashes the monster. So, in the film Fatal Attraction the Monster is Alex Forrest played by Glenn Close and the sin is the affair. These are primal films.
That’s one book. Another book is 20 Master Plots by Ronald B. Tobias and his categories include Master Plot Classifications such as Quest, Escape, Underdog, Metamorphosis, Forbidden Love, and Revenge. Again, each Master Plot has specific elements and in the Quest plot, for example, your protagonist is motivated to find a person, place, or thing. The protagonist should have one or more companions on his journey and in the end what the protagonist discovers is different than what he thought he’d find.
And just this week I stumbled upon another book called The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker. This is a hefty volume with the paperback edition coming in at 738 pages compared to 278 pages for 20 Master Plots and 195 pages for Save the Cat. This is a much more academic book and his classification system includes The Quest, Rags to Riches, and Comedy. Yes, comedy is a stand-alone category. So, too, is tragedy.
So, which of these classifications is the right one? The answer is they’re all right and you can use whatever one works for you. I’ve come to the conclusion that the most important thing is whether or not it helps you with your writing. Can you use it to understand your story and does it give you a way to talk about your story with others?
So, I’ve been thinking do any of these classification systems work for me? And I like a lot of the things they say and the story elements they discuss, but I think they’re too complicated. So, after some thought here is my unscientific story classification system including thirteen examples of each.
I think there are only three types of stories. There’s the survival story, the love story, and the quest story. That’s it. And each story can be told as either a comedy or a drama with extreme comedy being satire and extreme drama being tragedy. As far as genres go each type of story can have multiple types of genres so, for example, you can have a science fiction or fantasy story that is about survival, or you can have a historical fiction or a vampire story that is about love.
THREE TYPES OF STORY – SURVIVAL STORIES
| SURVIVAL STORIES | TYPE | GENRE | ENDING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready or Not | Satire | Horror | Happy |
| Marathon Man | Drama | Suspense | Happy |
| A Quiet Place | Drama | Science Fiction | Happy |
| Misery | Drama | Suspense | Happy |
| Sleuth | Tragedy | Mystery | Unhappy |
| Shawshank Redemption | Drama | Epic | Happy |
| Parasite | Tragedy | Suspense | Unhappy |
| Star Wars | Drama | Science Fiction | Happy |
| Zombieland | Satire | Horror | Happy |
| Harry Potter | Drama | Fantasy | Happy |
| Death Wish | Drama | Revenge | Happy |
| The Incredibles | Comedy | Superhero | Happy |
| The Poseidon Adventure | Drama | Disaster | Unhappy |
Survival stories are pretty easy to define. The main character is trying to survive. The threat could be a supernatural force or a real threat like a shark or an aspect of society such as an oppressive prison system. It’s also a category that doesn’t have a lot of comedy but the comedy it has tends to be satire and that’s probably because most of the time we’re dealing with life and death here. In terms of endings, it seems most of the time the protagonist survives the ordeal but often at a terrific cost. And if he doesn’t survive it’s often because the protagonist sacrifices his life for the greater good or for a particular person or cause.
THREE TYPES OF STORY – LOVE STORIES
| LOVE STORIES | TYPE | GENRE | ENDING |
|---|---|---|---|
| The English Patient | Tragedy | War | Unhappy |
| While You Were Sleeping | Comedy | Romantic Comedy | Happy |
| The Princess Bride | Comedy | Fantasy | Happy |
| Airplane | Satire | Romantic Comedy | Happy |
| Up In the Air | Tragedy | Dramedy | Unhappy |
| Moulin Rouge! | Drama | Musical | Unhappy |
| Sleepless in Seattle | Comedy | Romantic Comedy | Happy |
| Die Hard | Drama | Action | Happy |
| Doctor Zhivago | Tragedy | Epic | Unhappy |
| Christmas in Connecticut | Comedy | Romantic Comedy | Happy |
| Some Like It Hot | Comedy | Crime | Happy |
| Her | Comedy | Science Fiction | Unhappy |
| Marriage Story | Drama | Family Drama | Unhappy |
So, our second great human urge is love. This was an interesting category. A lot of the films make sense. The Princess Bride and While You Were Sleeping are obviously films about love but Die Hard? How is that a film about love? Well, the first Die Hard is about John McClane trying to save his wife and prove himself worthy of his family’s love. The later Die Hard films I’d classify as survival stories because the primary goal is simply survival and beating the bad guy since there is no longer the tie-in to love as a motivating force. The thing that defines a love story is that the main motivation which moves the story forward is the pursuit of the person who is loved. In the end, the protagonist either finds love or doesn’t find love, but either way he or she grows in some way as a person.
THREE TYPES OF STORY – QUEST STORIES
| QUEST STORIES | TYPE | GENRE | ENDING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinatown | Tragedy | Detective | Unhappy |
| Lord of the Rings | Drama | Fantasy | Happy |
| Stand by Me | Comedy | Coming of Age | Happy |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | Drama | Science Fiction | Happy |
| Wizard of OZ | Drama | Musical Fantasy | Happy |
| Monty Python and the Holy Grail | Satire | Myth | Unhappy |
| Moana | Comedy | Myth | Happy |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | Comedy | Action Adventure | Happy |
| The Hangover | Satire | Buddy Movie | Happy |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | Drama | Action Adventure | Unhappy |
| Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comedy | Buddy Movie | Happy |
| Jumanji | Comedy | Fantasy Adventure | Happy |
| The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly | Drama | Western | Happy |
Quest stories are those stories where the main character is on a quest to gain knowledge or solve a problem or get home. It’s often a story of transformation as the person who starts the journey isn’t the same as the person who ends the journey. For example, the first Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark is different than any of the other Indiana Jones films because Indy isn’t a believer in the supernatural. It isn’t until his encounter with the supernatural forces unleashed at the end of Raiders that he realizes there might be more to this world than he thought.
There’s one type of quest story where the protagonist doesn’t really change and that’s the traditional detective story. Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Columbo – none of these characters go on a personal journey. Instead, they solve a crime. Do we really want our detective to be going through a personal journey? No. We want our detective to outsmart the killer.
CLEAR OUTCOME
So, each of these categories has a clear outcome. In the survival story, the protagonist either defeats the enemy or is defeated. In the love story, the protagonist either wins the love of the person they want to be with or they don’t. In the quest story, the protagonist either completes the quest and wins or doesn’t complete the quest and fails.
If you look at something as complicated as Game of Thrones it becomes clear that the story at its very basic level is a quest for the Crown. And of course, what we learn is that anyone who goes after the throne is eventually destroyed.
So, what am I going to do with this? I think it’s a good way for me to keep my stories focused when I start working on a new project. That means I need to figure out which category my story fits into and then I need to make sure that what drives my story is either survival, love, or a quest. The specific elements of the story are based on the genre. And that’s something I’ll need to think about on a deeper level because there are all kinds of genres out there. The good thing is I don’t think you need to understand every genre you only need to understand the genres you write about.
STORY PLANNER
So, I’m going to incorporate some of these ideas into my story planner and that means one of the first things to decide when I start writing something new is what type of story is it? Is it a story about survival like my comedy 500 bucks and a pack of smokes, or is it a story about love like my comedy, Under the Mistletoe, or is it a story about a quest like my detective story Heart of Stone: A Jessica Quinn Mystery? And then I’ll evaluate whether or not this is a helpful exercise.
In the meantime, I have some reading to do. The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel beckons. Plus, I’ve recently finished a new blog post called The Four Rules of Comedy. In the meantime, check out some books on writing and submission opportunities for playwrights by following the link at the bottom of the page.
BOOKS ON WRITING
I thought I’d add a section to this blog post and list some of my favourite books on my bookshelf related to writing so you can check them out for yourself.
Stephen King – On Writing
A Memoir of the Craft
“Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, Stephen King’s critically lauded, classic bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work. “Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999–and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it–fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.” (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – Stephen King – On Writing
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
With insight, humor, and practicality, Natalie Goldberg inspires writers and would-be writers to take the leap into writing skillfully and creatively. She offers suggestions, encouragement, and solid advice on many aspects of the writer’s craft: on writing from “first thoughts” (keep your hand moving, don’t cross out, just get it on paper), on listening (writing is ninety percent listening; the deeper you listen, the better you write), on using verbs (verbs provide the energy of the sentence), on overcoming doubts (doubt is torture; don’t listen to it)—even on choosing a restaurant in which to write. Goldberg sees writing as a practice that helps writers comprehend the value of their lives. The advice in her book, provided in short, easy-to-read chapters with titles that reflect the author’s witty approach (“Writing Is Not a McDonald’s Hamburger,” “Man Eats Car,” “Be an Animal”), will inspire anyone who writes—or who longs to. (Description from Authors Website)
Link to – Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
“This description may be from another edition of this product. Learn the basic techniques every successful playwright knows Among the many “how-to” playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri’s classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay. Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives — why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise — a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior — and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior. Using Egri’s ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.” (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder
The Last Book On Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need
Here’s what started the phenomenon: the best seller, for over 15 years, that’s been used by screenwriters around the world Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny and candid look inside the movie business. “Save the Cat” is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying, including: The four elements of every winning logline The seven immutable laws of screenplay physics The 10 genres that every movie ever made can be categorized by — and why they’re important to your script Why your Hero must serve your Idea Mastering the 15 Beats Creating the “Perfect Beast” by using The Board to map 40 scenes with conflict and emotional change How to get back on track with proven rules for script repair This ultimate insider’s guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a showbiz veteran who’s proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat. (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
20 Master Plots and How to Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias
“This book shows the reader how to take timeless storytelling structures and make them immediate, now, for fiction that’s universal in how it speaks to the reader’s heart and contemporary in detail and impact.Each chapter includes brief excerpts and descriptions of fiction from many times, many genres – myth and fairy tale, genre and mainstream fiction, film plots of all types, short story and novel.Find 20 fundamental plots that recur through all fiction – with analysis and examples – that outline benefits and warnings, for writers to adapt and elaborate in their own fiction.Ronald B. Tobias has spent his career as a writer moving from genre to genre, first as a short story writer, then as an author of fiction and nonfiction books and finally as a writer and producer of documentaries for public television. He is currently a professor in the Department of Media and Theatre Arts at Montana State University and the author of the Insider’s Guide to Writing for Screen and Television. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.”
Link to – 20 Master Plots and How to Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias
Writing Screenplays That Sell by Michael Hauge
The Complete Guide to Turning Story Concepts Into Movie and Television Deals by Michael Hauge
“No one is better than Michael Hauge at finding what is most authentic in every moment of a story.” –Will Smith “Michael Hauge is a story master, and this book is an absolute must have for anyone serious about telling great stories for the screen.” –DeVon Franklin, Vice-President of Production, Columbia Pictures Concise, authoritative, and comprehensive, Writing Screenplays that Sell is the most complete guide available on the art, craft, and business of screenwriting for movies and television. Renowned Hollywood story consultant Michael Hauge–considered “one of the most sought after lecturers and script consultants in the U.S.” by Scriptwriter magazine–covers every aspect from concept to deal: screenplay development, artistry versus commerciality, adaptations, copyright protection, living and working outside Los Angeles; finding an agent; and more. Reflecting the latest trends and scripts, Writing Screenplays that Sell includes insight and detailed information on: Finding and selecting commercial story concepts Guidelines for story structure, including: Opening scenes that immediately grab the reader – The five most common goals in Hollywood movies – Why most adaptations fail – The most effective use of flashbacks – Creating emotionally powerful endings Tips for marketing a script–script consultants, script competitions, pitch fests, virtual pitching, e-mail blasts, log-line listings, audio script readings, and Internet resources for screenwriters A complete, in depth analysis of the screenplay for Avatar, the biggest box office success of all time Whether you’re an aspiring artist looking to break into the business or a seasoned pro looking for tips to boost your skills, Writing Screenplays that Sell is the one essential guide you need. (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – Writing Screenplays That Sell by Michael Hauge
The WAR of ART by Steven Pressfield
Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. hat keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor-be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline. Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself. Whether an artist, writer or business person, this simple, personal, and no-nonsense book will inspire you to seize the potential of your life. (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – The WAR of ART by Steven Pressfield
Do The Work by Steven Pressfield
Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way
“Could you be getting in your way of producing great work? Have you started a project but never finished? Would you like to do work that matters, but don’t know where to start? The answer is Do the Work, a manifesto by bestselling author Steven Pressfield, that will show you that it’s not about better ideas, it’s about actually doing the work. Do the Work is a weapon against Resistance – a tool that will help you take action and successfully ship projects out the door.Picking up where The War of Art and Turning Pro left off, Do The Work takes the reader from the start to the finish of any long-form project–novel, screenplay, album, software piece, you name it.Do The Work identifies the predictable Resistance Points along the way and walks you through each of them. No, you are not crazy. No, you are not alone. No, you are not the first person to “hit the wall” in Act Two.Do The Work charts the territory. It’s the stage-by-stage road map for taking your project from Page One to THE END.” (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – Do The Work by Steven Pressfield
Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work
Turning Pro is the follow-up work to Steven Pressfield’s classic, The War of Art. What we get when we turn pro is we find our power. We find our will and our voice and we find our self-respect. We become who we always were but had, until then, been afraid to embrace and to live out.
Link to – Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
STORY by Robert McKee
Substance, Structure, Style, and The Principles of Screenwriting
Robert McKee’s screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the “magic” of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.(Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – STORY by Robert McKee
Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us by Jessica Page Morrell
A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing Is Being Rejected
A fun, practical guide that reveals the essentials of good fiction and memoir writing by exposing the most common mistakes literary writers make. All great works of fiction and memoir are unique-but most bad novels, stories, and memoirs have a lot in common. From clunky dialogue to poorly sketched out characters, sagging pacing to exaggerated prose, these beginners’ mistakes drive any agent or editor to their stock rejection letter, telling the aspiring writer “Thanks, but this isn’t for us,” and leaving many to wonder what exactly it is that they’re doing wrong. Veteran writing coach, developmental editor, and writing instructor Jessica Page Morrell will fill in the gaps in every rejection letter you’ve ever received. In Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us, Morrell uses her years of experience to isolate the specific errors beginners make, including the pitfalls of unrealistic dialogue, failing to “show, not tell,” and over-the-top plot twists. These are just a few of the problems that keep writers from breaking through with their work. Sympathetic and humane, but pulling no punches, Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us shows writers precisely where they’ve gone wrong and how to get on the right track. In sixteen to-the-point chapters, with checklists, exercises, takeaway tips, and a glossary, Morrell helps readers transcend these mistakes so that they don’t have to learn the hard way: with another rejection letter. (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us by Jessica Page Morrell
The Hidden Tools of Comedy by Steve Kaplan
The Serious Business of Being Funny
While other books give you tips on how to “write funny,” The Hidden Tools of Comedy offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy itself, and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful, commercial scripts. Steve Kaplan unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy, deconstructing sequences in popular films and television to show when comedy works, when it doesn’t, and why. (Description for Kaplan Comedy)
Link to – The Hidden Tools of Comedy by Steve Kaplan
The Playwright’s Guidebook by Stuart Spencer
An insightful primer on the art of dramatic writing
An accessible, contemporary guide to the art of dramatic writing During the ten years that Stuart Spencer has taught playwriting, he has struggled to find an effective playwriting handbook for his courses. Although most of the currently popular handbooks have good ideas in them, they all suffer from the same problems: they’re poorly organized; are composed mostly of quirky, idiosyncratic advice on how specific playwrights have gone about writing their own work; and are full of abstract theorizing on the nature of art. As a result, they fail to offer any concrete information on how to construct a well-written play or any useful guidelines and exercises. Moreover, few of these books are actually written by working playwrights. Out of frustration, Spencer wrote his own book. The result, The Playwright’s Guidebook, is a clear, concise, and engaging handbook. Spencer addresses the important principles of structure, includes insightful writing exercises that build upon one another, explores the creative process, and troubleshoots recurrent problems that playwrights actually face. (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – The Playwright’s Guidebook by Stuart Spencer
Making Movies by Sidney Lumet
Why does a director choose a particular script? What must they do in order to keep actors fresh and truthful through take after take of a single scene? How do you stage a shootout–involving more than one hundred extras and three colliding taxis–in the heart of New York’s diamond district? What does it take to keep the studio honchos happy? From the first rehearsal to the final screening, Making Movies is a master’s take, delivered with clarity, candor, and a wealth of anecdote. For in this book, Sidney Lumet, one of our most consistently acclaimed directors, gives us both a professional memoir and a definitive guide to the art, craft, and business of the motion picture. Drawing on forty years of experience on movies that range from Long Day’s Journey into Night to Network and The Verdict –and with such stars as Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Al Pacino–Lumet explains how painstaking labor and inspired split-second decisions can result in two hours of screen magic. (Description from Thrift Books.)
Link to – Making Movies by Sidney Lumet
