FilmmakerIQ posted an article by James Bonnet called “The Essence of Story”. It’s well worth reading. Some excerpts:
What is the essence, or heart and soul, of a great story? There are seven critical elements: the change of fortune, the problem of the story, the complications, crisis, climax and resolution of the classical structure, and the threat, which is by far the most important. In this article, we will examine the threat and its relationship to the other six critical elements that constitute the very essence of story — that without which there would be no story.
So Bonnet’s list of “seven critical elements”:
1. The Change of Fortune
2. The Problem of the Story
3. The Complications
4. Crisis
5. Climax
6. Resolution
7. Threat
His focus in this article is threat:
Next, there’s the super important element called the threat. The threat is the agent or perpetrator that creates the problem that brings about the negative state. In ‘Kiss the Girls,’ the serial killer is the threat, and the act of murder is the inciting action that creates the problem that brings about the change to a state of misfortune.
Equally significant in a great story is the fact that this threat will become the source of resistance that opposes the action when someone tries to solve this problem and restore a state of good fortune. This resistance will create the classical structure that occurs when a problem-solving action encounters resistance.
In ‘Harry Potter,’ Voldemort is the threat. His efforts in the seven books to take possession of the wizard world create the problem that brings about an undesirable state. And he will be the source of the resistance that creates the classical structure whenever Harry tries to solve these problems and restore a state of good fortune.
In ‘The Exorcist,’ the Devil is the threat. He takes possession of a young girl and that is the inciting action that creates the problem and brings about the change of fortune. He is also the source of resistance that creates the complications, crisis, climax and resolution when the priest tries to solve that problem.
In ‘Ordinary People,’ the mother is the cause of the problem that has brought about the negative state, and she will be the source of resistance when the psychiatrist, played by Judd Hirsch, and the boy’s father, played by Donald Sutherland, attempt to solve the mystery of the boy’s suicidal tendencies.
In ‘Jaws,’ the shark is the threat that causes the problem. In ‘Dracula,’ it’s the Count. In ‘On the Waterfront,’ it’s Johnny Friendly. In ‘Gladiator,’ it’s Commodus. In ‘Braveheart,’ it’s the British. In ‘The Iliad,’ it is the Trojan, Paris. In the Egyptian myth of Osiris, it’s Osiris’ brother Set.
In all of these cases, the threat performs the action that creates the problem that brings about the change of fortune. It also is the source of resistance that creates the classical structure when someone tries to solve the problem and reverse the state of misfortune.
It’s interesting. Early on when I first immersed myself in the craft of screenwriting, I read every book on the subject I could lay my hands on. Then I took a break for about 10 years, pretty much writing from the instincts I had developed through reading and writing. Now that I’ve been teaching screenwriting as my ‘hobby,’ I’ve gotten back into reading screenwriting books – to see the different language various ‘gurus’ use. Because in my view, everyone is basically saying pretty much the same thing – just different lingo.
Not to discount that. Every writer is different. Syd Field may speak to some writers, but not to others. Robert McKee works for some, not others.
Folks here at GITS have noted a lot of different screenwriting gurus, but I’ve never seen anyone mention Bonnet. By the looks of it, he is schooled in the Joseph Campbell tradition.
Based upon the article noted above, he is definitely worthy checking out.
His website is here.
His book “Stealing Fire From The Gods: The Complete Guide to Story for Writers & Filmmakers” is available here.
I think you're right that guros tend to say the same things in different ways and therefore it's about finding the one who best speaks to you.
Scott, do you consider yourself a guro? Albeit, one of the blogosphere? I would have say you're my favorite. Though I would have to say that the book that helped me understand the essence of story the best was John Gardiner's The Art of Fiction.
Re "guru": I use that tag about the Syd Field's and Robert McKee's of the world with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Obviously these people — with their books, seminars, workshops, master classes — need some sort of moniker. But there are so many nowadays, ranging from academics to professionals to God knows what. It's like the Wild West out there, each with, as I said, their own language system pretty much saying a variation of a similar thing about story and story structure.
Re me? Honestly, I don't know what I am. I started teaching screenwriting as a hobby back in 2002 because a lot of people told me I would be good at it. Over time, I've come up with my language system re story structure. But the thing that has excited me most is this subject area of character archetypes. I never felt like adding my story structure approach to the mix of everything else because, frankly, I don't think it's all that different than what's out there. It's Joseph Campbell meets Syd Field meets Carl Jung. But this character-based approach to screenwriting is different. So that's why I'm writing the book.
Re John Gardiner's "The Art of Fiction": I've got that, but haven't gotten to it — like so many other books. I'll push it up toward the top of my to read list. Thanks for the heads-up re it.
Scott, you're writing a book on character archetypes? What's the ETA? And in the meantime, can you recommend any other books on that subject?
@David: No, I can't recommend any books on the subject specifically related to screenwriting. That's one reason I'm writing the book.
You can do a search of GITS. I've posted several movie analyses where I break down characters per their archetypes. That will give you some framework for where I'm coming from with these ideas.
I assume you're familiar with _Archetypes for Writers: Using the Power of Your Subconscious_.
I haven't read it, so I have no idea if or how this might relate to your project. Just throwing it out there…
@didymus: Yes, I know that book. Thanks.