Where To Start Your Story
AI summary of the linked articleStories should begin by revealing one of their stakes as early as possible and then keeping that thread running throughout, which may make readers more forgiving of a slow setup. Michael Arndt, who wrote the screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine, holds that great endings require great stakes, meaning what a character can gain or lose in pursuing a goal. In Breaking Bad, the real stake is Walter White's dignity and ego, and even though the world defeats him, he gains the belief that he could make his own destiny. |
1 comment  Man I love Simon‘s writing! His clarity allows me to self-actualize. For example, when he said in the start of this article that, in the beginning of a story, you must set up the ending already. This made me realize why I often feel sour about mainstream media hit pieces or Hollywood movies! Because they mid-ified the piece already in the set up so much that you‘re easily able to extrapolate where the movie is headed later on. And then you become sour about them not exploring a more interesting plot like, and for me, being impatient, I‘m annoying of having to sit through the remainder. Still, I never realized that this is also a pragmatic way of telling a story in the first place. So I guess depending on how it‘s being done, it can make or break the remainder. |