Celestial Bodies, Sexy Knees and Story Structure via Robert McKee
Dogs are Smarter Than People Podcast
You can learn a lot about culture by how it looks at what makes a good story and a good story structure.
In Western culture right now, we tend to think of stories as three acts (a beginning, middle, and end with the bulk being in the middle), and with a protagonist or hero or main character (whatever you want to call it) who drives the story forward.
So, it’s sometimes good to remember that there are other ways of making story and other cultures where the bulk might not be in the middle or the main character might not be so proactive. Story reflects who we are as a people.
Nobody keys into this as much as Robert McKee, who is quite the guru of screenwriting and story.
There are three of his maxims, explained by No Film School that really show that.
THOSE ARE:
“YOUR PROTAGONIST NEEDS TO BE THE ONE WHO MAKES THE DECISION THAT BRINGS ABOUT THE CLIMACTIC ACTION.
“Is your protagonist driving the story forward? Are their actions and choices putting the story into focus and kicking it into gear? Make sure they are active, and not just along for the ride. Give them something to do.
“DESIRE IN YOUR CHARACTER IS KEY.
“What does your character want? We talk about goals on here a lot. They need to have a goal, but also the reasoning behind it. That’s where desires come in. I want to solve the case to make the city safer. I want to bring all my friends back from Thanos’ snap. Give them something tangible and obvious.
“CHARACTER PAYOFFS SHOULD ALWAYS BE EMOTIONAL UNLESS YOU HAVE A SPECIAL REASON.
“Think about not only what happens inside your story but how these moments affect people internally. Does someone let a character down, or crush their heart with a rejection? Is there a way to hook that into the goal and show how things evolve within them? What do these emotional hurdles do to them or cause them to do? Let emotion guide the way.”
For literature in our time, right now, and our culture, those are three big keys to making stories that will be purchased and will resonate with readers.
How does that reflect with our life though, right?
DOG TIP FOR LIFE
You’ve got to make things happen. Be the hero of your own story and make your people have emotional rewards when they give you what you want.
COOL WRITING EXERCISE
This is from Robert McKee and his book, Story:
“Lean back and ask, ‘What would it be like to live my character’s life hour by hour, day by day?’ In vivid detail sketch how your characters shop, make love, pray — scenes that may or may not find their way into your story, but draw you into your imagined world until it feels like déjà vu.
“While memory gives us whole chunks of life, imagination takes fragments, slivers of dream, and chips of experience that seem unrelated, then seeks their hidden connections and merges them into a whole. Having found these links and envisioned the scenes, write them down. A working imagination is research.”
PLACE TO SUBMIT
THE BATH NOVEL AWARD 2024 £5,000 INTERNATIONAL WRITING PRIZE
The Bath Novel Award 2024 is a £5,000 international writing prize for unagented emerging writers who may be unpublished, self-published or independently published.
“We are looking for adult and YA novels in every genre. Initial submissions are your opening 5,000 words and one-page synopsis of a manuscript which is complete at over 50,000 words.
“The author of 2024’s winning manuscript, as judged by Catherine Cho, founder of the Paper Literary agency, will receive a £5,000 cash prize. The winner will also receive our beautiful Minerva trophy, based on the world famous sculpture in Bath’s Roman Baths.
“All listees win feedback worth £180 on their opening pages from an editorial director at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy. Shortlisted writers also win a compilation of award readers’ comments on their full manuscripts.
“One longlisted writer will also win a place worth £1,980 on the 18 week virtual course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and the Professional Writing Academy.
“Entries are open worldwide until 31 May 2024. The entrance fee is £29.99 per novel with sponsored places available for writers on a low income.
“Bath Novel Award recipients include Abi Daré for the manuscript of international bestseller The Girl with the Louding Voice, new James Bond author Kim Sherwood for the manuscript of Testament and AP Firdaus for BBC Between the Covers pick Remember, Mr Sharma.”
RANDOM THOUGHT LINK
It’s all about UFOs and story structure in other places. Our link we reference is here.
SHOUT OUT!
The music we’ve clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License.
Here’s a link to that and the artist’s website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It’s “Summer Spliff” by Broke For Free.
We have a podcast, LOVING THE STRANGE, which we stream biweekly live on Carrie’s Facebook and Twitter and YouTube on Fridays. Her Facebook and Twitter handles are all carriejonesbooks or carriejonesbook. But she also has extra cool content focused on writing tips here.
LINK TO LEARN MORE:
https://mckeestory.com/about/#dica_divi_carouselitem_14