Screenwriting note to self #9: A great plot doesn't just make logical or emotional sense nor simply remain true to your characters' motivations. A great plot also isn't just surprising. A great plot does all the above, but must also lead inevitably to uniquely great scenes.
As always, this is less a grand pronouncement than a thing I've intuited/felt at some level but haven't articulated clearly to myself just yet. So I'm trying to do so here.
So if this note-to-self is valid, then that means a great horror plot is one that leads to uniquely great horror scenes while also maintaining logical/emotional/character integrity. Likewise, a great thriller plot leads to uniquely great thriller scenes, etc.
Typing this out, it almost seems too obvious of a point to even mention, but in maybe it's so obvious as to get overlooked. This may be particularly true in breaking episodes for a TV season, especially once production kicks in & pressure is at its peak & time is limited.
So often when breaking down a season episode by episode and act by act, you can settle for just moving the story along, and (hopefully) making sure that it makes logical and emotional sense. But who wants to tune in for just that?
I love westerns and samurai movies. Partially it's because I love the worlds of those films, and the characters, and the visuals, and the themes. But I think it's mostly because I love the kinds of scenes that only seem to take place in westerns & samurai films.
So I think creating a great TV plot/storyline involves generating characters & situations that lead to uniquely great scenes in the tradition of the genre(s) you're working in. Which involves recognizing the genre(s) you're working in.
My first writing job was for LONGMIRE. If I was to break down the types of narratives/genres in that show, it'd maybe be: 1) mystery, 2) western, 3) character drama.
So great episodic LONGMIRE plots would be ones that lead to either great mystery scenes, or great western scenes, or great character scenes. And I think the best stuff I wrote for that show -- the dog soldier & the contrary warrior episodes -- fused all three genres together.
But I would usually aim for creating a big scene that either revised a western motif (for example, Walt confronting Vic's stalker & intimidating him via reference to The Iliad) or offered a satisfying mystery scene (a little girl ran over her father to protect her abused mother).
Looking back, I think one reason writing for LONGMIRE was so satisfying (aside from all the great people involved) is that the show so clearly understood what modes it was working in, and what genre pleasures were to be mined there.
In creating DAMNATION, my aim was to update & revitalize the western movies I love by setting the story in the labor wars of middle America in the 1930s. I'd say the genre modes we were working in for that show were: 1) western, 2) period drama, 3) character drama.
When thinking about the kinds of scenes I wanted in DAMNATION, I believe I mostly wanted the sorta scenes you'd enjoy in say TOMBSTONE or THE WILD BUNCH or UNFORGIVEN. But placed in a specific, unique historical setting.
Looking back on that show, I think I should've done a much better job of communicating to the marketing/publicity people that this was intended to be a show for people who like westerns, or western-ish films like NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Instead, I emphasized the period drama and the political relevance and the themes of the show. Those were all there, but those weren't the main types of scenes DAMNATION was built around. It was built around old school western scenes (except maybe made more modern/inclusive).
The key art for DAMNATION promised that, but I think many of the trailers promised more of a serious historical drama show than the pulpy neo-western (with hopefully surprisingly relevant themes) I was intending. That's more on me than anyone.
For THE TERROR: INFAMY, I think we were clearly working in the following modes: 1) horror, 2) historical drama, 3) character drama. Our showrunner's way of framing this was: we're using the language of cinematic horror to express the emotional terror of a historical experience.
Since I had previously worked in historical drama and character drama modes before, by far my favorite element of working on THE TERROR: INFAMY was trying to guide the plot towards uniquely great horror scenes, but without sacrificing historical integrity.
I think that was the most creatively exciting: to look at a historical landscape and to consider it from a genre perspective. What situations lend themselves to horror scenes/moments? What characters can populate this landscape to serve both horror and historical genre masters?
Finally, I've just about finished writing the first two scripts, on spec, for what I'm hoping to be my next show. And that's why I'm stumbling through these thoughts out loud right now.
If I get to make it, it'll be a female-driven crime show set at a modern day family run truck stop in Oklahoma. It's a crime drama, but it's also got a shit ton of 1970s trucker and road movie DNA in it.
So in that case, I'd say the genres it's working in are: 1) crime, 2) trucker/road, 3) character drama.
So at this early stage of creation, I'm trying to generate characters & situations & story worlds that lead to great crime scenes, but also great trucker/road/car scenes. That is, hopefully lots of badass car chase & driving scenes w/o sacrificing character or feeling contrived.
This is especially informing how I'm approaching the creation of supporting characters: How can I populate this world with characters whose abilities & drives will inevitably lead to great crime & road scenes? As opposed to characters who simply move the story forward...
This genre-excitement has been a great excuse to dive into '70s road and trucker films and to view them as an under-utilized resource for the types of situations and characters and vibes I want to populate my new project.
But seeing them through my project's contemporary, female-driven lens should force me to revise & reinvent these situations & characters & vibes & archetypes, as opposed to simply replicating them. We'll see....
