On Breaking Story - Part 1

Early on in the writers room of Blood & Treasure I realized that over the course of a nearly two-decade long career I had actually come to some understanding about the process of writing and breaking story for Television. I began a long and on-going thread of insights that had coalesced for me. They are in no particular order and the list developed over a few years. I hope you find something in here helpful. If not, at least it was free. And without further ado, 1-20…

1) Work big to small storywise: You're building a house. Don't start working on the fixtures until you're sure that's where the bathroom goes.

2) When ideas work they inherently spin out interesting character moments.

3) Good story creates more story.

4) When you're going in the wrong direction it feels like a slog. If you spend a suitable amount of time grinding gears, reassess.

5) Problems for the character are good, problems in the story are bad. Don't confuse them.

6) If you find yourself bending over backwards to steady a weak piece of story, replace it.

7) Logic problems are often opportunities to examine character motivations, or lack thereof.

8) Writers block is what happens when a story has gone down a deadend road. Retrace your steps & reroute from the last place you were excited.

9) When stuck, ask what the character would do next based on what they know and what we know about them.

10) Have fun! (I'm kidding...slightly...but use passion and enjoyment as indicators of whether or not the story is working. If you're bored, the audience likely will be as well).

11) Action scenes are not distinct from "character scenes" but a chance to test your characters' mettle, chart their growth or challenge their moral compass. Whether they succeed or fail we'll learn more about them.

12) Use every part of the buffalo when developing set pieces. Rather than just a chase or generic gun fight, pick specific concepts and locations with action and character choices that could only be made there.

13) Understand the expectations of your audience based on the genre you're working in. Surprises, twists, etc. work best when the audience *thinks* they understand the story.

14) Once the patterns of the show become evident, subtle permutations keep it fresh. Switching up normal character pairings can reveal interesting new dynamics. Larger form-breaking episodes often announce important shifts in story.

15) It is great to have a show bible as a road map but don't let it keep you from finding more interesting destinations along the way.

16) If character backstories aren't giving you story going forward they aren't engineered correctly.

17) Character conflict is strongest when it comes from differing points of view than when one character is obviously right.

18) When characters are complex plots can be simple.

19) Assuming organizations/groups think monolithically takes away options for plot and conflict.

20) Encourage the writers to NOT come in when under the weather. One bug can take down the whole staff. Don't be a hero.

Keep reading the next post for 21-40. Or don’t. I’m not the boss of you.