Is Hamlet really about Hamnet’s death?
The film Hamnet asks us to accept that William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet at least partly in response to the death of his son Hamnet five years previously. Does this [...]
Hamnet: the perils of the predetermined ending
Writing to a predetermined ending often distorts both character behaviour and narrative causality to get there. Is that what Hamnet does? What’s the story’s argument? [...]
Internal Contradiction Externalised
Sometimes, especially in fables, the divided self is represented by two separate characters. This post extends the argument in Sequences: How they Work and it's accompanying Sample Sequences [...]
Case Study: Who’s Got the Problem Now?
As ownership of the dramatic problem shifts, it generates subtext and emotional dynamics. This analysis links directly to the concepts introduced in Who’s Got the Problem Now? and [...]
Six Illustrations of the Social and Philosophical Story Questions
Six worked examples of how films fit the ‘Three Key Questions’ paradigm. Narrative, Social/Psychological, Philosophical Questions Almost every screen story is constantly asking three core questions, [...]
Three Key Questions
Three key questions can help you shape your story, giving it substance, shape and a satisfying ending. Three Flavours of Narrative Narrative is shaped by one [...]
Weak Villain, Weak Hero
Weak villains make for weak heroes. That applies to the argument your story is telling as well. Powerful stories need powerful counterforces, across all arenas. Make your story earn [...]
Creating Meaning through Subplots
Take the question you discovered through Duelling Aphorisms and Double-Sided Questions, and use subplots to turn the answer into a story, not a lecture. The Second [...]
Using Coincidence in Your Story
Coincidence is one of the writer’s most powerful tools. Don’t use it to cheat the audience. Coincidence and character agency If narrative is about the limits [...]
A Conflict Layer Cake
To have a substantial second act, your story needs multiple layers of conflict. To have a powerful third act, they need to come together into a single significant external action [...]
