the new software
Download Story Structure Software 3.0 now
The great part about our job is:
1. We are always learning something, and
2. Everything we learn applies to what we do!
If you don’t keep a journal, I would suggest one. That’s where I keep notes, breakthroughs, a-ha’s! and new words I don’t know the definitions for (although my favorite means of gaining that knowledge is Word A Day that I get on my iPhone)
One of the great things about writing Save the Cat! is the amazing people who have contacted me from all walks of life, not just from screenwriting. And I am forever learning new things from them.
The 15 Beats of the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet has made storytelling easy, no matter what story you are trying to tell. It has traveled far beyond the screenwriting community. Advertising copywriters tell me they use it to plan not just commercials, but entire campaigns; a TV producer used it to plot out a whole season of a reality show; even salespeople — from real estate agents to telemarketers — use it in their “scripts” to tell a better story to a client.
One such email came last year from Alan Stevens in the UK who asked if I knew that the 15 beats can be used perfectly to plot out a speech? That, turns out, is Alan’s expertise. Alan is a media coach and professional speaker whose company helps executives, politicians, and ordinary folks like you and me be better more effective speakers.
So intrigued was I by Alan’s email that we finally made plans to meet. On his way to Australia with his wife and children to appear at an international conference in Melbourne, Alan stopped in L.A. and we had lunch. Alan and I talked for an hour and I wish we had a tape recorder rolling the whole time. Our conversation ranged from politics to business to movies and yet all of it was centered on the mysteries of communication — not just the how we can do it better, but why certain principles are universal… and eternal.
Not being from the U.S., Alan asked about the Presidential race, and we got into the whole subject of story for politicians. What is the “story” being told for each candidate and how can that story be changed if it’s not working? Also discussed was how very differently U.S. and European politicians deal with the subject of “God.” Verboten to mention in the UK, perfectly acceptable here.
We also talked about how business leaders can rise to great prominence and success without ever speaking to groups of people larger than a dozen at a time, explaining why when Alan coaches them to give better speeches to bigger crowds, they need a lot of help.
It’s all about clear communication and hitting people with story elements that resonate. A speech is like a story with a “Set-up,” a “Break into Two” and yes, even an “All Is Lost” moment. And I confessed that I had been using the 15 beats for my speeches for a long time.
But I think the most interesting My Dinner With Andre aspect of our talk was the mythic reasons for this. Alan, like I am, is seeking that “Unified Field Theory” for what this is all about. Why do storytelling techniques go back to the ancients and consistently work despite what culture we’re from? Alan shared something fascinating. Did I know, he asked, that in all theater, all around the world, the good guy always enters from Stage Right, while the bad guy always enters from Stage Left? From the West to Japan to the Middle East, this tradition is the same.
Needless to say, my journal was filled up with new stuff I learned at lunch, and I look forward to return engagements with Alan, a very bright guy with a lot of insight not just in his field of expertise but the related arts that add to and dovetail with his own.
Alan’s company is http://www.mediacoach.co.uk and his books are fascinating. Please check out what his company is doing and sign up for his weekly email blast.
blakesnyder.com uses WordPress
Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)
on March 27th, 2008 at 10:44 am
You ask: “Why do storytelling techniques go back to the ancients and consistently work despite what culture we’re from?”
Let me preface this by stating that Save the Cat! will always be my gold standard, favorite screenwriting book. My copy is dog-eared and coffee-stained and worn out.
That being said, sometimes I read the other story guys. In “Anatomy of Story” by John Truby, he states:
“The seven [structural] steps are not arbitrarily imposed from without… they are based on human action. They are the steps that any human being must work through to solve a life problem.”
And when I read it, I’m like - that’s it, that why satisfying stories have a similar shape across cultures, and time. It’s based on how we’re hardwired to solve problems.
on March 27th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Yup, I think storytelling patterns grow organically out of our biological shape and how we respond to the rhythms of life.
The left/right thing has to do, I suspect, with the fact that our hearts are slightly more to the left of the center of our chest than they are to the right. The villain will approach us on our vulnerable side (left), while the good guy will show his respect by approaching from our stronger side (right). I think that handed-ness also plays a part in this: most people are right-handed, and so are more vulnerable on their left side (hence, that being the shield arm rather than the sword-weilding one).
And it shows up in language too…. good old Latin: right is “dexter” (and isn’t that dexterous way of showing off my education?
); while left is … ha! “sinister”!
Tra-la!
But I think storytelling remains basically consistent cross cultures and down the ages because human nature doesn’t really change much. As you say when you’re teaching: it’s primal.
But cool conversation!
on March 27th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Just wanted to mention that when I discovered STC for my screenwriting, I was delighted to see how quickly it began to inform my work on my “day-job” as a film editor.
To be sure, STC genre’s and 15 beats are great tools for the director and me to be clear about what story we are really telling, and to maintain/enhance the appropriate structure and story elements through editing. The conversation becomes so much clearer and relevant drawing from these points of reference.
on March 28th, 2008 at 9:07 am
I’ve read that in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train the protagonist enters from the left while the villain enters the screen from the right. You can see this is the movie. The thinking is that because we read from left to right, this is a pattern we feel comfortable with and want to associate with the protagonist.
on March 28th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I once thought it had to do with reading too, but that doesn’t account for cultures that read right to left still (or up/down) making the same associations. So there must be another reason for this. It’s interesting how often a cinematography or media aesthetics class becomes a philosophy discussion!
on March 30th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Just an aside. In the US, it is not acceptable for politicians to mention “God”, it is compulsory. It’s becoming like that in the UK too, thanks to Tony B-liar.
PS. Love the books.
on March 30th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
My Dearest Blake,
I’ve been mulling over your search for the Unified Field Theory of Storytelling and, at the risk of sounding cocky, I think I may have it. Here it is: We need to believe people get what they deserve. That’s it. I know. Sounds simplistic. But I think this principle is the root of storytelling and religion, which is storytelling posing as truth. We need to believe that goodhearted, confused schmucks (like us) can make their dreams come true and get the girl. We need to believe that evil, selfish jerks (like the ones we have to deal with) will get their just deserts. When people, good and not so good, get what they deserve, it creates the illusion of order in the universe and is therefore emotionally satisfying.
on April 18th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
As a script reader for an Australian based company, I’m trying to do my part to turn around a market that once gave us Crocodile Dundee, but since hasn’t managed to capture the world imagination on quite the same scale (hybreds like HAPPY FEET excepted). So I’ve taken up the same quest - the search for the Unified Field Theory - in hopes that it will help clarify the types of stories that we can make here, on a budget, but that will still reverberate with emotional power for all audiences everywhere.. I’ve just picked up a book by Christopher Booker called THE SEVEN BASIC PLOTS; Why We Tell Stories. Christopher looks to have tackled the question dead on - so I pass on the title to you, just as I’ve passed on Save the Cat to all the screenwriters and executives I come into contact with. Thank you for the insights - and this blog. Hope to see you down under soon!