Prof. Juan G. Noblejas

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~~ The question is rather: “why do you / I want to write
this particular story.”
“Well... Because I just think it would be cool”...
“OK, but what attracts you in this particular story, idea,
character What makes it “cool”
When you discover that, you’ll know your theme.
~~ There is a reason certains stories occur to you, just as
there is a reason certain movies appeal to you.
~~ You just have to take a step back and ask why: they
may express your
- world view
- sense of humor
- pathos
- or they address deep personal concerns.
~~A screenplay has to be written with passion, or it will
never engage the passions of the reader.
~~ The only way to generate this passion through the
characters and events of your story is to know why they
matter to you: in other words, what they mean to you and
what theme they express.
This way, you’ll know what the world and characters should
be and talk about, and what isn’t relevant: you’ll have
focused the story on what matters.
~~ Sometimes the theme can be stated in a simple
sentence: “A house divided against itself cannot stand”.
~~ Sometimes is more complex:
“The Terminator” is NOT “about a woman trying to get away
from a robot”.