Never listen to any one who says how to make a good screenwriting/movie or any thing. Those are things that needs to be honest, about your emotions. Maybe some random dude from internet will say its wrong because he lives by the rule that every thing needs to be right because he doesnt have a talent, but in art especially there are no rules and every things done by talent, hardwork and emotions. Screenwriting is a process of telling a story etc, and you may have illogical things because its YOURS, never listen if any one says dont do it that way, its your view. BUT do what you do neatly! Do the fuck you want, you shall not change the way you think just bcs someone told you. Its your way and your view.
I would submit that there's however, a difference between "craft" and simple "expression." Expression? Yeah, write a story but spell everything backwards and only use adverbs. Throw saucy chicken tenders at a canvas and call it "Untitled Society." Express yourself. Enjoy that creative dump. It's about your emotions, it's about your deep-seated angst and love of spicy-fried poultry. Nobody has to get it. BUT! If you want to use art as a communicative medium to express yourself in a way that others can understand, it really is worth learning how to wield tools to build a skillset toward that end. You're right though, don't just believe you have to follow every rule you're told. As Bruce Lee said about martial arts: "Take what works, leave the rest." or something to that end. But if you try to intuit everything yourself from scratch, and don't attempt to learn from others and train your craft, you'll never find out for yourself what works for you and what doesn't.
it's just exactly like music theory. some people say there are rules to music, but there really aren't. this channel does it the best way because he doesn't tell you what to do, but instead shows you what works best and how to use it, and it's your job on how you choose to incorporate it, or even break it. in art we break principles all the time, that's how we make things interesting. but we can't break what we don't know. the concept of dialogue is one way humans chose to represent a part of storytelling, and disregarding external "rules" would be kinda cherrypicking if we didn't consider the very topics and terminologies aren't also "rules" also, why am i still talking if everything i could say was that the title literally says "Rules I Just Made Up" and is not meant to be taken seriously?
The "show don't tell" criticism usually comes up because writers have characters say something about a character instead of showing it naturally. I haven't seen anyone use show don't tell to argue against good dialogue. Rather it's a critique of lazy writers who can't think of a natural way to characterize so instead resort to telling the audience something directly, usually through awkward dialogue instead of showing the audience and letting them infer a quality. For example, if you're establishing the charisma of a thief character, telling would be equivalent to having two characters talk and say "oh man, thief character is so charismatic I bet he could sweet talk his way out of a bear trap" and showing would be writing a scene where the charismatic thief talks his way out of a sticky situation. See you can use dialogue to show, the criticism is targeted at lazy writing where you just say characters have all these traits and never actually behave like a character with that trait.
I *think* I remember Scott McCloud's _Making Comics_ book saying something under the lines of, "words have been doing just fine without pictures for thousands of years." I know it's not screen play but it makes sense that your writing is just as important as the pretty picture, if not, I dare say more so!
Agreed. That felt like a disingenuous use of the term to be different/quirky (which would certainly fit the theme so...). Show don't tell (or the levelled up version Describe, Don't Explain) is 100% PRO-dialogue.
Was looking for this. Show don't tell doesn't even refer to dialogue (or any particular form by that matter). As Poe intended when explaining this concept, it means more like, don't cater for lazy readers/viewers if it doesn't serve the purpose of the story you're telling other than explaining what should be understood naturally by reading the story itself. It's about the importance of negative space in writing and it's BY FAR the most common mistake made by amateur writers. It goes along with the "personality" issue the video mentions earlier. We don't need anyone to "tell us" how Arthur Fleck behaves and why he's losing it when we can clearly see him losing it due to his behaviour.
That "it's not about the audience" hit me so hard. I legit have been working cosmic horror western concept for about five years. And I'm just too scared to actually show anyone. All the art, character descriptions/bios are all tucked away neatly in a little folder just waiting to one day be opened.
@@sansaraeei wish ppl loved Nope. I was so surprised how much irritation and even hate was thrown at that film, cuz idk it confused some ppl and that made them pissed. Which, i get the confusion absolutely but i dont know why ppl have to dislike it cuz of it
The second one is soo real. I've never been able to create "OCs". The only way I can ever create a character have atleast a premise tied to them. This is even more important to me as an artist. I want to tell why my character looks so funky by adding a funky background with lots of things going on. Maybe they love chaos. Maybe this character is a messy artist like me. The point is a character is incomplete without even a hint of story to them.
yeah. I long felt strangely annoyed by the term "OC", but could never figure out exactly why. I think you hit the nail on the coffin, though- OC and Character are two separate concepts. Without the pretext normally driving an actual Character, you get an OC, which feels so shallow in comparison. And then, as an acronym to something such as "Original Character", it feels more like a lame mockery of what real characters actually are. Maybe my opinions are just weirdly strong here for no real reason, but oh well.
I feel like the same goes for this as goes with most things - too far in either direction is...well, too far. A character that's just all quirks and personality is just as bad as a character that's a function of the plot and nothing more. The best position lies somewhere in between. A healthy balance.
You probably wont see this but ironically your comment really changed my perspective on character design as an artist. Ty for helping me level up my art.
@@carteradams43 idk, im friends with many writers with established stories and in my experience they just call their characters OCs because its an apt description. its a character that is originally theirs, and they like to use the term to differentiate from a character thats from an existing IP (in which case those characters are the OCs of whoever created that IP.) this is actually the first time ive seen the term been used specifically for characters that exist for the sake of existing + don't have an established narrative surrounding them.
I’m 16. Earlier today, I sat down with a black document, trying to find the purpose of my story. You’re very well-spoken, and this helped me a lot, on finding the right direction. I hope you don’t quit UA-cam. I’ve already watched most of your videos and I want more. Thank you.
I relate as a 17 year old who uses purpose to a individual character Like my version of Heroes which are basically "help people" but they're origin stories are way different like from literally a normal kid to a cyborg, while I make Villains not only bad but also mature about their choices (which I think I would prefer using "protagonist" and "antagonist" because from how these characters are structured)
@@hetecks1385 I'm seventeen too trying to write a script for my theater department that I'll be directing later on, so I've been trying to keep my writing structured out of fear it'll fall apart on stage if it's not.
9:45 i think show don't tell isn't about having less dialogue, it's about having better dialogue. Effective use of subtext and characterization in dialogue is essential when telling a good story.
I totally agree. "Show don't tell" is simply a matter of characters expression their personality and relationships in terms of behaviour rather than explaining what they are. That behaviour can still just be the way they talk. It's just a matter of having a bad liar messing up when having to lie instead of saying "I am a bad liar" it's having two characters that don't like each other getting annoyed with each other and be unable to agree with each other and properly communicate than having them say "we don't like each other".
Like "I before E except after C", it's a contextual rule, not a universal one. Like that rule applies specifically to words ending with "-ieve", "-ceive" and words directly related to those words, not all words containing I and E together, "show, don't tell" applies specifically to conveying things to the audience, and dialogue can be a way of showing, but the difference is between expository dialogue and demonstrative dialogue OR non-dialogue, not between dialogue and non-dialogue.
I feel like every video of yours that I watch changes my perspective on my own writing. I've been in the process of writing a book for years but I feel like your videos have fundamentally changed my perspective on my story and characters and the process in which I create them. So long story short, thank you, your work is incredible and I really hope you know how meaningful it has been and I am extremely excited to see everything else you create.
That means so much, I really appreciate it. I was deeply influenced by a few others, namely Jay Exci & Macabre Storytelling. Both excellent channels that go above and beyond
honestly, fanfiction and fanfiction tropes work because the character already exist in a plot. You go into a fanfiction already knowing everything you need to know about this character's personality therefore, the storytelling surely does gets affected by that. You are not building anything from the start its solely for the excitement of imagining this character (which you are already attached to) in very different escenarios, playing with that, with cliches, with the original plot, doing little change, solely bc you are a fan of this character and bc its fun
For sure! It is a totally different genre than story telling tho. Fanfiction OC-ing is not the same as professional writing. BUT, it’s an equally valid hobby/passion. It’s just different, like rugby vs football.
“What do you think a plot is? A pinball machine you can throw your fully developed character into?!” This line had me cackling and absolutely tore my own script to shreds because I’m doing exactly that and I needed the wake up call. You’ve pulled one more writer out of their own bs and I can’t wait to go burn my current layout (which at this point is just a string of scenes to develop my character’s development arc without the world being attached to them) and actually do some world building. This series is awesome and I’m binging all your videos today
Creating characters based on a narrative which then produces conflict is completely revolutionary for Me. I'm a "casual" writer and have messed around with a few different ideas, but I have always tried to produce characters to fit into a story rather than characters which fit into a narrative. It all comes together now.
I love how the "How to make a character's death sadder" post image (7:24) starts off with "Don't let them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life" and yet the character I cried most over when he died, was Hazel from Watership Down (I cried when my dad read it to me aged 8, and I cried even more when I read it again aged 27). Goals all fulfilled, long life, all that. But it was the saddest death I have ever read still...
DONT STOP PLEASE OMFG THIS IS MY FAVORITE CHANNEL IVE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS YOUR ADVICE AND PERSPECTIVE IS EXTREMELY UNIQUE AND INFORMATIVE WHILE STILL BEING FUN AND ITS A HUGE FEAT
The irony of "show, don't tell" is that 80% of the people who tell you that don't "show" you what they mean. Telling and showing are both important tools that the writer needs to know how to use efficiently to move a story. You can't and shouldn't show everything because then you'll never get though the story and if you tell everything, well you just have a plot summery. Knowing when to show and when to tell is the true skill of a storyteller.
Yep, exactly. Whoever mindlessly parrots "show don't tell" often has no clue what it actually means, and thinks it's some kind of good/bad sliding scale. It is actively harmful to imply that excessively subjective narrative deeply examining the falling snow and how it makes the protagonist feel is *always* better than just saying "it's snowing" when you want to say it's snowing and your protagonist witnesses it. Sometimes you don't need to dwell on complicated emotions, sometimes a character is just sad and outright telling it is perfectly fine. It is important for developing writers to learn and understand when to go distant and take in the full picture by simple, straightforward narration, and when to zoom in and go in-depth. This is the number one thing that "show dont tell" roundaboutly addresses but most gurus don't ever seem to connect these damn dots in their explanations (haha gettit they are being all meta and *showing*, rather than *telling*, aren't they genius), and therefore disqualify themselves from actually teaching. A teacher's job isn't to look clever and self-satisfied, it's to present a subject, break it down and explain to their students how to put it back together so that it works. And with writing, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Different readers will like different things, their tastes formed by their previous experiences and what they have been exposed to, what they've been missing out on, and what they are absolutely sick of. Same goes for editors and producers, and anyone else involved in creative fields for that matter. Everyone has their own tastes and styles they prefer, and styles they absolutely loathe due to overexposure. This is the core of all art history, this back-and-forth conversation between groups of people acting and reacting on their tastes, movements and counter-movements, the insiders and the outsiders. It's always changing, and approaching it with some idea of objective rules? Truly gradeschool level of understanding. What really matters is understanding the fundamentals and then finding the style you vibe with. Style is nothing mystical either, it's just a set of preferences on how to solve certain problems that occur during the creative. What matters, then, is whether the story works - it can be as clinical as an autopsy report or as perfumed-paper purple prose as it wants, so long as that's what the author is clearly going for. And audiences will know when the author is really doing their thing and being unapologetically them or just being jerked around by a committee of gradeschool teachers telling them what to do.
The latter half of your "Purpose Before Personality" segment spoke to me on a personal level. I'm currently in the developmental stage of writing a project, and right now I haven't settled on a protagonist. I've always struggled with finding a natural protagonist and the mere idea of finding out where everyone's place in the story is and then a protagonist might emerge was really eye-opening to me.
With your channel blowing up I know there's pressure to put out more content, but I like that you're taking the more methodical approach, and putting effort into quality over quantity. I love that your videos are informative, but also have personality behind them. Keep doing what you're doing Local 👍 Seeing WotW tonight 😎
I’ve taken writing classes and read tips on writing from dozens of people, and nothing has ever come close to giving me a better idea of how to approach the writing process. I read a lot of books, and have always wanted to create a story of my own-not something world-changing, just something that works. Thank you for making that creation seem like something that’s actually possible.
2:30 something my art teacher said something that really stuck with me “it doesn’t need to be realistic, it just needs to be believable.” And I think that applies to writing as well, your characters and their reactions just need to be something you could see happening in real life, even if it is absurd.
A few years ago I decided to re-watch Terminator in a language I only barely knew at that time, just to see how proficient I am in it. That made me realize, how little is said in this iconic movie.
My biggest project suddenly changed protagonists recently. I was originally writing a story about a character’s son and how he was sent to a different dimension, but as I was outlining and organizing it, I realized that it had become a story about the father himself, his grief, and how it paralleled his best friend’s journey of grief. And then I realized that before it was a spy thriller, it was a double murder mystery, in a way. TLDR; let your characters do the work because they will as soon as you give them the space to work and the pen to do so.
Dude, I found your channel literally two hours ago and you have already become one of my favorite video essayists on the platform. You seem to know a lot about film writing and I hope to see more content from you, if you keep up this standard of content your channel WILL grow! Well done bro
Letting characters do their thing is very important. I've written so many short outlines for chapters, only to later sit down to write them proper and have the characters just take the whole thing in a completely different direction, because with what I've established, there is absolutely zero chance they will do X or Y the way I drafted earlier. There is this spark of agency to well motivated characters that truly feels like you're breaking their legs by forcing them to do the plot - so screw the plot, let's instead see where the characters take this scene. Let them steal the story and go for a joyride, let them go wild - but also keep in mind the new consequences their actions create. This is the really fun part, because this is where the writing will surprise you, the writer. Because you didn't think about what would happen if the two quarreling siblings ended up crashing this plot of yours, and ended up causing a ripple effect across the whole story. The bad guys still keep going as planned, but now, instead of being foiled, they've gathered even more forces, and a week later they've taken over the place! And oh no, now your quarreling siblings realize it's all their fault - and all of a sudden one may deeply wish to atone, while the other falls in despair, and... you get the picture. Outlines are cool, but no artist draws with ink right away unless they -really- know what they're doing and are confident in it. Most just go in with pencil first, are loose with shapes, and often explore in this stage various what-ifs. And then, when it comes to the inking of the picture, they have found the image. Not everyone likes this garderner type approach and may prefer instead architect-style plot building and plot execution. Architect writing is faster, it is more efficient, it gets novels and scripts done on schedule. That's totally cool! But in my personal experience, I've found taking the time to garden your characters and plots to result in a much more captivating story. The time also gives you some distance, where I pick up some older piece of writing to edit it, then spend three hours absorbed into just reading it it because of how engaging it ends up - as a few months down the line I have already half-forgotten the details of that writing and it feels fresh again (and the errors much more obvious for editing). There are obviously still some loose plot threads to cut, and some narrative folding to do in order to really reinforce it, but with this method, there's no writers block in sight because you already have the characters, you have the situation - now you just need their reactions and followup actions to it.
Oh my goodness, as if i didn't get mindblown enough in the video, I stumble upon this treasure trove of a comment! Love the points you raised in this: 1. That well written characters will ultimately have natural sparks of agency that we ourselves might not see coming, there's so much value in letting them take over and lead the stories into new heights. 2. That writing a story in its early stages needs to be loose, like an artist would in their sketching phases. We explore the shapes before deciding which ones are the more exciting to define in further detail. 3. That many writers have different kinds of approaches, and there's no one right way about it. Im looking at a lot of writing tips online and have tried many, but none seem to really stick to me in a way that aligns itself best to the way i create. Especially (as you have now fantastically characterised) the architect-style writing, which I feel is predominantly the main paradigm in the discourse of teaching writing online. The gardener approach sounds more open to exploration and seeks to nurture the seeds that show potential and growth. Thank you for enlightening me!
I've never seen a channel that i'm so confident in reaching a mill and more. Even at 10k your videos are brilliantly scripted, wonderfully edited and just interesting, you create simply quality content i can't wait for watching you get better and better as your channel grows.
genuinely some of the most relevant and helpful advice ive seen in years in the modern writing sphere. i will say, with the whole oc thing, that IS in my opinion, the most common way i see young people try to enter the sphere of writing and creating narratives, and many of these people (myself included) are now reaching adulthood and trying to actually branch out into how to make those character fantasies a reality in a story, animation, comic, game or whatever. and its so damn difficult because you realise you have been literally working BACKWARDS. i will refer this video to friends i know with ocs with similar ambitions, thank you!
Your avatar video legitimately changed my life and put into words something I felt for over a decade. It felt like there was finally someone besides me who understood. Your style is great, your editing is great, and I feel like you actually have cool shit to say. I'm so happy your channel is popping off. You're gonna do great things!
UA-cam needs more writers like this. I've rewatched this particular video of yours maybe more times than any other writing video on UA-cam. I am reaching the final milestone in my first draft and I'm the kind of person who cannot settle for 'ok'. I knew I could not complete this project until I know it's 'good', not perfect, but good, and I'm so glad I've finally found someone who agrees with me on that. The most useful piece of advice though has to be that It's Not About The Audience. I had planned the ending to my story to be a bittersweet one, simply because I was told that is what the general audience prefers. I spent weeks going over the end and, after watching this video, found that if I did end up going through with this depressing conclusion to my story, I will never forgive myself. My characters do not deserve this and I was being disingenuous to a project I've dedicated so much time and effort into making. I do mildly disagree on the whole 'cut out the fluff'. I do think that too much of it can stretch your story needlessly, but I am a sucker for small moments of melancholy, joy, sadness or just character exploration and I will vouch for them. As you yourself have said in your video on Avatar: The Way of Water, the movie would have felt incomplete without the scenes exploring Jake's relationship with his kids, despite them adding nothing to the overall plot. They make the characters feel real. They are ESSENTIAL. I do think it all depends on the story you are trying to write, however. Thank you so much for making this, for being honest, authentic and putting so much effort and heart in each and every one of your videos.
Holy shit this video is better than 99% percent of any writing channel I've seen. The perfect balance between snarky and earnest, and some really insightful advice that made me reflect on how I write stories.
All film/tv essay channels offer their opinion on films. Only a few seem to understand the craft of writing on a granular level (Tyler Mowery, Lessons From the Screenplay, to name a couple) and in just as few videos you've become one of them. You've earned it!
Wow thank you guys so much. I cannot believe you’re comparing me to those channels. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I hugely appreciate your support!
Even though you just made them up, I feel like your videos on writing has been so sublime and introspective that I feel like I can trust your advise, or at least entertain them. :3
I hit such a major roadblock a few days ago on a story I've been writing for six years. The characters have gone and turned into these amazing damaged things with so many different layers and motivations. I know how all of them would act in any situation. And for the life of me, I could not figure out how to put them into the one situation I needed them to go to. Your snarkly little video here saved me from killing all of them just for a literal hand of the author character to revive them under the employ of the necromancer I want them to kill, completely dissolving their agency. I put away my forced clunky outline and I looked at the biggest theme I wanted to convey in my book. I wrote down a sentence or two on what I can rely on the characters to do when reacting to that theme. Tonight, I'm going to just write out a beat by beat of what these characters do when I put them on a boat together. If they go to the necromancer I want them to kill, then hurray! But if not, it'll be a story I love anyway. Thanks for your contribution to the writing world. You've made your mark already.
2. Purpose before Personality Sounds like an "architect" writing problem, us "Gardners" relish in the chaos of not knowing what our fully fledged characters will do. I'm not into the 3 act structure constraint either - it just sucks the soul out of the writing and nowadays it just telegraphs the story's ending. I think character driven stories with natural and emergent, cause & effect, are refreshing, "unpredictable" but rational and exciting.
I want to write this comment as some encouragement because I like what you do and I hope to keep seeing your videos. I’m not a writer, I wouldn’t even call myself a story or film enthusiast, but your content is FANTASTIC. I find the conviction you bring to your takes super entertaining. I hope you take your time and keep doing what you’re doing. I watch enough UA-cam to know the amount of work this sort of thing takes. Looking forward to the Avatar 2 video!
I've been working on novel writing for a while now, and I've seen a lot of 'tips' videos for storytelling. This one genuinely gave me a lot to think about that I hadn't heard before. Definitely a new subscriber here.
Dude, you are breaking my perspective on literature. Every video I see more and more ways to improve my writing and notice flaws in other works. Keep doing what you're doing! I enjoy every minute of learning from your videos!
the "characters aren't people" rule is so interesting and so relevant both for fandom and for academic literary analysis, and it's one of the first things professors have to get into students' heads when teaching them how to analyse texts! fandom treatment of characters is so fascinating bc they're really treated as /people/ that you can pick up and plop into different stories, but of course every story is discourse constructed into a narrative, so the choices people make when transposing these characters say SO much about what is considered "vital" to the role of the character in the original story!! Sherlock, for example, is easily transposed, because he's an iconic figure: his role is Be Smart and Solve Mysteries. any other details--like his network of street urchins, his addictions, his violin--are flavor text, and can be adapted any way you please. but for characters that /aren't/ iconic, that are concretely thematically bound into the dynamics of the narrative, it often becomes character beats and certain events that are carried over!! for The Untamed, for example (Chinese fantasy drama), you'll rarely find fanfic that /doesn't/ include the protagonists exile from his 'foster' family, or his two disappearances from the world he inhabits. they are how the character thematically inhabits the story, and are thus commonly carried with him!! of course, there is fanfic that basically just slaps character names onto vague outlines of a character and calls it a day... but that also says a lot about how much power lies in a name and the knowledge behind it!! anyway. if anyone actually reads this, I hope it gives some insight into how the characters you write may be received! and how this video is extremely correct in arguing for the importance of theme BEFORE character! the best characters are hardly people at all, no matter how much fandom, after the fact, treats them like they are. but that's their job, not yours!
That's exactly why it's not easy to write fanfiction. You already have the characters someone else created, now you need to come up with a plot that not only explores a theme of some kind, but also suits the characters' personalities (that, once again, were made by someone else before you). Fic writers have their own work processes that differs from original book writers, and it's fine. It is a different type of art in the same way that drawing and photography are different. Also, it's fine to do whatever you want when you write fics. You do it for free for your own and people's entertainment, and only a small part of ficwriters want to become actual writers. Not to mention that a big part of them are kids and teens who just started exploring their creaivity. So, go there and write your 200k words enemies to lovers angst with happy ending soulmates AU hurt/comfort fic. And if it lacks the theme or whatever, at least you had fun with it
I really love the way you talk about writing and developing characters and story. It’s really helped me get out of a multi-year writing block with a few of my stories and start making me question what is necessary and how I can clean it up. Loving the content you’re putting out! You deserve all the growth you’ve been getting!
As a freshly 14 year old fan fiction author, I can safely say that I was not expecting to be mentioned in this video. Great video btw, so far I'm just writing ideas and seeing what I need to improve before I start working on my bigger projects. 😊
My rule is: Write a story and imagine what it would look like if it was a movie. Because if it was presented as a movie, you'd realize how many unnecessary writings you'd have to scrap out. As an instance, stories I've read where the writer wrote some of their introspection about a character, it would not really show when it was portrayed in 3rd POV. And it was not all bad, but there are some writers who writes chapters of such a thing that the plot just takes forever to progress. Of course, there would be inner monologue 1st POV of a character, but that can be portrayed in a movie 3rd POV where it would be a voice in the background as the character introspects. I agree the most about the dialogue part. Im mostly just a reader and what I noticed is that novels that use less dialogues, I tend to just skim over the writing because it felt hollow for me. These are the types of writings that focuses too much on describing certain things in the story that when there is finally a dialogue, it took freakin forever for the character to just speak or have their inner monologue. Some writers included chapter of flashbacks or defining things in the middle of conversation, that when they continue talking, I already forgot what the character was talking about in the beginning. But when it have dialogue, it's more entertaining as it really build the character profile. As an instance, a writer wrote that Character A and B talked so many things along the way, had fun, and exchanged number before parting ways, this felt so hollow for me because it's just a summary. But when a writer included the conversations, what the character felt, what they talked about, how they reacted, this really capture the characters' appeal to me.
I'm no expert writer so feel free to dismiss this opinion but I disagree with what you said. Don't write a book as if it's a movie. Movies are a very different medium to books and so have a very different way of telling stories. You should be utilizing the strengths of your chosen medium as best you can and if you're writing as if just transcribing a movie scene to the page then you're wasting those strengths. You might as well just write a movie script at that point. I think video games also have this problem, they try to mimic the way movies tell stories when instead they should use what makes videogames unique (interactivity) to tell their stories as opposed to just watching mini movies now and again (cutscenes).
@@MarshalLeigh1911 I'd like to add that OPs comment is a great example of this. Movies cannot have inner monolugue the way books can, that's one of the strengths of books. It's why most people say Dune is hard to move to the big screen. Also the idea that descriptions are just that, describing something, completely ignores characterization through prose. There are times where a tree is just a tree and there are times where it's the characters only hope to stay alive, each scenario calls for a different method. I do tend to agree that I do look forward to dialog in books but most of the time it's not even the best part. The idea dialog is top priority probably stems from the mindset as seeing books as movies. Movie dialog tends to be efficient and important vs book dialog due to the nature of the mediums.
@@MarshalLeigh1911 I'd also add that I don't think video games mimicing movies is bad. Because like all art there are multiple genres and cinematic games, imo, are some of the best games there are. Interactivity is important but it doesn't carry a game for me, obviously not everyone agrees.
No joke this is one of the best writing advice videos on UA-cam. I hate it when people say to create character profiles and take it from there. It feels so damn amateurish
Please continue making videos! Obviously do what you want and what you enjoy, but as someone who has been consuming youtube for what is almost the entirety of my conscious existence, I feel *deeply* that you are going to be huge - and soon. Your videos are so high quality, the analysis is fantastic, there is no wasted time, and all while keeping a great sense of humour. I was honestly shocked after watching your Avatar video when I scrolled down and you had like 5000 subscribers. I hope you keep it up, but if you choose not to, thank you for the great content you have already put out
Your advice from the Avatar video literally helped me get out of my own way and finally start writing my story. It was phenomenal. Thank you for some actual functional and insightful advice in that video and this one.
One last thing, I really appreciate the way that your arguments have made me look back at my own work and reevaluate it through the points you've made. I've been writing a book for a long time and am in the stages of editing right now. Your Avatar video made me look at the basic plot and characters from a story standpoint and made me realize why I love the story so much and why I've been working on it for so long. I love watching video essays of this nature, but yours in specific make me want to write. Like the wake up at six in the morning and want to start writing after a six month slump kind of write. Your videos remind me why I love writing and why I want to get into screenwriting as a profession. I'm grateful your channel has gotten the attention it deserves, and I wish you nothing but the best. I can't thank you enough, and I can't wait to see where you go.
I'm in a script-writing class rn and I keep coming back to this video & your newest one. They've really helped me stay grounded in what i know to be true about my own writing process (v similar to yours) instead of getting carried away by advice like "always start with character!" or the over-generalized "show don't tell!" blanket advice Ive been hearing lately, so I just wanted to say a quick thank you for sharing!!
Writing feels harder to grow up with these days because the methods of online writing that you would find in communities--fandoms--tend to be the dominant thing you learn from. Maybe you write with other friends and if that's your thing personality is still the trumpet that is sounding over plot. And for that, this video was crucial to me because it feels like no one has ever told me some of these points despite how *obvious* they feel. I always would sit down and be confused over the structure of stories I find online because so many of them ignore a story for the sake of thrusting two characters with no aligning interests together. It's such a massive part of it that it felt wrong to do what is, objectively, by this video, the right thing. Thankfully I am still young enough to have time to do the right thing before college hits. I appreciate this video, tremendously, for all its points, but especially that one. It's not like a slap in the face it just feels like a stern reminder. It ain't all about "omg this character x meeee :3" that means nooooothing if you don't have some sort of advancing plot around it.
Wow, this is one of the best pieces of writing advice I've ever heard, along with Scriptnotes 403 -- and I've watched a LOT of essays, interviews, and podcasts (I've combed FilmCourage's entire channel). Yeah dude, you should make more like this, I'd love to hear some granular dialogue advice because it's my biggest weakness. Also, your admission at the end lit a fire under my ass; I had a video blow up on my anon writing channel and i was first overjoyed at the supportive comments, but then I eviscerated my own work and stopped making videos. It's been a year since my last release. I'm about to get into it again, and the sincerity of your self-expression and excitement just...got me. Enjoy climbing the UA-cam mountain; nice job jetpacking up the slope so far.
I've always had the problem of creating characters I love yet struggling to make a good story for them. Now it seems quite obvious what was wrong with my process. Trying to retroactively create a plot around a character is much more difficult than letting the plot create the character. I've watched a lot of "how to write a story" videos and this one has helped me with one of the biggest problems I didn't know I had!
On that dialog note: In 12 angry men which is basically a court drama, the two most powerful moments are when he reveals he has the same switchblade(visual) and when he gets the main opponent character to try to attack him (visual plus the line of dialog “I’ll kill you!”) Plus that part where he demonstrates how long it would take to walk with a limp to the hallway door. If you can get visual stuff into a dialog heavy story it will help.
Nice music thanks for the shoutout 😎 This approach to character, where you throw a bunch of different viewpoints manifested into humans in a room together and see what happens, has been a real game changer for me. I can’t remember where I first heard it, it might’ve been our conversations, but it actually keeps me interested in writing because I don’t know where the story will go. It’s like a little game of discovery. Nice video and congrats on the recent success!
Very good advice! Honestly, the second one is so true; I heard that the Breaking Bad guy said something along the lines of (paraphrasing) "When you're making a show, you're almost just feeling it out as you go, seeing what works and what doesn't, and letting the good parts get better and the bad parts fall away." Also, as someone who has been writing a serialized half-hour-episode-length mystery series in my spare time, in the vein hope that it may one day get made, the fourth tip about words being adequate action really helped calm me down. I have entire episodes where characters are just in a room making connections and going over new information (with character fueled interactions, but still) and I have genuinely lost sleep worrying that it was "too wordy" and not enough was happening
This is literally the best advisory video I've seen, purely because the advice comes from your experience, and your delivery matches your personality (and you humour is big funny)
I don’t write as much as I read, but I definitely resonated with the 3rd rule. As an audience member, I just want to consume a body of work that makes me feel; Period.. Not tell me how I should feel in this scene or that. Well, I guess some people like that if there’re “How to make a character’s death sadder” lists 🙃, but that’s not my cup of tea.
I've never taken writing properly seriously, but I unabashedly admit that in my late teens I was a reasonably popular Fanfic author in my little niche corner of tumblr. I wrote enough trash and improved enough over time that I learnt a lot of lessons which are, honestly, SO well distilled and unpacked concisely in this video. I feel you could do a great deep dive on any of these topics. Love your channel, dude, I'm glad you found success. I'm not in the least bit surprised though, your ideas are quality and the presentation is straight to the point. Magnificent.
Oh my goodness. My jaw dropped during the explanation of the steps in “Purpose Before Personality.” That is so helpful!!! When you said that they have different viewpoints then enemies then CONFLICT!- I gasped. 😭 why didn’t I think to try this thank you haha
I love how you talk about having a rough framing for a story, but still letting the story and characters tell it first! Overthinking my stories is why I am where I'm currently at: feeling stuck but still constantly writing, just... not able to put an entire book together. Your channel is definitely helping give me some stuff to mull over and think about. Many thanks for putting this up!
This channel slaps man keep it up. I’m a writing beginner who’s trying to hone as much information and skills as possible before my first book and your content is one of the few things keeping me going man. Love your content.
Honestly, thank you for this. I follow a number of channels dedicated to writing advice, fixing bad media, and praising the good media for what it does. And this is amazing! I especially love your inclusion of dialogue. Words are extremely powerful when arranged in correct and coherent sentences. After all, books are just words painting a mental picture. Movies are different, but powerful in the sense that words get the added bonus of reaction, be it facial, bodily, mentally. All of it becomes a symphony of storytelling that I believe has been lost to most (modern media outlets. Fans pump out breathtaking stuff these days) Thank you for such a refreshing perspective! You've earned my subscription!
I am not a writer, but these videos really give a nice insight to a writer and as cinephile it gives me a better grasp of things to look for when watching films. I love your channel and i hope it grows exponentially
Underrated channel. Out of all the channels I have seen I personally took more valuable suggestions from here. It did not feel repetitive, saying the same stuff everybody says about writing. It was very unique and made me think a lot. Glad I found this channel I’ll stick around for more videos.👍
5:55 you sir are making me audibly laugh alone to myself more than most content creators who’s soul job is to make me laugh rather than to teach me stuff. I love you.
The reason people say "show don't tell" it is to avoid the 'exposition/narration effect'. It's said that 60% of communication come from body language, 30% from intonations and only 10% from the actual words we choose. So when you're finished writting the dialogue, only 10% of the actual work is done. Just think of a simple 3 words sentence: "I'm fine" How the character say the line? angry, confused, happy, reassuring ? And how do the other characters react to it? Sympathy, boredom? Imagine one being empatic and one laughing to the statement, no word prononced, but a billion things said. If there's a million possibility with 3 word sentence, imagine a whole speach. If you're crafting a speech without this is mind, you're missing out on 90% of the info you could send to readers.
@@elnekosauce which is kinda dumb, considering that we're talking about writing, and the words use to describe(show) say alot more than the word used in a character quote or conversation. Usually "Show don't tell" is used to refer to the lazy writing that writers have been doing recently. Specially in the Hollywood recent movies and series.
This video is SO GOOD I watched it 3 times these past couple days It talks about stuff no one else talked about, and helped me narrow down flaws in my story that I need to work on
0:08 Whaaat all that sound was going on in the background in real time during that interview?? I thought you added that as some mic drop GOAT moment... THat is wild, I love it!
Yeah I've been writing Halo fanfiction since I was around 12, and I always cared more about the story being cool than the Spartan and elite characters I made, I just made the story told through them. I started off with a team of unusual Spartans and Sangheili who were forced to work together, a team who bonded to family through their conflicts on planet Agartha. And their perspective wasn't the only thing you witnessed in the story, there was the enemy aliens perspectives through multiple angles... the leaders, the infantry, the medics and scientists. This made the story so multidimensional even though it was meant for a game. It also led me to creating more depth for my main characters, like the Spartans. I made the main protagonist, Ajax, less empathetic and sociable, less funny and brotherly with his ally Hermes, and made him more like a calculated machine since that's how he was trained. He doesn't cry out in pain when you shoot him in the leg or cut open his skin to install implants, and literally no torture works on him because he is a psychopath in ways where he controls his psyche so well he doesn't feel pain. It's what separates him from the other characters because despite being a cold machine, he is still the Smartest and most ethical on the team. Makes all the right calls even when it seems there are none. He does the impossible, and doesn't stop after, he keeps doing the objective. All these traits define him and determine the story. Hermes was a much more average Spartan both mentally and in stature, and yet he was the more bold and exciting character because he was the dumb risk taker who was a very effective killer, even if nothing compared to Ajax. They compliment each other better now because they fill each other's gaps as opposed to them being the same character in different bodies before. I've done this process to nearly every character in my story which had more importance than just a few scenes, and it really follows the advice you gave so I know I'm doing something right if other people say it. The main idea of this story is humanity inheriting their ancient ancestors tech that they left behind for later humans to discover. This story goes into the flaws and benefits of that, and my characters strongly reflect that, what if one species had all the power? What if your great grandparents (aka ancestors here) were rich beyond belief but lost touch with the family despite leaving an inheritance, and you found it? Would you share it with the family? Or would you take control, or just be selfish with it and leave the family on their own.
As a fanfic writer, I do agree with your take on purpose over personality, especially when it comes to OCs. I usually prefer to write about canon characters, so that often means they already have their places in the plot predetermined, and I'll create OCs for where there is a gap. The best OC I ever created was a villain for a Legend of Zelda fic. The canon villains are always designed to be some kind of big bad boss fight at the very end, with underlings who provide progressively harder combat challenges. To tell my story, one that has a rich internal narrative alongside the external one, I needed a villain who offered more than mere force and couldn't be toppled via combat alone. I needed a villain who could manipulate the main characters, make them question their realities, destroy their reputations, and strip them of what defines them, so that they can be built back up anew. I needed a villain who could challenge the heroes in ways that the canon villains cannot. I can confirm that my readers love to hate him and are absolutely fascinated by him, to the point where they're keen to read a possible spin-off from his POV showing his backstory, deepest insecurities, and some of the behind-the-scenes of his schemes. My favourite thing about him will always be how he serves the story: he began as a character made for a narrative purpose, and personality just naturally followed along.
I just want to say thank you SO much for sharing your method of developing a plot/ storyline. I have ADHD and have NEVER been able to plan my writing for shit, be it high school essays or my next story. I just go off of whatever I come up with in the moment, and for the most part, it works. But then I lose motivation to keep world building because I'm developing the story as I go, and honestly, that can be EXHAUSTING at time. You easily chunked it up and asked VERY basic questions which can be expanded upon as much as you want, or kept as simple as you'd like. This helps me LOADS and I appreciate it tons
Glad you're keeping at the UA-cam stuff man! I'm looking forward to adding you to the list of UA-cam channels that drop videos that go so hard I develop new personality traits.
I love your videos man, they've inspired confidence in my own writing while teaching me new techniques and principles without feeling like I'm being told how I MUST write like its literally 1984. You've defended some works and criticized others in ways many creators wouldn't as to not go against the opinions generally seen as "correct" online. You don't do so for the sake of being provocative, but rather to be fair to these pieces, and it's not only refreshing, but inspiring. I can tell that your channel is gonna grow ALOT from here, and I wish you the best!
dialogue is my favorite thing in reading or writing. It's what hooks me the most as an audience member. The conversation being smart or funny or even bad ass line delivery really makes me remember things. I love seeing how characters interact in conversation, words are actions.
It feels deeply satisfying to have your writing process validated. People always ask me, well what is x character like? What’s their personality? And my answer is always, good question, but hey, wanna hear how they interact with the plot?!!
BROOO thank you. I have experienced some discouragement because I have so many notes, and so little actual 'writing' done, but you've given me the framework I need to go back to work with renewed enthusiasm. Thanks bro.
Bro I have fallen in love with your channel in a matter of like, 2 minutes from when the first of your vids popped into my recommendations. Obviously, if you find that you’d rather spend your time doing things other than creating UA-cam videos, do that. But just know, you make incredible content. And as long as you continue to post, I know for one I will watch, comment on, and like every single video you make. I’m a stickler for who I subscribe to, and whose videos I click the like button on. You don’t even have to encourage it though. Just by making great content you had me liking and subscribing before I got even a quarter way through the first of your videos I saw. I really hope you continue to make videos. And also, as someone that wants to write but can’t really afford college and has no idea where to start, I’m really glad that you made this video specifically. If you want more ideas, I think a series on how one can get started as a writer by learning how to construct scripts, learning new vocabulary and just any other writing tips you have would be awesome. Anyway, I love this shit man. Lots of good comedy in your vids too that has me actually laughing out loud. I hope you never stop posting, and if you don’t stop I think, very soon, you’ll pop off big time. Lots of love bro!
Massive thank you - and if I may, PLEASE don't try and get a screenwriting degree. I worked my first job in the film industry over the summer, and I realized very quickly that college degrees do not matter in the slightest. Wish you the best & I seriously appreciate the support
Me randomly stumbling on your videos at 4am while suffering major writers block is one of the reasons why I truly believe in fate. Amazing stuff man! This helped me a lot!
I think on point number 2, I think there's some sharp relief to be had if you look at that advice in the context of writing sequels. I'd love to see a video on that point if you find it a meaningful avenue of exploration. My vague thoughts: Making a sequel movie to follow up a strong stand-alone movie is... well let's just say the track record isn't great for the sequel being of the same quality. And your point #2 may be a good initial indication of why. In a good movie, the plot serves the character and the character serves the plot. You suggest plot before character, while i'd say it's more of an interactive back-and-forth build-simultaneously thing, but we both agree that designing a fully fledged character before you figure out what plot they're in is a... well let's just call it a *bold* strategy. But that's exactly what's happening in a sequel movie. You have a fully fledged character already. Even worse, it's a character that already had life-defining flaws that they outgrew in the first movie. So now where do they go? You have to build a plot suited to your already-formed character. And to give them some kind of growth, what are you supposed to do? Revert their previous progress and do movie 1 all over again? Come up with some never-hinted-at flaw that suddenly becomes a defining character trait ("What's wrong Mcfly? Chicken?") that makes the sequel character incongruous with the original? Somehow you need to come up with some new flaw and motivation that reasonably/plausibly didn't come out during the first movie, and then put the character in a plot that magnifies it. Al of which is easier said than don. In fact, while originally you should fit a character to a plot (to varying degrees), I could see it being easier (ie. more likely to succeed) to fit a plot to a new character flaw than to fit a new character flaw to both an existing character and plot. So maybe the right advice for a sequel is the reverse - come up with a meaningful elaboration to a character's flaws and motivations without undoing their growth, and then fit a plot to that.
I'm not even a writer, but this was still very interesting to me! It's nice to understand how some writers make decisions in their work and how some things are established and build! It really makes me appreciate writers even more. I am also so incredible happy for you, Local! It would have been so sad to loose such an amazing talent, everything you made until now is incredible! I'm really stoked for everything you have planned
Well, in as much as you wrote a comment on youtube, used complete sentences and paragraph separation, and shared sincere thoughts, you are a writer. Writers write. One doesn't have to be a published and paid author to be a "writer".
Purpose before Personality resonated so hard with me. I have written short stories for myself for a long time, but always dreamed of one day publishing. I have always struggled with main characters versus side characters, and driving the plot with natural progression. I am guilty of using a character as a plot device, to come in and ask a question or something of that nature to progress the story. And I think that it might be because I'm prioritizing personality & motives over plot instead of using it to drive my plot forward. You've got a lifelong follower out of me, and I hope you know that even when it becomes hard to be creative you can look in the mirror and remind yourself that "it's not about the audience". Remind yourself you are doing this for you, and the audience will follow. Can't wait to watch more of your videos
as an avid fic writer and reader the fanfic section had me sweating for a hot minute, luckily for me plot and the purpose of the story is one of the first things i think about, even if the purpose sometimes boils down to 'wouldnt it be fucked up/cute/interesting if this happened'
Never seen the avatar video but glad it popped off for you, it was probably the juice the algorithm needed to start pushing your stuff and im glad it did since it recommended this vid for me. These tips ill try to put into practice, thanks for the wisdom brother!
I remember finding your channel when your latest video was the Rogue One video. The video was very high quality so I was surprised you had under 20 subscribers back then. You definitely deserve all the subs you have, amazing videos.
Dude, I have listened to just two of your videos and you have already opened my eyes to so much. The stories we tell, the characters we create, are just 2d veneer on top of the world we would love to imagine in our head. Writing a story is. It creating a world, it’s not there and never will be no matter the amount of words written. We create scenes, scenes are just simple snap shots of a moment in the fictional world and if done right it grabs the audience in such a way that their imagination fills in the rest of the world and the crave to know more. The same is true of our characters, they are simply there as vehicles of emotional attachment and the best way is not to confuse the audience but to get them focused and sympathetic to an aspect or two of our main characters. The audience, just like with the world, will want to know more if we do it right but even their whole backstory should not be known or they won’t be the character we know and love anymore. Powerful breakdowns you have provided. Thank you!
Thank you. I've been working on my fantasy series for over half my life, and this video gave me clarity on how I could move forward with it in a better way. I've been such a tyrant with my characters and the plot, and it's really constricting the entire story. So thank you.
The purpose before personality method helps a lot. One of the most frustrating things as a viewer is having a story where, "no one would act like that" or "there would definitely be this type of person in that scenario why aren't they there?" A space story where no one wants to explore space, or a murder mystery where everyone has the same level of detective skills and all work together fully trusting one another. Trying to reformat a story currently. I have the characters and setting just trying to work it into a story which has been proving difficult
This video is really good - particularly the point of ‘purpose before personality’. Because I have my characters constantly rotating around in my head like they’re a microwave meal I can sometimes get too caught up with adding irrelevant elements and layers to them, which end up conflicting with their integral roles in the story. Essentially, I can over think my characters to the point where I lose sight of their purpose because I’m so focused on them as *people*. It’s likely because my process of creating a story is more ‘character first, story second’ and honestly most of the time my plots come to me when I’m not actively thinking about trying to make one. My personal favourites of my original stories are the ones that feel like they happened on accident. We all have our own writing processes and while I’m happy with mine for the most part, I can end up, sometimes, over developing my characters as though I’m creating them independently of the story - a human being over a character - which can cause me to lose sight of their purpose. Which is fine if I just want to create a cast of characters for fun and am not fussed about making a story, but I do definitely want to create and produce a good, well written story with consistent and compelling characters. I’ll definitely be keeping this advice in mind. Subscribed :)
DUUUUUDE...I swear every video that comes out just makes my brain ache like it just hit the gym after Thanksgiving.!! As someone who's been writing, and trying to write, for several years,is never felt more challenged in a good way!! I always listened to HelloFutureMe and even published authors, but I feel like this Chanel, in the few videos you've done, have challenged me and provoked what I thought best built the foundations of a story. I appreciate the challenge of some really big hot takes like "It's okay to show and tell!" THAT is brilliant! Or it's okay to have simple characters!! Honestly your Avatar video was such a breath of fresh air! And it was my favorite thing to listen to, because someone (who understands film and character better than most) was defending its many many pros! You pointed out people's problems with it, and then argued for the film, and that was all I've ever wanted to see!! Avatar is to this day still my favorite film! Are there films with more compelling characters, sure. Are there more "complicated" story plots, yeah. Avatar is the film/story I've wanted to write sense the day I saw it in the theater, and hearing you defend it as a fundamentally NOT bad film, and then showing all of its depth, was just the biggest chefs kiss I'd ever seen!! Please never give up on this UA-cam page!! As a writer someday, this is the brain food that I need!! Thank you!
I've watched this video a few times, as well as most of your writing advice videos. I think most advice is about how to give your characters more and make them more, but yours is very much about how to boil down to the essences, and I think that's why it speaks to me as someone who puts in too much and needs to be reminded to get back to basics. Love it. You unlocked parts of my process that I am so grateful for.
I'm a fanfic writer and I find the community (on reddit, don't know about other forums) tiresome. It's tropes and antis and haters and fans and celebrating and complaining and 'just write for yourself'. Criticism and standards seem anathema to them. They just coddle without the driving anyone to improve. It's annoying but also fascinating.
Never listen to any one who says how to make a good screenwriting/movie or any thing. Those are things that needs to be honest, about your emotions. Maybe some random dude from internet will say its wrong because he lives by the rule that every thing needs to be right because he doesnt have a talent, but in art especially there are no rules and every things done by talent, hardwork and emotions. Screenwriting is a process of telling a story etc, and you may have illogical things because its YOURS, never listen if any one says dont do it that way, its your view. BUT do what you do neatly! Do the fuck you want, you shall not change the way you think just bcs someone told you. Its your way and your view.
So, should I listen or not listen to your advice above?
I would submit that there's however, a difference between "craft" and simple "expression." Expression? Yeah, write a story but spell everything backwards and only use adverbs. Throw saucy chicken tenders at a canvas and call it "Untitled Society." Express yourself. Enjoy that creative dump.
It's about your emotions, it's about your deep-seated angst and love of spicy-fried poultry. Nobody has to get it.
BUT! If you want to use art as a communicative medium to express yourself in a way that others can understand, it really is worth learning how to wield tools to build a skillset toward that end. You're right though, don't just believe you have to follow every rule you're told. As Bruce Lee said about martial arts: "Take what works, leave the rest." or something to that end.
But if you try to intuit everything yourself from scratch, and don't attempt to learn from others and train your craft, you'll never find out for yourself what works for you and what doesn't.
Story’s do have rules tho.
They need them or else they’re not that.
it's just exactly like music theory. some people say there are rules to music, but there really aren't. this channel does it the best way because he doesn't tell you what to do, but instead shows you what works best and how to use it, and it's your job on how you choose to incorporate it, or even break it.
in art we break principles all the time, that's how we make things interesting. but we can't break what we don't know. the concept of dialogue is one way humans chose to represent a part of storytelling, and disregarding external "rules" would be kinda cherrypicking if we didn't consider the very topics and terminologies aren't also "rules"
also, why am i still talking if everything i could say was that the title literally says "Rules I Just Made Up" and is not meant to be taken seriously?
@@alex.g7317 do they need to be so?
The "show don't tell" criticism usually comes up because writers have characters say something about a character instead of showing it naturally. I haven't seen anyone use show don't tell to argue against good dialogue. Rather it's a critique of lazy writers who can't think of a natural way to characterize so instead resort to telling the audience something directly, usually through awkward dialogue instead of showing the audience and letting them infer a quality. For example, if you're establishing the charisma of a thief character, telling would be equivalent to having two characters talk and say "oh man, thief character is so charismatic I bet he could sweet talk his way out of a bear trap" and showing would be writing a scene where the charismatic thief talks his way out of a sticky situation. See you can use dialogue to show, the criticism is targeted at lazy writing where you just say characters have all these traits and never actually behave like a character with that trait.
I *think* I remember Scott McCloud's _Making Comics_ book saying something under the lines of, "words have been doing just fine without pictures for thousands of years." I know it's not screen play but it makes sense that your writing is just as important as the pretty picture, if not, I dare say more so!
Agreed. That felt like a disingenuous use of the term to be different/quirky (which would certainly fit the theme so...).
Show don't tell (or the levelled up version Describe, Don't Explain) is 100% PRO-dialogue.
@@YouWinILose describe don't explain is a great alternative to show don't tell. Definitely going to steal that lol
@@YouWinILose doesn't have the same ring to it. But 1000% agreed
Was looking for this. Show don't tell doesn't even refer to dialogue (or any particular form by that matter). As Poe intended when explaining this concept, it means more like, don't cater for lazy readers/viewers if it doesn't serve the purpose of the story you're telling other than explaining what should be understood naturally by reading the story itself. It's about the importance of negative space in writing and it's BY FAR the most common mistake made by amateur writers. It goes along with the "personality" issue the video mentions earlier. We don't need anyone to "tell us" how Arthur Fleck behaves and why he's losing it when we can clearly see him losing it due to his behaviour.
That "it's not about the audience" hit me so hard. I legit have been working cosmic horror western concept for about five years. And I'm just too scared to actually show anyone. All the art, character descriptions/bios are all tucked away neatly in a little folder just waiting to one day be opened.
Cosmic horror western? That sounds really cool.
I'd pay to see a Gdrive link
You can make it work. People loved NOPE and that was kind of cosmic-horror western too!
@@sansaraeei wish ppl loved Nope. I was so surprised how much irritation and even hate was thrown at that film, cuz idk it confused some ppl and that made them pissed. Which, i get the confusion absolutely but i dont know why ppl have to dislike it cuz of it
I would read this.
12 Angry Men is a timeless example of the “words are action” mantra
Banger film
@@localscriptman Don't sleep on My Cousin Vinny either!
@@accessthemainframe4475 highly underrated
I was forced to watch that movie in high school and I’m so glad
and attack on titan . When they discuss there mindsets its more interesting than some of the fighting and give the fight more weight
The second one is soo real. I've never been able to create "OCs". The only way I can ever create a character have atleast a premise tied to them. This is even more important to me as an artist. I want to tell why my character looks so funky by adding a funky background with lots of things going on. Maybe they love chaos. Maybe this character is a messy artist like me. The point is a character is incomplete without even a hint of story to them.
yeah. I long felt strangely annoyed by the term "OC", but could never figure out exactly why. I think you hit the nail on the coffin, though- OC and Character are two separate concepts. Without the pretext normally driving an actual Character, you get an OC, which feels so shallow in comparison. And then, as an acronym to something such as "Original Character", it feels more like a lame mockery of what real characters actually are. Maybe my opinions are just weirdly strong here for no real reason, but oh well.
I feel like the same goes for this as goes with most things - too far in either direction is...well, too far.
A character that's just all quirks and personality is just as bad as a character that's a function of the plot and nothing more.
The best position lies somewhere in between. A healthy balance.
@@carteradams43 Agreed - both with the annoyance toward the term and your explanation as to why.
You probably wont see this but ironically your comment really changed my perspective on character design as an artist. Ty for helping me level up my art.
@@carteradams43 idk, im friends with many writers with established stories and in my experience they just call their characters OCs because its an apt description. its a character that is originally theirs, and they like to use the term to differentiate from a character thats from an existing IP (in which case those characters are the OCs of whoever created that IP.) this is actually the first time ive seen the term been used specifically for characters that exist for the sake of existing + don't have an established narrative surrounding them.
I’m 16. Earlier today, I sat down with a black document, trying to find the purpose of my story. You’re very well-spoken, and this helped me a lot, on finding the right direction. I hope you don’t quit UA-cam. I’ve already watched most of your videos and I want more. Thank you.
Same
So, what's the story about?
I relate as a 17 year old who uses purpose to a individual character
Like my version of Heroes which are basically "help people" but they're origin stories are way different like from literally a normal kid to a cyborg, while I make Villains not only bad but also mature about their choices (which I think I would prefer using "protagonist" and "antagonist" because from how these characters are structured)
@@hetecks1385 I'm seventeen too trying to write a script for my theater department that I'll be directing later on, so I've been trying to keep my writing structured out of fear it'll fall apart on stage if it's not.
im 65. and im writing about ocean clowns who smoke weed
9:45 i think show don't tell isn't about having less dialogue, it's about having better dialogue. Effective use of subtext and characterization in dialogue is essential when telling a good story.
Bingo!!
I totally agree.
"Show don't tell" is simply a matter of characters expression their personality and relationships in terms of behaviour rather than explaining what they are. That behaviour can still just be the way they talk. It's just a matter of having a bad liar messing up when having to lie instead of saying "I am a bad liar" it's having two characters that don't like each other getting annoyed with each other and be unable to agree with each other and properly communicate than having them say "we don't like each other".
Exactly, its about the difference between "Im mad that you did that" and "you did WHAT?"
Like "I before E except after C", it's a contextual rule, not a universal one. Like that rule applies specifically to words ending with "-ieve", "-ceive" and words directly related to those words, not all words containing I and E together, "show, don't tell" applies specifically to conveying things to the audience, and dialogue can be a way of showing, but the difference is between expository dialogue and demonstrative dialogue OR non-dialogue, not between dialogue and non-dialogue.
I feel like every video of yours that I watch changes my perspective on my own writing. I've been in the process of writing a book for years but I feel like your videos have fundamentally changed my perspective on my story and characters and the process in which I create them. So long story short, thank you, your work is incredible and I really hope you know how meaningful it has been and I am extremely excited to see everything else you create.
YES. I don't even write, and these videos are changing completely how I perceive writing.
That means so much, I really appreciate it. I was deeply influenced by a few others, namely Jay Exci & Macabre Storytelling. Both excellent channels that go above and beyond
@@localscriptman I've actually watched Jay Exci's videos before! I really enjoy them!
Exactly what you just said.
Couldn't agree more 👍
honestly, fanfiction and fanfiction tropes work because the character already exist in a plot. You go into a fanfiction already knowing everything you need to know about this character's personality therefore, the storytelling surely does gets affected by that. You are not building anything from the start its solely for the excitement of imagining this character (which you are already attached to) in very different escenarios, playing with that, with cliches, with the original plot, doing little change, solely bc you are a fan of this character and bc its fun
That’s what I’m doing with several works in progress at the moment and it’s great.
I second this!
For sure! It is a totally different genre than story telling tho. Fanfiction OC-ing is not the same as professional writing.
BUT, it’s an equally valid hobby/passion. It’s just different, like rugby vs football.
Every video you make is fantastic. As a fanfiction writer, who tries to avoid what you criticize, thank you.
“What do you think a plot is? A pinball machine you can throw your fully developed character into?!” This line had me cackling and absolutely tore my own script to shreds because I’m doing exactly that and I needed the wake up call. You’ve pulled one more writer out of their own bs and I can’t wait to go burn my current layout (which at this point is just a string of scenes to develop my character’s development arc without the world being attached to them) and actually do some world building. This series is awesome and I’m binging all your videos today
I'm feel like the main character in my current project is kind of right down the middle of this.
Creating characters based on a narrative which then produces conflict is completely revolutionary for Me. I'm a "casual" writer and have messed around with a few different ideas, but I have always tried to produce characters to fit into a story rather than characters which fit into a narrative. It all comes together now.
I love how the "How to make a character's death sadder" post image (7:24) starts off with "Don't let them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life" and yet the character I cried most over when he died, was Hazel from Watership Down (I cried when my dad read it to me aged 8, and I cried even more when I read it again aged 27). Goals all fulfilled, long life, all that. But it was the saddest death I have ever read still...
DONT STOP PLEASE OMFG THIS IS MY FAVORITE CHANNEL IVE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS YOUR ADVICE AND PERSPECTIVE IS EXTREMELY UNIQUE AND INFORMATIVE WHILE STILL BEING FUN AND ITS A HUGE FEAT
Holy wow thank you
The irony of "show, don't tell" is that 80% of the people who tell you that don't "show" you what they mean. Telling and showing are both important tools that the writer needs to know how to use efficiently to move a story. You can't and shouldn't show everything because then you'll never get though the story and if you tell everything, well you just have a plot summery. Knowing when to show and when to tell is the true skill of a storyteller.
Yep, exactly. Whoever mindlessly parrots "show don't tell" often has no clue what it actually means, and thinks it's some kind of good/bad sliding scale. It is actively harmful to imply that excessively subjective narrative deeply examining the falling snow and how it makes the protagonist feel is *always* better than just saying "it's snowing" when you want to say it's snowing and your protagonist witnesses it. Sometimes you don't need to dwell on complicated emotions, sometimes a character is just sad and outright telling it is perfectly fine.
It is important for developing writers to learn and understand when to go distant and take in the full picture by simple, straightforward narration, and when to zoom in and go in-depth. This is the number one thing that "show dont tell" roundaboutly addresses but most gurus don't ever seem to connect these damn dots in their explanations (haha gettit they are being all meta and *showing*, rather than *telling*, aren't they genius), and therefore disqualify themselves from actually teaching. A teacher's job isn't to look clever and self-satisfied, it's to present a subject, break it down and explain to their students how to put it back together so that it works. And with writing, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Different readers will like different things, their tastes formed by their previous experiences and what they have been exposed to, what they've been missing out on, and what they are absolutely sick of. Same goes for editors and producers, and anyone else involved in creative fields for that matter. Everyone has their own tastes and styles they prefer, and styles they absolutely loathe due to overexposure. This is the core of all art history, this back-and-forth conversation between groups of people acting and reacting on their tastes, movements and counter-movements, the insiders and the outsiders. It's always changing, and approaching it with some idea of objective rules? Truly gradeschool level of understanding.
What really matters is understanding the fundamentals and then finding the style you vibe with. Style is nothing mystical either, it's just a set of preferences on how to solve certain problems that occur during the creative. What matters, then, is whether the story works - it can be as clinical as an autopsy report or as perfumed-paper purple prose as it wants, so long as that's what the author is clearly going for. And audiences will know when the author is really doing their thing and being unapologetically them or just being jerked around by a committee of gradeschool teachers telling them what to do.
I can objectively predict that your Avatar video will earn the sequel $2 billion and will singlehandedly save Cameron's reputation. Well done.
The latter half of your "Purpose Before Personality" segment spoke to me on a personal level. I'm currently in the developmental stage of writing a project, and right now I haven't settled on a protagonist. I've always struggled with finding a natural protagonist and the mere idea of finding out where everyone's place in the story is and then a protagonist might emerge was really eye-opening to me.
With your channel blowing up I know there's pressure to put out more content, but I like that you're taking the more methodical approach, and putting effort into quality over quantity.
I love that your videos are informative, but also have personality behind them. Keep doing what you're doing Local 👍
Seeing WotW tonight 😎
I will be in the theater in 17 hours. So pumped. All I can think about - and thank you, that means a lot to me
I’ve taken writing classes and read tips on writing from dozens of people, and nothing has ever come close to giving me a better idea of how to approach the writing process. I read a lot of books, and have always wanted to create a story of my own-not something world-changing, just something that works. Thank you for making that creation seem like something that’s actually possible.
2:30 something my art teacher said something that really stuck with me “it doesn’t need to be realistic, it just needs to be believable.” And I think that applies to writing as well, your characters and their reactions just need to be something you could see happening in real life, even if it is absurd.
A few years ago I decided to re-watch Terminator in a language I only barely knew at that time, just to see how proficient I am in it. That made me realize, how little is said in this iconic movie.
Terminator is my favorite 80s blockbuster, it is literally a perfect film
My biggest project suddenly changed protagonists recently. I was originally writing a story about a character’s son and how he was sent to a different dimension, but as I was outlining and organizing it, I realized that it had become a story about the father himself, his grief, and how it paralleled his best friend’s journey of grief. And then I realized that before it was a spy thriller, it was a double murder mystery, in a way. TLDR; let your characters do the work because they will as soon as you give them the space to work and the pen to do so.
Please don't quit for the benefit of all us writers who need your unique perspective!! And humour which is a great addition.
Dude, I found your channel literally two hours ago and you have already become one of my favorite video essayists on the platform. You seem to know a lot about film writing and I hope to see more content from you, if you keep up this standard of content your channel WILL grow! Well done bro
same
Letting characters do their thing is very important. I've written so many short outlines for chapters, only to later sit down to write them proper and have the characters just take the whole thing in a completely different direction, because with what I've established, there is absolutely zero chance they will do X or Y the way I drafted earlier. There is this spark of agency to well motivated characters that truly feels like you're breaking their legs by forcing them to do the plot - so screw the plot, let's instead see where the characters take this scene. Let them steal the story and go for a joyride, let them go wild - but also keep in mind the new consequences their actions create.
This is the really fun part, because this is where the writing will surprise you, the writer. Because you didn't think about what would happen if the two quarreling siblings ended up crashing this plot of yours, and ended up causing a ripple effect across the whole story. The bad guys still keep going as planned, but now, instead of being foiled, they've gathered even more forces, and a week later they've taken over the place! And oh no, now your quarreling siblings realize it's all their fault - and all of a sudden one may deeply wish to atone, while the other falls in despair, and... you get the picture. Outlines are cool, but no artist draws with ink right away unless they -really- know what they're doing and are confident in it. Most just go in with pencil first, are loose with shapes, and often explore in this stage various what-ifs. And then, when it comes to the inking of the picture, they have found the image.
Not everyone likes this garderner type approach and may prefer instead architect-style plot building and plot execution. Architect writing is faster, it is more efficient, it gets novels and scripts done on schedule. That's totally cool! But in my personal experience, I've found taking the time to garden your characters and plots to result in a much more captivating story. The time also gives you some distance, where I pick up some older piece of writing to edit it, then spend three hours absorbed into just reading it it because of how engaging it ends up - as a few months down the line I have already half-forgotten the details of that writing and it feels fresh again (and the errors much more obvious for editing). There are obviously still some loose plot threads to cut, and some narrative folding to do in order to really reinforce it, but with this method, there's no writers block in sight because you already have the characters, you have the situation - now you just need their reactions and followup actions to it.
Oh my goodness, as if i didn't get mindblown enough in the video, I stumble upon this treasure trove of a comment! Love the points you raised in this:
1. That well written characters will ultimately have natural sparks of agency that we ourselves might not see coming, there's so much value in letting them take over and lead the stories into new heights.
2. That writing a story in its early stages needs to be loose, like an artist would in their sketching phases. We explore the shapes before deciding which ones are the more exciting to define in further detail.
3. That many writers have different kinds of approaches, and there's no one right way about it. Im looking at a lot of writing tips online and have tried many, but none seem to really stick to me in a way that aligns itself best to the way i create. Especially (as you have now fantastically characterised) the architect-style writing, which I feel is predominantly the main paradigm in the discourse of teaching writing online. The gardener approach sounds more open to exploration and seeks to nurture the seeds that show potential and growth.
Thank you for enlightening me!
I've never seen a channel that i'm so confident in reaching a mill and more. Even at 10k your videos are brilliantly scripted, wonderfully edited and just interesting, you create simply quality content i can't wait for watching you get better and better as your channel grows.
genuinely some of the most relevant and helpful advice ive seen in years in the modern writing sphere. i will say, with the whole oc thing, that IS in my opinion, the most common way i see young people try to enter the sphere of writing and creating narratives, and many of these people (myself included) are now reaching adulthood and trying to actually branch out into how to make those character fantasies a reality in a story, animation, comic, game or whatever. and its so damn difficult because you realise you have been literally working BACKWARDS. i will refer this video to friends i know with ocs with similar ambitions, thank you!
Your avatar video legitimately changed my life and put into words something I felt for over a decade. It felt like there was finally someone besides me who understood. Your style is great, your editing is great, and I feel like you actually have cool shit to say. I'm so happy your channel is popping off. You're gonna do great things!
Major thank you for the support! I have quite a few videos I’m working on simultaneously so this should be an interesting couple months
UA-cam needs more writers like this. I've rewatched this particular video of yours maybe more times than any other writing video on UA-cam. I am reaching the final milestone in my first draft and I'm the kind of person who cannot settle for 'ok'. I knew I could not complete this project until I know it's 'good', not perfect, but good, and I'm so glad I've finally found someone who agrees with me on that.
The most useful piece of advice though has to be that It's Not About The Audience. I had planned the ending to my story to be a bittersweet one, simply because I was told that is what the general audience prefers. I spent weeks going over the end and, after watching this video, found that if I did end up going through with this depressing conclusion to my story, I will never forgive myself. My characters do not deserve this and I was being disingenuous to a project I've dedicated so much time and effort into making.
I do mildly disagree on the whole 'cut out the fluff'. I do think that too much of it can stretch your story needlessly, but I am a sucker for small moments of melancholy, joy, sadness or just character exploration and I will vouch for them. As you yourself have said in your video on Avatar: The Way of Water, the movie would have felt incomplete without the scenes exploring Jake's relationship with his kids, despite them adding nothing to the overall plot. They make the characters feel real. They are ESSENTIAL. I do think it all depends on the story you are trying to write, however.
Thank you so much for making this, for being honest, authentic and putting so much effort and heart in each and every one of your videos.
That means a lot to me, thank you for your support
Holy shit this video is better than 99% percent of any writing channel I've seen. The perfect balance between snarky and earnest, and some really insightful advice that made me reflect on how I write stories.
All film/tv essay channels offer their opinion on films. Only a few seem to understand the craft of writing on a granular level (Tyler Mowery, Lessons From the Screenplay, to name a couple) and in just as few videos you've become one of them. You've earned it!
Replies like this make me appreciate this channel even more by the audience it attracts.
Wow thank you guys so much. I cannot believe you’re comparing me to those channels. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I hugely appreciate your support!
Tyler Mowery barely writes though. Just repackages the same old writing advice.
@@karakurie Big agree. I never trust someone who doesn't have/put their own work out to observe while teaching people the "right" way to do stuff.
Even though you just made them up, I feel like your videos on writing has been so sublime and introspective that I feel like I can trust your advise, or at least entertain them. :3
The purpose over personality technique has been so valuable to my writing, and it is integral to connecting themes within my stories. Love the video
I hit such a major roadblock a few days ago on a story I've been writing for six years. The characters have gone and turned into these amazing damaged things with so many different layers and motivations. I know how all of them would act in any situation. And for the life of me, I could not figure out how to put them into the one situation I needed them to go to.
Your snarkly little video here saved me from killing all of them just for a literal hand of the author character to revive them under the employ of the necromancer I want them to kill, completely dissolving their agency.
I put away my forced clunky outline and I looked at the biggest theme I wanted to convey in my book. I wrote down a sentence or two on what I can rely on the characters to do when reacting to that theme. Tonight, I'm going to just write out a beat by beat of what these characters do when I put them on a boat together. If they go to the necromancer I want them to kill, then hurray!
But if not, it'll be a story I love anyway. Thanks for your contribution to the writing world. You've made your mark already.
Thank you! Your story sounds genuinely intriguing. If it’s ever available to read, feel free to plug it in my little ole comments section
2. Purpose before Personality
Sounds like an "architect" writing problem, us "Gardners" relish in the chaos of not knowing what our fully fledged characters will do. I'm not into the 3 act structure constraint either - it just sucks the soul out of the writing and nowadays it just telegraphs the story's ending.
I think character driven stories with natural and emergent, cause & effect, are refreshing, "unpredictable" but rational and exciting.
I want to write this comment as some encouragement because I like what you do and I hope to keep seeing your videos. I’m not a writer, I wouldn’t even call myself a story or film enthusiast, but your content is FANTASTIC. I find the conviction you bring to your takes super entertaining. I hope you take your time and keep doing what you’re doing. I watch enough UA-cam to know the amount of work this sort of thing takes. Looking forward to the Avatar 2 video!
I've been working on novel writing for a while now, and I've seen a lot of 'tips' videos for storytelling. This one genuinely gave me a lot to think about that I hadn't heard before. Definitely a new subscriber here.
I won’t let you down
Dude, you are breaking my perspective on literature. Every video I see more and more ways to improve my writing and notice flaws in other works. Keep doing what you're doing! I enjoy every minute of learning from your videos!
the "characters aren't people" rule is so interesting and so relevant both for fandom and for academic literary analysis, and it's one of the first things professors have to get into students' heads when teaching them how to analyse texts!
fandom treatment of characters is so fascinating bc they're really treated as /people/ that you can pick up and plop into different stories, but of course every story is discourse constructed into a narrative, so the choices people make when transposing these characters say SO much about what is considered "vital" to the role of the character in the original story!!
Sherlock, for example, is easily transposed, because he's an iconic figure: his role is Be Smart and Solve Mysteries. any other details--like his network of street urchins, his addictions, his violin--are flavor text, and can be adapted any way you please.
but for characters that /aren't/ iconic, that are concretely thematically bound into the dynamics of the narrative, it often becomes character beats and certain events that are carried over!! for The Untamed, for example (Chinese fantasy drama), you'll rarely find fanfic that /doesn't/ include the protagonists exile from his 'foster' family, or his two disappearances from the world he inhabits. they are how the character thematically inhabits the story, and are thus commonly carried with him!!
of course, there is fanfic that basically just slaps character names onto vague outlines of a character and calls it a day... but that also says a lot about how much power lies in a name and the knowledge behind it!!
anyway. if anyone actually reads this, I hope it gives some insight into how the characters you write may be received! and how this video is extremely correct in arguing for the importance of theme BEFORE character! the best characters are hardly people at all, no matter how much fandom, after the fact, treats them like they are. but that's their job, not yours!
This was genuinely so helpful as someone who's always been an aspiring writer, but never been able to commit to a piece.
That's exactly why it's not easy to write fanfiction. You already have the characters someone else created, now you need to come up with a plot that not only explores a theme of some kind, but also suits the characters' personalities (that, once again, were made by someone else before you).
Fic writers have their own work processes that differs from original book writers, and it's fine. It is a different type of art in the same way that drawing and photography are different.
Also, it's fine to do whatever you want when you write fics. You do it for free for your own and people's entertainment, and only a small part of ficwriters want to become actual writers. Not to mention that a big part of them are kids and teens who just started exploring their creaivity.
So, go there and write your 200k words enemies to lovers angst with happy ending soulmates AU hurt/comfort fic. And if it lacks the theme or whatever, at least you had fun with it
I really love the way you talk about writing and developing characters and story. It’s really helped me get out of a multi-year writing block with a few of my stories and start making me question what is necessary and how I can clean it up. Loving the content you’re putting out! You deserve all the growth you’ve been getting!
As a freshly 14 year old fan fiction author, I can safely say that I was not expecting to be mentioned in this video.
Great video btw, so far I'm just writing ideas and seeing what I need to improve before I start working on my bigger projects. 😊
My rule is: Write a story and imagine what it would look like if it was a movie. Because if it was presented as a movie, you'd realize how many unnecessary writings you'd have to scrap out. As an instance, stories I've read where the writer wrote some of their introspection about a character, it would not really show when it was portrayed in 3rd POV. And it was not all bad, but there are some writers who writes chapters of such a thing that the plot just takes forever to progress. Of course, there would be inner monologue 1st POV of a character, but that can be portrayed in a movie 3rd POV where it would be a voice in the background as the character introspects.
I agree the most about the dialogue part. Im mostly just a reader and what I noticed is that novels that use less dialogues, I tend to just skim over the writing because it felt hollow for me. These are the types of writings that focuses too much on describing certain things in the story that when there is finally a dialogue, it took freakin forever for the character to just speak or have their inner monologue. Some writers included chapter of flashbacks or defining things in the middle of conversation, that when they continue talking, I already forgot what the character was talking about in the beginning. But when it have dialogue, it's more entertaining as it really build the character profile. As an instance, a writer wrote that Character A and B talked so many things along the way, had fun, and exchanged number before parting ways, this felt so hollow for me because it's just a summary. But when a writer included the conversations, what the character felt, what they talked about, how they reacted, this really capture the characters' appeal to me.
I'm no expert writer so feel free to dismiss this opinion but I disagree with what you said. Don't write a book as if it's a movie. Movies are a very different medium to books and so have a very different way of telling stories. You should be utilizing the strengths of your chosen medium as best you can and if you're writing as if just transcribing a movie scene to the page then you're wasting those strengths. You might as well just write a movie script at that point. I think video games also have this problem, they try to mimic the way movies tell stories when instead they should use what makes videogames unique (interactivity) to tell their stories as opposed to just watching mini movies now and again (cutscenes).
This is what I've been doing but getting this clarification and this message help me so much dude thank you
@@MarshalLeigh1911 I'd like to add that OPs comment is a great example of this. Movies cannot have inner monolugue the way books can, that's one of the strengths of books. It's why most people say Dune is hard to move to the big screen.
Also the idea that descriptions are just that, describing something, completely ignores characterization through prose. There are times where a tree is just a tree and there are times where it's the characters only hope to stay alive, each scenario calls for a different method.
I do tend to agree that I do look forward to dialog in books but most of the time it's not even the best part. The idea dialog is top priority probably stems from the mindset as seeing books as movies. Movie dialog tends to be efficient and important vs book dialog due to the nature of the mediums.
@@MarshalLeigh1911 I'd also add that I don't think video games mimicing movies is bad. Because like all art there are multiple genres and cinematic games, imo, are some of the best games there are. Interactivity is important but it doesn't carry a game for me, obviously not everyone agrees.
@@devinkipp4344 yeah agree to disagree 👍 I think cinematic games completely miss the mark
No joke this is one of the best writing advice videos on UA-cam. I hate it when people say to create character profiles and take it from there. It feels so damn amateurish
Please continue making videos! Obviously do what you want and what you enjoy, but as someone who has been consuming youtube for what is almost the entirety of my conscious existence, I feel *deeply* that you are going to be huge - and soon. Your videos are so high quality, the analysis is fantastic, there is no wasted time, and all while keeping a great sense of humour. I was honestly shocked after watching your Avatar video when I scrolled down and you had like 5000 subscribers.
I hope you keep it up, but if you choose not to, thank you for the great content you have already put out
Your advice from the Avatar video literally helped me get out of my own way and finally start writing my story. It was phenomenal. Thank you for some actual functional and insightful advice in that video and this one.
One last thing, I really appreciate the way that your arguments have made me look back at my own work and reevaluate it through the points you've made. I've been writing a book for a long time and am in the stages of editing right now. Your Avatar video made me look at the basic plot and characters from a story standpoint and made me realize why I love the story so much and why I've been working on it for so long. I love watching video essays of this nature, but yours in specific make me want to write. Like the wake up at six in the morning and want to start writing after a six month slump kind of write. Your videos remind me why I love writing and why I want to get into screenwriting as a profession. I'm grateful your channel has gotten the attention it deserves, and I wish you nothing but the best. I can't thank you enough, and I can't wait to see where you go.
Write Sober, Edit Drunk.
I've done this and it's pretty funny to see the results, but not exceptionally useful
As a 14 year old fanfiction writer, I'm surprisingly pleased with myself
retweet
I'm in a script-writing class rn and I keep coming back to this video & your newest one. They've really helped me stay grounded in what i know to be true about my own writing process (v similar to yours) instead of getting carried away by advice like "always start with character!" or the over-generalized "show don't tell!" blanket advice Ive been hearing lately, so I just wanted to say a quick thank you for sharing!!
Writing feels harder to grow up with these days because the methods of online writing that you would find in communities--fandoms--tend to be the dominant thing you learn from. Maybe you write with other friends and if that's your thing personality is still the trumpet that is sounding over plot. And for that, this video was crucial to me because it feels like no one has ever told me some of these points despite how *obvious* they feel. I always would sit down and be confused over the structure of stories I find online because so many of them ignore a story for the sake of thrusting two characters with no aligning interests together. It's such a massive part of it that it felt wrong to do what is, objectively, by this video, the right thing. Thankfully I am still young enough to have time to do the right thing before college hits. I appreciate this video, tremendously, for all its points, but especially that one. It's not like a slap in the face it just feels like a stern reminder. It ain't all about "omg this character x meeee :3" that means nooooothing if you don't have some sort of advancing plot around it.
Wow, this is one of the best pieces of writing advice I've ever heard, along with Scriptnotes 403 -- and I've watched a LOT of essays, interviews, and podcasts (I've combed FilmCourage's entire channel). Yeah dude, you should make more like this, I'd love to hear some granular dialogue advice because it's my biggest weakness. Also, your admission at the end lit a fire under my ass; I had a video blow up on my anon writing channel and i was first overjoyed at the supportive comments, but then I eviscerated my own work and stopped making videos. It's been a year since my last release. I'm about to get into it again, and the sincerity of your self-expression and excitement just...got me. Enjoy climbing the UA-cam mountain; nice job jetpacking up the slope so far.
I've always had the problem of creating characters I love yet struggling to make a good story for them. Now it seems quite obvious what was wrong with my process. Trying to retroactively create a plot around a character is much more difficult than letting the plot create the character. I've watched a lot of "how to write a story" videos and this one has helped me with one of the biggest problems I didn't know I had!
On that dialog note:
In 12 angry men which is basically a court drama, the two most powerful moments are when he reveals he has the same switchblade(visual) and when he gets the main opponent character to try to attack him (visual plus the line of dialog “I’ll kill you!”)
Plus that part where he demonstrates how long it would take to walk with a limp to the hallway door.
If you can get visual stuff into a dialog heavy story it will help.
Nice music thanks for the shoutout 😎
This approach to character, where you throw a bunch of different viewpoints manifested into humans in a room together and see what happens, has been a real game changer for me. I can’t remember where I first heard it, it might’ve been our conversations, but it actually keeps me interested in writing because I don’t know where the story will go. It’s like a little game of discovery. Nice video and congrats on the recent success!
Very good advice! Honestly, the second one is so true; I heard that the Breaking Bad guy said something along the lines of (paraphrasing) "When you're making a show, you're almost just feeling it out as you go, seeing what works and what doesn't, and letting the good parts get better and the bad parts fall away."
Also, as someone who has been writing a serialized half-hour-episode-length mystery series in my spare time, in the vein hope that it may one day get made, the fourth tip about words being adequate action really helped calm me down. I have entire episodes where characters are just in a room making connections and going over new information (with character fueled interactions, but still) and I have genuinely lost sleep worrying that it was "too wordy" and not enough was happening
i watched all of your videos immediately after the avatar one, you are really good at this, im looking forward to anything you decide to make
This is literally the best advisory video I've seen, purely because the advice comes from your experience, and your delivery matches your personality (and you humour is big funny)
I don’t write as much as I read, but I definitely resonated with the 3rd rule. As an audience member, I just want to consume a body of work that makes me feel; Period.. Not tell me how I should feel in this scene or that. Well, I guess some people like that if there’re “How to make a character’s death sadder” lists 🙃, but that’s not my cup of tea.
I've never taken writing properly seriously, but I unabashedly admit that in my late teens I was a reasonably popular Fanfic author in my little niche corner of tumblr. I wrote enough trash and improved enough over time that I learnt a lot of lessons which are, honestly, SO well distilled and unpacked concisely in this video. I feel you could do a great deep dive on any of these topics.
Love your channel, dude, I'm glad you found success. I'm not in the least bit surprised though, your ideas are quality and the presentation is straight to the point. Magnificent.
Oh my goodness. My jaw dropped during the explanation of the steps in “Purpose Before Personality.” That is so helpful!!! When you said that they have different viewpoints then enemies then CONFLICT!- I gasped. 😭
why didn’t I think to try this thank you haha
I love how you talk about having a rough framing for a story, but still letting the story and characters tell it first! Overthinking my stories is why I am where I'm currently at: feeling stuck but still constantly writing, just... not able to put an entire book together.
Your channel is definitely helping give me some stuff to mull over and think about. Many thanks for putting this up!
This channel slaps man keep it up. I’m a writing beginner who’s trying to hone as much information and skills as possible before my first book and your content is one of the few things keeping me going man. Love your content.
Thanks for the support, good luck with your book!
Honestly, thank you for this. I follow a number of channels dedicated to writing advice, fixing bad media, and praising the good media for what it does. And this is amazing! I especially love your inclusion of dialogue. Words are extremely powerful when arranged in correct and coherent sentences. After all, books are just words painting a mental picture. Movies are different, but powerful in the sense that words get the added bonus of reaction, be it facial, bodily, mentally. All of it becomes a symphony of storytelling that I believe has been lost to most (modern media outlets. Fans pump out breathtaking stuff these days)
Thank you for such a refreshing perspective! You've earned my subscription!
I am not a writer, but these videos really give a nice insight to a writer and as cinephile it gives me a better grasp of things to look for when watching films. I love your channel and i hope it grows exponentially
I made a sequel to this video, it’s out now!
Nice can you put the link in this video description?
Underrated channel. Out of all the channels I have seen I personally took more valuable suggestions from here. It did not feel repetitive, saying the same stuff everybody says about writing. It was very unique and made me think a lot. Glad I found this channel I’ll stick around for more videos.👍
5:55 you sir are making me audibly laugh alone to myself more than most content creators who’s soul job is to make me laugh rather than to teach me stuff. I love you.
The reason people say "show don't tell" it is to avoid the 'exposition/narration effect'. It's said that 60% of communication come from body language, 30% from intonations and only 10% from the actual words we choose. So when you're finished writting the dialogue, only 10% of the actual work is done. Just think of a simple 3 words sentence: "I'm fine" How the character say the line? angry, confused, happy, reassuring ? And how do the other characters react to it? Sympathy, boredom? Imagine one being empatic and one laughing to the statement, no word prononced, but a billion things said. If there's a million possibility with 3 word sentence, imagine a whole speach. If you're crafting a speech without this is mind, you're missing out on 90% of the info you could send to readers.
And he's saying stop treating it as gospel and realize that words do a lot more than you think.
@@elnekosauce which is kinda dumb, considering that we're talking about writing, and the words use to describe(show) say alot more than the word used in a character quote or conversation. Usually "Show don't tell" is used to refer to the lazy writing that writers have been doing recently. Specially in the Hollywood recent movies and series.
This video is SO GOOD I watched it 3 times these past couple days
It talks about stuff no one else talked about, and helped me narrow down flaws in my story that I need to work on
0:08 Whaaat all that sound was going on in the background in real time during that interview?? I thought you added that as some mic drop GOAT moment... THat is wild, I love it!
Yeah I've been writing Halo fanfiction since I was around 12, and I always cared more about the story being cool than the Spartan and elite characters I made, I just made the story told through them. I started off with a team of unusual Spartans and Sangheili who were forced to work together, a team who bonded to family through their conflicts on planet Agartha. And their perspective wasn't the only thing you witnessed in the story, there was the enemy aliens perspectives through multiple angles... the leaders, the infantry, the medics and scientists. This made the story so multidimensional even though it was meant for a game. It also led me to creating more depth for my main characters, like the Spartans. I made the main protagonist, Ajax, less empathetic and sociable, less funny and brotherly with his ally Hermes, and made him more like a calculated machine since that's how he was trained. He doesn't cry out in pain when you shoot him in the leg or cut open his skin to install implants, and literally no torture works on him because he is a psychopath in ways where he controls his psyche so well he doesn't feel pain. It's what separates him from the other characters because despite being a cold machine, he is still the Smartest and most ethical on the team. Makes all the right calls even when it seems there are none. He does the impossible, and doesn't stop after, he keeps doing the objective. All these traits define him and determine the story. Hermes was a much more average Spartan both mentally and in stature, and yet he was the more bold and exciting character because he was the dumb risk taker who was a very effective killer, even if nothing compared to Ajax. They compliment each other better now because they fill each other's gaps as opposed to them being the same character in different bodies before. I've done this process to nearly every character in my story which had more importance than just a few scenes, and it really follows the advice you gave so I know I'm doing something right if other people say it. The main idea of this story is humanity inheriting their ancient ancestors tech that they left behind for later humans to discover. This story goes into the flaws and benefits of that, and my characters strongly reflect that, what if one species had all the power? What if your great grandparents (aka ancestors here) were rich beyond belief but lost touch with the family despite leaving an inheritance, and you found it? Would you share it with the family? Or would you take control, or just be selfish with it and leave the family on their own.
Sounds excellent 👌, I wonder how far your story has gone through now
As a fanfic writer, I do agree with your take on purpose over personality, especially when it comes to OCs. I usually prefer to write about canon characters, so that often means they already have their places in the plot predetermined, and I'll create OCs for where there is a gap.
The best OC I ever created was a villain for a Legend of Zelda fic. The canon villains are always designed to be some kind of big bad boss fight at the very end, with underlings who provide progressively harder combat challenges. To tell my story, one that has a rich internal narrative alongside the external one, I needed a villain who offered more than mere force and couldn't be toppled via combat alone. I needed a villain who could manipulate the main characters, make them question their realities, destroy their reputations, and strip them of what defines them, so that they can be built back up anew. I needed a villain who could challenge the heroes in ways that the canon villains cannot. I can confirm that my readers love to hate him and are absolutely fascinated by him, to the point where they're keen to read a possible spin-off from his POV showing his backstory, deepest insecurities, and some of the behind-the-scenes of his schemes.
My favourite thing about him will always be how he serves the story: he began as a character made for a narrative purpose, and personality just naturally followed along.
I just want to say thank you SO much for sharing your method of developing a plot/ storyline. I have ADHD and have NEVER been able to plan my writing for shit, be it high school essays or my next story. I just go off of whatever I come up with in the moment, and for the most part, it works. But then I lose motivation to keep world building because I'm developing the story as I go, and honestly, that can be EXHAUSTING at time. You easily chunked it up and asked VERY basic questions which can be expanded upon as much as you want, or kept as simple as you'd like. This helps me LOADS and I appreciate it tons
I have never finished a novel. But with this method, I might have a shot.
You have more than a shot. You have a whole shooting gallery. Best of luck my friend
That 4th point is the best writing advice I've ever heard and have even given myself before. Its so important to understand how important dialogue is.
Glad you're keeping at the UA-cam stuff man!
I'm looking forward to adding you to the list of UA-cam channels that drop videos that go so hard I develop new personality traits.
I love when someone voices one of my opinions in not just a better articulated way but in an extremely quotable way
I love your videos man, they've inspired confidence in my own writing while teaching me new techniques and principles without feeling like I'm being told how I MUST write like its literally 1984. You've defended some works and criticized others in ways many creators wouldn't as to not go against the opinions generally seen as "correct" online. You don't do so for the sake of being provocative, but rather to be fair to these pieces, and it's not only refreshing, but inspiring. I can tell that your channel is gonna grow ALOT from here, and I wish you the best!
dialogue is my favorite thing in reading or writing. It's what hooks me the most as an audience member. The conversation being smart or funny or even bad ass line delivery really makes me remember things. I love seeing how characters interact in conversation, words are actions.
It feels deeply satisfying to have your writing process validated. People always ask me, well what is x character like? What’s their personality? And my answer is always, good question, but hey, wanna hear how they interact with the plot?!!
BROOO thank you. I have experienced some discouragement because I have so many notes, and so little actual 'writing' done, but you've given me the framework I need to go back to work with renewed enthusiasm. Thanks bro.
Bro I have fallen in love with your channel in a matter of like, 2 minutes from when the first of your vids popped into my recommendations. Obviously, if you find that you’d rather spend your time doing things other than creating UA-cam videos, do that. But just know, you make incredible content. And as long as you continue to post, I know for one I will watch, comment on, and like every single video you make. I’m a stickler for who I subscribe to, and whose videos I click the like button on. You don’t even have to encourage it though. Just by making great content you had me liking and subscribing before I got even a quarter way through the first of your videos I saw. I really hope you continue to make videos. And also, as someone that wants to write but can’t really afford college and has no idea where to start, I’m really glad that you made this video specifically. If you want more ideas, I think a series on how one can get started as a writer by learning how to construct scripts, learning new vocabulary and just any other writing tips you have would be awesome. Anyway, I love this shit man. Lots of good comedy in your vids too that has me actually laughing out loud. I hope you never stop posting, and if you don’t stop I think, very soon, you’ll pop off big time. Lots of love bro!
Massive thank you - and if I may, PLEASE don't try and get a screenwriting degree. I worked my first job in the film industry over the summer, and I realized very quickly that college degrees do not matter in the slightest. Wish you the best & I seriously appreciate the support
Me randomly stumbling on your videos at 4am while suffering major writers block is one of the reasons why I truly believe in fate. Amazing stuff man! This helped me a lot!
I think on point number 2, I think there's some sharp relief to be had if you look at that advice in the context of writing sequels. I'd love to see a video on that point if you find it a meaningful avenue of exploration.
My vague thoughts:
Making a sequel movie to follow up a strong stand-alone movie is... well let's just say the track record isn't great for the sequel being of the same quality. And your point #2 may be a good initial indication of why. In a good movie, the plot serves the character and the character serves the plot. You suggest plot before character, while i'd say it's more of an interactive back-and-forth build-simultaneously thing, but we both agree that designing a fully fledged character before you figure out what plot they're in is a... well let's just call it a *bold* strategy.
But that's exactly what's happening in a sequel movie. You have a fully fledged character already. Even worse, it's a character that already had life-defining flaws that they outgrew in the first movie. So now where do they go? You have to build a plot suited to your already-formed character. And to give them some kind of growth, what are you supposed to do? Revert their previous progress and do movie 1 all over again? Come up with some never-hinted-at flaw that suddenly becomes a defining character trait ("What's wrong Mcfly? Chicken?") that makes the sequel character incongruous with the original?
Somehow you need to come up with some new flaw and motivation that reasonably/plausibly didn't come out during the first movie, and then put the character in a plot that magnifies it.
Al of which is easier said than don. In fact, while originally you should fit a character to a plot (to varying degrees), I could see it being easier (ie. more likely to succeed) to fit a plot to a new character flaw than to fit a new character flaw to both an existing character and plot. So maybe the right advice for a sequel is the reverse - come up with a meaningful elaboration to a character's flaws and motivations without undoing their growth, and then fit a plot to that.
I am in the “going insane” camp right now. I appreciate your fresh perspective, it’s exactly what I needed.
I'm not even a writer, but this was still very interesting to me! It's nice to understand how some writers make decisions in their work and how some things are established and build! It really makes me appreciate writers even more.
I am also so incredible happy for you, Local! It would have been so sad to loose such an amazing talent, everything you made until now is incredible! I'm really stoked for everything you have planned
Well, in as much as you wrote a comment on youtube, used complete sentences and paragraph separation, and shared sincere thoughts, you are a writer.
Writers write.
One doesn't have to be a published and paid author to be a "writer".
Purpose before Personality resonated so hard with me. I have written short stories for myself for a long time, but always dreamed of one day publishing.
I have always struggled with main characters versus side characters, and driving the plot with natural progression. I am guilty of using a character as a plot device, to come in and ask a question or something of that nature to progress the story. And I think that it might be because I'm prioritizing personality & motives over plot instead of using it to drive my plot forward.
You've got a lifelong follower out of me, and I hope you know that even when it becomes hard to be creative you can look in the mirror and remind yourself that "it's not about the audience". Remind yourself you are doing this for you, and the audience will follow.
Can't wait to watch more of your videos
as an avid fic writer and reader the fanfic section had me sweating for a hot minute, luckily for me plot and the purpose of the story is one of the first things i think about, even if the purpose sometimes boils down to 'wouldnt it be fucked up/cute/interesting if this happened'
Never seen the avatar video but glad it popped off for you, it was probably the juice the algorithm needed to start pushing your stuff and im glad it did since it recommended this vid for me. These tips ill try to put into practice, thanks for the wisdom brother!
I remember finding your channel when your latest video was the Rogue One video. The video was very high quality so I was surprised you had under 20 subscribers back then. You definitely deserve all the subs you have, amazing videos.
Wow you're an OG. Thanks for the continued support!
Dude, I have listened to just two of your videos and you have already opened my eyes to so much. The stories we tell, the characters we create, are just 2d veneer on top of the world we would love to imagine in our head. Writing a story is. It creating a world, it’s not there and never will be no matter the amount of words written. We create scenes, scenes are just simple snap shots of a moment in the fictional world and if done right it grabs the audience in such a way that their imagination fills in the rest of the world and the crave to know more. The same is true of our characters, they are simply there as vehicles of emotional attachment and the best way is not to confuse the audience but to get them focused and sympathetic to an aspect or two of our main characters. The audience, just like with the world, will want to know more if we do it right but even their whole backstory should not be known or they won’t be the character we know and love anymore.
Powerful breakdowns you have provided. Thank you!
Finally, another writer UA-camr who knows what they’re talking about :3
god I hope so :|
Thank you. I've been working on my fantasy series for over half my life, and this video gave me clarity on how I could move forward with it in a better way. I've been such a tyrant with my characters and the plot, and it's really constricting the entire story. So thank you.
The purpose before personality method helps a lot. One of the most frustrating things as a viewer is having a story where, "no one would act like that" or "there would definitely be this type of person in that scenario why aren't they there?" A space story where no one wants to explore space, or a murder mystery where everyone has the same level of detective skills and all work together fully trusting one another.
Trying to reformat a story currently. I have the characters and setting just trying to work it into a story which has been proving difficult
This video is really good - particularly the point of ‘purpose before personality’. Because I have my characters constantly rotating around in my head like they’re a microwave meal I can sometimes get too caught up with adding irrelevant elements and layers to them, which end up conflicting with their integral roles in the story. Essentially, I can over think my characters to the point where I lose sight of their purpose because I’m so focused on them as *people*. It’s likely because my process of creating a story is more ‘character first, story second’ and honestly most of the time my plots come to me when I’m not actively thinking about trying to make one. My personal favourites of my original stories are the ones that feel like they happened on accident. We all have our own writing processes and while I’m happy with mine for the most part, I can end up, sometimes, over developing my characters as though I’m creating them independently of the story - a human being over a character - which can cause me to lose sight of their purpose. Which is fine if I just want to create a cast of characters for fun and am not fussed about making a story, but I do definitely want to create and produce a good, well written story with consistent and compelling characters. I’ll definitely be keeping this advice in mind. Subscribed :)
DUUUUUDE...I swear every video that comes out just makes my brain ache like it just hit the gym after Thanksgiving.!!
As someone who's been writing, and trying to write, for several years,is never felt more challenged in a good way!! I always listened to HelloFutureMe and even published authors, but I feel like this Chanel, in the few videos you've done, have challenged me and provoked what I thought best built the foundations of a story. I appreciate the challenge of some really big hot takes like "It's okay to show and tell!" THAT is brilliant! Or it's okay to have simple characters!!
Honestly your Avatar video was such a breath of fresh air! And it was my favorite thing to listen to, because someone (who understands film and character better than most) was defending its many many pros! You pointed out people's problems with it, and then argued for the film, and that was all I've ever wanted to see!!
Avatar is to this day still my favorite film! Are there films with more compelling characters, sure. Are there more "complicated" story plots, yeah. Avatar is the film/story I've wanted to write sense the day I saw it in the theater, and hearing you defend it as a fundamentally NOT bad film, and then showing all of its depth, was just the biggest chefs kiss I'd ever seen!!
Please never give up on this UA-cam page!! As a writer someday, this is the brain food that I need!!
Thank you!
I've watched this video a few times, as well as most of your writing advice videos. I think most advice is about how to give your characters more and make them more, but yours is very much about how to boil down to the essences, and I think that's why it speaks to me as someone who puts in too much and needs to be reminded to get back to basics. Love it. You unlocked parts of my process that I am so grateful for.
I'm a fanfic writer and I find the community (on reddit, don't know about other forums) tiresome. It's tropes and antis and haters and fans and celebrating and complaining and 'just write for yourself'. Criticism and standards seem anathema to them. They just coddle without the driving anyone to improve. It's annoying but also fascinating.