The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction

by Erik Bork

Overview

THE IDEA is a manual for conquering the most important part of the screenwriting or fiction writing process -- the first part. Most writers rush too quickly through choosing a story idea, so they can dive into writing it. And it's the biggest reason most projects don't move forward in the marketplace: producers and editors are underwhelmed by the central concept. Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning screenwriter/producer Erik Bork (HBO's Band of Brothers) explains the seven key ingredients in stories that have a chance of selling and reaching a wide audience - in any genre or medium.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781732753013
Publisher:	Overfall Presss
Publication date:	09/20/2018
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Erik Bork won two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his work as a writer-producer on the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and From the Earth to the Moon, for executive producer Tom Hanks (and Steven Spielberg, on Band of Brothers). Erik has sold original series pitches to the broadcast networks, worked on the writing staff of primetime drama series, and written feature screenplays for Universal, HBO, TNT, and Playtone. He teaches for UCLA Extension's Writers' Program, and National University's MFA Program in Professional Screenwriting. He has also been called one of the "Top Ten Most Influential Screenwriting Bloggers" for his website, Flyingwrestler.com, and offers consulting and coaching to writers at all levels. His book The Idea: The 7 Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction was released in September 2018. Twitter: @flyingwrestler

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

How I Arrived at This 5

1: FOCUS ON THE IDEA 11

The 60/30/10 Rule 14

The PROBLEM 16

How “High” Is Your Concept? 21

Nailing the Logline 24

2: PUNISHING 29

Degree of Difficulty 34

Great Stories Are Like Great Games 38

Adapting True Stories 43

Television and the “Web of Conflict” 49

3: RELATABLE 57

The Role of the “Main Character” 58

Subjective Point of View 60

The Relatable Center 63

The Eight Types of Story Problems 64

Likability 66

What about Character Arc? 71

The Goal of the Opening Pages 76

Why We Care about Tony Soprano 80

4: ORIGINAL 87

A Fresh Twist on the Familiar 90

There’s Another Project Just Like Mine! 94

Writer’s “Voice” and Dealing with Feedback 98

Why They Make Bad Movies 101

Doctors, Lawyers, and Cops 108

5: BELIEVABLE 115

Zombies, Aliens, and Vampires 118

Never Confuse 119

How Is the World Different from Ours? 122

Going for “the Real” 125

God and the Devil Are in the Details 128

Forced to Coexist 130

6: LIFE-ALTERING 137

Internal Stakes Are Not Enough 140

Life-and-Death Stakes 142

Everything Else 146

Characters Dealing with Their Stuff 154

Unmet Needs and Wants 157

7: ENTERTAINING 163

Helping the Audience Escape 166

Feelings We Like to Feel 168

Ingredients to Add to “Drama” 176

Rich, Sexy, and Glamorous 181

8: MEANINGFUL 187

What Is It REALLY About? 188

Sticking to the Audience’s Ribs 196

TV Characters Don’t Really Change 198

9: PUTTING “PROBLEM” TOWORK 203

Where Ideas Come From 204

Finding Story Ideas 206

Talent Is Overrated 210

About the Author 213

Editorial Reviews

“Before starting any project, every film or TV writer, whether new or experienced, should read this book. When Erik sent it to me, I was just beginning a new script. This book showed me problems with the idea I didn't know I had. Better yet, it showed me how to find solutions.”

—Graham Yost, writer/executive producer/showrunner, Justified,The Americans,Speed

“Don’t write a word of your next screenplay or novel, and don’t dive into any other books—including mine—until you’ve read Erik Bork’s The Idea. His simple, essential insights will spare you the pain of spending months or years on your project, only to learn that your concept was doomed from the start. Instead, apply his 7 Elements and guarantee your story goes to the top of every reader’s RECOMMEND list.”

—Michael Hauge, author, Writing Screenplays That Sell; Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds;Storytelling Made Easy

“Having read over 60,000 screenplays in a twenty-year career, I’ve learned that most scripts are fatally flawedat the idea stage. Too bad the writer didn’t figure it out before investing six months in a screenplay that will never work. This quick and fun book examines the dramatic principles that create a strong idea and is certain to save writers a lot of time and effort.”

—Christopher Lockhart, story editor, William Morris Endeavor Agency

From the Publisher