Plot & Structure Analysis - Sleepless in Seattle

Sleepless in Seattle 

If you haven't done it yet, you are missing out on a very powerful tool. The tool I'm referring to is story decomposition.

No, not like the decay of once living things, but breaking down something into manageable, understandable pieces, so that you can learn from them.

Decomposing your favorite story (screenplay or novel) into it's various beats is a powerful and instructive way of learning what works, what doesn't and why/how to incorporate the same concepts into your work.

One of my more popular posts was when I did the Plot & Structure Analysis for the movie Notting Hill. For that one I used James Scott Bell's methodology as outlined in his must-have book Plot & Structure.

For this one, I will use another powerful method: Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! framework.

Boiling it down to the basics, all good stories (commercial ones at least) will have specific beats (scenes) that must happen in order for the plot to move forward in a convincing and satisfying way. The more primal the scenes, the more the story will resonate with the audience.

Warning: Spoiler alert. If you haven't seen this romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, then I will give it all away. It's a fun movie. Go and get it.

Why Sleepless in Seattle? Why not could be a good response, but there is a tactical answer. The current story I'm writing required me to keep the hero and heroine away from each other for an extended period of time. The first third of the book in fact. General wisdom says you don't want to have too many scenes where the would-be-lovers are kept away from each other. Yet, this movie pulled it off for nearly the entire movie. How did they do it? What elements in the story and/or characters allowed the writer to get away with it? Let's dig in.

The Opening Image: Sets the tone, mood, type and scope (style and stakes). This is the starting point of hero -- the “Before” snapshot. Cemetery, father and son staring at casket. "Mommy got sick and died...if we ask why we'll all go crazy." The world is suddenly broken for these two. How will they cope? Notice that this is not the inciting incident. The story has not yet started. What we have is that they are alone. By the end we will have a matching beat where the closing scene should show us how the character/s have evolved throughout the story.

Theme stated: Hanks and son decide to leave home and start a new. Hanks's friends tell him that soon he'll meet someone. Hanks snaps back, "and I'll grow a new heart...it only happens once." This is the theme. Can true love happen again? This statement that Hanks makes is the theme and the movie is really about answering this question. The writer gets this out and in your face up front. The audience wants to see, will this man be able to find love again.

The Set-Up: The hero, the stakes and goals are stated with vigor. We meet all the key players in the story. We meet Meg and her allergic to everything fiancé. When Meg's mom tells her daughter how she knew she had fallen in love, Meg realizes that she doesn't have a similar experience. She felt no magic. Is he right guy? For Hanks, even though they moved, life is still empty. And the son is getting concerned for his father.

Catalyst: The main characters get knocked off the stasis world. Meg hears a kid on a pop-psychology radio talk show. He's Hank's son saying his father is sad because after his wife died he didn't find anyone. Hank's grudgingly gets on the call. "What was so special about your wife?" the radio host asks. He says, "I knew it the very first time I touched her. It's like coming home." He knew it was love. "It was like magic," he says, the same thing Meg's mom had said. Meg's world has been destabilized. Typically in movies this inciting incident happens later -- they have a captive audience. In books, you have less time to get the reader engaged.

Debate: The interview still ringing in his head, Hank's begins to debate if he should date again. Thousands of women are sending him letters. Meg is thinking about the interview also, wondering if she's with the right person.


Break into act two: Hero enters the “Upside Down World.” Meg hears the replay of the interview and begins to cry. Her life is missing the romance. Hanks makes the decision -- he calls a woman for the first time and in the background we hear the music, "I'm back in the saddle again." Meg decides to write Hanks a letter.

B Story revealed: Here the other story is revealed. Eventually the A and B stories will come together. For now, we see them as part of the life of the characters. In most stories, this is usually the love story which carries the theme
. We see both main characters trying to get on with life but they are both incomplete. This is a love story. He's trying to find that magic again, she suspects that Hanks may be the one, even though she has never met him.


Fun and Games: This is the core of the story. Various set pieces are loaded here with both characters. We see how the father and son are struggling with all of this. We see her struggle with the life she has versus a fairly tale story she wants. She even hires a private investigator to get information on him. She's obsessing over him.


Mid-point: The stakes are raised here. This is when he becomes serious with the woman his dating and his son doesn't like it. The son has read through all the letters from women who want to meet Hanks and the son wants his dad to call "Annie" the Meg Ryan character. The father will not hear any of it.

Bad Guys Close in: Internal and external forces, tighten the grip. Hank's friends fly in to visit. She also fly's into Seattle to try to meet him. Out of pure coincidence they see each other at the airport. He stares at her, not sure why, but something about her has him in a trance. Shortly after, she finds his home and decides she will introduce herself. But she sees that he's with someone else. She thinks that he's in love again. It turns out it's Hanks's friends from back home. Meg escapes, goes back home.

All is Lost: She escapes, returns home and declares, "It's good that I'm back." The fairy tale will not happen. In her letter, she had asked him to meet with her on Valentine's day, at the top of the Empire States building, just like her favorite movie. Now she realizes she was being a fool. She refocuses on her relationship with her fiancé. 

Dark night of the soul: Father and son have a big fight and the son says, "I hate you."

Break into Three: The son gets a plane ticket and goes to New York to meet "Annie." Hanks finds out two hours later and also gets on a plane, on track to find his son and maybe to meet his destiny.
 
 

Finale: The A and B stories collide. Meg and fiancé are in NY, about to have dinner. She sees the lit Empire States building and realizes, she has to see if Hanks will meet her there. What if? She admits everything to her fiancé. They break up and she makes a dash for the rendezvous point. Hanks is in New York, desperately trying to find son. When they find each other they reaffirm their love for each other. They agree that they are fine together as they are. They leave. At the same instance, she shows up, but they are gone. But all is not lost, the son forgot his backpack, they go to get it and find Annie there. "It's you," he says, realizing she was the one at the airport.




Final Image: He holds her hand, and just as he had described the first time he had held his wife's hand, something happens. They both feel the magic. Hanks and son with a new woman. Will she be mom? We see the three walk out together. A family that appear happy and complete. A far cry from the opening scene.

What I realized by decomposing this story is that unlike most romantic comedies where one of the two is a lot more evolved, in this case, both had a fairly steep character arc. They both were trying to find an answer, unlike say, Notting Hill, where he knows he loves her, but she has to struggle with her life until she realizes he is the one. That may be the secret sauce in this one. Practically two stories that converge.

Hope this was helpful.

Fight the good fight!

Query Letters -- Love or Hate?

I hate query letters

That's not completely true. I hate that to the writer, the query letter is seen as the chasm between unfulfilled dreams and a career.

winnond / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Query letters are how your manuscript lands into the hands of your dream agent, assuming you need an agent. And to be clear, my dream agent is still Martin Short from the Big Picture.

But the query letter doesn't have to be seen in such a limited way. My recommendation -- even if you're going independent, self-pub, small-pub, or Irish pub, you should still do the query letter.

Before you send the mob to my house, here me out.

I've spent considerable time and brain cells (what little I had left) on this topic. I am convinced that when you develop the query letter, it will highlight gaping holes or issues in your story. If you've been struggling with your query letter, the issue may not be the letter itself, it may be (ghasp!) the story you've written.

So I've made a solemn oath. I will write a query letter, before I've started to write my next story. Call this a story treatment if you like. But the approach is sound and powerful if used properly.

After countless hours of research (mostly on Super Agent Janet Reid's Query Shark, but also on dozens of other sites) I have compiled my notes for you:

1. Focus on the Action: leave out the backstory. Most queries give too much description. Probably because we feel like we need to explain why we are where we are, etc. Get to the heart of the matter and fast. Show it. Use powerful verbs. In other words, trust yourself as the writer. Everyone has a backstory. Only your protagonist is about to get into this specific problem.

2. Who is the Protagonist?: Who is the hero/ine? Wee need to know very quickly. Janet Reid recommends opening the query with the hero, in action, facing a problem. Also, only mention the most important characters -- no character soup.


3. What is the Problem?: Start with where the protagonist has a problem (the inciting incident, the disturbance). Again, show it. Let us feel the protagonist's problem. Let us care for her and what she's going through.


4. Compelling, interesting Villains: Boring villains mean boring story. The antagonist has to be so bad that you love him. Think silence of the lambs. 

5. What are the Stakes?: They need to be high. Saying, "He just got laid off," is sad, but not enough to carry an entire story. The stakes need to be high. James Scott Bell says there needs to be a feeling of impending death (actual or psychological). High stakes raise difficult choices...

6. Choices, please: The choices your protagonist faces must be explicit and compelling. If the choice includes, "she'll walk away," then there's no story, is there? Real choices. Though ones. Gut wrenching ones. If Katniss Everdeen does not survive the Hunger Games, her sister and mother will most certainly die. They have depended on her for everything. She volunteered to save her sister. She must survive, even if it means killing the boy whom she has known since she was a child. Tough choices, make for high stakes.

7. 250 words please: General acceptable theory says your query letter should be one page -- but one page can go as high 380 words... maybe more. By sticking to the 250 word count, you are forcing yourself to be succinct and stick to the core of the story. If you're doing this for the benefit of developing your idea you'll be tempted to cheat -- but you shouldn't. Get your main plot down. You will be able to overlay your subplots later. But no matter how many smart sub-plots you add, it will not make up for a flawed main plot. Make sure your main story rocks.

8. Rhythm: You need to develop an ear for rhythm. That's accomplished by reading your lines out loud, We've talked about this, reading out loud is a good (critical) practice. This practice will also highlight clunky writing. Reading out loud tells you when "They are" sounds better than "They're." Rhythm will also establish the tone and voice of your story.


9. Entice: The whole point is for the reader to say, "I want to know more." As you write the query letter, you should get excited too! Your blood should be pumping, and your fingers should be ready to explode with words.


10. Test: Let your writer friends read it. Get their input. Not only for proof-reading (which is critical, of course) but to see if they get it, if they're excited, if they want to read the manuscript. A good query letter/story treatment should sell itself.


As for me, I have to apply all the above to my query letter and story. 


I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you have anything to add to this list? I'm sure you do. You can tell uncle Ara :)

Fight the good fight.

60,000 Words in Ten Days

This is not a marketing gimmick. For one, I have nothing to sell... not yet.

This is something that two years ago I would not have thought possible. In the past I never quite finished my stories. And those that were almost there, really sucked. I got over that hump with Aces. But this type of productivity is not the norm for me.

So what did I actually do?

I wrote a 60,000-word romantic comedy in two weeks (ten actual days of writing). And I'm still having a hard time believing it.

Flashback...

Back on August 25th, just before I drifted off to sleep, a seed sprouted in my brain--a story about forgiveness and closure. I dreamt about it and when I woke up the next day I had a surge of flammable adrenalin.

The next day on the 26th, I wrote a blog about my new story. I flippantly said that I was having an affair. At that point in time, I was developing the idea. And as the parts of it came together, I started obsessing over it.

The fact is that I was in love--and I mean that sincerely. I was in love with the idea. I was in love with the characters. I began to feel those butterflies and anticipation and longing that one feels when you fall in love. I could't stop thinking about the story. I wanted (needed) to know how things would come together. Would they come together? Is it possible to fix things that went wrong in the past?

And when I get this way, my dreams are shattered. I've blogged about this as well. My world of dreams and reality get blurred. This is a curse, I admit. I was not able to sleep. I would work off the fumes of love and passion.

As I developed the story, I used a tried and true system that has worked well for me in the past (James Scott Bell's framework for plot and structure). This time, I incorporated what I learned in his seminar which I attended in Los Angeles.

By August 29th I was ready to start. I want to stress, that this is a very short, even by my impatient standards, period of planning time. But I had identified what I needed. I knew my main characters very well. Too well. I knew the conflict and the challenges. What I didn't know was how I would end it... but I never know that.

To get into the right state of mind, I spent time flipping through old year books (oh yeah, I worked myself up). I reminisced, bringing back and tapping into those awkward days. I read the notes that my friends wrote ("You're the best. KIT" -- "Lakers rule!"). Then I hit the mother load. I had forgotten that during 9th grade I kept a journal for about three months. As I read the horrible melodrama that was my life, I knew that I was ready to explode with content.

But I did one more thing on the 29th. I analyzed one of my favorite romantic comedies -- Notting Hill. I even blogged about it for you. My new story is a romantic comedy so I wanted to assure that I had not left any page unturned.

I bagan to write in earnest on August 30th. I wrote the first chapter and stopped there. I have this ceremonial thing that I write the first chapter and evaluate the voice, the dialogue and the characters. The next day I gave it to my wife. She smiled and said the thing every writer wants to hear. "I want to know what happens next."

The surge was unstopable. On Sept 7th I tweeted the following:

The next day, on Sept 7th I tweeted this:

Nine days of writing and I was at 53k words.

By the next day I was sitting at 60k words. Which happened to be the goal for this particular story.

I wrote fast, because I honestly couldn't stop the process. I was scared that I would lose it if I didn't burn through it. Also, I needed to know how the story would end. I used all my tools that I've written about in the past. Scrivener, Evernote and the iPad. Not to mention Nutella (#nutellaWriters) and espresso.

On Sept 9th, I was done. Over the past couple of days I've taken a break. I have to tell you, writing like that has a burn out effect. I was (am) exhauseted. To keep up this clip I would wake up at 4 AM to write until 6 AM. Then from 7 PM until 1 or 2 AM.

Now, I'm done. And a bit shell-shocked.

Now I'm letting it simmer. I'm creating distance from the story. I will return to it in a month (maybe two weeks... maybe one). And I have to say, I'm dying to read it. I'm already considering a few additional scenes... but I must admit, maybe I wrote those scenes already. 

I can't recall. 

It was all a blur. 

A dream, but a real dream.

Fight the good fight!

Plot & Structure Analysis - Notting Hill

When I come across a book or a movie that I like, I immediately want to analyze what they did right. I want to learn from it, but also appreciate the clever use of tried and true techniques. It takes creativity and ingenuity to write yet another love story, while at the same time keep the story fresh.

A tool I use to study effective structure is from James Scott Bell's best seller "Plot & Structure." Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, it's wise to consider the major scenes of your story and how they sustain the story starting with the first sentence all the way to "The End."

Quick Refresher

The foundation this model is built on is that stories follow the three act structure: Beginning (Act I), the long middle (Act II), and the end (Act III).

Mr. Bell argues that a novel's structure is held together with a well thought out initial disturbance and two doorways of no return leading to grand finale. 

Early in Act I, we come face-to-face with a disturbance. This is where the lead's normal life is altered (it can be a change, trouble, etc.)

Act I ends when we arrive at the first Doorway of No Return. This is the transition into the confrontation of Act II. The key is that it must be a doorway of no return. If the lead can say, "Screw it, I don't care anymore," then there's no real conflict. It needs to matter, greatly. And turning back needs to be impossible (physically or emotionally).

Throughout the second act, the stakes need to rise. It needs to build up to something drastic which makes the resolution or winning even more critical than ever before. Act II is the longest portion of the story.

This leads us to the second Doorway of No Return. Like the first one, it's a kick in the pants, with no choice but to enter the doorway. This propels us into the final battle, the confrontation, the do or die section of the novel. This second doorway drives us directly into Act III, the waging of battle.

Finally, with the end of Act III comes the final battle and resolution. Then there's the aftermath where the story leaves a lasting impression, or a resonance.

The book has plenty of samples and clarifying explanations. But with this high level refresher in mind (because I know that you've read the book and if you haven't you can win it -- see my contest), let's see how it works in the real world.

Applying The Model

I like real examples. I need to see it. More importantly, I need to do it on my own to internalize it. Although on the surface I get it, concepts never really sink in until I apply it to things that I understand. For illustration (and educational) purposes, I will apply it to a romantic comedy, Notting Hill.

Notting Hill -- Starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant

SPOILER ALERT -- If you haven't seen the movie, I will be giving away key plot points and the ending. You really should watch it. It's a fun movie.

The Hero - HG
The Heroine - JR

The Disturbance


HG is a not-so-successful book store owner (they only sell travel books--clearly, he has not been following the industry trends). In walks the biggest actress of the time. He immediately recognizes her, but does his best to be low-key about it. Is this the disturbance? Sure, a mini disturbance no doubt. But the real one is coming.





A couple of funny scenes later, she buys a book and leaves. He's a bit taken by the surreal nature of the experience, but moves on. HG leaves the store to buy coffee and juice. On his return he runs into JR spilling the juice all over her. Major disturbance.



First Doorway of No Return

She's a mess, but as luck would have it, he lives across the street. She needs to change so she agrees to go there. She changes, he apologizes, they laugh, she leaves. All's sort of back to normal, right? But you can see that trouble is brewing. They stare a little too long, smile a little too easily. But she's gone. Done... maybe not.

Doorbell rings. It's her. She forgot her bag at his home. She grabs it, they stare at each other and... she kisses him! No friendly kiss on the cheek. This is the real deal.

Is this a kick in the pants? I don't know about the rest of you, but if a world-famous actress, who's the hottest thing on the planet, kisses you in a passionate moment, chances are things will not be the same for you. You have slipped down the rabbit hole. THE FIRST DOORWAY. This is a key point. He's a regular guy, going through the motions of life and the biggest celebrity has suddenly kissed him.

Escalation of Stakes

We're in Act II now. She leaves but the very next day calls him. More funny scenes ensure (otherwise, it wouldn't be a romantic comedy). She joins him as his date to his little sister's birthday. This is a classic scene that you must see. After dinner they take a walk and enter a private park in Notting Hill when she has an emotional moment, realizing that people do sometimes love each other forever. They kiss again and they fall for each other.

But all's not well.

Turns out, she has a boyfriend (another famous actor). And when he shows up in London, HG understands that he was silly and naive to think that an average bloke like him, would ever have a chance.

She leaves, he's broken hearted. Things are not the same for him. He is damaged. This is the escalation of conflict.

Second Doorway

Some months later, out of nowhere, she shows up at his house.

She's distrught. Pictures taken of her when she was younger have hit the rags -- nude shots. He takes her in and comforts her. She's a mess but in a short period of time, he gives her peace, comfort and more importantly friendship.

Later that night, they make love. The next morning, she asks if she can stay with him longer. He says, "Stay forever."

That's the SECOND DOORWAY. He's in love. He wants her to stay with him--forever! There's no turning back now. Impossible.


Lights Out

We're in Act III now. And you know what that means--something's got to go wrong. And that's when the Fit hits the Shan. The fairy tale doesn't last long.

In fact, it lasts, about 25 seconds in movie time. The paparazzi find her at his home and take pictures of them in their underware.

She pops a fuse, blaming him, saying that he will get all the benefit of the exposure, while she will regret it forever. This breaks his heart. She goes diva on him and storms out (typical celebrity).

It's all bad at this point. Months pass. He's in a state of depression. This is appropriate for someone who has entered through the second doorway. He had it all... for a few seconds, but still had it all, and now she's gone.

He then hears that she's been in London filming a new movie. He needs to see her (emotional death is at stake if he's not with her), so he goes to visit.

She's a bit distant but invites him in. As he watches them shoot, he hears her tell a co-star that she doesn't know why he (HG) showed up. HG finally gets it. He leaves without saying a word.

Final Battle

The next day, she shows up at his bookstore. This is another classic scene. He turns her down when she asks if they can try again. She explains that she didn't want her co-star to know what was really going on in her life. But as far as HG is concerned, his heart can't take it anymore. He needs to have a clean break, because he's certain that she will break his heart again. She leaves with a classic gut-wrenching scene. "Remember, that I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." She walks out and he's left there planted.

But a romantic comedy must have a happy ending, right?

He calls his friends and recounts what happened. As he explains the whole thing to them, it dawns on him that he was a "daft prick" and got it all wrong.

The chase is on.

They're trying to find her before she leaves the country. They finally find her at a press conference where she's explaining that she will take a break for some time and leave London immediately. The last question, goes to the gentleman in the pink shirt. Yup, it's HG. He asks her to take him back in front of the press, and of course, she does. A true knockout ending. Done with brilliance.

The aftermath

We see a montage of scenes from red carpet appearances together, to their wedding, to the final scene where they're in the same private Notting Hill park where she learned to believe in everlasting love. They're on a bench. He's reading a book. She's laying her head on his lap while caressing her tummy -- she's pregnant.

Everyone--even the mega-stars and bookstore owners--deserve happiness.

Final Thoughts

I hope this has been helpful. Try it. Pick a movie, TV show, or a novel and see if you can identify these scenes. When they're done well, they make the story world believable. And the more you do it, you'll get a better feel for what makes for convincing scenes that move the plot along.

I have a separate journal for this type of analysis.

Do you also analyze your favorite movies and books? Do you dissect them to see what made them great? How do you do it? What do you look for? Do share.

Fight the good fight!

CONTEST- By Writers, For Writers

On October 1st, 2010 I started to blog about my writing journey.

On October 27th, 2010 I created my Twitter account.

Today, I have nearly 1,300 followers on Twitter, and 50 on my blog. And to each of you, I am grateful.

Seth Godin, in his book "Meatball Sundae," challenged me. He said, write a blog and see how it changes your life. And change it has. I have met more wonderful people than I could have ever imagined. I have learned more than I could properly account for. I am more excited about the future than I have ever been. And it's thanks to you (well... maybe not you. Yeah, you. The one over there, with the red baseball cap. You need to comment more often!)

So, in honor of these two milestone, I want to give away two -- that's right, TWO -- books to my friends.

Both books are by the guru himself, James Scott Bell. These books and Mr. Bell, have helped me in ways that I will never be able to properly repay. The books are:

• Plot & Structure: This is a must for all writers. It has been a game-changer for me

• Art of War for Writers: An inspirational and powerful book for all facets of your writing career

Did I mention that they are SIGNED by Mr. Bell?

Oh yeah. I'm giving away the kind of thing you'll add to your last will and testament.

The contest starts NOW and ends on Friday, September 30th, 2011 at 9 PM PST.

One day before my blog-a-versary.

The contest is open internationally. 

The rules are simple. I would love to hear your best advice for other writers. By Writers, For Writers. There are more people now than ever that are jumping into the world of writing. Each time I speak to a high-school student who tells me he/she wants to be a writer, I run through a bunch of things that I feel I need to share and explain. Why not go to the community of writers and ask them? Some of you are already published. Some will be published soon. Some, like me, are inching your way closer.

Your advice can be about:

• What made your writing better? For example, was it something you read on dialogue, plotting, creating better structure, or character development. What made your stories better?

• What helped you transition into a better or more effective writer? This could be a tool--like Scrivener--or an advice--like a writing quota.

• Industry advice?

How will this work?

• Write your advice directly into the comments below (preferred)
• Or if you're really shy, then email me at araTHEwriter [at] gmail [dot] com

At the end of the contest, I will consolidate the feedback and bring it all together into the "Best advice: by Writers, for Writers" post. Each of you who contributed will be famous... sort of.

How do you win?

+ One winner will be picked by me and a two other secret people. We will debate and choose our favorite advice. Maybe Mr. James Scott Bell can be coerced into giving his opinion also... maybe :)

+ One winner will be picked by Random.org by a entry system:
- Each comment gets +5 entries (for your contribution)
- Follow my blog and get +1 entries (for your good taste)
- Already following my blog, you get +2 entries (for being a visionary)
- Spreading the word via your blog, Facebook or twitter +2 entries (make sure you tell me about it. For example including my Twitter account @araTHEwriter in the tweet is a fast and easy way)

Simple. Got it? Great. Now go and do it.

Just to kick this off, I'll be the first to share with two! ... I hope I win...

Daily and weekly word quotas: For years I floundered. But when I read Plot & Structure I understood the power of the word quota. It immediately helped me create a writing structure that helped me write an average of 1,500 words per day and then up to 2,500 words per day. It enabled me to be focused on producing words on paper. There is nothing more powerful than seeing you inch your way closer to the finish line

One stinkin' rotten word: My mentor, Michael Levin, said every writer should write one page a day, every day. But he understood that sometimes, we were too busy or too tired, or too something else. He said, on those days, write one word. Write "The" if that's all that comes to mind, then walk away. But he knew something that little 'ol me was unaware of. Once I wrote one word, I wrote a sentence, then a paragraph... until I had written a few hundred words. One stinkin' word is all it takes to get things rolling sometimes.

As a bonus, here's The Word Quota advice by James Scott Bell... in his own words...



Check out his other videos on his YouTube channel.

Fight the good fight!