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Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Micro: Scrooged

Greetings and happy holidays to all! Last week, I did a macro analysis of the 1988 movie Scrooged, applying the 5 Commandments to the entire story arc. This time, I'm applying them to a single five minute scene: the Turning Point of the Ending Payoff.

In this scene, the Ebenezer Scrooge character known as Frank Cross is visited by the last of three ghosts who are attempting to show him the error of his selfish ways. One, in the form of an insolent cab driver, has shown him incidents from his own past that have shaped who he is today. A second ghost, an impudent and slightly deranged fairy, showed him situations from his present that he is unaware of, and that are the direct result of his thoughtless actions.

But this third ghost, yikes.

The Ghost of Christmas Future looms menacingly, garbed in a wardrobe from Grim Reapers R Us. Anguished souls are held captive beneath the folds of his flowing black robes. He has some less-than-glad tidings for our boy Frank. First, he shows Frank the fate of Frank's assistant's disabled young son, locked in a padded room presumably because Frank's demands on the boy's mother have reduced the amount of time she is able to spend with him. Frank is strangely silent, but appears taken aback.

Next, the ghost shows him a ladies lunch event that includes his old flame, Claire. In their youth, when they were young and in love, Claire was the soul of kindness and generosity. But in this vision, she has become callous; hardened. Frank is dismayed by the change in her, especially when she quotes Frank to her lunch friends and attributes her change in attitude to some advice he gave her long ago.

As an aside, whoever did Karen Allen's makeup in this scene did an excellent job of communicating 'harsh' with her look, especially as it contrasts with her fresh-faced earnestness in the rest of the film.

As hurtful as Claire's confession seems, it's the final vision that in my opinion is the turning point in this scene. The ghost brings Frank to a room we soon learn is a crematorium. The coffin about to enter the flames has Frank's name on it. Only two mourners are in attendance: Frank's brother James and James' wife. He soon finds himself trapped inside the coffin. As the flames lick at his expensive shoes, Frank has a realization that he doesn't want to die just yet; that he wants time to repent and do right. This realization leads Frank to his Crisis, Climax, and Resolution in fairly short order.

Coming up with a micro analysis for this movie was a challenge for me for a couple of reasons. One was more about logistics. I needed a scene that aligned with the 5 Commandments scenes I had identified in last week's post that was also available in a video snippet so I could post it for you here. As a last resort I would've just described the scene to you, but I like it better if you can have something to watch. Another challenge was more about the process of applying the 5 C's in micro in these scenes. For some reason, I have more trouble with the micro, or beats, I suppose, than with analyzing the big picture - especially when the components pile on to each other relatively quickly, as I feel they do in this scene.

Do you agree about these 5 C's? Is there another scene that illustrates them more clearly in micro? I look forward to your input.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar).

Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Macro: Scrooged

Previously I blogged about the Story Grid method of analyzing and understanding story structure. I plan on applying this method to some of my favorite books and films and posting them here about once a month. I'll do a macro first, and follow up by applying the same method to a single scene.

Frank Cross and the Ghost of Christmas Past

'Tis the season, so it should come as no surprise that I chose a holiday theme this month. My taste in holiday movies runs a little dark, so don't expect any Hallmark films here. It says a lot about me that last Christmas the hubs and I treated ourselves to a holiday screening of Die Hard at the fabulous Nickelodeon Theater in Columbia, SC. But that one's been done by the Story Grid folks. I've chosen another favorite: Scrooged, the 1988 remake of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Bill Murray.

If you don't feel like clicking away to my previous post to see what this Story Grid 5 Commandments stuff is all about, you can get the gist by reading the infographic on the 5 Commandments below.

Gentle reminder there are no right or wrong answers in this process. I encourage you to join the discussion by leaving your opinions in the comments - especially if you disagree! Heck, I even disagree with myself sometimes when I'm poring over this stuff.

To recap the film: since it's one of many remakes of the beloved classic, you are probably familiar with the basics, even if you haven't seen the film. We have the Scrooge character in the form of modern-day television bigwig Frank Cross, played by Murray. We have the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. We have the failed relationship of his youth, and the deceased business partner, and the charming Tiny Tim-esque young boy.

Frank Cross is a selfish, competitive jerk fighting tooth and nail to claw his way to the top of the corporate ladder. He has insisted on airing a live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve, even though this means many will have to work on the holiday to get it done.

During this hectic evening, Cross runs into his boss. Nothing unusual about that, except the boss had recently died of a heart attack. The ghost boss warns Frank the job is not worth sacrificing the chance for meaningful relationships. He also says three more ghosts will visit him that evening. Frank assumes he is hallucinating due to stress about the job and the show, and ignores this bizarre event - until the next ghost shows up.

The classic Christmas Carol plot unfolds. Frank is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who reminds him of a vaguely unhappy childhood; Christmas Present, who gives him insight into the lives of those close to him and how his actions affect them, and about which he has no clue until now; and Christmas Future, who scares the daylights out of him with the possibility of an unhappy end to a life filled with despair.

This final visitation convinces Frank he better get his act together. He does a complete 180 and to cement the deal, confesses his regrets to a viewing audience of thousands during the live production he has insisted occur on this night. No takebacks!

His heartfelt apologies help reunite him with his long lost love; initiate a closer relationship with his estranged brother; and even benefit the Tiny Tim character by inspiring him to speak aloud for the first time.

The cool thing about doing a remake of a classic is that you have a time-tested story structure with which to work. In this case, you even have three ghosts to align with the three act structure. I didn't have much trouble choosing my 5 C scenes this time. But I would love to hear if you have any alternatives, or if you think I've missed something.

Next time we'll do a micro of one of the scenes from Scrooged. In the meantime, if you haven't seen Scrooged, check it out. It's usually on TV somewhere this time of year.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar).

Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Micro: Men in Black

based on the Story Grid series of blog posts, books, and podcasts by Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl.

Welcome back to my continuation of applying the Story Grid method of story structure analysis to one of my favorite stories: the 1997 sci-fi/action film Men in Black.

Last week's post applied the Story Grid's 5 Commandments to the entire, or global, story of the film. This week, I'm zooming in to the micro level and applying these same principles to a single scene.

The 5 Commandments are a handy tool to guide storytelling and help ensure you're writing a scene/story that works. Here's my introductory post on Story Grid principles. Or, you can get the gist by reading this post and the accompanying infographic.

The scene I've chosen for the micro analysis is also one of the global 5 Commandments scenes from last week's post: the Crisis, wherein the hero is presented with various options and must make a choice that determines the path of the rest of the story. Note that a scene can serve as one of the 5 C's at multiple levels: global, sequence, scene, and even beat.

A video is worth a million words, so check out the scene here:

So great, amirite? Still a classic, after all these years.

Before I get into the analysis, a word about process: previously, I mentioned that when I'm stumped on how to start applying these guideposts to a story, I start with the Climax and work backwards from there. I suggest this because often the Climax is the Wow! moment and is therefore easier to identify. However, in this scene, I think the Turning Point is the Wow! moment. In my former life in the tennis biz, this is where we would say that I'm coachable.

Anyway - here's my breakdown (and I'm stickin' to it - maybe):

And can I just say, there's such a great set-up in this scene to reinforce Will Smith's character's worldview. Will Smith's character, along with a few other guys, has just undergone a series of tests to see if they have "the right stuff", to borrow from another space-themed story, to join the Men in Black. We get the very clear sense that Smith's character, Edwards, is definitely a long shot for passing this test. All the other recruits are in some kind of military uniform. All are taking this process very seriously. Edwards is dressed much more casually and has a few awkward moments before they complete their evaluation and are ushered out. It's clear Edwards has been underwhelmed by the experience so far.

Inciting Incident: In addition to his long shot status, Edwards himself is certain this has been a huge waste of time. He's ready to get back to catching criminals in his real job at the NYPD. But as he's leaving with the others, Agent K intercepts him. They converse briefly. Edwards makes it clear he thinks they're all nuts, and he's not interested.

Turning Point/Progressive Complication: Agent K takes the news with equanimity and asks Edwards if he'd like any coffee. Edwards refuses, but waits patiently as K stops into the break room. Edwards overhears a casual conversation between K and whoever else is in the break room. He's a few steps behind K, so as he catches up so that he now has a clear view into the break room, what he sees there completely rocks his world. The conversation is occurring not between humans, as any reasonable person would assume, but between Agent K and a handful of worm-like creatures helping themselves to the coffee. These creatures are the furthest from anything remotely human-looking. There is no question they are alien in every sense of the term. And just like that, Edwards realizes everything Agent K has told him is likely 100% true, and everything Edwards used to know about life as a human being on planet Earth has just been completely upended.

Crisis: I've seen this movie dozens of times, but I still get a kick out of the look on Will Smith's face when he's trying to process just exactly what he's seeing with his own eyes. His Crisis: do I believe what I'm seeing, therefore validating everything Agent K has said and up until five seconds ago I thought was complete horse manure, or try to rationalize this as some kind of hallucination or elaborate parlor trick or con, and retain some semblance of my sanity?

Climax: We don't see Edwards make his decision until a few moments later, in a different setting. Spoiler alert: he joints the MiB and becomes Agent J.

Resolution: Agent J has a steep learning curve during his first day as an Man in Black. But he makes that suit look goooood.

Remember, my opinion is only that. You may have a completely different viewpoint on some of these. For example, one might argue the Progressive Complication is from Agent K's perspective, when he realizes Edwards is leaning away from joining their merry band, and decides he needs to do something to convince a valuable prospect to join the MiB.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on where the 5C's of this scene are - especially if you disagree with me!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar). Oh, and p.s. this post includes affiliate links.

Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Macro: Men In Black

Recently I blogged about the Story Grid method of analyzing and understanding story structure. I plan on applying this method to some of my favorite books and films and posting them here about once a month. I'll do a macro first, and follow up by applying the same method to a single scene. My kids reminded me how much we all enjoy the original 1997 film Men In Black, so that's what I'm choosing to analyze this time.

If you don't feel like clicking away to my previous post to see what this is all about, you can get the gist by reading the infographic on the 5 Commandments below.

Gentle reminder there are no right or wrong answers in this process. I encourage you to join the discussion by leaving your opinions in the comments - especially if you disagree! Heck, I even disagree with myself sometimes when I'm poring over this stuff.

To recap the film: In pursuit of a rather unusual perpetrator, a New York City policemen discovers a secret world of law enforcement exists to protect Earth from extraterrestrial threats. Initially, Officer Edwards is skeptical. But when the secret group, known as the Men In Black, convince him that aliens are real, he decides saving the world is more important than anything he's got going on in his daily life. He and his mentor, Agent K, embark on a mission to track down the current alien threat and prevent the destruction of the planet.

The scenes I have settled on above were not my first choices. I usually like to identify the climax scene and work backwards from there. One might argue I sorta cheated with the very nebulous and general description of what I consider the climax of the film. My description basically includes every scene from the end of the beginning hook to the end of the film.

It was tempting to choose the literal climax scene of the film when Agents K and J defeat the hideous giant alien cockroach. And reverse-engineering the other three commandment scenes preceding the climax, one could also argue they happen later in the film, after Officer Edwards opts into the MiB. So for example the Inciting Incident might be when the alien crash-lands at the Maine farm; and the Turning Point/Complication could be when the MiB discover the cockroach alien has killed an important member of another alien species that could spark an intergalactic war.

But when I decided the Inciting Incident was when Officer Edwards runs down the alien perp, the other scenes were less dependent on the external story and moreso on his internal arc. That's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it.

Oh, and if you haven't seen Men in Black, I strongly encourage you to check it out. It's filled with many storytelling gems ripe for ripping off/learning from. I'll discuss that more next time when I dissect a single scene for this exercise.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar).Oh, and p.s. this post includes affiliate links.

Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Micro: Aliens

based on the Story Grid series of blog posts, books, and podcasts by Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl.

Welcome back to my continuation of applying the Story Grid method of story structure analysis to one of my favorite stories: the sci-fi/action/horror classic, Aliens.

Last week, I introduce the concept of Shawn Coyne's Story Grid in macro as it pertains to the entire, or global, story. I promised you a contrasting perspective this week, by applying that same method in a micro level to one of my favorite scenes from that film. We will see how it can be used at the smallest levels of story to help you analyze and troubleshoot your work.

I'll give a quick overview of the Story Grid approach here (if you want more details, check out last week's blog, or go strait to the source at storygrid.com). Stories that work typically have a solid structural foundation consisting of five fundamental components: the Inciting Incident, one or more Progressive Complications, one of which forces a Turning Point; the Crisis; the Climax; and the Resolution. See the infographic below for details on what these terms mean in the Story Grid universe.

The scene I've selected for this micro dive is one of the scenes I singled out last week as one of the 5 Commandments in the global story: the Crisis.

There's so much to love about this scene - where do I begin? Bill Paxton's panicked Private Hudson; Michael Biehn's resigned, ticked off, Corporal Hicks; and of course our fearless leader, Ellen Ripley not mincing words when she sets slimeball Burke straight about what's going to happen next. Click here to watch the two minute scene. It's glorious.

Just to recap: the elite military force sent to investigate mysterious problems on The Company's terraforming planet has just been decimated in their first encounter with the aliens. They are dumbfounded by this turn of events, to say the least. The survivors have retreated to the safety one of their fancy military vehicles to discuss what action to take next, since their original plan to show up, kick ass, and take names, has failed so spectacularly. Ripley and the remaining soldiers want to exterminate the aliens by any means possible, including destroying the terraforming facility from space using nuclear weapons. But Burke, who works for The Company, objects on the grounds they have much invested in this facility, and he urges them to consider other options. But they outnumber him physically, point out that technically he is not in charge, and decide to proceed with their plan to destroy the entire facility.

I chose this scene as a Crisis scene (in the Story Grid sense) at the global level because events force the characters to regroup and make a new plan of action. They each suggest options, laying out the various choices quickly and concisely.

Identifying important scenes from the 30,000 foot level may seem pretty straightforward (even though it's not, IMO). But what about the 3000 foot, or the 30 foot? It's tempting to feel like you're in a forest-for-the-trees situation. The trick is to view the smaller chunk as the entire story.

My other handy tip to help identify these components is to identify the most important/obvious one first, and work from there. For me, this is usually the Climax. Some find the Turning Point more obvious. Basically identify which Commandment hill you are willing to die on, and work from there.

Here's how I identify the 5 Commandments in this scene.

Inciting Incident: the expedition discovers the missing colonists deep within the aliens' lair.

Turning Point/Progressive Complication: many of the military force are killed, including their leader.

Crisis: several characters suggest their idea of a Plan B. Some are already thinking about what weapons they still have available and how they can be used. One suggests just leaving. One suggests a literal Nuclear Option. One argues for an option that would minimize the damage to the expensive terraforming facility.

Climax: all but one agree they should employ the maximum force necessary - "it's the only way to be sure".

Resolution: the group quickly prepares to take action on this new plan.

As I mentioned last time, and will mention every time when blogging about the Story Grid 5C's: even though they're referred to as 'commandments', they are definitely not written in stone. I'd love to hear your thoughts on where the 5C's of this scene are - especially if you disagree with me!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar).Oh, and p.s. this post includes affiliate links.

Published on Leave a comment on Story Grid Macro: Aliens

based on the Story Grid series of blog posts, books, and podcasts by Shawn Coyne and Tim Grahl.

Anyone else out there a devoted fan/follower/cult member of a particular writing craft guru? If you peruse my bookshelves, you'll find writing craft books by several of my favorites. The usual suspects are in attendance: Kleon, Lamott, Barry, King, Brooks, Snyder, McKee. In an attempt to keep my book purchasing compulsion in check, I try to only buy a book if I find it so captivating and resonant, I can envision myself referring to it frequently.

If I'm honest, only about half of the craft books on my shelf get opened with any regularity. But there is one that I refer to, think about, mull over, and recommend far more than any others: Story Grid by Shawn Coyne.

I'm a proud Story Grid nerd and I don't care who knows it. I've found it tremendously useful, and I'm starting a series of blog posts about it because I hope you will find it useful as well.

Blogging about the Story Grid method certainly isn't original to me. They've got their own website, blog, podcasts, classes, you name it. I encourage you to check them out. It will be well worth your time. Just think of my efforts here as fan non-fiction.

Story Grid consists of a variety of concepts and tools developed by editor Shawn Coyne. Coyne describes his method as a 'pragmatic approach to solving the story creation problem'. He uses a variety of analysis tools, including a robust spreadsheet that serves as a combination story spine and editing tool; an overview of the various genres; and a checklist of recommended story components.

One of the Story Grid family of podcasts is devoted to applying the Story Grid analysis to well-known stories, usually films. I find these analyses extremely enjoyable as well as useful. So I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and add a few of my own.

Recently I attended a Story Grid Live event in Nashville. The presentations were great. But the breakout sessions . . . oh, my. As Shawn likes to say, that's where the rubber hit the road. During the breakouts, groups of a half-dozen or so of Story Grid nerds sat around discussing specific scenes from a masterworks. We worked on identifying the 5Cs and other important components. Sometimes we agreed. Sometimes, we didn't. It was glorious.

I do something very similar when my online critique group gets together via Skype every two weeks. But I'm thinking, you just can't get enough of a good thing. I could do this every day.

TBH, I sorta already do this every day. Every time I read a book or watch a show, I'm breaking it down into its Story Grid components. But when you do it in a group setting, the benefits increase exponentially.

Now, I regret I cannot meet with a bunch of other story nerds in person every day, much as I would like to. But thanks to the internet, we can do the next best thing: we can blog and comment. So without further adieu, here's my contribution to spreading the Story Grid wealth.

I'm starting with a film I love and am studying as a prime example of a well-crafted action story, which is the genre I'm currently working in as well. I've selected Aliens, the second film in the franchise.

In this blog post, I'm going to attempt a macro analysis that identifies the 5Cs of the global story/entire film. In a separate post, I'll do a micro analysis of a specific scene. I hope this demonstrates the versatility of understanding the concept of the 5 Commandments as a craft tool and how it can be useful in just about any phase of your writing project.

Before I dive into the 5C's of Aliens, it would probably be helpful to catch you up just in case you're not familiar. The 5 Commandments, or suggested components, of a successful story include the following.

The Inciting Incident something happens to upset the apple cart

The Turning Point/Progressive Complication we now have a different metaphor: the straw that breaks the camel's back

The Crisis the protagonist is now in a pickle and must make a decision

The Climax the protagonist makes their decision

The Resolution the results of this decision unfold

Easy enough to understand, amirite? The fun begins when we attempt to apply them to actual stories.

One more thing before we get to the analysis: it's kinda hard to give a wrong answer in this stuff. Story Grid nerds relish the opportunity to discuss the various options at length. My opinions below are just that: opinions. My primary goal in posting this stuff is to spark some vigorous discussions. Agree with me on these? Great! Disagree? Even better! Let's discuss!

Okay, enough of the prelude. Let's get down to business. Here's my analysis, in a handy infographic, of the 5 Commandments applied to the entire film, Aliens.

Pretty simple, right? Yeah, sure, it is now, after hours of sweating through the various options and rearranging and rethinking. For example, initially I had the Inciting Incident as when Ripley is rescued in outer space after 57 years in cryosleep. There are also several viable candidates for the Turning Point. And the entire film is full of what we can all probably agree is one crisis after another.

I look forward to your thoughts on which of the scenes in Aliens best fit the global 5C's. In my next post, I'll apply the same analysis to a specific scene, rather than the entire story.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to my blog (the subscribe box is near the top of the right sidebar). Oh, and p.s. this post includes affiliate links.