In the To and Fro
By David Pope
In screenwriting we often find ourselves navigating to and fro between different points at different times.
Among these different points (and there are many) are doubt and confidence, market and culture, ambiguity and obviousness and the individual voice and universal connection.
Even at these points there are new points to negotiate, for example: in the market there is entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in addition to vested interests and pseudo-science or in culture there is both common universal humanity and its domination by an elite.
Oscillating between these different points has us navigating dilemmas and making choices much like our characters and as in a story what is interesting with regards to dilemmas is whether the person will select one of the equally problematic choices presented or will they find a third way?
Finding a third way between the individual voice and deep connection with the community requires also traversing the mixed messages our industry sometimes gives to screenwriters including flattering the unique voice of the artist and being told what an audience does and doesn’t want.
In our process what can be done to find a space where these things can unify?
“A great artist digs deep down within themselves and there they find everyone else.” I can’t remember who said this nor can I find the source and I guess that’s part of the point.
One way is perhaps to see a story as an invitation. An invitation to the audience member to be an equal partner in an experience. In the setting up of dilemmas, creating internal and external obstacles and revealing the choices of the characters the writer creates the space for the audience to question, anticipate and care about what the character did, does and will do next rather than merely witness events.
This invitation may be a way to see how the individual voice of the writer and the participation of the community can fuse. This requires generosity and confidence on the part of the writer.
Another consideration is how a writer blends their unique voice and the expression of their identity with the ability to look at the world as other people do, to inhabit them and in doing so seek to understand (while not necessarily advocating for) their point of view and as importantly, the forces that shape it. This requires bravery and curiosity on the part of the writer.
Thirdly perhaps the writer needs to question what is conditional in their own view of the world. There are many potential tellings of any one story and many choices make up a particular telling. Which choices are made looking inward, which choices are made looking outward and most difficult of all which choices do both in the chosen telling needs deep reflection. This requires pragmatism and awareness on the part of the writer.
Finding meaning in cause and effect is human and therefore is integral to culture. Culture evolves. Making careful choices, large and small, in our stories influences how and where the community find meaning in that evolving culture.
Outsider figures such as shamans undertake the solo journey to bring back something for the benefit of the whole community. In the uniqueness of the story what is the thing that resonates with all?
Rather than being exhausted by the ricocheting back and forth between these points perhaps there is something in recognising these movements as natural, organic, as a kind of pulse and in the feeling of this pulse knowing that the process, the story, the community and the writer are alive.
In solidarity.
David Pope
is co-founder of Stowe Story Labs and is a screenwriter and script consultant working internationally. He has worked as a script consultant on projects globally including work with Academy Award and BAFTA nominated producers and screenwriters and national film funds.
