Story Line

by Jennifer Grisanti

  What makes you feel the most? Think of the moments when you’ve felt the highest highs or the lowest lows. Is there a pattern to these moments? What were the common threads in your sheer expression of emotion? Do you detach from pain or do you attach fully in the moment with no regard to what will happen if it doesn’t work out? Can you detach from something and still feel it?

  I remember hearing that detachment can actually be considered healthy. When my two biggest fears, losing my job and having a cheating spouse, became a reality, I went through a period of total detachment. Why would I attach to something again if I know it won’t last? When you’ve been burned by the fire, it makes you not want to conjure the flame again. Can I detach and still connect in a safer way that will save me from some of the pain? In an odd way, the rationalizing of this did. It was freeing. I began to see that I was attached to the idea of attachment. If I let go of the attachment, I am left with being in what is without an attachment to the outcome. In a way, the participant became the observer. I found that, even if it was for a short while, being an observer was a safer place to be. You soak in so much when you observe others. This helps in the development of your own backstory and in watching how others’ stories unfold. I loved coming into this sense of consciousness and awareness.

  When I was an assistant in Aaron Spelling’s office, I remember looking at others who were achieving, reading the announcements of promotions in the trades, watching people buy cars and homes, hearing about people getting married and having babies. Often, these outcomes were associated with career success. My father is a very successful doctor. My mother went back to law school at age 39 and became a lawyer after being a nurse and having three children. My brother went to dental school and is a successful dentist and my sister went to law school and is now a gifted practicing attorney. Achievement and education are very important to my family. I knew that even though I didn’t go the traditional route, there was huge success to be found in my love for story. So, in seeing what success brought to other people in their lives, I began to recognize that my passion for my work would bring me everything that I had dreamed of for my life as well. If I connected fully to the work and the sense of accomplishment, everything that was happening for people around me would happen for me too. Ironically, around this time I read the book, Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? The Truth about Female Power in Hollywood by Rachel Abramowitz. In it, she went through the lives of Sherry Lansing, Dawn Steel, Jodie Foster, and other powerful women in Hollywood. She showed how their intense hunger for this business led to trying times in their personal lives. I knew that I had the same hunger in me. But, of course, I wanted to prove that I could have it all. If I had the BMW, the vice president title, the announcement in the trades and the non-ending list of phone calls to return, I would hit my moment. I would be validated. I would prove my worth. My esteem would rise. This was the logic behind my thinking. This was some of what fueled my ambition. I connected with my passion to work and I recognized that my ability to achieve in the workforce could bring me rewards in my personal life. It was happening for others, so I thought, “why not me?” In my own story, things haven’t played out as I expected them to, at least not yet.

  I’m bringing this all up to give you an idea of how to look into your backstory. How does what happens in our lives influence our goals? Do our scars that happen along the way have a lasting effect on our overall story? Think about the picture you had of your life when you were 12, then 18, then 25. How did the picture evolve? Think of the moments in your childhood that led you to formulate your picture. Think of the events that occurred between ages 12 and 25 that changed the way you viewed your picture. Think of the goals that you had for your life. Think of the goals that your parents had for you. Did you achieve those goals? If so, how did it feel when you did? If not, how did that feel? Do you feel that your parents achieved everything they considered to be success? How do you think their picture evolved and changed? What life moments did they experience that caused the evolution of their change?

  Do you find your life story to be interesting? What are the colors of your canvas and the flavors in your recipes? What are your “moments?” When you watch film and television, at what points do you cry? Why do you think that there are certain moments in story that truly affect you? What are you identifying with? How does it compare with your story and the picture you constructed for your own life?

  My life picture is constantly evolving. As a child, I remember thinking that I’d be married with kids and a career by age 25. At 18, I realized that maybe 25 was expecting too much, too soon. So, I figured that I’d have time to pursue a career and fall in love with a wonderful guy by the time I was 30. This made more sense and it gave me time to have fun and dedicate energy to my career. At 25, I was just about to meet my soon to be ex-husband. I was an assistant in Aaron Spelling’s office. I was working like crazy and loving what I was doing. I remember feeling that my picture was going to change even more. The energy of the business was filling my spirit. I was getting hooked. I could feel the intensity. I was starting to identify with the women who I had read about in Rachel Abramowitz’s book.

  At 30, I was planning my wedding. I figured that I hadn’t gotten too far off course of the picture. I was a junior level executive. I was engaged to someone I viewed as my Prince Charming. Life was very good. In fact, life was radiant. I was covering shows including Beverly Hills, 90210, and Melrose Place. I was socializing with people who I had only ever imagined knowing. I was being mentored by a man I had worshipped from afar for so long. I was working incredibly long hours and using every free moment to read scripts and move further up the ladder. Little did I know it, but I was beginning to use different colors in my picture. My ambition was beginning to outweigh my personal fulfillment. I was beginning to use darker colors versus lighter ones without even knowing it.

  When we look at the successes and failures of others, it often causes us to feel a well of emotion inside. We compare our own successes to those of the people around us and wonder if we measure up. I sometimes wonder why some of us have so much difficulty being happy for others when they achieve in big ways. With failures, it is often the opposite. We can all relate to the experience of failure. We look at the failures of others and wonder how we would handle the loss. Or, we feel like they can identify with us and we can identify with them.

  I often wonder what goes into the level and height of the waves that we ride through in this life. I just watched 20/20’s coverage of the Senator John Edwards scandal. He and his wife, Elizabeth, separated two days before it aired. I watched the story and I wondered how it must feel to reach a level of success that is beyond what most of us will ever know and have it all come crashing down in a moment. I wonder how John feels knowing that everything he worked for during his life has died for the moment. It all comes down to a series of choices. He was fueling the American dream with his rise. He is a gorgeous and incredibly charismatic man. He had what many of us considered to be a very successful marriage. His kids are beautiful and healthy. He just bought an incredible new home worth over five million dollars. On the outside, his picture was painted in a way that most of us only ever dream about. What happens during the climb to the top? How did he lose his way? Why wasn’t what he had enough? How does it feel to wake up and know that everyone knows your deepest and darkest secrets? 20/20 did the special on him because one of his aids, Andrew Young, is coming out with a tell-all book. At first I wondered how someone who he once trusted could betray him in such a way. After seeing the report, I felt differently. Instead, I wondered how John Edwards could ask this man to give up so much of his own life? We worship those who we think have so much, but when we are close, we are exposed to the cracks. Some cracks are much deeper than others.

  This is just one of so many stories about cheating and betrayal that have been covered by the press. Tiger Woods has also fallen from grace in a way that none of us ever imagined he would. Think about these stories. Fictionalize mo
ments that you think might have happened in their lives that led to the moments of self-sabotage. Think of all the choices that they made along the way. Think of everyone involved. Think of the innocent children, not only the ones directly connected, but the ones who worshipped from afar.

  Many of us get so attached to the outcome that we lose the journey. We forget that the destination will have its cracks. Eventually, we waken to the fact that most things in life are not what they seem to be. This starts from the time we are children. We believe in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and magic. Then, we get hit with the reality that everything we imagined to be true is not. However, when we’re going through it, we attach and connect to the feeling of the possibility, the fantasy, the way that it makes us feel.

  I still mourn the loss of my childhood obsession with fairy tales. I was so attached to the idea of my “happily ever after” that I stopped being able to form one that was realistic. I got lost in the romance of it all. I still do sometimes.

  It is in all of these moments that we draw backstory for our characters. Backstory that comes from truthful emotion will connect the audience to your tale and make them feel swept away. This is the beauty of creation and the magic of the imagination. Even though we are aware that most things in life are not as great as we originally think they are, in our stories, they can be. This is what fictionalizing the truth does. Yes, maybe it does make us remain suspended in an element of fantasy and healthy denial but it can also fuel hope, inspire happiness, and stop isolation.

  Backstory is what fills the present. We reveal character by giving pieces of backstory that help us to know and identify with who we are watching. We all have backstory. I asked you to think about your highs and lows. What memories came to mind? What were the emotions behind the pictures? Did darkness outweigh lightness? Or, did you think of mostly happy memories? Why do you think you chose certain moments? Usually, it’s because these are the moments that make you feel the most. If they make you feel the most, chances are that fictionalizing the emotions behind these moments will make your audience feel the most as well.

  Some of the strongest movies reveal a piece of backstory in almost every scene involving the central character. This means that somehow what they say or how they act reveals something about who they are. This helps us to connect to their journey. Going into backstory does not always mean going into flashbacks, although this is one device that is commonly used. Talented and mature writers have so many different ways of revealing character. It is all about evolution. The more you get in touch with your own evolution and your own backstory, the more you will be able to build the backstories of your characters.

  EXERCISE

  Pick three ages. What was your picture of how your life would eventually turn out during these three different points in your life? Contrast this with what your picture is today. How did your picture change along the way? What life moments do you think contributed to this change?

  Next, think about your parents and your grandparents. Imagine them at the three ages you chose. What do you think were some of their hopes and dreams at those ages? What moments do you think changed the direction of their lives? Have you ever thought about them in this way? How do you think that their backstory contributed to yours? How did their hopes and dreams fuel your hopes and dreams? Are they at peace with what their picture is now? What role do you play in their picture?

  Interview some of your older relatives. Ask them to tell you the stories of the pivotal moments in their lives. Going back in time, how did they think their story would be versus how it was? What lessons did they learn along the way?

  Chapter Nine

  HOW DOES YOUR CENTRAL CHARACTER’S BACKSTORY INFLUENCE HIS/HER GOALS AND DILEMMAS?

  Writing is both mask and unveiling.

  ~ E. B. White

  Utilizing and understanding backstory is key for your audience to connect with your characters in the present. Backstory lets us into the mind and heart of your character. It helps us understand why it is so important for them to achieve the goal and solve the dilemma that you set up. Revealing backstory in an organic way that builds by revealing personal tidbits in each scene gives us insight into why your character is the person that he is. Connecting backstory with your goal and dilemma lets your audience really understand what is driving your characters and shows us what to root for in your story lines, helping us connect to your writing and the story that you’re trying to tell.

  I’ve read many scripts that were structured wonderfully, but I had no idea who their characters were and what made them tick. I didn’t know why I was supposed to care. In my consultations with writers, I continually emphasize that we need to be given a reason to empathize with your protagonist as soon as possible in your story. Skilled and practiced execution of backstory is a great way to achieve this.

  The effective use of backstory isn’t something that comes naturally to everyone; however, it can be learned. So, how do you first approach your backstory? One way to start is by writing a backstory for each of your characters. The better you know the people that you are writing about, the easier it will be to write about them. When composing backstory, think of the moments from your own life that you explored in Chapter 8. How does your backstory influence the goals and dilemmas you encounter in your life? Start thinking this way. From this point forward, as you formulate your goals and you hit dilemmas in your life, begin to track everything that happened in your past that led you to your current desires and dilemmas. More than likely, there was a series of events that led you to your present situation.

  For example, let’s start by considering a goal that most of you reading this book have in common: to write and have a successful writing career. What is behind your goal to write? What fuels you? What inspires you? What frightens you? What drives you? Was there an incident in your life that made you suddenly feel, “I have something to say”? When we have the urge to write, there is usually something behind this urge. What dilemmas birthed your goal to write? Dig into your desire. What is motivating it? Is it validation? Is it your need to express? Did something particular happen that was so pivotal that you had to find a way to clearly express it just as you experienced it?

  Have you ever written a journal? I suspect that most of you who are writers have. If not, it’s never too late to start. If you have, go back and look at your journals. Trace the steps that led you to your current goals and dilemmas. Can you use some of your own truths and fictionalize them into the lives of your characters as backstory? Create a backstory for each character that connects us to the goal/dilemma you set for your character. Create all the pivotal life moments that could have preceded the beginning of your story. Think about how you can reveal parts of this backstory in each scene as your character is moving toward his/her goal.

  Another way to approach backstory is to absorb the stories of everyone around you. Think about anytime in your life that you were enthralled or shocked by a story you heard. We’ve all heard stories that made us wonder how the person involved survived. Consider everyone in your immediate social circle and compose backstories based on what you know about each of them. Then, fictionalize these stories. When you fictionalize their backstories, you are probably drawing from your own world views and life perspectives of how you’d feel in the situations that they encountered.

  When you watch the news or current events—60 Minutes, Dateline, 20/20, or reality TV—start thinking about the subjects covered by these shows. What do you think made these people who they are today and made them do the things that they’ve done? What were their upbringings like? What series of pivotal life moments led up to their heightened realities? When you listen to their stories, what emotions do you feel? Go into your backstory to understand why you “judge” or “emote” as a response to the stories on these shows. I remember being shocked by how many stories Dateline does that have to do with one spouse killing the other spouse. This was very sobering for me. We can make one wrong choice in
the name of love and it can be the end of our lives. I always get emotional when I see these stories. If you go into these stories that are in the consciousness of the public and you bring them to life on the page by fictionalizing them and your truth, you will create stronger and more compelling stories that will appeal to a wide-ranging audience.

  In the film Up in the Air, little bits of Ryan’s character are revealed throughout the film. It starts with his V.O. (voice over), “Moving is living….” Then, we see how he lectures with an empty backpack. We hear his world views in what he teaches. We see it in his actions and reactions. It progresses with the story and continues with his later V.O., “the slower we move, the faster we die.” The way he lives reflects what happened in his life. We understand this without having to know the specific life moments that led to him embracing this philosophy. It is clear that he has pain in his backstory and that he dealt with his pain by shrouding himself in this philosophy. He is consumed by denial and distraction.

  We feel it even more when we see other characters react to it. Natalie reacts to his philosophy by saying, “Would you stop condescending for one second? Or is that one of the principles of your bullshit philosophy?” Ryan: “Bullshit philosophy?” Natalie: “The isolation? The traveling? Is that supposed to be charming?” Ryan: “No, it’s simply a life choice.” Natalie: “It’s a cocoon of self-banishment.” This gives us an idea that something must lie under Ryan’s philosophy. There’s a reason he chooses to live the way that he does and it is part of his backstory. We get further hints of his backstory when his older sister, Kara, asks him to talk to their younger sister’s fiancé, who has cold feet. Ryan reacts to her request by saying, “I haven’t been to bat. I haven’t been in the dugout.” Kara responds, “Don’t you talk for a living? Motivational stuff? Ryan: “I tell people how to avoid commitment.” Kara responds: “What kind of fucked up message is that?” This develops further when Ryan talks with Julie’s fiancé, Jim (Danny Mc-Bride). This is where the writing gets really creative. If you listen to Jim’s reasoning for being scared of marriage, you realize that a lot of what he says is what we know Ryan feels. Jim connects getting married with the beginning of the end, death. Ryan connects being “grounded” with the same fear. By watching Ryan’s journey, we get an idea of what contributed to his philosophy and we get insight within the constructs of the present story into everything that led up to his desire to change the way that he is.