Story Line

by Jennifer Grisanti

  When I thought about writing this book, I knew that it was going to take courage. In order for me to truly get the reader to go there in their own story, I would have to be willing to go there in mine. I often say that I was born with a rubber butt. No matter how many times I fall, I learned at an early age how to get back up. Fortunately for me, I was born with a fearlessness when it comes to expression. When I was younger, I would talk non-stop. My parents always had to cut me off at the dinner table because I had so much in me that needed to come out. It was like I was afraid that there was never enough time to fully express how I was feeling, so I learned to go to my imagination for escape. Since experiencing such pivotal life moments, I often find that I connect with others by sharing my pain openly. However, I have found that as I get older and I’ve moved from being the participant to the observer, I am expressing less and observing more. I attempt to create a healthy form of detachment as a way to protect myself from the recurrence of past mistakes. I often fear that there’s a fine line between healthy detachment and non-participation. When you go through a series of falls, as most of us do in our lives, it can make you more reluctant to reach for the stars. My hope is that, as we go through life, we become informed by our mistakes instead of victims of them.

  I am going to go through some of the sequences that led up to certain dilemmas I’ve faced in my life and the actions that I took as a result of them. I am doing this as a way to connect with you and get you to understand how to find the gold in your own story. I have selfish reasons for doing this. I want you to get there on the page, so we can all see your stories come to life in a way that they never have. Your goal is to help your audience see and understand you in your writing. Your gift as a storyteller all comes down to how you experience life, interpret it, and pass it forward.

  The first very big dilemma in my life was probably the experience of going through my parents’ divorce after 27 years of being together and then shortly thereafter, going through my own divorce. I recall feeling like there had been an earthquake in each situation and I had fallen through the crack when the ground shifted. My foundation as I knew and understood it had changed. There were moments during both of these experiences that were surreal, numbing, and confusing. Processing change is never easy. It brings up so many emotions.

  Since this exploration is really about how we each experience life and turning our truth into fiction on the page, I will share a small glimpse of some of the moments that led up to my divorce and my own part in the failure of the union. From the moment I met my husband, the connection was totally clear. Despite our very different childhood experiences, our different educational backgrounds, and our often opposing world views, there was one clear element that connected us; physical attraction. The chemical connection was like nothing I had ever known up to that point in my life. I was intoxicated by it. I wanted to be in this feeling. I let myself go there because I wanted my piece of the American pie. I knew that everyone experiences bumps along the path to self-discovery, so I just figured that the reason for our bumps was so that we could learn from them. I knew that part of my journey was learning not to run when we hit the bumps. There were events leading up to the wedding that were very clear signs of trouble, but since I was so swept up in the idea of having it “all,” I chose to ignore them. I was turning 30. I was climbing the corporate ladder. I was attached to the possibility that I was going to have the fairy tale experience that I had dreamed about all of my life. I was caught up in the imaginary illusion that once we got married, all the doubt and insecurity about our differences would go away. I did not want anything to get in the way of this. Hindsight is 20/20 when we look back. I won’t go into glorious detail of what those moments were because that’s not what’s important. It is about looking at the emotions behind some of those moments and the actions that were taken. For me, I assumed the myriad of emotions I felt going into the marriage were attached to my own fears of failure. After my divorce, I recall someone asking me, “When you said ‘I do,’ did you think it was forever?” This question rattled me because I had never really thought about it until that point. The interesting thing is that when people ask questions like this, it often has to do with their own fears. However, this one made me think. When I went into that moment, I found that I could not envision growing old with my ex. This was a sobering realization. Why did I go through with it if I didn’t think it would last? Was experiencing the “fairy tale” moment more important than creating a lifetime of love? Was this just part of the “obsession with fairy tales” that I refer to in my log line?

  It fascinates me that so many of us have unrealistic expectations of what marriage is. We think that once we get married, whatever doubts were there will go away. We attach to the idea that once we’re married, we won’t feel attracted to others. We get wrapped up in the thought that we can “change” one another or “fix” one another. I knew that I represented a sense of security to my husband. I had the good fortune of what I viewed as a strong upbringing, despite the crack that had occurred with my parents’ divorce, so I could make up for all the love that he didn’t receive with the love and security that I did receive. As I matured, I began to see this was egotistical for me to think. We all have to deal with our own demons. We all have to know our own sense of completeness before entering an experience. If we enter it broken, very often, we will leave it broken.

  Many romantic comedies go into these universal life moments. Adding comedy to the challenging experience of love, and very often failure, is a big draw. It makes us feel less isolated in our feelings of failure and rejection. Being able to add humor to the mistakes we make in relationships unites us in our often crazy quest for love. It is a release of tension. We laugh to cope. Can you look at the major dramatic moments in your life and add humor to them? I remember when I first shared my log line, “A newly married bride obsessed with fairy tales falls through a rabbit hole and wakes up President of Cheated On Anonymous.” There was nervous laughter. Another time there was a large amount of laughter and another time there was no laughter. When I told this group that it was okay to laugh, there was a big laugh, which I believe was a release of their tension. When we laugh at mistakes others make, it’s very often because we identify with them and laughing helps us feel better because we know that there are others out there who share in some of our miseries.

  EXERCISE

  Go into these moments in your own life. Have you ever made a decision knowing that the outcome would not be good but you made it anyway? In your story, think about all the emotions you felt at your highest highs and lowest lows. Those emotions are what connect us to you. You are the voice behind your writing. You are what brings your words to life. You are the person who needs to be willing to take the risk and bring us into your experience, your story. The gift of fictionalizing the truth is that you can reveal your truth yet still keep your secret.

  What are some of the biggest dilemmas you’ve faced in your life? Did you choose one side, but wonder about what your life would look like if you had gone the other way?

  Knowing what you know now about the choice you did make, if you were to go back in time, would you do it differently? Write up a story line for what you think could have been had you made another choice.

  Chapter Eleven

  HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR CENTRAL CHARACTER’S DILEMMAS AND GOALS INTO A COMPELLING STORY LINE

  You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you’ve got something to say.

  ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

  It wasn’t until these last few years of analyzing story that I really recognized the power of the goal and dilemma. If the goal and dilemma are clear, the story has a much better chance of working because your audience understands what your central character wants and is able to root for him achieving his goal. All the pivotal moments in your story—your obstacle, your escalating obstacle, your turning point and your “all is lost” moment—should reflect back to your goal and escalate your
character’s journey to achieving it. If you don’t clearly set up the goal, these moments will lose the impact they could have. When a writer has really mastered the use of goal and dilemma, it resonates in every scene, building, escalating, twisting, and truly feeling the “all is lost” moment before the writer leads her reader to the resolution of the goal.

  I remember sitting in on the rough cuts for Beverly Hills, 90210, and Melrose Place when I was at Spelling Television Inc., and absorbing the changes that Aaron Spelling and his partner, E. Duke Vincent, would make. If an “act out”—the last scene before a cut to commercial which should leave your audience hooked enough to return—as written in the scripts didn’t work well in the rough cuts, they would choose a stronger scene. It was invaluable to me to see how proper editing affects story. Both men were brilliant storytellers; Vincent still is. Back then, they always chose the most dramatic moments as act outs. That sometimes tends to be the case today, but there is frequently a stronger strategy involved. If an act out is too soft, it is usually because the stakes in the entire story are not high enough. The act outs have to resonate with a clearly established goal and dilemma. Story is evolving. The intellect of the audience has been heightened with shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Dexter, and Big Love. Television is definitely stronger now than it has ever been and the bar has been set higher for those writing for it.

  When I analyze a television script, I look for several things. In the teaser, I am looking for a setup of the dilemma in each story line and a hint of the concept of the show. Then, I check all the act outs. The most important thing I check for is the establishment of a strong dilemma and a setup of a strong goal of the central character or characters by the end of Act I. I know that if this is not clear, the story will not work as well as it could. Next, I check the other act breaks. Act II is either a false answer to the goal or solution to the dilemma, or the first obstacle to the goal. This is where the building and escalating begins. In a five-act script, at the end of act III, I look for an escalating obstacle or a turning point. Both of these moments should reflect back to the goal set up at the end of Act I. At the end of Act IV, I look for the “all is lost” moment. This is when the character or characters are as far away as possible from the goal set at the end of Act I. In Act V, I look for whether the character or characters achieve the goal. I also make sure that the central character or characters are active in the achievement of the goal.

  An ideal B story is set up much like your A story and, if well constructed, can really emotionally elevate your A story. Keep the goal and dilemma of the A story in mind when crafting all of your story lines. The B and C story should reflect the same type of thematic message. With every story line, you want to think in terms of set up of dilemma and establishment of the goal, obstacle or false answer, escalating obstacle, turning point or “all is lost” moment. Every scene in your story should lend itself to one of these moments. Keeping this in mind will help you better strategize how to construct your story lines. Very often writers will write scenes that don’t really move story forward. They may be great for establishing character but if they’re not advancing the story, you’ll lose your audience. In addition to revealing more about your characters, you want to make sure the plot is moving forward in every scene.

  In features, the firm establishment of the goal by page 30 or the end of Act I is every bit as important as it is in television. Just as in television, all the pivotal moments in strong features reflect back to the setup of the dilemma and the establishment of the goal of your central character or characters. When I analyze feature scripts, I read them several times. During my first read, I am essentially just reading the script to see where the story is going. After I know where it is going, I check for certain things. I start by looking for the catalyst around page 12. Then, I look for the clear establishment of the goal and dilemma of the central character or characters by page 30. Then, I look at each scene to make sure that it is moving story forward and that every scene somehow reflects an obstacle, escalating obstacle, turning point and/or “all is lost” moment that resonates with the goal. Within this, I look at the midpoint on page 55 and make sure that it spins the story in a new direction and heightens the stakes. Then, I look at the “all is lost” moment around page 75. Everything has to reflect back to the goal. Knowing and working towards this will make your story work better than you ever imagined.

  I am constantly testing this theory. If I see an episode of TV or a feature that I love, I see it a second time and often a third time. I break down the story structure to look at the pivotal moments and analyze why they work the way that they do. More often than not, I discover that the formula they follow is the formula that I described above. They develop strong goals and dilemmas and escalate them from the beginning of the story to the end. Keeping your goal alive throughout gives your audience clarity about what and who you are rooting for in your story line.

  The fourth season finale of Dexter was excellent, thanks to the story by Scott Reynolds and Melissa Rosenberg, and the screenplay by Wendy West and Melissa Rosenberg. I am going to go through it from my point of view and show you how the proper placement of the goal and dilemma in each story line made for a very compelling and enthralling experience. Dexter Morgan (a specialist with the Miami Homicide Squad) leads a dual life: by day, he is a crime solver; at night, he is a crime avenger, tracking down serial killers and putting them down. In the opener, Dexter is confronted in his office by his nemesis, the killer called Trinity (John Lithgow). Trinity has discovered Dexter’s true identity; now it falls to Dexter to kill Trinity, thus meeting his goal of removing serial killers from the population, and keeping his own family safe in the bargain. He hits his first obstacle when a fellow detective unintentionally delays him, thwarting Dexter’s goal by detaining him from trailing Trinity. In the next scene, while driving, Dexter hits a car’s rearview mirror as he chases after Trinity. This builds toward the second escalating obstacle to the goal. Dexter catches up with Trinity, jabs a syringe in his neck, and puts the unconscious Trinity in his van. Dexter sees that the man whose rearview mirror he knocked off is there with the cops. He leaves his van, hoping to put an end to it. He ends up assaulting a cop and getting taken away. Dexter’s dilemma is now that he’s not there, Trinity could wake up and expose him, in this setup of anticipation.

  Scene between Dexter and his adoptive father, Harry (James Remar), in jail: Dexter tells Harry that he has to know Trinity is taken care of because of his family. He mentions that this is why he lost it. Harry says, “That’s not why you lost it. You can’t think clearly because of them (meaning his family). They did this to you.” Dexter responds, “No, my dark passenger has done this to me. It’s ruining my life.” Harry: “It is your life.” Dexter responds, “I don’t want it to be. I don’t want it to be.” All of this is stirring up and escalating obstacles to Dexter achieving his goal and solving his dilemma.

  Rita (Dexter’s wife, played by Julie Benz) picks Dexter up at the police station. Dexter’s V.O.—“Why is it that with killing, I feel no regret. but disappointing Rita makes me feel like the scum of the earth?” In the car, Dexter admits to Rita that he fears he has darkness inside. Rita assures him that she doesn’t think he does. She drops him off at the van and leaves. Dexter discovers that Trinity is gone. (Building anticipation and expectation and heightening stakes.) Trinity returns home and demands money from his family. He looks up Dexter Morgan’s address.

  Dexter is at home with Rita. He is on the lookout for Trinity. Rita tells Dexter that she knows he is a man who can conquer his darkness. Dexter, deeply affected by her faith in him, says, “I want to be that man.” They make love. Trinity shows up at what he thinks is Dexter’s apartment only to discover that it’s Deb Morgan’s, Dexter’s police officer sister. Dexter waves goodbye to the kids the next morning as they leave with their grandparents. He puts Rita in a taxi with the baby. They are headed to the honeymoon destination. Dexter is going to meet them there.


  Dexter goes to Trinity’s house, where he asks the family for answers. When a police raid disrupts Dexter’s visit, Dexter first hides. Then, he merges with the officers of the raid, pretending he is responding to the police call. Dexter watches as Trinity’s family is taken away. He imagines his family being taken away after his own crimes are discovered. This is another escalating obstacle reflecting back to his goal and stemming from his dilemma.

  Dexter ultimately catches up with Trinity. Dexter prepares the ritual he uses before an “execution.” Trinity says, “You think you’re better than I am.” Dexter responds, “No, but I want to be.” Trinity says, “You can’t control the demon inside of you anymore than I can control mine.” Dexter: “Did you ever try?” Trinity says, “You’re like a child. You dream of a heaven that you’ll never see…. It’s already over. It’s already over.” (This has two meanings/subtext for what Dexter will soon discover.)

  Dexter dumps Trinity’s body in the water. He looks up at the moon and wonders if Rita is looking at the full moon that night. He says that he likes the idea of being “connected by light.” Dexter’s V.O.: “Maybe one day I’ll be free of my dark passenger.”

  Dexter goes home to pack for his honeymoon. He gets a message from Rita. He goes to call her. He hears her phone ring. Her purse is in the house. The baby starts crying. He runs to the bathroom. His son is sitting in a pool of blood just as Dexter did when his own mother died. He finds Rita dead in the bathtub. Dexter’s V.O.: “Born in blood. Both of us. [Trinity] was right. I thought I could change what I am. Keep my family safe, but it doesn’t matter what I do, what I choose. I am what’s wrong. This is fate.”