If you’re writing a script, ask yourself what you’re trying to say.
Yes, it’s always the big, simple questions that drive writers crazy.
Sometimes, in all the excitement of creating a new world, we forget to ask ourselves, “What am I trying to say?”
It’s okay, you can get a lot down on the page before you have to decide what your theme should be. Writing is a process of discovery. And not everything has to be decided from the get-go.
But before you show your work to someone, it helps to know your theme. Because, if they know what they’re doing, they’ll ask you what it is.
As British Screenwriter Simon van der Borg (author of bestselling manual ‘Scene – Writing for Film and TV’) asks, “You know what your story is about. But what is it really about?”
You can lose a lot of sleep finding your answer.
Don’t pitch your idea until you know its meaning.
Too many pitches collapse when the screenwriter is asked what their project is really about.
“Well, um… It’s about you, it’s about me, it’s about global warming and it’s affect on relationships and society… And it’s about AI coming to kill us… and veganism – why isn’t everybody on board with the veganism? And… kittens.”
It’s hard to sell a script that’s about so much it’s about nothing.
If you don’t know what your script is really about, how will the Director know? How will the Actors? How will you stop them, horror of horrors, deciding for themselves?
Your theme can be fresh, like “Your phone is not your friend”.
Or it can be as old as storytelling itself. Many stories have themes about love, resilience, honesty or bonding.
Or your theme can simply be a question, like “Are lies more powerful than truth?” without you having to offer a definitive answer. (For an example of this question-theme, see the TV series, ‘Chernobyl’.)
Whichever theme you choose, it will become the ’controlling idea’ of your script. It controls the characters, the events and the eventual outcome.
Define your theme and you’ll quickly see you’ve created your own monster.
Because every scene you write must relate in some way to your theme.
Each character must be a pawn in advancing it.
For example, if your script is about love being the most powerful force in the universe, love must be at issue from the start to the finish.
Your characters are trying to get love, losing love, evangelising love, fighting against love…
If they aren’t, you have to cut them before someone else does.
There is no escape.
When you pitch your script, make sure you know your controlling idea. Even if it is a question, make it simple and clear. (Any fool can be mysterious, opaque or, God help us, subtle.)
So, before you type another word of your script, consider what you are really trying to say.
That’ll save you having to rewrite the whole damn thing.