There are four basic steps in every good story.
Bad storytellers can do steps one and two, but recoil at step three.
Good storytellers are willing to do step three.
Brilliant Storytellers do steps three and four again and again.
1. Create a character that people like, believe in, and can relate to.
2. Launch that character on a hero's journey.
3. Do terrible things to that character.
4. Surprise your reader/listener/viewer by what happens next.
And then what happens? Make it surprising.
And then what happens? Make it surprising.
And then what happens? Make it surprising.
But it must also make sense.
Predictability is the silent assassin of stories.
Without trouble, there is no adventure.
In 'That Hovering Question Mark,' I told you, "Every good story begins with a statement that triggers more questions than it answers." Ocean's 11 contains an excellent example of this.
"Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros, and a Leon Spinks. Not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever."
– Rusty (Brad Pitt) to Danny (George Clooney), explaining how they will run the con in Ocean's 11
And that is how they did it! Ocean's 11 contains surprise after surprise, even though the writer told us the plot when he gave us that Rusty-to-Danny statement just 12 and 1/2 minutes into a 2-hour movie. It was a statement that triggered more questions than it answered.
A BOESKY: Ivan Boesky was a trader on Wall Street who got caught committing securities fraud. In Ocean's 11, Saul pretends to be a wealthy bankroller who has insider information.
A JIM BROWN: Named for the famous American football player, this refers to Frank Catton, a large, intimidating black man who stages a confrontation with Linus Caldwell so that Linus can lift the security codes to the vault.
A MISS DAISY: 'Driving Miss Daisy' was a movie about a woman who uses a chauffeur to drive her around. Using a SWAT truck and a disguised driver, the Ocean's 11 gang escapes with their own special chauffeur.
TWO JETHROS: Remember Jethro of 'The Beverly Hillbillies'? In Ocean's 11, Turk and Virgil provide two-man 'goober' distractions, such as using helium balloons to obscure the security camera on the casino floor so that Livingston can get into the video surveillance room.
A LEON SPINKS: When Leon Spinks beat Muhammad Ali in a Las Vegas prize fight, it was something that no one expected. In Ocean's 11, no one expects the power to go out in the middle of a prize fight in Las Vegas. A fabulous distraction.
ELLA FITZGERALD: In a famous 1973 TV ad, the voice of Ella Fitzgerald shatters a wine glass, then the voiceover says, "Is it live or is it Memorex?" (audiotape). In Ocean's 11, the guys make a videotape of a pretend robbery and play it over the casino's surveillance system while the real robbery is happening.
Most stories should be told as fiction, even when they are true. When confronted with facts we are always on our guard. But "Once Upon a Time" dispels doubt, opens the imagination, and creates a willing suspension of disbelief.
In 1999 I was on the phone with an 87 year-old man I had been hunting for several weeks. His name was William Lederer. I needed his permission to publish a famous letter he had written to America’s Chief of Naval Operations back in 1963. He gave me permission, then asked, “Where you calling from young man?”
“Austin, Texas.”
“I was there recently. Nice town.”
“What brought you to Austin?”
“I was there to bury my best friend Jim.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“You would have liked Jim. Son, have you got a minute to hear a story about Jim I've never told anyone? I want to tell someone.”
"I'd be honored to hear it."
"I was a journalist and none of my books had sold very well, so I showed Jim the manuscript for my newest book. He told me to go back and fictionalize the name of the country, the characters, everything. Jim said to me, ‘The public is more willing to believe fiction than non-fiction.’”
“How did that turn out for you?”
“‘The Ugly American stayed on the New York Times list for 78 weeks. And with a copy of that book in his back pocket, a young senator named John F. Kennedy arrived at the University of Michigan on October 14, 1960, at 2:00AM. The press had retired for the night, believing that nothing interesting would happen. But 10,000 students were waiting on the lawn to hear Kennedy speak, and it was there on the steps of the Michigan Union at 2AM that the Peace Corps was born, all because Kennedy had been reading my book. And then Kennedy bought a copy for every member of Congress! Historians speculate The Ugly American did more to change American Foreign Policy than any document since the Declaration of Independence. All these things happened because Jim told me to pretend my book was fiction. Marlon Brando starred in the movie! But of course none of that compares to what Jim accomplished.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jim wrote 40 books that sold more than 100 million copies and won the Pulitzer Prize. You know Jim! Everyone knows Jim.”
“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t think of what Jim you might mean.”
My 87-year-old friend thought for a moment, then he said, “That's because you probably knew him as James… James Michener.”
Here's one last little insight: Remember how a good story should begin with a statement that triggers more questions than it answers? An excellent visual image is a kind of "statement" that can trigger more questions than it answers. Use these images when you can.
We're almost done.
Now you need a Cinderella, a Tom Robbins, a Scuba Diver, Two Roads that Diverge in a Yellow Wood, a Big Pile of Bridges, and the windshield wipers of a Volkswagen Jetta.
Indy will explain all of this to you in the rabbit hole.
Aroo,
Roy H. Williams
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