What Media Do You Study for Storytelling?
By J.C. Hutchins | December 14, 2014 |
photo by Francois de Halleux
Every year or so, I re-read Stephen King’s The Stand and Bag of Bones. King may not be master wordsmith or inspiration by your reckoning, but he is by mine. I love those books.
I don’t read these novels for enjoyment anymore, however; I read them to study King’s storytelling. King’s earthy writing style, memorable characters and pacing deeply resonate with me. Whenever I revisit those books, I’m reminded of why I love them so … and I read them closely, so I can shamelessly crib the best crafty bits from them for my own work.
I revisit the movie The Matrix for similar reasons. That is a movie with a concept so inventive and brainbending, and so masterfully executed, that I wish I could forget ever seeing it so I could see it again for the first time. I do my best to look past the style and spectacle and study its language—not just its well-crafted screenplay, but its imagery (which complements the narrative through visual symbolism, shorthand, etc.).
When time permits, I’ll dive back into TV shows such as Gilmore Girls, Babylon 5—even cheesy fare like Knight Rider—to pluck storytelling best practices that I can use in my fiction. Even our guilty pleasures have lessons to teach us …
even if it’s only what not to do.
I come from these visitations refreshed and inspired, with new insights (and sometimes jaw-dropping revelations) about these seemingly-familiar tales. For instance, the way King peels back the onion-layers of a character, while shoving that person further into the terrible Unknown. The remarkable narrative sleight of hand the Wachowskis use to deliver unexpected plot twists … and then elegantly and economically present new characters, worlds and conflicts. The verve of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s dialogue in Gilmore Girls, and how it always feels crisp and playful, like biting into a granny smith apple.
And I draw endless inspiration from the talking car in Knight Rider because talking cars are rad.
As 2014 draws to a close, now’s a good time to consider your own favorite “study” media—the stories that you return to again and again for creative inspiration, or insights into the craft. Revisiting some of those tales might rejuvenate you for all that writing you’ll be doing next year.
So, what are some of your favorite stories to revisit, to study? Let’s generate a thriving list in the comments for everyone to benefit from. Tell us what books, films, plays, etc. you study, and be sure to tell us why!
J.C. Hutchins crafts award-winning transmedia narratives, screenplays and novels for companies such as 20th Century Fox, A&E, Cinemax, Discovery, FOX Broadcasting, Infiniti and Macmillan Publishers. His latest creative endeavor is The 33, a monthly episodic ebook series.
I love King, and have read The Stand, probably 10 times. But my voice is different – read his for pleasure.
If I need inspiration, I read Pat Conroy. Every sentence is a gem. Just pick up the prologue of The Prince of Tides, and see if you agree with me.
Stunning prose.
I’m a big King fan; there’s any number of his books I can happily re-read. But one of my favorites is John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany. I go back to that one every couple of years to enjoy and learn from.
I agree with you about King (I prefer the original-release, edited version of The Stand). I also re-read a number of his novellas.
John D. MacDonald (esp. Cancel All Our Vows). Raymond Chandler (esp. The Long Goodbye). The Best Years of Our Lives, a 3-hour movie so good no matter where I come to it on TV I always end up watching the rest. It’s a master class in creating characters you pull for, and how to intersect plot lines.
The Hallmark movie, The Magic of Ordinary Days. One of the times I watched it, I took notes the whole time, so I could see how the story developed and progressed and came to a satisfying ending. I think the movie version is the perfect story and, though it may be a little Norman Rockwell-ish for some, the characters stay with you because they’ve become real. The same for the characters in Anne of Green Gables, but that’s another story…
Diana Gabaldon once told me that everything she needed to know she learned from writing Scrooge McDuck comic books. So there you go. You can see the influence in Outlander, can’t you?
Sydney Sheldon was a television writer before he took up novels. He created and wrote “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Patty Duke Show”. Again, you can see the influence in revenge potboilers like Rage of Angels.
Right.
Movies, TV and comic books are reductive forms that strip storytelling down to its essence, which is why I think we find them useful models. No one says, when I need inspiration I re-watch Kabuki Theater and opera by Benjamin Britten! Peter Grimes teaches me so much!
I have a weakness for Gothic tales, even those for children such as Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. Summer reading for me is Mary Stewart’s The Moon Spinners, Susan Howatch’s lurid The Devil on Lammas Night, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, John Fowles’s The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
Give me a good ghost story like Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black and I’m a happy camper. Poe, Phyllis Whitney…there’s something about creepy old estates, secrets and just under the surface sexuality that works for me.
Then again, I’m enchanted by the aviation adventures and romances of Nevil Shute. Adventure, romance, travel, isolation, secrets, danger, ghosts, sexuality…sounds like good fiction to me, and perhaps in turn that which simultaneously attracts and frightens us as human beings.
I’ve never heard anyone else mention Nevil Shute. Trustee from the Toolroom is an amazing story.
I can read any Agatha Christie story over and over, and I learn something new every time. Many consider her material dated, and it is. Her style and storytelling ability are timeless, however. She inspired me to write mysteries. She often broke the rules that most can’t get away with, and succeeds admirably. Case in point? The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. If you haven’t read this, you are really missing out. I love the creepiness of Poe and the old Gothics also. I love the stories of Mary Roberts Rinehart and Dorothy Eden. I have been going back to reread classics. What made their stories enchant us so much as to stand the test of time for so many years? As a novice, this has been invaluable experience. Have you ever started to read or reread a novel, intending to read critically, and then gotten caught up in the story and so engrossed that you are reading for pleasure again? Now, that is a good story. When I was younger, I never reread a book. I reasoned that there were so many new ones to explore, why revisit the old ones? Oh, the folly of youth! I now reread select books and enjoy them all over again every time. That draw is what I am looking for in my own writing.
Thank you so much J.C.
You’ve just given me permission to say, “THE NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY” by Brent Weeks. Wow! That felt good.
I’ve been trying all morning to answer your questions, and it’s beyond my capability to summarize my answer.
Brent is the spider and THE NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY is a spiral orb web. Each character, setting, and situation represents an interconnection of web strands. Each linear strand is a subplot and each spiral strand is a layer. To break a strand connection would change the story.
All one can do is stand back and marvel at how everything is connected.
I re-watch Aliens, by James Cameron & Gayle Ann Hurd, for it’s simple but brilliant “yes, and…” to the original Alien, it’s deft and concise characterizations, the grounded friction of the action sequences, the profound thematic resonance, the stunning pacing and those crazy futuristic collars!
I don’t care what anyone says, King rocks! My personal fave: The Talisman, which I’ve read twice. Should be a Netflix series.
To narrow down a list of influences is impossible, so I am going with one book and one movie that jumped into my head first, each one I wish I’d written:
Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. Each chapter is smart enough to stand alone, but all are brilliantly threaded together to create one story. The book is a masterpiece. I can’t recommend it enough. If you have or know any teenagers, make them read it, too.
It’s a Wonderful Life has everything I crave in a movie from beginning to end, withstanding the test of time: love, sadness, fear, comedy, simplicity, human angst, divine intervention, hopefulness, happiness, and on and on. I have watched it every Christmas for over twenty years, and I cry every single time, and don’t care who sees me!
Now that’s something.
King definitely rocks!
I so agree with you about The Matrix. I also watch Dark City and Blade Runner and read GRR Martin and PKD over and over for the same reason. Craft study.I’ve also heard that The Matrix was inspired by the role playing game Mage, and that both The Matrix and Dark City were both deeply influenced by PKD ‘s novel Ubik. Which is easy to see.
I’ve never read Stephen King – it’s too utterly horrifying for me. I don’t write in that genre, so I feel okay about not reading King (but I do plenty of other outside genre reading). I just can’t read horror of any kind.
You’re preaching to the choir. Stephen King is amongst my ever growing list of favourite authors.
And — even though I seldom, if ever, re-read a book — I read for pleasure and to study simultaneously. Yes, I take lots of notes and share them with the readers of my blog. Next up, this Monday, is The World According to Garp by John Irving — a book worth studying.
Sherlock Holmes has always been a huge storytelling inspiration for me, and more recently, the BBC series Sherlock has joined the ranks. It’s particularly eye-opening to watch the pilot and then A Study In Pink, which are essentially two versions of the same episode. I watched them right before I began edits to my novel, and it was incredible seeing how the writers had fleshed out the characters, tightened the dialogue, and thickened the plot – the differences were incredible, and it gave me some great ideas when beginning my own edits.
I analyze my kids’ reactions to movies. If it’s boring, my kids will show it by doing something else until a song comes on. A song can catch anyone’s attention but a good story will keep them interested through the dialogue, too.
And a great story? A great story transcends into their imaginations, where it belongs to them forever.
Take Avatar, not a kid movie per say but hands down my kids’ favorite, this movie is so good that playing “blue people” is the most popular backyard activity. Even their bows and arrows from the movie Brave have been incorporated into this game.
And thinking about great story, I encourage you to look up the story of how long it took James Cameron to put this vision together. He wrote the premise for this film in the 90’s, the 90’s! But he felt the current technology wouldn’t do it justice so he shelved it. Then when he finally decided to go through with it he spent years developing the language, just the language.
Of course it was a masterpiece, proven by the fact that my squirmy twins have sat through an almost 3 hr movie countless times. The changed hero, the powerful speech, the epic battle, the fantastic imagery and details, it was all there. Looking forward to the sequels.
Donald Maass, Phyllis Whitney is the author at the root of my
desire to become an author. I believed I have read every one
of her books. On a rainy day I often find myself rooting
through my collection of her books. Carmel, you are the only
person I’ve heard mention how much they love The Magic
Of Ordinary Days. I never get tired of watching it.
I LOVE the Matrix. One of the best stories ever and always gives me goose bumps when Neo finally comes into his powers.
When I want to be inspired by masterful storytelling I re-read The Secret History, (Loved it so much more than The Goldfinch) and Accidental Tourist, which is brilliant. I’ve always been a King fan too but find that I can’t quite stomach horror as well as I used to.
I watch Firefly, and re-read Raymond Chandler. And then I go write about fairies and vampires.
Actually, with small children, I find that I mostly watch and read children’s movies and books, and I learn a lot from them. (For example, The Night at the Museum is a perfect example of everything Lisa Cron has to say about goals and misbeliefs.) Plus, children aren’t at all shy about making it clear when they’re not engaged, and that’s an interesting thing to watch as well.
I read Alice Hoffman over and over. Junot Diaz is a huge personal favorite, and Edwidge Danticat. I also read certain novels that start some place, but the story goes a different way had I written a similar story myself. Haven Kimmel’s Iodine comes to mind.