Story Drama
Everything - Writer - Story Drama - Cyber Punk - Psychology - Visual Media - Clients
Everything - Writer - Story Drama - Cyber Punk - Psychology - Visual Media - Clients
Story Drama
“I'm not being rude, I'm being honest” Elliot.” (What TV series?)
“The world is a dangerous place, Elliott, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” (What TV series?)
Life in a lesson with pure escapism for 45 to 360 minutes… or a season.
Episodes, films and boxsets. The mind feeds off imagination, emotion and drama—snippets of life lessons, action and reflection. Life in a bottle, box, disc, download, book, audiobook, and social media platforms. It's great when it’s crafted and dramatic. Characters with and without empathy, a plan or no plan. Dispotian or utopian. Chaos before conclusion.
Art imitating life and life imitating art
Wise insight from Steven King…
1. First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience. “When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.”
2. Don’t use passive voice. “Timid writers like passive verbs for the same reason that timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe.”
3. Avoid adverbs. “The adverb is not your friend.”
4. Avoid adverbs, especially after “he said” and “she said.”
5. But don’t obsess over perfect grammar. “The object of fiction isn’t grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story.”
6. The magic is in you. “I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.”
7. Read, read, read. ”If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.”
8. Don’t worry about making other people happy. “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”
9. Turn off the TV. “TV—while working out or anywhere else—really is about the last thing an aspiring writer needs.”
10. You have three months. “The first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season.”
11. There are two secrets to success. “I stayed physically healthy, and I stayed married.”
12. Write one word at a time. “Whether it’s a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ the work is always accomplished one word at a time.”
13. Eliminate distraction. “There should be no telephone in your writing room, certainly no TV or videogames for you to fool around with.”
14. Stick to your own style. “One cannot imitate a writer’s approach to a particular genre, no matter how simple what that writer is doing may seem.”
15. Dig. “Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writer’s job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible.”
16. Take a break. “You’ll find reading your book over after a six-week layoff to be a strange, often exhilarating experience.”
17. Leave out the boring parts and kill your darlings. “(kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.)”
18. The research shouldn’t overshadow the story. “Remember that word back. That’s where the research belongs: as far in the background and the back story as you can get it.”
19. You become a writer simply by reading and writing. “You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself.”
20. Writing is about getting happy. “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. Writing is magic, as much as the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.”
Steven King’s top list as seen on the internet an here: Barnes & Noble
Moral Code
The foundation of Story Drama is the relationship between the Protagonist and Antagonist.
Accountability – Grey – Avoidance
A quick study - Aliens is a brilliant example of questionable moral codes. Nearly everyone in the story is lost due to the detached Machiavellian traits of a character hiding their agenda behind distraction and charm. Carter J. Burke assumes it will be acceptable to use humans to carry the unborn Aliens back to earth.
"Look, those two specimens are worth millions to the bio-weapons division. Now, if you're smart, we can both come out of it as heroes, and we'll be set up for life!" said Carter J. Burke after being questioned. This conflict adds to the drama of the main Antagonist’s agenda.
Cyber Punk
A future with excess, chaos and nothing left but survival motives.
What happens to the new, large, grand, modern cities 100 years later when they’re overpopulated, dirty and unsustainable? It affects the mindset of the people who make up the population. Compromise affects survival codes within the moral compass. Technology offers escapism and a hindrance.
Animation
Imagination unleashed
Writing a story designed to be an animation series is a unique journey.
What you write can be drawn.
Live action
Edge of your seat, always immersed through the eyes of the Protagonist.
From firecamp story to play, stage, silent to full colour action. Live action films have touched us and in some cases never let us forget them.
High Drama Gaming
Modern games are drenched in story drama.
Anyone who has tried Alan Wake 2 will know something special can happen while taking part what is on offer these days.
Like many, the ZX Spectrum was an open door to a new kind of entertainment at a young age. An emotional connection with a playful reality. These days software platforms like Unreal 5 have changed how we connect internally with our sensory experience.
Case Study - pt1
Mystery and the Dark Triad personalities in story drama
Each story has at least two Dark Triad personalities operating while the characters move towards the conclusion. The puzzle remains until someone decides to stop comparing from a balanced view and see different levels of thinking play out. Spot the lie and hidden motive, join the dots, look for the facade and connect the choices. The motive can only be hidden for so long until the ‘want’ overtakes what the mask could usually hide. As in all great mystery stories, the antagonist is hidden in plain sight.
“Narcissists don’t go to the doctor, and psychopaths think there is nothing wrong.”
Mind Hunter - Dr Wendy Carr Season 1 Episode 3.
The blueprint: Irreversible damage with detachment and tools or henchmen.
The lack of empathy knows no boundary or parameter.
“Where from the Behavioural Science unit, where doing interviews.” (Bill Tench)
True Detective
How it was written: Season one speaks for its self.
Incredible writing and performances, just watch it.
Case Study - pt2
(Live shortly)
Detective Stories
Problem and puzzle-solving is part of life for those who can surpass the face value.
A fascinating genre that can imitate the destructive fringe.