In the fourth of our five part series on where to begin developing a story idea, we start with a scene. You might know nothing at all about the story as a whole, but you do have two people in a black box theater with no props or costumes. This approach makes you feel like a improv comedian saying “Yes, and…” to a partner, who is also somehow you. You let the scene unfold without judgment, just letting it take you where it will. As you develop the scene, the sets, costumes, and characters start coming into view. The scene can be as simple as two people talking in a car.
What are they talking about?
Life and death.
Wow. Sounds dark. So this is a dramatic scene then...
No. It’s a comedy. The male character (let’s call him Harry) asks the female character (Sally) to tell him the story of her life – just to kill the 18 hours it will take to get them from Chicago to New York.
So Harry and Sally have just met. They didn’t know each other before this?
Right. They’re driving to New York together out of convenience, having been connected by a mutual acquaintance.
How does Sally respond to Harry’s prompt?
She says that the story of her life won’t even get them out of Chicago. Nothing has happened to her yet. That’s why she’s going to New York. “So something can happen to you?” Harry asks.
“Yes,” Sally says.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m going to journalism school to become a reporter.”
“So you can write about things that happen to other people.”
Sally gives Harry an incredulous glance. “That’s one way to look at it,” she says.
There it is. That’s the important line for the scene. These two characters have completely different outlooks on life. That’s the friction making for good conversation.
Yes! Sally is basically a happy person, while Harry sees himself as a deep, brooding person who dwells on the ever-growing specter of death.
Tell me more about these two characters.
Harry is self-confident to the point of arrogance, but Sally is no shrinking violet. She gets the last word in the scene, telling Harry he’s going to ruin his life waiting for disaster to strike.
How old are they?
Harry is mid-twenties, having just graduated law school. Sally is 21, on her way to journalism school.
What are they wearing?
Harry is wearing jeans and an old sweatshirt, a little schlubby, but comfortable. Sally is wearing a cardigan over a collared shirt and pleated khaki shorts. She is prim and proper, with impeccable Farrah hair.
So their clothes reinforce their characters?
Yes. Sally is organized to the point of anal-retention. (She has divvied up the trip into six three-hour blocks and marked spots on a map for where to change drivers.) Harry is more go-with-the-flow.
That’s interesting. I would have thought the happy person would be the go-with-the-flow one.
People are more complicated than that.
This is a fun scene you’ve written, but does it fit inside a larger story?
Harry and Sally will have a few more chats on the drive – arguing about the end of Casablanca and good sex and whether women and men can be friends. Harry doesn’t think women and men can be friends because sex always gets in the way. They’ll go their separate ways once they get to New York, but meet again years later, upon which they will become friends and eventually sex will get in the way. But it will all turn out well in the end because Harry will realize that he’s more interested in living his life than thinking about death.
Not every scene will spur an entire story, but sometimes you’ll start a scene and feel a special vibe between the characters. This combination of chemistry and friction leads to the heat supply for a wider story. Often, the original scene you write between the two characters won’t even make the the final story, but it will kickstart the chemical reaction that leads to a larger tale.
Adam Thomas, Author 