From Screen to Book: What films can tell us about story-telling

Kathleen Jones

It's Easter Sunday and if the weather isn't cooperating with the holiday weekend then you're probably curled up in front of your television or computer watching a movie or on the sofa reading a book. Films in particular are a good way of keeping the younger members of the family amused on a rainy day. Everyone knows that films usually have a compelling storyline - particularly children’s films. Not surprising, as they have to keep those itchy little bottoms firmly on a seat in front of the screen.

Recently Pixar revealed a few secrets about their formula. It’s a list of 22 rules for storytelling, which you can look at by clicking on this link. One of the items, a plot blue-print,  has become known as The Story Spine, which consists of a number of steps.

Once upon a time there was . . . Every day . . . One day . . . Because of that . . . Because of that . . . Until finally . . .  And ever since that day . . .

It’s the age-old fairy tale formula, the essence of Story, and because it is so fundamental - tapping into all those bedtime stories we heard as children - it puts us pleasurably into our comfort zone.  We listen.

Put simply it works like this:

Once upon a time - set the story in time and space. Tell the reader Who, Where and What.
Every Day - what is life like for your protagonists at this moment? How do they relate to the place they're in and the other characters in the story.
One day - this is where the plot really explodes.  Something Happens to throw it all out of kilter. A letter arrives.  A stranger knocks on the door.  The protagonist meets someone.
Because of that - even more things happen.  And more and more  as the plot becomes more complicated.
Until finally - there is a resolution/solution.
And ever since that day - what has changed for the characters?  How have their daily lives been affected by the events of the story?  What might the future look like?

This formula has gone from traditional story-telling to the screen and is now being fed back to us in a refined form. New media can teach the old book a lot about its craft. The screen image is more economical than pages of words and the way it tells stories is often innovative.  And not just film - television has a lot to say too.  Anyone writing for television serials has to know how to write good narrative hooks to make the viewer turn on for the next episode.  And they have to know about Jeopardy.

New Technology versus the Old:-


Jeopardy is an essential animal to have in your story or novel.  It keeps the reader turning the pages, the viewer switching on for their next fix. Television soap writers know all about it, but it’s rarely mentioned in creative writing manuals.   Jeopardy is what’s at stake for your characters at any given moment, from the very first glimpse of their daily lives, to the ultimate choices they’re forced to make. It’s also the main motivating element in the ‘because of that’ stages of the story spine - because each progression puts the character further into jeopardy.

In her novel, Wideacre, Philippa Gregory has her arrogant young heroine set a mantrap for a lover who is getting above his station. Having done this, the heroine waits nervously, and with some dread, for news of his death. However, the trap is found blood-stained and empty and the man and his mother have disappeared without trace.  The man now knows that the heroine tried to kill him, and he is on the loose. The heroine, having thought she was in control, is now in danger.

Jeopardy often depends on who knows what and who doesn't.  Sometimes it's the reader who knows things that the main protagonist doesn't.  This is a powerful narrative tool. The following is an example of a plot built on jeopardy, an ordinary situation that can be turned into a tense conflict. Imagine a typical family - husband, wife and two teenage children.

Wife has credit card debts she's ashamed to tell her husband about.  She's thinking of borrowing money from a dodgy loan company to pay them off. We, the readers, know that the husband is the kind of man who will feel that his trust has been utterly betrayed - not by the fact of her debts, but by the fact that she couldn't tell him about them.

Husband's jeopardy is that the firm he works for isn't doing well and he's in danger of being made redundant. He's someone for whom Position and Status matter a great deal. He's concealing his worries from his family.

Daughter is seeing a boy she knows her parents won't approve of (for good reasons) and pretends she's going out with a girl friend.  Completely infatuated with him, she's in danger of risking her whole future for this boy.

Her brother is secretly planning to go to South America to work with street children rather than go to University to read Economics and Philosophy.  His parents don't know about his plans and believe his part time job and fanatical saving routine are directed towards University.

The siblings have guessed each other's secrets and there's a certain amount of emotional blackmail going on between them.  The wife's best friend, who finds the husband very attractive, has also discovered the wife's secret debts and is thinking about how to turn this knowledge to her own advantage. On screen or on the page - there will definitely be trouble ahead!

Kathleen Jones is a biographer, poet and novelist published both traditionally and independently.  She is currently RLF Fellow in the creative writing dept. of Lancaster University.





Visit her website www.kathleenjones.co.uk
She blogs at 'A Writer's Life'
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