{"id":1195,"date":"2018-01-02T00:08:02","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T08:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zigzorg.com\/?p=1195"},"modified":"2018-01-02T00:11:17","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T08:11:17","slug":"masterclass-aaron-sorkin-screenwriting-spark-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zigzorg.com\/?p=1195","title":{"rendered":"MasterClass – Aaron Sorkin Screenwriting Spark Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

From:\u00a0https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Screenwriting\/comments\/4zpcz2\/i_took_aaron_sorkins_masterclass_heres_my_cliffs\/<\/a>\u00a0(emphasis added)<\/p>\n

HOW TO BE A WRITER<\/strong> Write. Be writing be writing be writing be writing. Everything after this helps, but won\u2019t if you aren\u2019t writing.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS DRAMA<\/strong>? \u201cIf you don\u2019t have intention and obstacle, it\u2019s \u2018Journalism\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Drama requires Intention<\/strong> (or Goal\/Desire\/Want) and an Obstacle to that Intention. Without a strong Intention – and a formidable Obstacle, you don\u2019t have drama. \u201cSomebody wants something, there\u2019s something standing in their way of getting it\u201d The TACTICS a character uses in order to achieve their Intention, despite their obstacle\/s\u2026 is what will define to us (the audience) who that person is.<\/p>\n

Be sure to PRESS on the intention and obstacle. Make sure both are strong. Do this when you\u2019re outlining\/drafting<\/span> whatever. ALSO do it IN the story.<\/p>\n

Your protagonist doesn\u2019t HAVE to overcome the obstacle. All that matters, is that they TRY. Again, it\u2019s via the tactics<\/span> they\u2019ll be using to TRY, which will show us who they are<\/span>. All we care about, is learning WHO this person is.<\/p>\n

How do you make clear what a character\u2019s intention is? Simple: make the character say what it is that they need\/want.<\/p>\n

Conflict isn\u2019t just knuckle-boxing. Conflict can be a war of IDEAS. And you want the competing ideas to be equally strong.<\/p>\n

The old adage goes: \u201cQueen Dies and King Dies.\u201d These are a series of events. \u201cQueen Dies, so then King dies of broken heart\u201d. This is a STORY. \u201cQueen Dies, and after SERIOUS CONFLICT, the King dies of a broken heart.\u201d is DRAMA. This 3rd telling is what you want. Not event. Not even just story. You want DRAMA.<\/p>\n

HOW TO BEGIN: START with intention and obstacle. The details and bits and pieces will come up as you go\u2026<\/p>\n

Be sure you identify with both the HERO\/s and ALSO the antihero\/s (example, Nicholson\u2019s character in a few good men). However you invent the villain\u2019s argument, when you\u2019re done\u2026 REALLY believe it. Otherwise it\u2019ll play like a caricature.<\/p>\n

AUDIENCE: The audience is an element in the storytelling – they WANT to participate. If you can get the audience to BELIEVE they are several steps ahead of you, and then you STILL TRICK THEM, they are actually very delighted, rather than pissed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you give the audience all the clues that Sherlock Holmes has\u2026 and they can\u2019t figure it out, but HE can\u2026 that is a DELIGHT to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lose the audience: we know if our BONES if something is being told to us when it wouldn\u2019t be (a lawyer giving his client info as they walk into the courtroom, day-of the trail is ridiculous). You CAN do something which would never happen, as long as the audience doesn\u2019t KNOW it would never happen).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fine line you have to walk. You cannot confuse the audience. But you also cannot patronize the audience. Telling the audience something which they already know\u2026 feels AWFUL.<\/p>\n

Audiences don\u2019t know the specifics of why they like or don\u2019t like things. But THEY KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE OR DISLIKE. It\u2019s the same as a Chef knowing what is or isn\u2019t working in their food precisely, and a hungry person knowing that they hate or love your food. You both know how you feel about it. Only the writer REALLY has a chance of knowing WHY.<\/p>\n

STAKES: you want stakes to be high. Sometimes it\u2019ll be obvious why they\u2019re high. Other times, you have to convey WHY to your character the stakes are so high (e.g. Steve Jobs\u2026 why are his personal goals\/dreams such high stakes? Why does it fee like life\/death to Steve Jobs\u2026 that a square have rounded edges? Convey THAT\u2026 to help us feel the stakes)<\/p>\n

EXPOSITION: You need to find a character or more than one\u2026 who knows as little as the audience does, to give a reason to explain things to us. If you ever start a sentence with \u201cAs you know\u2026\u201d you\u2019re in trouble.<\/p>\n

BIG DRAMATIC MOMENTS: Make sure when the audience is asking questions about huge dramatic moments, you choose properly whether to withhold or answer now. You can\u2019t just totally ignore that the audience is asking the questions.<\/p>\n

WHEN TRYING TO PULL OFF SOMETHING SLIGHTLY IMPLAUSIBLE: \u201cA probable impossibility is preferable, to a possible improbability.\u201d The get out of jail free card: is ADMIT it\u2019s improbable (E.T. walking down a path to collect M&M\u2019s is technically impossible\u2026 but we believe it – a person flipping on the radio to hear special news about exactly the problem they\u2019re dealing with right now is possible, but super unlikely).<\/p>\n

IN THE READ: Calling unimportant characters \u201cnecklace\u201d and \u201cmustache\u201d works well for the read. BUT WHEN SENDING TO ACTORS: give those people REAL names, for dignity.<\/p>\n

ACTION: Make your action paragraphs WHENEVER POSSIBLE read as quick as they\u2019ll be seen visually. Don\u2019t get mired down in overwriting the action. Find ways to be QUICK.<\/p>\n

WRITING SCENES: All stories have motion. At the end of a scene, you MUST be one step further than the scene before.<\/p>\n

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION SCENES: Show us what the character wants. If a character doesn\u2019t want ANYTHING, they\u2019re probably cluttering up your script and should get cut. Even supporting characters want SOMETHING.<\/p>\n

A courtroom drama is a GREAT way to play out a scene – the jury stands in for the audience, the whole point of the trial is to make the intention and the obstacle super clear. And the stakes are obvious\u2026 guilty\/not guilty.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t tell us who a character is. WHO they are is portrayed by what they WANT, and the TACTICS they will use to get what they want.<\/p>\n

3 THINGS IN A PILE: In Steve Jobs scene, there are 3 levels of personalty happening: Andy\u2019s sheepish denial of Steve being a dick, Steve IS being a dick, and Kriss-Ann getting a jab saying Steve\u2019s a dick. Aaron calls this \u201c3 things in a pile\u201d.<\/p>\n

DIALOGUE: Do NOT imitate real people!! Example, \u2018dammit\u2019 – it never gets used to begin or end a sentence. God-Dammit yes. Just Dammit? Absolutely God-Damn doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t tell the audience something they already know. (if someone has said I LOVE YOU, then there\u2019s no need to say it again)<\/p>\n

DRAFTS: Chip away anything that isn\u2019t the main conflict (e.g. Kushner\u2019s\/Spielberg\u2019s LINCOLN\u2026 it was 400 pages, before it became JUST about the 13th amendment)<\/p>\n

Kill your darlings – if it works WITHOUT your special thing, CUT your special thing (only people like the Coen brothers get to keep their special things\u2026 e.g. the scene in Fargo with Mike Yanagita\u2026 tonally it fits, but otherwise it\u2019s completely unnecessary. If you aren\u2019t the Coen brothers, you must CUT those sorts of scenes).<\/p>\n

WHEN GETTING NOTES: Address the problem they point out, not their \u201csolution\u201d. Someone can offer what they believe is going on\u2026 but you should look directly at the ACTUAL problem as closely as possible (someone says \u201cI don\u2019t think the structure of the 2nd act works!\u201d and you say to yourself, \u2018well, I want the 2nd act to be enjoyable\u2026 so THAT\u2019s the problem, 2nd act is somehow not enjoyable\u2026 it might be structural, but it MIGHT be something else\u2019)<\/p>\n

When getting notes from friends, Aaron\u2019s hoping no one says \u201cI don\u2019t buy the obstacle\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t buy the intention\u201d – \u201cwhy does she NEED to do this?\u201d THAT note is super important if you get it. If you get it, FIX THAT ISSUE.<\/p>\n

CONSIDER: retyping it completely – once from the existing screenplay. Once from MEMORY. Aaron does this.<\/p>\n

THESE FOLLOWING NOTES ALL COME FROM THE \u201cMOCK WRITER\u2019S ROOM\u201d PORTION:<\/p>\n

Rule of thumb: if it\u2019s the PLACE you\u2019re attracted to\u2026 your idea can be a TV show.<\/p>\n

BALLS IN THE AIR: (loose ends) Stuff that hasn\u2019t been dealt with yet\u2026 think of story in bits and pieces (president\u2019s wife is missing, that\u2019s a ball in the air\u2026 news story is about to come out, ball in the air\u2026). You can label the balls, probably with index cards, to get a better handle on them when writing and revising.<\/p>\n

THE SHAPE OF TV EPISODES: Figure out the shape within the beginning \/ end of each act (there are 4-5 in drama), e.g. \u201cresolve the Zoe thread by end of act 2\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lose site of the COOL stuff u can do when making it up. (e.g. West Wing modeling Trump becoming president and stuff deteriorating). Show us stuff we haven\u2019t seen before. SHOW US STUFF WE HAVEN\u2019T SEEN BEFORE.<\/p>\n

Create rifts, to create the drama.<\/p>\n

We can LOOK for the very extraordinary dramatic things (suspending trading on the stock exchange\u2026 huge drama)<\/p>\n

Whenever possible, characters should be ACTIVE. What are they DOING??<\/p>\n

WHEN WRITING ACTUAL DIALOGUE: Specificity. Matters hugely. Know what people would say. You have luxury of time to RESEARCH and ensure they sound great\/pro\/intelligent. They can sound SMARTER than you ARE.<\/p>\n

TV SHOWS HOOKING AN AUDIENCE: Plays are tough to leave. Movies are easier. TV is easiest. That\u2019s why you\u2019ll be asked by a network to prevent them from FLIPPING the channel.<\/p>\n

FINAL ADVICE:<\/p>\n

PICK your FAVORITE 5 MOVIES – go get the screenplay – SEE how what\u2019s there on-screen looked like on the page.<\/p>\n

Know who to tune out. Don\u2019t write to change someone\u2019s mind. If a critic (external or internal) cites some issue, don\u2019t address it. It\u2019s impossible to please everyone.<\/p>\n

Know who to tune in. Have 3 close friends you can share work with to get GOOD feedback.<\/p>\n

Failure: the real value of screenwriting school is it gives you a chance to write the worst stuff you\u2019ll ever write, with no consequence.<\/p>\n

1) take chances, that\u2019s how you\u2019ll find out what your sweet spot it.<\/p>\n

2) write in your own voice\u2026 NOT the way you personally talk, but rather the way YOU want to write\u2026 not worrying you don\u2019t sound like Aaron or Diablo or anyone else.<\/p>\n

3) write WHAT you want to write. Don\u2019t be asking what others wanna see. What do YOU want to see?<\/p>\n

4) When you\u2019re writing, you\u2019re exposed. It\u2019s not just when you write autobiographically. It\u2019s anything. Because it\u2019s YOUR mind and heart.<\/p>\n

5) There are a hundred ways to prepare beef. Flank. Filet Mignon. Wellington. But if you try to make the one which will offend the least number of people, it\u2019ll be a McDonald\u2019s hamburger. If you want to be a chef, you don\u2019t aim to produce THAT.<\/p>\n

6) Surround yourself with honest people. They can be encouraging AND honest.<\/p>\n

7) Shed people who are jealous, envious.<\/p>\n

8) Power through days of not being able to write anything. I wish I could guarantee movement in life – that friday evening you\u2019ll be better off than on Monday morning. But I can\u2019t. So power through.<\/p>\n