In order to make my plot stronger, more professional and much more entertaining, I have conducted online research on ways to approach story structure. This will allow my idea to have a step by step setup, going through all of the necessary story arcs of a television drama.
The first resource I'm using in my development is an extremely helpful BBC article on writing TV Drama...
BBC Article: Writing TV Drama [1]
Scriptwriting TipsThe first piece of advise the article offers is to "Check the schedules and watch as much TV drama as you can – see what genres and formats are on, what's popular, what works, what doesn't work, what grips and inspires and entertains you, and what leaves you cold."
I plan to incorporate this advice into my research work on television drama inspirations, which will include viewing and analysing TV shows of a similar tone, a similar plot theme, and from the chosen broadcasting channel of my own series.
The next is: "Try not to replicate something that has already hit the screens, and try to make everything you write unique in some way. But don't try to simply plug a gap in the market or write something solely because it might appear to be a novel idea – you should write what you feel passionate about."
I've found that right from the start of my idea development, I had created the beginnings of a unique idea, as I haven't found a show with a theme of a surrogate stealing another family's baby. However I've also found that while this idea is unique, there isn't enough depth or passion / excitement to it. Making me realise that dramatic and creative story arcs need to be fittingly included into the plot, which I am currently working on.
And lastly, "in drama things should happen as a consequence of, and not merely after, what has happened before ... make sure that every scene moves the story forward."
As a single sentence piece of advise, I find this extremely helpful. Although it could be seen as a subtlety in creating a television drama, I think that learning to have a 'domino effect' structure to my story will make every single development in the plot stronger and contribute it to the ending of the story.
While the article is small and gives advice that may be obvious or typical for screenwriting, I think that being reminded of important factors in creating an effective structure for a television drama will have positively effected my creative development in my work.
Story Mastery Article: Key Story Questions for Screenwriters [2]
"Michael Hauge [Story Mastery writer] is a story expert, author and lecturer who works with writers, filmmakers, marketers, attorneys and public speakers, both in Hollywood and around the world."Having found a website consisting of many story structure and screenwriting tips, created by an experienced writer, I've decided to use a large amount of it's extremely helpful and professional advice.
This first article consists of a unique questionnaire for me to apply to my work, helping me to develop my plot piece by piece, here are the questions and my answers...
Q1: What is the passion for this project – what do you love about it?
A1: I love the idea of taking this idea wherever I want with no real-life limitations on budget, casting, crew etc. I've also found from my previous films and from programmes and series that I find intriguing that I have a passion for using a strong female lead, I'm looking forward to writing her character in-depth.
Q2: What are the successful antecedents for the film — recent, successful series similar in market demographic, genre, budget, style, tone and/or story, that you can point to and say, “Because those made money, this one will make money.”
A2: The series has the following similar elements...
Gone Baby Gone [3] - the 2007 crime drama film about a child going missing, with a twist that the child was taken into a good home, and would have been better off left as missing. My series's story and themes is similar to this in that my main character will discover that she would have been better off leaving the past behind and not trying to find her birth parents.
The Man in the High Castle [4] - the 2015 drama series about an alternate post-WWII world, with an outlining theme of a female lead (Juliana) following a trail to correct the world she lives in, meeting new people and encountering problems along the way. While differing in story and style, the overall tone and protagonist style is inspiring for my series.
Changeling [5] - the 2008 drama film about a woman's son being abducted and replaced by a different child, convincing everyone that he is the same person. Although it's set in 1928, the female lead (Christine) in the film is driven to find out the truth and compelling as a protagonist. This film is also a large inspiration for adding the idea to my series of the main character being replaced after being stolen.
Orphan Black [6] - the 2013 sci-fi drama series about a woman (Sarah) discovering something unusual about her identity and where she comes from, she discovers that there's more than one of her and is on a mission to find out why. The female lead in this series is the main inspiration for my female lead's personality, alongside inspiring me to focus on identity crisis in my series.
Jessica Jones [7] - the 2015 crime drama series, the main character Jessica Jones represents the tough exteriored female characters that I want to create for my series, including the main character, the replacement daughter character, and the surrogate mother.
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| Left to right: Juliana Crain, Christine Collins, Sarah Manning, Jessica Jones. While varying in looks and time settings, they are all a mix of the type of strong female lead that I am creating. |
Q3: Who is the hero?
A3: The hero is the main character (yet to be named), a 27 year old American female, a driven person with a tough exterior and appealing looks who takes the chance to go on a journey to find out who she really is.
Q4: Why will we immediately empathise with the hero? In other words, why will we identify with them within the first 10 pages of the screenplay?
A3: In my case, in the first 10 minutes of the first episode, the main character is an unborn baby, highly anticipated for and loved, and stolen away by her surrogate carrier. There's an immediate sympathy for her having her life changed in an instant, and I feel that this develops a feeling of routing for her character to find out the truth later on.
Q5: Where is the hero at the beginning of the story, before anything new occurs to get the plot going? What is the everyday life she’s been living, and how does the screenplay show that?
A5: Once the story is moved into the present day, she is a 27 year old working in an average job in a small, quiet town, still living at home with her mother (the surrogate). If scripted, this would be shown through visuals of her surroundings, her working a shift at her job, and her coming home at the end of the day to her aged mother.
Q6: What is the hero’s longing (deep desire he’s just paying lip service to) or emotional need (which the hero won’t admit or is unaware of — usually this is to connect with others in some way).
A6: Having had to hide away her entire life (unaware of this) she's never ventured out of her home town or had any drama or excitement. Subconsciously, she's glad that a huge secret about her life exists, giving her the chance to explore this, go to new places and meet new people.
Q7: What opportunity is presented to the hero at the 10% point of the story?
A7: If assuming each episode ran for 60 minutes, the story itself would last of approximately 180 minutes. So within the first 18 minutes of the first episode, I would assume that this would be the introduction into her present day life, with the opportunity of finding out about her birth parents beginning to happen through going to meet her first source. As each element to the story has a 'knock on effect' to the next event, this opportunity would be approaching the first dramatic hurdle of receiving information about her kidnapping.
Q8: What new situation are they placed in as a result of that opportunity? Is it by choice, or is the hero forced into it? What will the hero have to figure out, or adjust to, in this new situation?
A8: The opportunity will be receiving a call from a stranger, asking to meet. She meets a dying elderly woman, who reveals that her mother isn't who she thinks she is, stating that she knows because she (the elderly woman) is her grandmother. So the opportunity is presented to the hero, and she takes it by deciding to confront her mother. This is the beginning of facing the situation that she is not her real mother, finding this out from her mother herself in a confrontation.
Q9: What specific, visible goal or finish line does the hero want to cross by the end of the story – in other words, what’s the outer motivation?
A9: The specific goal is for her to find out who her birth parents are and where she comes from, with the motivation of finally knowing where she belongs - however, this doesn't go to plan.
Q10: What’s the outer conflict — what makes that goal impossible to achieve?
A10: When she finally thinks that she will meet her parents, a young woman of the same age opens the door - this girl was her replacement after she was stolen, and doesn't want her to take her family away.
Q11: What is the hero’s greatest emotional fear?
A11: That she will never know who she is and where she belongs.
Q12: What wound – what painful event or situation — in his or her past (usually in adolescence) led to that fear?
A12: Her mother's protectiveness over her for her entire life has given them a deep attachment to each other and caused her to live a hidden away and sheltered life. She hasn't had an opportunity to find herself and live life properly until now.
Q13: If the plot contains a love story, why is the romance character the hero’s destiny? Why did they choose each other, out of all the other people they’ve been involved with?
A13: A minor romance story may come out of the plot, with the main character meeting a man on her journey, and her returning to him at the end of the story after she's lost everything (allowing me to end the story with a glimpse of hope for the main character). If relating the romance to destiny, it could be seen that it was fate for them to meet on her journey to find her birth parents, they wouldn't have met otherwise.
Q14: What is the hero’s identity – what protective persona keeps the hero from experiencing their emotional fear?
A14: Her character has a tough exterior, she was raised to be a strong minded person, however comes across as a loner due to her sheltered past. She dresses typically 'tough' and or tomboy-like, yet with a feminine face and hair - representing her vulnerability underneath her exterior.
Q15: What is the hero’s essence or truth? Who would she be if her identity were stripped away – in other words, who does she have the potential to become, if she’s courageous enough?
A15: Although she appears strong, she's vulnerable outside of her small hometown when enters the outside world and meets new people. Her strong mindedness deteriorates during the plot, as well as her ability to stay in control. However, it takes all of her courage to overcome the death of her mother in the finale of the series.
Q16: What is the hero’s arc or character growth? How does she gradually make the transition from her identity to her essence? What gives her the courage to do that?
A16: Once she realises that her place isn't with her birth parents, but with her surrogate mother - who she sees as her real mother, she starts to create her own identity for herself, and realising that she was only capable of going on this journey because of the strength her mother raised her with. Once her mother dies, she needs to be strong for her memory, and manages to move on with her new life.
Q17: What is the film’s universal theme – how does the arc for the hero provide the entire audience with a prescription for living a more fulfilled life?
A17: It has the overall theme of 'nurture over nature', as her mum is the family she really needs and loves, as opposed to her cold birth parents who replaced her. I think if broadcast, it would subtly tell the audience to appreciate the loved ones you have in life, no matter what's happened in your past.
Q18: What deeper issues – political or social — does the movie explore?
A18: The series touches on a variety of issues, including surrogacy, abduction, identity, family, murder, loss and love. I think it shows strength in a plot to be able to explore a number of real life issues.
Q19: What are the biggest weaknesses in the story or script right now?
A19: Links between the beginning, middle and end, along with incorporating a brief romantic encounter into the story-line within three episodes. I need to think of informative sources for the character to meet and evidence for her to follow to lead back to England and find her parents, and the way in which the story will end for her birth parents.
Q20: What makes this worthwhile – why will millions of people want to spend their time and money to see it?
A20: I think that it's a unique and compelling idea, it's not been done before, but not due to lack of excitement and an entertaining plot. It still seems to be a rareity to have a series feature a strong female lead in a drama which is appealing for audiences of this era. It also touches on a number of topical subjects in the real world, and has a story that has a large, climactic build up.
I feel that this questionnaire was crucial for planning my plot structure. As it allowed me to ask myself questions that I may not have asked if not having used this method. It also gives a lot of my decisions in structuring my story a high amount of reasoning in contributing the main character and target audience.
STORY STRUCTURE: The 5 Key Turning Points of All Successful Screenplays [8]
Following this article, I have created a step-by-step structure for my plot. Having researched into what each step needs to consist of in order for the story to come together effectively, I feel that my structure follows the steps very well. You can find their description here.Here is my structure...
STAGE 1: The Setup
The opening of the plot sets up the initial story of a gestational surrogate falling in love with a couple's unborn baby in England 1989, and fleeing the country while pregnant to keep her as her own. Following this, the hero is introduced as a now 27 year old in the present day. If viewed we would see that she has been living an ordinary life in a small American town with her mother (the surrogate). The audience can identify with her through a number of her qualities, as we can sympathise with the fact that she was stolen, she has a strong personality and mind and she has a witty sense of humour.
TURNING POINT #1: The Opportunity
The opportunity that she is presented with is receiving a call from an elderly woman who says they urgently need to meet to talk about her mother. The hero meets the elderly woman, dying in a bed at home with nurses at hand. The woman reveals that the hero's mother isn't who she thinks she is, and that she knows because she's the hero's grandmother. She tries to tell her more but suffers cardiac arrest and passes away. The woman, shocked, returns home and confronts her mother. After a lot of denial and arguing, the mother admits that she took her from her birth parents. All of this shocking information starts the character on her journey of wanting to find out where she comes from and where her parents are.
STAGE 2: The New Situation
Our hero, angry with her mother, washes her hands of her and packs up and leaves. She decides to stay with their only family friend. A man around the same age as her mother who he's known for a long time. He reveals what happened, and that he helped her change her identity and leave England. She gets her birth parents names from him and convinces herself that she has to find them. With nothing but a name and a town in England, she returns home to grab money from the house's safe. Her mum looks on in devastation, the hero leaves to make her way to the airport.
TURNING POINT #2: The Change of Plans
She gets a bus out of town, once she arrives at the airport she stops at a bar, waiting for her flight. After knocking back a couple of shots of whiskey, a man tries to hit on her and grabs her behind. A young, attractive man see's this and goes to step in, but she's quick to jump up and backhand the rude guy across the face hard enough for him to stumble. He goes to hit her but the new man stops him and points out that he should leave. This leads to a contrasting conversation of the man optimistically approaching her with witty and lighthearted conversation, while she gives him sarcastic responses. She's focused on her journey and decides to check on her flight, they part ways.
STAGE 3: Progress
Once on the plane, she notices the man, who catches her eye. He asks to switch seats and sits next to her. They continue conversation with mild flirtation and sarcastic jokes. The first episode ends as the plane takes off and the hero mentally prepares herself for the journey.
The second episode starts with the implication that by the time they've landed, she's told him her story and her plan. He asks her lots of questions as they go through the process of leaving the airport. He says he wants to help and follows her on her journey. The hero knows her father's profession and the man suggests they look up possible work places. They search a variety of areas before finally finding his workplace and obtaining his address. Planning to go there the following day, the pair end up spending the night together in a hotel.
“TURNING POINT #3: The Point of No Return
The following morning the hero leaves without him and leaves a note saying goodbye. She finally is given the chance to end her journey and meet her parents. She eventually arrives at the house, but a young, slightly similar looking woman answers. She tells her that they moved, but invites the hero in. After telling the hero their new address, they talk for a while and the hero looks at pictures around the room - something's not right.
STAGE 4: Complications and Higher Stakes
The woman tells her that those are the people she's looking for, and that she's their daughter. Putting the pieces together, the hero realises that they have a daughter of a similar age, similar birthday and of the same name - she was replaced by this woman after she was stolen. The second episode ends with this cliffhanger.
TURNING POINT #4: The Major Setback
Her journey has now taken a dramatic turn and the last episode begins with her leaving the house in a shocked hurry. She decides to go straight to her birth parents' new address. She tells them who she is and demands answers, her mother is extremely emotional to have finally met her and tells her everything. But her father wants nothing to do with her, claiming that they have a daughter and it's not the hero. He forces her to leave.
STAGE 5: The Final Push
The hero leaves, reduced to tears and alcohol. We see that the other woman (the replacement) had followed her, and heard everything. The hero sits on a park bench in the daylight, drinking. She makes a call and says that she shouldn't have come here and tells the person where she is. She sees her journey as being over, and realises that what she was looking for isn't what was the reality of things. She eventually returns back to her hotel room and passes out on her bed.
TURNING POINT #5: The Climax
At least 9-10 hours later, she's woken in the middle of the night to someone grabbing her. It's revealed to be the other woman, having found the hero's bag that she left at her parents house, she tracked her down. She ties the hero's arms and legs and tapes her mouth, telling her that she won't take her family away. Scared and in tears, the hero looks on as the woman sets up a line of cocaine and takes a hit - we realise her mental state is imbalanced. The hero starts to wriggle free. The woman turns around and says that the hero needs to disappear and takes out a knife.
She continues to try to wriggle free as she approaches. The hero's tape comes off and she screams. Soon after, her surrogate mother runs in (who we now know received the call that day and flew here). She tries to stop the woman, but is stabbed by her just as the hero frees herself. The woman turns to stab the hero but she manages to hit her hard across the head with a blunt object. The woman is dead on impact, and the mother lay bleeding. In tears, the hero holds her and they say sorry to each other, the hero realises that her place was with her mother and that she was loved all along. The mother dies in her arms.
STAGE 6: The Aftermath
The hero is forced to pull herself together and cleans up any finger prints and evidence that she was there. She has to leave and gets away before anyone comes to the room. She walks away as a police car races past.
The following morning, the parents get the news of their daughter's death, with the hero watching, appearing guilty and sympathetic, the mother falls to floor in tears and the father stands motionless. The hero walks away for good.
Ending the episode and the series, she calls the man she had the romance with and asks if there's any chance he wants to see her. He says he thought she might say that, and they decide to meet. This finishes with him walking into their meeting place and her giving a vulnerable, but relieved look. She now has to try and move on with a new life.
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Finally, the last piece of advise I've taken away from this source, is the following...
"Structure is an effective template for rewriting and strengthening the emotional impact of your story. But you don’t want to be imprisoned by it. Come up with characters you love and a story that ignites your passion. Then apply these structural principles, to ensure that your screenplay will powerfully touch the widest possible audience."
Writing these individual steps have been the most helpful and effective way of creating a story from start to finish. I feel that I've managed to involve characters that have a lot of depth and a widely varying story line that can evoke a lot of emotion and passion for both myself and the audience.
Research Results
Conducting this research has been vital in creating the overall story line, themes, plot structure and step by step events in my idea. I started this portion of research having a rough theme to the series, and have finished it with a finalised idea and a bredth of characters and plot twists.
My next step will be setting out the events of each 5 minutes of all three episodes, deciding on character names (and soon after creating character profiles) and deciding on my broadcasting channel.
References
1. BBC - Writing TV Drama: Scriptwriting Tips
2. Story Mastery - Key Story Questions for Screenwriters
3. Gone Baby Gone
4. The Man in the High Castle
5. Changeling
6. Orphan Black
7. Jessica Jones
8. STORY STRUCTURE: The 5 Key Turning Points of All Successful Screenplays
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