How to Generate Great Story Ideas for Your Screenplay/Play Part 2: Using Character Relationships fro

Using Character Relationships from Wizard of Oz to Star Wars

(Part of the "Best tips for Script Writing" series)

So when we think of great movies, relationships between characters may not be the first thing that comes to mind but if you think about it a bit deeper, I think you'll find character relationships are at the heart of most great movies. Great movies tell great stories about relationships in conflict. Action movies like Hell or High Water explore friendship and sibling relationships. Romantic dramas like Moonlight explore what it means to be in love. Even in sci-fi adventures like Guardians of the Galaxy explore notions of family. And think about those great movie moments that stay with you. Aren't they usually relationship scenes between your favorite characters? A character sacrifices for their friend. They fall in love. They support each other in times of grief. These are the moments that will last in the emotional memory of your audience for a lifetime. I want to look at three examples of using relationships to make a story idea great.

The Wizard of Oz. One of the most famous and enduring film classics. It's all about relationships. In the beginning of the film, Dorothy is seen as a young girl who wants to get away and "go over the rainbow" but her desire to leave is seen in context of her relationships. She's an orphan but she has aunties and uncles around her and while they do care about her, they are busy with the farm work at hand. Her loneliness is seen more clearly because she tries to connect with her family and fails. These relationships serve a function of showing who Dorothy is and they will play an integral role throughout the film Then, in the middle of the film, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion (played by the same actors as her uncles) and these three represent the elements that she'll need to succeed in her journey. Her courage, her heart and her brain. They also will reinforce the idea that she needs community to support to save the land of Oz and to save herself. In the end of the film, she says famously, "there's no place like home." After rebelling against her relatives on the farm, she comes to a new appreciation of them and the community they represent. Another great example of relationships comes in a modern classic, Star Wars.

It's amazing how similar Luke's journey is to Dorothy's. Luke is also an orphan and also rebels against his family at the beginning of the film. He loses his uncle and aunt to the storm troopers but finds a new family in R2D2, C3PO, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca. They become his new family and reinforce the idea that he'll need community to become the hero. In addition, it has been said that George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars was influenced by his own troubled relationship with his father and created Darth Vader as the result. Check out this Article You can see the relationship between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as the ultimate dysfunctional father/son relationship. And when you look at Star Wars as a drama about father relationships, you'll see that at its essence, the story is about Luke searching for the right father figure whether it's Darth Vader or Obi-Wan Kinobi. Finally, I'll use an example from my own experience and the film I mentioned in the last blog, Paranormal Inc. You can check out this link

In Paranormal Inc, I began the idea that there is a cynical reporter who wants to prove that this group of ghost hunters are fake. I liked the idea of his cynicism contrasting to the idealistic beliefs of ghost hunters. But I also wanted to go deeper into his cynicism. I wanted to make it more personal. I thought about what could make him cynical and immediately thought of bad relationships. I think a lot of us can relate to how bad relationships can make us very cynical about love. And so I created the subplot that the reporter's exgirlfriend is a part of the ghost hunting club and that the reporter's cynicism is derived from a bad break up the two had. This gave the main character a lot more emotional stakes in proving that the ghost hunting club is fake. Develop the relationships between characters and enrich your story.

Here are two exercises that can help you with your own script and story:

1. Think of a favorite film and what relationship or relationships are at the heart of the film? How is story stronger because of that relationship or relationships?

2. Now think about relationships that are loaded with conflict in your own life or in people you see around you. Is there a particular relationship that stands out that would make a great film?

Write down your ideas in the comments section below. Happy creating! Peter