How To Write A Great Story (Decades Of Wisdom Distilled Down To 17 Minutes)

[@dragonmasterchief]

0:01 - Intro 0:31 - Every story must have a Problem/Obstacle/Goal 1:03 - The Problem, the Dramatic Question, the Transformation 2:02 - Transformation/Growth through a personal inner struggle 2:39 - Measuring progress by the story yardstick 3:27 - Character flaws 4:05 - The story idea 5:47 - The logline 6:14 - The craft of writing and your personal process 7:14 - The theme and story concept 8:06 - Writing the first scene 8:30 - (& plotting vs pantsing) 9:03 - Knowing the 5 Pillar Beats: the 1.) Ending/Resolution, 9:37 - the 2.) Beginning, the 3.) Inciting Incident, 10:22 - the 4.) Midpoint, the 5.) All is Lost 10:46 - Writing a script through a series of questions: 11:39 - Ask: Who, What do they want, Why, What do they do about it, How? 12:39 - How to make a scene work? clarity of Goals and Stakes 12:55 - Moving the story forward through: Stakes, Conflict and Tension 13:42 - Only include beats/scenes that serve the story and the character’s Goal 15:19 - The importance of Conflict 15:34 - Building the emotional bedrock of the story 16:12 - Outro: the story you need to tell

[@filmcourage]

Wow! Looks like you have spent some good time with this one! Good stuff!

[@dragonmasterchief]

@@filmcourage call me a compulsive notetaker ☺

[@filmcourage]

Thank you for sharing some of your notes here!

[@ShevaLark]

Ty

[@howardkoor9365]

Great information

[@jules7002]

Shoutout to whoever edited this, I'm sure these clips are pulled from hours of footage, you killed it!

[@filmcourage]

Thanks Jules! Appreciate it. This one took a little bit and definitely used hours of footage!

[@themanhimself5650]

Facts💯 killer work 🔥🔥🔥

[@Christopher-iv6sn]

For real. The way Film Courage strung this together is very effective and virtually seamless. Bravo!

[@wherethegameat]

Was thinking the same thing. As someone who edits (editing rn) the complexity of this video to stay on theme, feed off tips from other videos. Bravo!

[@VampiraVonGhoulscout]

Editors and runners are definitely unsung heroes in the film industry.

[@matthewpaul6904]

"There's something in there thats scaring you. And that's good. You need to go there" Love that.

[@tyronewallace8520]

There is something about the way this was put together that made me feel like every person in each interview clip was talking directly to me. "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid!" I have dealt with enough situations in my life to know that statement has a lot of truth in it. Thank you for that reminder!

[@filmcourage]

Love this comment! Thanks Tyrone! Our best to you and your work!

[@followmonica]

I also felt this way.

[@NolanCinemaTeam]

Different people have different ideas about what's a great story. In my view, a story which stays for a long time in memory of a viewer or reader after coming out of it makes it great.

[@yegorshpirko8548]

I agree. But what make some stories to stay in your head and some just pass by? Even if that stories have technically correct script in all respects..

[@NolanCinemaTeam]

@@yegorshpirko8548 Technical correctness of a script cannot be considered as a guaranteed parameter for the longevity of it's content in the minds of audience or readers. Still lot of other parameters are also there to be added for attaining that quality in a script.

[@Will-bn9km]

@@yegorshpirko8548think it stems from the emotional truth like the one guy said in the video. If you are being real and honest about your characters and how they’d navigate whatever situation you’ve put them in, then it’ll resonate on some level with people. You have to give your all to the story, don’t keep scenes you feel will be cool or scenes you had in mind if they don’t fit, you gotta be really honest and willing for the story to change and evolve as you get to know it more.

[@yegorshpirko8548]

@@NolanCinemaTeam your answer just compliments my message, and does not answer it. Let's say both scenarios are made according to all the rules correctly, but the story of one sits in the soul, and the other is forgotten the next day. There is something third in some films, a certain soul that touches you. And I'm trying to figure out what it is.

[@NolanCinemaTeam]

@@yegorshpirko8548 I didn't compliment your message. That's your imagination. You need to read my previous message again for a clear understanding.

[@catseyes11]

Absolutely incredible! How you managed to encapsulate thousands of years of the innate, existential human experience, (need to tell stories), in 17 minutes, is simply astounding. Thank you so much to all that shared their wisdom, and to all of those who created this.

[@Woburn-RoxburyMedia]

For those of us scribes creating serial, dramatic narrative/episodic storytelling, it's not simply a fixed storyline, rather it's a dynamic one as our characters evolve, so do do the motives/reasons for them to take actions/strive to achieve/resolve their issues. This is however a great compendium of inspiring advice. Advice most of us seasoned writers know, but do not always stay focused upon. It's a "Refresher" for me, and a nice introduction for newer, rookie writers.

[@sladewilson9718]

One of the greatest pieces of writing advice I’ve ever been given is that the story doesn’t start at the beginning of your book, there should have already been some stuff happen before your book even starts, and you’re just throwing the reader into the world. In an absolutely underrated book called Thief, it doesn’t even introduce characters to you, the characters just start talking to each other like they’re familiar (coz why wouldn’t they be?)👍🏽❤️

[@tudormontescu6275]

Before reading this, I thought all stories start with the Big Bang

[@hiimbonsai]

Who is the author of Thief?

[@sladewilson9718]

@@hiimbonsai Matthew Colville👍🏼 He's also a DM, sorta

[@ulibarriL]

The bit about "if something scares you, you need to go after it" resonated big time. I'm trying to write my first story. I've tried many time only for it to crash during take off. Sometimes my ideas wouldn't even make it past the gate. Something is different with this one though. I've actually finished whole scenes. It's actually taken off and ascending to 10k feet! In my very core this story burns with the sun's intensity. But i get these feeling of being scared and anxious. I'm not sure why. I only know that this plane cannot be allowed to crash.

[@gvme_rae]

I'm happy for you. Keep writing! I think you should consider writing about a plane crash next 🤔

[@ulibarriL]

@@gvme_rae interesting take. I will consider it. Though there is a train crash in the current story.

[@daffakandias7386]

How is the story progress right now?

[@ulibarriL]

@daffakandias7386 Unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a block. I'm having trouble coming up with a compelling villain or antagonist. My MC definitely has situations working against her that stand in the way of her goal(s). The element of mystery is definitely there, but trying to come up with someone or something with their own set of goals that conflict with the MC just hasn't come to the surface. I haven't given up, though. I still love my story and the characters I have come up with and desire to continue.

[@daffakandias7386]

@@ulibarriL i also started writing my first novel around the same time as your original comment (9 months ago), i probably won't be much of an advice and i also don't like being told on what to do so i'm just going to share what things helps me when i'm blocked not really an 'advice'. Write aiming for failure, don't aim for a great story, at first, try making what you think is a shitty way the story goes in this case i guess writes a shitty villain, someone comically evil or a one dimensional stereotype and from there maybe you can add more layers to their character

[@BooksForever]

Whoever assembled this montage from the imponderable amount of original interview footage is an editing savant.

[@filmcourage]

🙏

[@decorumless6432]

Please find a better Thesaurus.

[@BooksForever]

@@decorumless6432 - you make the dull noises of the confidently undereducated.

[@decorumless6432]

@@BooksForever What are you trying to do with that en dash? Scare me?

[@hoshangmerzanazar2317]

@@filmcourage isnt most of this just from "save the cat"?

[@DeLaSoul246]

This edit is the result of a mad genius.

[@filmcourage]

Hope it helps you create something genius!

[@alejandroschmid88]

This is gold! I've seen at least half of those writers in your videos and this edit is just awesome! Hope to see more like these in the future

[@filmcourage]

Thanks Alejandro! We hope to deliver more like this!

[@EllyValentini]

13:00 about the characters having a good time in the middle, works amazingly if they keep the feeling that something isn’t right. And then do the twist. these are the biggest punch to the heart (for me). So much so, I somehow developed a spidy-sense to detec them 😅 “you can’t trick me anymore 😭”

[@virtuoso_gt345]

This is a rare moment that pushed me again to take notes. I'm not forced, but I have a feeling that there is a lot of learning here that I don't want to forget in my journey in creating my first story.

[@whiteknightgfry]

this reads like a classroom of 6th graders answering the teacher on a test about narrative structure. character vs conflict, character development, literally copy pasting that 5 step plot structure all of which i learned before middleschool." make sure to write down all your ideas" "there's no right or wrong way"

[@ericktellez7632]

And yet they are all more successful than all of us

[@throughthoroughthought8064]

I stopped about three minutes in. Seems like a loose conglomerate of 30-second soundbites. Maybe I'll restart it now that I know what to expect.

[@markroxdotdev]

I don’t know - I’m tired of protagonist stories about flaws and finding out about myself … I appreciate that these writers write that process, but I think there’s more to do - finished Conan and Dracula - neither seem to follow this - Conan’s flaw was to be enslaved? Bah. Dracula’s protagonist is who? Mina? Jonathan? Dracula? So I feel like there’s a little template writing in these clips.

[@belendossantos6699]

Maybe it's because it's what actually works?

[@BozmundOs]

​@@markroxdotdevthey're trying to go about the must fulfilling stories possible, but our job as creatives is folding these truths to what we want, Breaking Bad is a path to the WORSE for example, it does all these things but in the opposite direction yk?

[@gabogmr6571]

I would like to thank the people and the editors for making this channel be possible. I have this story idea that I have been planning since the early days of high school and plan to share this for the next 5 years or so. This channels has always a point of reference to hone in my storytelling/writing techniques and I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you :)

[@randynelson9777]

Masterfully edited!!! Seeing talented Writers speak on the entire process of Story, pulled from clips years apart, with all in agreement encouraging us to write Story, got me choked up!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you Randy! We worked on this one for a little while. Great to see you find this one and to see you connect with it!

[@arzabael]

This taught me so much about what’s different about how to write a screenplay because I study novel writing, and this wild. Of course being on KZbin I’ve seen my share of screen writing tips and advice and have always known its differences but this truly showed me. Thank you

[@AlexKurilovMusic]

Thanks for these. I like this new format. It's always inspirational to listen to, and I always watch your channel to get creative juices flowing.

[@filmcourage]

Great to hear! Thanks Alex! Have fun creating!

[@cindychurch335]

Thank you! Very informative. I have a story that crying to get out of my soul and onto paper. It’s personal and will be misunderstood so I have to do it right. I’ve never been published before so intimidating but I’ve carried this around for 10 years. I feel like it’s my life purpose in a way! I’ll get there 😅

[@Luxeladyinbiz]

Who else got here from a reel?

[@filmcourage]

Which reel?

[@sarahnyarko1644]

I did.

[@tasilalmin9848]

Let’s gather here

[@textndrive_martialarts]

A marketing focused instagram page

[@alyxgurr755]

Got here from @thebestmarketingnewsletterever love the vid

[@juzzonmorris]

This is priceless Thank you immensely for taking the time to put this together, and share with us. 👊🏾

[@filmcourage]

It's fun being able to put these kind of videos together. We hope it helps some viewers. Thanks for watching!

[@robertshirley493]

Karen, to you and your team, this video is truly glorious! I have spent many hours watching Film Courage. I wish to thank you very much. I have learned so much from you and your brilliant guests. All the best to you and your team. Cheers!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much! Great to hear the videos and our channel have been helpful. We appreciate the feedback!

[@ssjswag4673]

Thanks!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much! Great to see you find value here!

[@markiska006]

this video is SO so helpful, i realized so many things, got a direction to what and how to do things!! also love the real, not generated subtitles. english is my second language and sometimes it's hard to understand or process the video. thank you so much (bookmark for later 10:15 ignore this pls)

[@findsomethintoApreC8]

Absolutely brilliant video! Such an important lecture on storytelling! Thank you to everyone who created this!

[@Ah_Yote]

The most basic thing to turn something into an actual goal is what is the protagonist trying to achieve and what’s preventing/stopping them, then how do they achieve or fail,

[@danieljackson654]

Once again, in awe, I can only say, How Wonderful is this.

[@mathiasblack]

Like a shot of story-craft espresso! Great insights, well stitched together. For someone new to these ideas, there's a lot to unpack here, and after watching this (and saving it), it's worth going down the rabbit hole by looking up e.g. Michael Hauge (he appears in the video) and Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! and its beat sheet. For writers familiar with these concepts, this video is great reminder of the elements you need to consider. Saved for future rewatching. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@vaibhavavijayam1323]

Thanks for this treasure !! In India, we call writing as sutras - it means wisdom of 1000's of years brought to together in five plus words..!! Live & Respects !!

[@jollysparkcinema3001]

This is a great edit! I've watched all of those interviews separately. Awesome summary communicating what's important.

[@filmcourage]

Thank you Jolly Spark Cinema! Great to have your long lasting support!

[@Garraad]

It can be the otherway around: Story creates the Problems/Obsticles and then the Characters that is needed.... I think it can be either way!

[@stxrl_st]

The video is very well put together. 👏 Going after that scares me? I've been working on a project for some time now that literally goes against a lot of what is always considered ‘the go-to’ for any story, and as much as I fear that my story might be absolutely bad, at the same time, it can only be told that way. I once read that when writing a manuscript, you should also think about who your audience is, what the characteristics of the reader are that your work is intended for, and I think that's a good way to keep reminding yourself that it's okay to write your story a certain way. Ultimately, all these tips on "How to write a great story" are primarily meant for mainstream media to appeal to the masses. In the end, and most importantly, writing is a craft, stories are art, so go for it and tell the story how it should be told.

[@matofilipovic7818]

There is a lot of wisdom here that can be and should be applied to other creative branches and even the way of life itself.

[@grindbuddy]

Thank you for this. Super valuable

[@sandbagger1912]

Great advice on the craft of storytelling and writing. Well done. Everyone who wants to write or is already a writer should watch this video.

[@iBluefoot]

This is a phenomenal compilation. Though really, this is decades upon decades of experience distilled down to 17 minutes.

[@filmcourage]

Maybe we will try your suggestion : )

[@happylifmindfully]

Thousand hours of learning in minutes. Hats off to you! 🙌🏻

[@itsnlee]

The value in this video is astronomical. Will revisit again to take notes as a refresher. Thank you so much.

[@filmcourage]

Great to hear!

[@coopart1]

Loved this. Writing is hard for me. But I got a story I just have to tell! Thanks for helping me find a way. Thanks to ALL of you .

[@mannymoseley4005]

Thank you for posting this video, I appreciate it. This is a wonderful video, informative and entertaining. Stay safe and stay healthy. God bless you.

[@filmcourage]

Thank you Manny! This is one of our new favorites!

[@pranauvmk6146]

Hats off to film courage for posting this wonderfully semi edited documentary

[@sobeidalagrange7129]

10:54 12:12 12:50 Clarity of goals and stakes...

[@bensonmwaura9494]

A gem for the Internet Archive.

[@azbepolsak7552]

3 minutes in and already overwhelmed by all the imnofrmation😂. It really has tons of important advice, great video

[@ElliottNest41]

This is very inspiring! One of your best videos ever. Thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Cheers Elliott!

[@DJMurdock]

from what i understand a story should pose a question of whether or not a character can obtain a goal by overcoming a conflict while undergoing a significant process of change, i think that's the core of what makes a compelling story. as far as what makes a good story depends on the context of what you mean by "good" i think there our three types of good, theirs artistic preference (what aligns with the interests of your target audience), technical execution (how well can you convey the themes and ideas you have), and moral philosophy (why you want to share those themes and ideas), you will probably have a good story when you know what you want out of those three types.

[@technomentis]

Thank you again. Inspiring, motivational, and helps me keep whatever sanity I have left.

[@filmcourage]

Our best to you Mike!

[@afrosymphony8207]

how in the hell did you pull this edit together, good heavens i cant even imagine the work that went into this. this is insane.

[@filmcourage]

We appreciate it. Just takes a little time. We hope to add onto this one in time.

[@lp4265]

As always Film Courage nailed it. ❤ I find stories actually show me I’m not alone in going through a problem, in dealing with anger or sadness and when the story ends I then feel I may have what I need to solve my own issues, whether internal or external.

[@mageprometheus]

You are my hero. What a perfect collection of ideas.

[@kenneth1767]

So good that this one popped into my feed, again. Worth watching again.

[@filmcourage]

Welcome back!

[@JClark-ux1hz]

Brilliant! Best lessons from the best of the best! Thanks! ❤I'm saving this

[@filmcourage]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@gregwise5655]

Like any good book this video needs to be rewatched multiple times.

[@chinonsovictor6531]

Thank you so much! I sure needed to hear these amazing people speak. 🙏🏽

[@filmcourage]

This one needed to find you! : )

[@Mindset.Evolutie]

Now we are working on the second episode of the series, and this video gave us a lot of information that will help us write the story better and more clearly, thank you. 🤗

[@anakiir]

Nice video and a great summary! Makes me feel encouraged ("pun" intended) to see I'm thinking in a similar way, despite being a relative newcomer.

[@HeyewgHeyeyeye]

Salute to the uploader and editor of this video

[@kanndavidson-9152]

Really appreciate this video! Incredible job. You seemed these together expertly.

[@filmcourage]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@JoshLange-d9z]

Brilliantly edited, and of course deftly interviewed.

[@filmcourage]

Thanks Josh, we appreciate it!

[@MrAstrojensen]

Authors: "It's all about conflict! Transformation! Fear! Struggles!" Meanwhile, slice of life anime: "These girls are goofing around on a camping trip and nothing bad is ever going to happen!"

[@idioume1]

There is still conflict in yuru camp. You don't understand conflict. It can just be about them figuring out how to start a fire to not end into the dark. It doesn't have to be extreme. 😅

[@Olamamacita]

What a blessing of a video. Thank you 🙏

[@actorlife762]

thank you so much for compiling such a gem !

[@filmcourage]

We appreciate you watching!

[@sobeidalagrange7129]

13:13 14:00 Visible goal... 15:00 Conflict... 16:00

[@G-Blockster]

I loved this one. This channel continually delivers. I'm adding this one to revisit regularly.

[@filmcourage]

Nice! We hope this one gets better with multiple viewings!

[@ConsciousConversations]

Do you have a playlist of just these compilations? I could listen to these for hours! (And I have been since yesterday!)

[@TheUntoldSamurai]

I’ve currently got an idea of writing a book but the only thing that’s playing on my mind also is that not many people especially younger people read anymore. It’s more E-books and Movies they tend to care for more so I always wonder am I wasting my time but this story is always in my mind and ideas always spark up for it…I just don’t want it to Flop cuz no one reads anymore my goal is to turn this story into a movie or comic then a movie but that’s the end end goal…but in order for that to happen It would need to be popular and how can it be successful and popular if no one reads as much especially Fiction type books

[@dragonmasterchief]

Love this compilation - thank you for sharing it! 🙌

[@filmcourage]

One of our new favorites!

[@jerimeyapel1689]

The video is great but one quote made me laugh. My favorite quote: “If your character doesn’t have a flaw that they need to overcome, it’s going to be difficult, I think, as a story teller, to figure out the journey that they need to go on to overcome that flaw.“ I understand the intention. Watching a character overcome a flaw is why we read the story. The wording just sounded humorous to me.

[@filmcourage]

She is a comedian. She can be funny when not even trying.

[@jaywhite4184]

Great Video! I’m digging the mash ups! More of these please.

[@filmcourage]

Thanks Jay! Here are some other ones we have done - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aF7KYquPqMx9b9U We put these out as often as we can!

[@Sams_Uncle]

Mountain of Gold!! Great 👍

[@thabangcj4498]

Thank you so much for this!

[@oldbrassman2157]

Great video. Very helpful. Will probably revisit this several times. But the 6 key questions writers need to ask themselves (at about 11:40) are the keys to developing a strong story. Jotted them onto a 4"x6" file card that is never going to be out of my sight!

[@filmcourage]

Indeed! That is a essential part of this video!

[@sangdo5789]

This make me throw away my 1st draw and rewrite. Thanks alot!

[@rhinosaur9636]

That means the first draft was effective!

[@Soniauchejunkie]

Love this !!! thanks for putting this together ❤❤

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much!

[@TheRubberStudiosASMR]

This is incredible. Thank you

[@filmcourage]

Cheers! Thanks for watching!

[@issiahbernaiche6897]

Right now I’m attempting a project in writing my first fictional book. This was helpful, thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Love to hear that! Best of luck!

[@VanRev7]

Great video. Thank you for sharing!

[@filmcourage]

Cheers!

[@PaulCrouse]

Omg! This is awesome! Really we’ll edited. Brilliant info.

[@filmcourage]

Thanks Paul! We appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts!

[@Sr_art_3862]

This is very helpful. Thanks very much.

[@timothycasey4990]

Love this! Thanks for putting this together!

[@filmcourage]

Thanks Timothy!

[@Glad-boy09]

Thanks, I appreciate it ✨️

[@confusinglyquestionable4103]

Im an artist, not a writer, but almost every year, i get this 1-4 month period where i get super inspired and motovated to write something. Last year it was stories and children stories, this year it was poetry... What explains this?

[@macflod]

I think modern hollywood writers should take some of these tips onboard

[@perfectauthenticme3443]

Phenomenonal video!! Amazing, thank you

[@perfectauthenticme3443]

Amazing editing, huge amount of work, well done!

[@filmcourage]

We appreciate your kind words! Thanks for watching!

[@KYLETISZAI]

This is so beautiful..

[@DynastyUK]

Can I have some advice please? I'm not a writer, I'm a photographer. However, I feel there are stories in me. Sometimes I get Ideas for photography projects which will kind of look like storyboards directors have in movies. Or a movie set in stills. Anyway, I find it hard turning a tiny seed of an idea into a giant oak of a story. It's overwhelming and my brain rushes ahead from here to there. In the end I have 100 ideas that are kinda linked to the original idea but not what I was originally set out to do. How do you write a linear path? should you? Also sometimes my ideas are driven by a pure emotion, I write my ideas down, but sometimes when I come back to them that emotion I had is lost and I find it hard to grasp what it was I was feeling at the time where I was so excited about an idea. I guess I'm an Idea writer, but not a story writer. Are there people who just have concepts for writers to develop further? If so what is their title. And would you recommend I collaborate with a writer or should I study the art of storytelling/writing myself? If anyone actually reads this, thank you.

[@noeldoyle4501]

Thanks for your great work.

[@filmcourage]

We appreciate it Noel!

[@josephcusumano2885]

This was incredibly helpful! Thanks so much!

[@filmcourage]

Glad it was helpful!

[@code_Rei]

i agree with the script is questions thing, but i feel like this is more on the characters, and it excludes the idea of the world, because a world can move seemingly without rhyme, reason, conflict, or goal finding out why the world moved or creating that element, can add a lot of new possibilities for example a war has been induced and a main character's parent/friend/etc. was pulled into it, the reason why this war happened is unrelated to them, but we will find someone who is related to it

[@filmcourage]

Agreed. We had a section on world building that didn’t make it into this video. Hope to fit it into the next iteration of this video.

[@sultana2024]

This is amazing! I am curious about something regarding the bigger problem being resolved toward the end. My story’s climax is based on resolving the main issue that is everybody’s problem, but that ends up not being the end, and it has created a chain of new problems. Is that a good storyline or would this lose viewers/readers? Thanks :)

[@filmcourage]

Maybe it is a trilogy? Or a tv show? Or a series of some kind? Hard to know... just a few thoughts.

[@animatorFan74]

This is really good... thanks for editing this into this one video. I run roleplaying games and use a few ideas from these videos to make a premise and run games. Good fun :)

[@zutalors960]

ok, I think I'll watch that a couple of times!!

[@brunoarnabar7450]

You are the best! Thank you so much!

[@filmcourage]

Cheers Bruno!

[@pablod.rodriguez1423]

Wow! Thanks a lot!

[@filmcourage]

Cheers!

These are life lessons. Real life lessons

[@mwarts]

This is so great, learned many thinsg

[@coffinhost1621]

This was a wonderful video, thank you

[@filmcourage]

Thank you very much!

[@philiphall7646]

Thanks, I needed that!

[@elsolyelrio0195]

This was amazing