How Does A Writer Create A Strong Dilemma? - Jeff Kitchen

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[@wattpadusergeek342]

The dilemma might matter to the protagonist, but if it doesn’t matter enough to the audience, then the story is dead in the water. I’ve been struggling to put to words what feels off about my latest novel and this video helped me figure it out in the first 3 minutes. You’ve done it again Film Courage ❤️

[@AnaFolkenstal]

Concrete examples would've been nice to hear. Breaking some apart and explain them. I can just do guess work here, it's a bit confusing…

[@corpsefoot758]

I’m hazarding a guess here, but if this guy sells some sort of consultation/teaching program, then that’s probably where his full explanations will be saved for lol

[@toodle171]

The OG Star Wars is all you need to know. 1. The little ship is being picked on, hate the big ship. 2. Vader is an unrelenting A-hole, hate him. 3 The robots are innocent and funny, love them. 4. Princess Leia is in a severe delema, I'm rooting for her. Lesson over.

[@davidursin2150]

"The who cares test" Love it!!! This nailed it for me - gave it the concrete context that I need to check if my protag's inner conflict will grab the reader! Thank you!

[@toodle171]

Your comment is better than mine!!!

[@DaltonKevinM]

The answer to the "so what" test does not lie in the magnitude of the dilemma, but in how well the writer sells the theme that underlies the dilemma. Any dilemma is irrelevant if you do not put the theme at risk.

[@daniellatteo_thefilmmaker]

0:25 I believe the majority of the films that are being made wouldn't pass the "So What" test. But, they're being made nonetheless, how do you explain that? Often, they're even shallow-themed films, made at the expense of profound-themed films. So, I mean, that test has validity for that guy at Columbia maybe, but not for lots of others development executives.

[@corpsefoot758]

I have a feeling there is this giant disconnect between which ideas script-consulting types “want to see made”, versus what studios “actually get made” And anybody who doesn’t honestly address this issue doesn’t really warrant deep investment as a screenwriting teacher IMO 🤷‍♂️

[@catchyovibe]

@@corpsefoot758 Investors… the guy with all the money that knows nothing about writing can get the dumbest movie made just cause it touched upon something he related to from his childhood -

[@bigdaddyyute6472]

People have been conditionned to appreciate low quality content. It's a bit like toys, today we havr plenty of types of toys whereas before, building one toy was much more time consuming so it better had to be doneqq right... At the end of the day some people just go to movies to pass time, have a laugh, date or even relax cuz the doctor told'em so. By responding to more demand we are also eesponding to more moods and sometimes even "Inception" is too heavy of a movie. You don't especially want to plundge into the intricacies of scenarios everytime.

[@recoveringintrovert717]

This is where Rings of Power went wrong with Galadriel

[@timetraveller07]

Always loyal to this brilliant channel ! Thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Humbled by your support Arthur. Keep creating!

[@ThomasLuca]

Conflict causes Drama. Plot is the key.

[@alizhanseit5650]

His understand so deeply. Good . God bless him 💯

[@seanpurdy8230]

Too many metaphors and analogies. Not enough answers.

[@Ruylopez778]

So, tools, experience, intuition and consistency, then.

[@zesuyo]

I am very disappointed, no real advice on the matter. It felt, like: "What makes good food?" "An experienced cook ... [examples of how more experience makes your work better]."

[@moniquevamado]

Thank you!

[@TheJadedFilmMaker]

The dilemma must be so relatable that EVERYONE can say "I've been in that dilemma before !" YES EXACTLY. This is basically all we've been trying to tell the identity politics people. If your story is too narrow minded then don't expect everyone to want to watch it 🤷‍♂️

[@abonet79]

Wow! Thank you!

[@filmcourage]

Cheers!

[@crazyassassinkill]

Yes, I find myself relating to those Ethiopean Goats a lot. I too, occasionally graze on grass.

[@harrypearle9781]

What about the DILEMMA of RESILIENCE? Can people survive and thrive a long marathon challenge? I once saw the license plate: IRNMNRIK. The owner said it meant: Ironman Rick. He said that he was Rick, and he seemed very proud.

[@DenkyManner]

'Creed' didn't pass my 'So what?' test.

[@andrebrito9337]

Non of blockbusters do

[@corpsefoot758]

It was obviously just fueled by “how can we make money off of Rocky nostalgia”

[@NIKONGUY1960]

I want to like this but I'm over all these terms. Seems like it's all in the ethereal or esoteric or whatever. I sit, I write and hope for the best.

[@yuin3320]

I agree. Terms and catchy little sound bites can be helpful, but the interviewee was being incredibly vague here, not really explaining it or tying it in to anything helpful.

[@toodle171]

Smartest thing you will EVER put into your rewrite process. Please write what's in your heart, rewrite what you have learned here.

[@thereccher8746]

Erik Bork explained this same idea, but he clarified it way better.

[@filmcourage]

How do you know you have a strong dilemma for your story?

[@Angelfish-wr1pp]

ask someone who normally laughs at you

[@kenneth1767]

With Hindsight. But it needs venturing into the dark unknown with wild expectations and an imagination versed in seeing the potential. The writer is first hunter/gatherer before curator/creator.

[@Ghost_Text]

This goes back into a conversation about wants vs costs. The competing interests of all things the hero, others and the environment. As paine said what we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly. Our instincts as humans even while highly contextualized in our comfort of modern society are still fundamentally evolved around survival. I believe those are the nerves that creators are poking when a journey resonates.

[@austinthompson4849]

It's clear and apparent! When the dilemma causes your gut to sink into your taint, makes you feel Hopeless, treated unfairly and takes your dreams away from the protagonist (you the writer/Audience members, hopefully watching the Film adaptation of your screen play) then you know the dilemma meets it's standard.

[@Kutsushita_yukino]

Theme? Obviously. We write to tell. We read to gain something out of it, whether that’s entertainment, deep messages or escapism. Just Throwing random ass conflict at the story wouldn’t cut it because it always ends in this question, why in the hell did i even read that?

[@edward9862]

He lives it.

[@justanameonyourscreen5954]

🤣👍

[@fernandopajares8998]

All hail our lord of analogies

[@grantgreyguda]

👍 👍

[@James_Bowie]

Not Sam. Columbia Pictures was founded by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn. Methinks you are thinking of of Sam Goldwyn.

[@marcofsw]

I seldom click "like" but here I just had to.

[@Alex-wt7dp]

This guy is just full of metaphors isn't he

[@Angelfish-wr1pp]

not if you're building a skyscraper, he isn't

[@SamSung-ww3rp]

Or 5-10 minutes into it I have guess the entire plot.

[@xo4812]

It's like mud wrestling.

[@andrewjackson652]

Is the Israeli-Pakistani conflict significant enough? Since every writer today imitates the emotional linguistics of Homer’s “Iliad” (inscribed nearly 3000 years ago), millions of years of cognitive-emotional evolution have been linguistically redefined and sabotaged by our language and literary institutions. Language and literary artisans are instrumental to the hundreds of thousands yearly suicide deaths, reprehensible mass shootings, and the human degradation and insanity now on exhibit in the Mid-East. Contrary to writing standards, conventions, and implications, cognition, not emotion, precipitates the changes and states of biochemical and neurological being that drives behavior. Emotions are not causal but an effect and the perception of these changes and states of physiology. Teachers within all academic disciplines, authors, poets, journalists, and playwrights must re-learn and re-develop our emotional language to reflect our cognitive-emotional heritage of the heart. Positive, good-feeling emotions, moods, attitudes, and feelings have an evolved correlation with health, well-being, and effective and successful decision-making abilities and prowess. Negative, bad feeling emotions, moods, attitudes, and feelings have an evolved correlation with their negation. If this were not so, humanity would not have survived the evolutionary mill. And therefore, emotions instead of being controlled by the cognitive mind as professed by psychology (and our psychological institutions of religion, law, politics, and philosophy), have evolved to guide our cognitive and physical acts away from negative, bad feeling destructive behavior and towards positive, good feeling constructive behavior. The solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies within a new linguistics of cognitive-emotional behavior. Reference: Jackson, A.O. (2023). Cognitive-Emotional Re-Processing Control, Cultivation, and Education: The Linguistic Semantics of Cognitive vs. Emotional Dysregulation (15,500-word paper, free PDF download, new tab) symbioticpsychology.com/

[@Angelfish-wr1pp]

so what so what so what so what ha ha ha ha ha

[@moonstrobe]

So this is why episode I-III sucked..

[@sylvainmax1896]

This thumbnail 🤭🤭

[@Thenoobestgirl]

Lol what the hell is this thumbnail?

[@jammusique]

He did a lot of arm exercises, but did he tell us how to create strong dilemma? No...