Author Archives: Stavros Halvatzis

About Stavros Halvatzis

I'm a writer, teacher, and story consultant.

Masters of Subtext

As Good as it Gets - Screenplay: James L. Brooks, Mark Andrus masters of subtext.
As Good as it Gets – Screenplay: James L. Brooks, Mark Andrus masters of subtext.

I just can’t stop talking about the necessity of becoming absolute masters of subtext. Dialogue that ripples with subtext jumps right out of the page and declares to the reader—I am an accomplished writer. Keep reading.

If direct dialogue tells us about the literal meaning of the words—their denotation—subtext reveals the meaning behind the words—their connotation. Subtext is a far more engaging way of having the character reveal information because it lets the reader or audience into a secret, or at least, into the deeper layer of meaning that makes them feel more connected to the characters and the story. It does not spoon-feed the reader, as would direct dialogue.

“Masters of subtext stand out from the crowd. They are consummate writers of dramatic speech.”

There are many ways to write subtext, one of the most important being The Cover-Up. It may use a change of subject, a lie, a misdirection, a question, a threat, and the like, to achieve its goal. These techniques occur downstream, but first let me remind everyone that there are three chief areas to any dramatic text: 1. direct text, 2. its deeper meaning, and 3. when this meaning is to be conveyed to the reader or audience.

In As good as it Gets, we see Melvyn, who despises dogs, put the neighbour’s animal down the garbage chute in the hallway outside his apartment. We should note that the subtext can be (1) revealed before the actual subtext dialogue occurs, (2) during or (3) after the dialogue. Notice that here we already know that Melvyn has done the deed before the exchange with his neighbour, so we experience it as a Cover-Up.

INT. APARTMENT BUILDING (NEW YORK), HALLWAY – NIGHT

SIMON, the dog’s owner, rushes down the hall just as Melvyn is about to enter his apartment.

SIMON: Verdell? Here, good doggie…

He notices Melvyn at the end of the hall.

SIMON: Mr Udhall…excuse me. Hey there! Have you seen Verdell?

MELVYN: What’s he look like?

Here, Melvyn uses the technique of The Cover-Up by asking a question. But since we already know that he has stuffed the dog down the chute we know that he is lying. To spell it out: Melvyn’s denotation is: ‘What’s he look like’, feigning engagement. But the actual meaning is: ‘I got rid of your dog and I’ll lie so as not to get caught.’

Imagine if the scene had started with Simon looking for his dog. Melvyn’s question about what the dog looks like would then appear as if he was being helpful. When the truth was revealed later that Melvyn did indeed do it, the subtext would arise introspectively. Both instances would involve subtext, but the former is perhaps stronger because it occurs at the present moment. But that is something for you to decide in each particular instance.

SIMON: My dog…you know, I mean my little dog with the adorable face… Don’t you know what my dog looks like?

MELVYN: I got it. You’re talking about your dog. I thought that was the name of the colored man I’ve been seeing in the hall.

Again, because we know that Melvyn is the culprit, we experience the deception more acutely—every line promotes the Cover-Up, which demonstrates the sort of man he is. In other words, we learn far more about his character from the subtext than direct, denotative speech could reveal. Such is its power.

Summary

Masters of subtext – the sure sign of the accomplished writers. Study its various techniques until you master them fully.

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What is the meaning of your story?

300: Courage and self-sacrifice of the few ultimately leads to the survival of the many.
300: The courage and self-sacrifice of the few leads to the survival of the many.

How do we inject meaning into our stories? Do we even care about meaning, over and above writing a rollicking good tale? We should. There is a specific meaning to every story, whether we intend it or not. Let me explain.

If we have a theme or moral premise in mind—such as greed leads to unhappiness, or unfettered technology leads to the destruction of the natural world, then we can point our story in that direction through the actions of our characters and their consequences. But even if we haven’t thought about the theme at all, choosing instead to concentrate on the surface layer of the tale—its plot, meaning will nevertheless arise in the story by virtue of what happens to the characters who hold certain views.

“The winner of the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist ‘proves’ the theme or moral premise, which in turn provides the meaning of the tale.”

If, say, our protagonist espouses self-sacrifice and nobility as virtues and he defeats the antagonist who espouses selfishness and vengeance, then you as a writer are saying that self-sacrifice and nobility trumps selfishness and vengeance. If the antagonist defeats the protagonist then your claim is that selfishness and vengeance defeats self-sacrifice and nobility. You are saying that the world is a place where the ruthless and self-serving win—a Godless world devoid of transcendent values.

If that’s what you mean to say, well and good—it’s your story after all. But if you haven’t thought about the ending of your story as the place where the final clash occurs— where one character who represents one set of values defeats another who represents contrary values, then you risk saying something you never intended. Like a ship without a radder your story could end up on the rocks.

Summary
The meaning of a story is coiled up inside its theme or moral premise. It manifests through who wins or loses in the story.

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Character dialogue – how to improve it right away

Character dialogue in Linda Seger’s How to Write Unforgettable characters.
Character dialogue: the art and craft of effective story-telling.

Learning how to write great dialogue includes learning how to listen to people engaged in conversations of all sorts, watching movies, reading novels, plays and screenplays noted for their excellent dialogue, and always reading newly-minted dialogue out loud. Speaking it is important because it helps you get a handle on the sounds and rhythms and flow of the speech.

Linda Seger refers to dialogue as the music of fiction writing. Dialogue should contain flowing melodic patterns, whether staccato or legato, which follow changing rhythms, much like music does. Writers have to develop an ear for this if they are to write dialogue that conveys the emotions, attitudes and values of individual characters.

“Character dialogue is indispensable to any story. Mastering its use will go a long way to making you an accomplished writer.”

In her book, Creating Unforgettable Characters, Seger suggest that in preparing to write dialogue you ought to ask the following questions:

1. Have you defined characters through their speech rhythms, vocabulary, accent, and the length of their sentences?

2. Does the dialogue contain conflict? Does it contrast the attitudes and values of the different characters?

3. Does the dialogue bristle with subtext? In other words, does the denotation of the words differ from the connotation—is there a deeper and often contrary meaning under the surface of the speech?

4. Does the dialogue reveal or hint at the ethnic and general background of the characters? Their level of education, age, and social background?

5. Is each character’s dialogue distinct? In other words, if the speech tags in the novel or screenplay suddenly disappeared, could you still recognise who was speaking?

Although there is much more to becoming a master of dialogue, these five suggestions will certainly help you improve the quality of your craft.

Summary

There are many approaches to improving your writing. Focusing on character and dialogue is one of them.

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Emotions, Attitudes and Values in Characters

Emotions, Attitudes and Values in 300
Emotions, Attitudes and Values in 300

There are many skills that go into writing authentic, colourful characters. Having a handle on their emotions, attitudes and values is certainly one of them.

Attitudes: In 300, Sparta’s fierce and unyielding defiance stems from its sense of independence and its belief in its fighting ability. It is personified through King Leonidas’ response to the gauntlet thrown at his feet by the Persian envoy who demands that earth and water be offered by King Leonidas as a token of submission to the God-King Xerxes. Sparta can then be allowed to continue as a puppet state, or face annihilation. Leonidas’ response is: ‘This is Sparta’. It succinctly encapsulates Sparta’s attitude of confidence and defiance. The result? Leonidas plunges the messenger to his death, which initiates the war with Xerxes.

Values: Values are the deep infrastructure residing within the character’s core. They form the foundation of the character’s moral and motivational hierarchy. Values spawn ideology, sustain belief, initiate action and mould behaviour.

“‘Imbuing your characters with emotions, attitudes and values will help grant them a sense of verisimilitude.”

Staying with our 300 example, we find Queen Gorco echoing the importance that Sparta places on courage and strength in service of the community, even when facing the insurmountable odds of the Persian army under the command of Xerxes. The Queen tells her husband who is leading 300 warriors to the Hot Gates to block the invaders to ‘come back with his shield or on it’—in other words, to die protecting his people, if needs be. Self-sacrifice in service of the wider good is seen as a paramount Spartan value.

Emotions: Before taking the final decision to kill the messenger and, in effect, declare war on Xerxes, Leonidas seems to hesitate, contemplating the hell that is to be unleashed on the people of his tiny kingdom. He turns to his wife as if to seek confirmation that he is doing the right thing. She offers him the slightest of nods—no need for words here. It is a touching moment, filled with subtle emotion as befitting a warrior nation, where the King of Sparta seeks and gets the approval of his queen before plunging Sparta into war.

Summary

Humans are complex. Instill emotions, attitudes and values in your characters to increase their verisimilitude and effectiveness.

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The explanatory power of need in stories.

In the film Tootsie Michael Dorsey‘s ‘need” manifests in his actions.

What is the difference between a character’s want and need?

In her book, Advanced Screenwriting, Linda Seger explains that one’s ‘want’ is related to the outer goal in the story—what the character thinks s/he has to achieve in order to solve a problem: get the girl, or the job, and the like. One’s ‘need’, however, is typically hidden from the character. It is revealed only late in the developmental arc as a result of the characters having learnt a series of lessons about themselves, and the world, through life’s hard knocks. 

We as writers, however, have to know how to work with this hidden need on behalf of our characters. We have to know how to work with the subtext—with what is suppressed, left unsaid, with emotions of guilt, shame or regret. These are the generators of depth and resonance in our stories. Without them we have only plot. With them we have in-depth characters whose psychological motivation rings true.

“Without an acknowledgement of need, characters are unable to complete their character arcs and achieve their story goals.”

Tootsie’s Michael Dorsey, for example, does not, at first, realise that he needs to be less difficult, more sensitive to others in order to achieve his outer goals as an actor. He does not realise that his insistence on ‘perfection’, his obsessive disagreeableness and fussiness stems from his own insecurities. It is only when he adopts the disguise of a woman in order to procure a television soapie role, a disguise so convincing that he is subjected to the sort of insensitivity and sexism he has inflicted on others, that he realises that his need is to be a better man. It is only then that Michael can accomplish his external goals—his desire for Julie, his need for work, his desire to maintain his friendship with Sandy. The accomplished writer understands this about his character(s) and implements this knowledge. It is a skill well worth emulating.

Summary

A character’s acknowledgment of ‘need’ comes late in the story and results in an adjustment of the story goal.

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Turning point versus twist — what’s the difference?

The twist in The Sixth Sense
The twist in The Sixth Sense

Stories depend on twists and turns to deliver their content in an engaging way. But what’s the difference between a turning point and a twist? Let’s look into it.

In her book Advanced Screenwriting Linda Seeger gives us six attributes that define a turning point: 1. Turns the action in a new direction. 2. Ushers us into a new arena and a new focus for the action. 3. The protagonist makes a new decision or commitment . 4. Raises the central question again. 5. Ups the stakes. 6. Propels the story into the next act.

Seger states that the turning point is not a surprise although how it is executed may be. That’s because the turning point has been prepared for—through the inciting incident for example, or other foreshadowing elements.

In Dead Poet’s Society the boys going to the cave has been prepared for by earlier scenes: The boys discover John Keating’s Year Book and ask him about it. Keating mentions that the cave was where the dead poet’s society used to meet. This sets up the context for Act II and the resulting conflict between creativity versus conformity, the theme of the story, that is to be unleashed. The cave scene, then, leads the story in a new but not unexpected direction.

“A turning point steers the story in a new direction, usually prepared for earlier. A twists uncovers a gut-wrenching emotion through exposing a secret that has the penny drop.”

The twist by contrast differs from the turning point in these ways: Twists are almost always rooted in secrets. Specifically, the twist is an action or event which reveals that things are not what everyone thought them to be. It is the moment when the penny drops—the moment in The Sixth Sense, when Malcolm Crowe realises that he is dead, the moment when a puzzle is suddenly solved as in Chinatown when Evelyn Mulvaney gives up of her shameful secret that Katherine Cross is both her daughter and her sister as a result of her father’s incestuous acts with her. Her shocking revelation explains Evelyn’s obfuscating behaviour, her seeming lies, her stutter upon the mention of the word ‘father’, and the like.

Here’s what you need to know about writing secrets and have them drive your twists: 1. What is the purpose of the secret? 2. Whose secret is it? 3. Who is unaware of the secret? 4. When should the secret be revealed? 5. To whom is the secret first revealed, and why?

Typically, then, the twist may occur near a turning point in a story, but it’s most important differentiation from the turning point is that it delivers a gut-wrenching emotion, couched in past secrets, that sheds light upon hitherto unexplained action.

Summary

Turning points steer the action in new directions prepared for earlier. Twists expose secrets and create powerful emotions through surprise.

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How to use theme to drive your story.

How Dead Poet’s Society renders theme.
How Dead Poet’s Society renders theme.

In her book, Advanced Screenwriting, Linda Seger reminds us that one of the many ways a writer expresses the theme of a story is through an either-or-statement. She provides several examples, but let’s look at one in particular nested in one of my most favourite films!

In Dead Poet’s Society the theme is conformity versus creativity. This clash is expressed through the characters battling over their beliefs. More importantly, exploring the theme through conflict lays bare the consequences of each belief system.

The principal of the school represents steadfast tradition, which is not wrong in itself, until it collides with the creative spirit and tries to crush it. Todd (Ethan Hawke), on the other hand, is transformed by the creative spirit at the end of the film. He has literally learnt to stand up for what he believes in. The unforgettable line, “Oh, Captain my Captain” is his stirring and rebellious affirmation of the open-minded creativity represented by Mr. Keating (Robin Williams). Ultimately, Mr. Keating’s plea to his students is to keep examining the world from different perspectives in order to flourish as people and artists.

“The theme of the story is what shapes its characters, actions and events. It is the story’s meaning.”

Opposing the value of creativity, Charlie (Gale Hansen) represents the sort of person who thinks creativity promotes chaos. He can’t admit that balance is perhaps the way to allow both sides to flourish. The result is reflected in Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) who tragically can’t sustain his creativity against the overwhelming weight of his father’s wish that he become a doctor. The result? He commits suicide in hopeless despair.

The film explores the theme of conformity versus creativity by encasing it inside separate characters whose views and choices result in specific outcomes. Perhaps the lesson here is that an accommodation ought to be sought between binary beliefs. Mr. Keating is an example of how to navigate these seemingly incompatible poles: He is a creative soul who does not reject the value of tradition out of hand, providing it does not become an obstacle to one’s hopes and dreams.

Summary

The theme of a story is the point of the tale and is embodied in the actions and character of the players that people it.

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Why have our stories grown stale?

Banish the stale! Follow Chinatown’s example.
Banish the stale. Follow Chinatown’s example.

Much of our viewing consumption, whether at the cinema or through streaming services, has grown stale. There is a repetitiveness to the story structure, genre, theme, and the subliminal messaging. Superhero stories predominate, and what’s worse, the sequel-generating machine has diminished the spark that may have existed in the original. The disconnected and visually numbing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, is a case in point.

What’s the reason for this? I’d venture a lack of originality and character authenticity which the presence of the brand alone can’t compensate for. Then there’s the easy access to tons of tv series and films on streaming services which has educated audiences about the tricks that go into a story. Formulas are exposed for being just that—formulas. Add the avalanche of cardboard characters and limp story lines and you get the picture.

So, what’s the remedy? My instinct is to go back to creating strong, authentic characters driven by credible goals, hopes and ambitions—characters who harbour wounds and secrets, and who are immersed in situations, albeit fantastical on occasion, that we find believable. 

“We should banish what is stale in our stories by getting back to the basics, by concentrating on originality and verisimilitude.”

One of the things that makes Chinatown a great story is the power of the wounds and secrets that Evelyn Malwray harbours. These drive the entire story—wounds and secrets whose consequences affect the characters, generate subtext, and create story questions. And what a staggering reveal late in the story when Evelyn finally comes clean to Jake Gittes!

Citizen Kane too is an enduring classic in no small part because Kane has a painful secret that the audience is dying to know. Indeed the whole film is predicated upon unraveling the meaning of the word ‘Rosebud’ uttered by Kane on his deathbed. The theme that is encoded in that word—that the value of family outweighs material wealth and fame, also lends the story a transcendent meaning that elevates it and keeps it resonant and fresh. If only we could inject such verisimilitude into the current parade of stories.

Summary

Many stories have fallen prey to stale, repetitive formulas, plots, and shallow characters swimming in the sludge of endless franchises of dubious worth.

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Story beats and archetypes in the Hero’s Journey

During one of my lecturers on the Hero’s Journey based on Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, a student asked me about the nature of the relationship that exists between the eight archetypes and the twelve beats that comprise a tale of this sort. Before answering the question let me remind everyone of the Archetypes and story beats.


The Archetypes are: 1. Hero, 2. Mentor, 3. Threshold Guardian, 4. Herald, 5. Shapeshifter, 6. Shadow, 7. Ally, 8. Trickster.

The story beats are: 1. The Ordinary World, 2. The Call to Adventure, 3. Refusal of the call, 4. Meeting with the Mentor, 5. Crossing of the First Threshold, 6. Tests, Enemies and Allies, 7. Approach to the inmost Cave, 8. The Ordeal, 9. The Reward, 10. The Road Back, 11. The Resurrection, 12. Return with the Elixir.

“Story beats and archetypal characters are two sides of the same story coin .”

One of the most essential relationships between story beats and archetypes is their proximity to each other—archetypal characters tend to be evoked at specific points in the story: The introduction to the Ordinary World, for example, entails that we meet the Hero in the context of his or her world. The Call to Adventure demands that we throw the Herald into the mix. The Meeting with the Mentor means that the mentor has to persuade the hero, who has previously Refused the Call, to take it on. The Crossing of the First Threshold necessitates that the Threshold Guardian makes an appearance to defend his threshold. Tests, Allies and Enemies means that these characters interact with the hero (and to us), to aid or block his path towards his quest.

The point is that the archetypal characters are embedded in the hero’s journey—they are two sides of the same coin. Together, they tell of how a character, the hero, rises to the challenge to subdue outer threats, which necessitates integrating the warring energies within himself or herself represented by the very archetypes.

Summary

Archetypal characters appear at specific points in the hero’s journey, so much so that several of these story beats contain their very name.

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The catalyst scene(s)

Solving of the math problem in Good Will Hunting is a fine catalyst.
Solving of the math problem in Good Will Hunting is a fine example of a catalyst scene.

Linda Seger describes the catalyst scene as one that sets the story in motion. Some refer to this scene as the inciting incident, but this may be a little confusing if not positioned early, as I shall explain below.

The first catalyst, or inciting incident as some may say, occurs within the first ten or fifteen minutes in a film. Seger gives us the following examples: The death of the gladiator’s wife in Gladiator, the quitting of the job in American Beauty, the solving of the math problem in Good Will Hunting or the shooting in Saving Private Ryan.

Seger makes the point that strong catalysts ought to emerge through actions and events rather than unfold through long verbal exchanges. Although a catalyst most commonly occurs in the first half of Act One they may occur throughout the script. For this reason I prefer not to refer to the catalyst as the inciting incident.

“A catalyst scene is a call to action.”

Seger provides further examples: Let’s say two people meet at the first turning point in Act One, and as a result fall in love. Or, say, in Act Two a detective uncovers an additional clue which leads him to change his approach to an investigation. Or, perhaps, at the midpoint a protagonist learns about a new drug which might cure her of her cancer. All these bits of information serve as catalysts which initiate subsequent actions that propel the story forward.

Summary

The catalyst scene is a spur to action initiating a series of cause-and-affect events in a story.

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