Laurie Hutzler - How to Evaluate Stories

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT HOW TO EVALUATE STORIES:

"This little book is so packed with story wisdom it is mind boggling. Each concise suggestion is so clear and easy and yet as you apply them to your work, they will continue to open up and deepen in your understanding. These are the great film story tenets that the best storytellersand executives!know and work from. Read it, learn it, use it, because these checklists are packed with a story punch that will get you way ahead of the pack."

Meg LeFauve, producer, screenwriter, former President of Jodie Foster's Egg Pictures

"Laurie's storytelling techniques have shaved HOURS off of my work day and off of the script development process. I've been able to apply her lessons to film, television and even advertising projects. I wish every writer, director and ad industry professional would buy this book."

Bernadette Rivero, President of The Cortez Brothers production and multi-platform content company

"This is an excellent guide for any new and existing writer or producer to have by their side as they embark on a project. It gives a really clear reminder of what is vital for success".

Naomi Joseph, Executive Director of International Scripted Programming, Endemol Group, London

"It's a great little guide, very useful and dripping with truth. The creative process can be messy, murky and bewildering, but Laurie's short, precise story guide shines enough light for all to see."

Nick Malmholt, screenwriter and former Head of Drama, FremantleMedia Worldwide Drama

"This is the most comprehensive overview of screenwriting I've read. Why read 100 pages of some other writer's journey when you get what you need in just a few pages? This is a quick amazing read. Don't spend your time reading while you are trying to write."

Jamison Reeves, actor, writer, director

"Though I've written almost twenty screenplays, after reading Laurie's How To Evaluate Stories book, I hurried to revise a treatment I'd just written. I'll go back to this book again and again, each time I start a script, because Laurie's clear, concise concepts about what makes a good script and a good story are dead on. This book would be helpful to any writer, novice or veteran. I highly recommend it."

Lisanne Sartor, screenwriter and CineStory Board President

"This is SO great and useful! It's amazing how it dovetails with some truths I'm coming to learn about my own character as I move through the crises in my own life. I'm gonna keep it right on my desk because it reminds me WHY we write and fuels my passion for it. Having read it and used it, it's a steal for the price."

Rita Augustine, screenwriter

"Laurie Hutzler's How to Evaluate Stories is an invaluable resource for any filmmaker who wants to thoroughly "interrogate" their script, asking the tough questions. If you're serious about telling a compelling story, one that grabs the audience and refuses to let go, read this eBook...Now!"

Derrick Pete

"It is sound for every screenwriter to collect second opinions on a finished draft. In most cases, though, we do not get the advice we need. What we do get instead is other peoples version of our story. Laurie Hutzlers concise book How To Evaluate Stories enables us to detect potential flaws ourselves."

Wieland Bauder, screenwriter, university teacher DffB Berlin Film School

HOW TO EVALUATE STORIES

By Laurie H. Hutzler

Copyright 2012 Laurie H. Hutzler. All Rights Reserved.

An Emotional Toolbox Publication

INTRODUCTION

An executive for a major broadcaster was transitioning into a creative position in the company. The executive, one of my corporate clients, asked me for a recommendation of a book on story evaluation or a story evaluation workshop for executives.

I did a search on Amazon and in the bookstore and found nothing that would suit her need for a quick but comprehensive primer on the crucial elements that go into evaluating a project. There were no workshops, beyond general writing workshops. I decided to write such a primer myself.

Heres what the executive said in response to the material I prepared: I'm speechless. This is incredible. Thank you so much. The primer is still in use in the company today. I decided to put this information into my first eReader publication.

Ive evaluated and consulted on countless projects across the globe for major media clients. Ive worked on adaptations and original stories for big studio pictures and small independent features. This primer is the result of ten years of teaching at the UCLA Film School at the graduate level and an equal amount of time working on every kind of story imaginable from animation, to action adventure, to high-brow drama, to broad comedy, to continuing television series, to small intense character-driven films.

What Ive learned is good storytelling is good storytelling regardless of project size, budget, or genre. Whether your project is a novel or a screenplay, if the story you are working on doesnt have the crucial elements discussed here it wont have the compelling narrative drive that captures and holds an audiences interest.

This comprehensive checklist of questions and illustrative examples will help you zero in on key story problems and delineate what exactly is missing in a project that just doesnt work or somehow falls flat.

Take a look at the back of the publication for a full list of books and materials on character and story development available on my website: http://www.etbscreenwriting.com

Enjoy! Laurie Hutzler

CHAPTER 1: DOES THE SCRIPT CLEARLY DISTINGUISH WANT AND NEED?

The answer to this first question provides a critical overview of the story. If this question isnt answered clearly then it doesnt matter how good the individual scenes might be. The story wont add up to much or hold together properly.

What Does the Character Want?

What the main character wants is a clear and simple ego-driven goal. It is something that directly benefits the main character that he or she can physically have or obtain. It is concrete. It is specific. It is the finite object of the characters personal desire. For example: Win the championship trophy, get the promotion, pay the rent, solve the crime, buy the fancy car, steal the jewel, get the girl (or guy), etc.

To obtain the want, the character must abandon the need.

What Does the Character Need?

What the character needs is an inner ache or yearning that the character is unaware of, denies, suppresses, or ignores. It is a deeper, more abstract or intangible human longing. It is not physical or concrete. It is an emotional or spiritual urge or inner call to live up to ones higher nature. For example: To become a better parent, to forgive another, to act with integrity, to find ones faith, to become more altruistic, to be a more reliable friend, to face the truth, to love unselfishly, etc.

To embrace the need, the character must abandon the specific self-centered goal (or object of desire) and address more fundamental and far-reaching human concerns.

What is the Conflict Between the Want and the Need?

One of the most common problems with stories that dont work is the lack of a clear and specific want vs. a deep and powerful inner longing.

The want pulls us through the story. The need draws us deeper into or inside the character. If this bedrock conflict isnt clear the story wont add up to very much.

Does the Story Clearly Distinguish the Want and the Need?

Does the main character have a specific physical or concrete object of personal desire? What does he or she want? What is the concrete physical goal or specific objective?