The Premise of It All
Before I can invest in any story, I need to buy into the premise. If I can’t buy into the premise, I’ll struggle to believe the story that unfolds. My brain will be on alert for realism, credibility and probability issues. I don’t want it to be. That’s just the way my brain works. You know? It thinks. Now this doesn’t mean the only stories I like are ones grounded in contemporary society or and/or issues. I love anything that tells a good story, no matter how fantastical. Just sell the premise to me and I’m in. An eccentric inventor builds a time machine into a DeLorean? No problem! Immortals…
Character Development
One of the most important things for me in story is character development. Measuring development can done by asking (and answering) these three simple questions. Where does the character begin the story? What is the journey the character takes? Where does the character end the story? This is one of the reasons I loathe so many of the blockbusters nowadays. Characters don’t develop. They just are. I’ll use the new Star Wars Trilogy as an example. This new series has polarised fans. I find it boring because the protagonist is complete when she is handed to us. Although she opens the story as a scavenger, she is a crack pilot…