Story Line

by Jennifer Grisanti

  Dexter has achieved his goal and suffered a loss along the way: Rita. This opens up story for the next season and makes you really want to come back to see what happens. This is a powerful example of how the placement of goal/dilemma added to the success of the story.

  Over the next several pages, I will take you through the movie Up in the Air and show you how well the writers, Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, have developed this story and how the formula reflects some of what is discussed in this chapter. In Up in the Air, the setup of the dilemma in the teaser is seeing how much Ryan loves the travel part of his job, which involves firing people in person. Ryan considers the air “home.” It allows him to live a very detached existence. His goal is to continue to live this way and never be “grounded.” We see Ryan speak at a motivational seminar where we learn his philosophy through the question, “How much does your life weigh?” He asks us what would happen if we learned not to have so much packed in our backpack. What if we woke up with an empty backpack, wouldn’t it be exhilarating? This is where Ryan’s character starts. He has the belief that the more detached you are from your life, the better it could be.

  As I see it, there are three major story catalysts. The first is when his boss tells him to return to the office saying, “We got something big. A game changer.” The second is when his sister, Kara, calls to remind him about their sister Julie’s wedding, which is three weeks away, and asks him to carry a cardboard cutout of the happy couple and take pictures with it at his travel destinations. The third is when he meets his love interest, Alex. All of these scenes happen in a row and all three scenes are starting points to Ryan’s shift in his philosophy.

  The first obstacle in his boss Craig’s “game changer” is the introduction of Natalie. Natalie has a plan that will be cost-effective and take the travel component out of their jobs. If her plan goes into place, Ryan will be “grounded.” This threatens Ryan’s whole philosophy of “Moving is living.” Craig tells Ryan that he has a choice: he can show Natalie the ropes and take her with him on the road, or he can refuse and be “grounded.” This is a great dilemma for Ryan and one that escalates throughout the rest of the movie. Ryan decides to show Natalie that their job needs to be done in person, not on a computer screen. If he can accomplish this, he won’t be “grounded.” Not being “grounded” is Ryan’s goal. Alex calls Ryan. This builds the idea of how Ryan is fulfilled by the travel part of his life and how being “grounded” could get in the way of this.

  Ryan walks Natalie through their first in-person firing. He shows her how the human touch can lend comfort to the employee being fired. Ryan tells Natalie about his goal to hit 10 million frequent flier miles. Natalie connects this goal to Ryan’s “fear of mortality” and tells him, “Yes, you’re going to die one day.” Kara calls Ryan and asks if he can cash in some of his miles for Julie’s bridesmaid who is having trouble getting to the wedding. Ryan will pay for a train ticket but will not give up his miles. We see his attachment to his miles. Ryan hears Natalie talking to her boyfriend. She says, “No, I can’t even think of him that way…he’s old.” Natalie helps Ryan take the picture with the cardboard cutout of his sister and her fiancé. Natalie asks to fire the next woman herself. After Natalie gives her speech, the woman responds, “There’s this beautiful bridge by my apartment. I need to figure out what time to jump off it.” Natalie reacts. Ryan tells her that people say things like this but they never actually do it.

  At the midpoint, Ryan gives his empty backpack speech. This time he talks about filling the backpack with all the people we have in our lives. He says, “Feel the straps cutting into your shoulders. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets and compromises.” He goes on, “You don’t need to carry all that weight.” “Some animals were meant to carry each other. To live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star-crossed lovers. Monogamous swans. We are not one of those animals.” He closes, “The slower we move, the faster we die. We are not swans. We’re sharks.”

  We see Ryan begin to question his own philosophy. This is fueled by Natalie, Alex, and the scenario with his sister. Natalie challenges Ryan’s perspective of never wanting to get married. Natalie reasons: “How about not dying alone?” Ryan: “Make no mistake. We all die alone.” Natalie breaks down. She tells Ryan that her boyfriend, Brian, left her. Ryan consoles her. Alex arrives. She hears of Natalie’s breakup. Alex: “He broke up with you over a text message?” Ryan: “That’s kind of like firing people over the Internet.”

  During this trip, Alex also challenges Ryan’s philosophy. Alex: “Back home, I don’t get to act the way I do with you.” Ryan: “That’s why I don’t have a “back home.” Alex: “I know you’re so cool, such a lone wolf with your ‘empty backpack.’” Ryan explains the backpack. He closes with, “I don’t know what originally sparked the backpack. I probably needed to be alone. Recently, I’ve been thinking that maybe I needed to empty the bag before I knew what to put back in.” The next morning, Alex leaves. We can see the tables are starting to turn. Natalie asks Ryan about Alex. She asks if he’s going to see her in Chicago. He tells her that they don’t have that kind of relationship. She challenges his philosophy. Natalie: “The isolation? The traveling? Is that supposed to be charming?” Ryan: “No, it’s simply a life choice.” Natalie: “It’s a cocoon of self-banishment.”

  The “all is lost” moment is when their boss appears on the computer screen of their next round of firing and tells them that it’s time. He wants them to give the computer a try. Ryan asks Craig for more time. He says no. Ryan tells Natalie, “We’re going home.” At the airport, Natalie apologizes to Ryan for what she said about Alex. Ryan leaves and tells Natalie that there’s something he has to do. He’ll meet her at work.

  Ryan meets Alex in Vegas. He takes more pictures with Julie’s cardboard figure. Ryan invites Alex to his sister’s wedding. In their room at his sister’s wedding, Ryan playfully says, “Um, I love you?” Ryan is kidding, but not really.

  Ryan meets Julie’s fiancé, Jim, and introduces Julie to Alex. Ryan pulls out the photos. He is proud that he did something special for his family. Julie tells him to put them up on the board. Ryan sees hundreds of pictures. His effort suddenly seems miniscule. Ryan tells Julie that Jim seems like a nice guy. Since their father is not there, Ryan offers to walk Julie down the aisle. Julie responds: “Oh, yeah, Jim’s uncle is going to do it.” Kara responds, “He’s been really supportive.” This is a pivotal moment for Ryan. He really begins to see that his philosophy is getting in the way of his life, not adding to it. We see him begin to change.

  Ryan shows Alex his old high school. Kara calls. She tells Ryan they need him, because Jim has cold feet. Kara wants Ryan to talk to Jim. Ryan asks Kara why she wants him to do it when he hasn’t even been to bat. Kara says, “Don’t you talk for a living? Motivational type stuff?” Ryan: “I tell people how to avoid commitment.” Kara: “What kind of fucked up message is that?” Kara tells Ryan that this is his chance to be there for her.

  Jim explains his fears to Ryan about marriage. Clearly, he equates it with being the beginning of the end. Metaphorically, by hearing Jim, we are getting insight into how Ryan feels about being in the air versus being grounded. Being grounded for him represents the beginning of the end. This is a great example of the B story elevating the emotion in the A Story. Jim asks Ryan, “What’s the point?” Ryan fumbles but then draws a scenario that helps Jim. He says, “Hey. Everyone needs a copilot.”

  Jim makes up with Julie. They have the reception. Alex and Ryan say goodbye. Ryan admits to being lonely. Natalie shows Ryan how the new system is working. Ryan buys a car, an action symbolizing his change. He decides to go to Chicago to see Alex. Ryan knocks at Alex’s door. She answers. He sees kids in the background. A man’s voice says, “Honey, who is at the door?” Alex: “Just some guy who was lost.”

  Ryan later asks Alex on the phone how she could lie to him. Alex tells Ryan that she thought their relationship was perfectly clear: It’s an escape.
Ryan: “I’m an escape?” Alex: “You know, a break from our normal lives…a parentheses.”

  Ryan hits the ten-million-mile mark and has his moment with the CEO. It’s not what he thought it would be. Ryan makes arrangements to give Julie and Jim two “around the world” tickets. This is another action he takes showing his change from the beginning of the movie. Craig comes in. He tells Ryan that Karen Barnes, the woman that Natalie fired, killed herself. Jumped off a bridge. He asks Ryan if there were any signals. Ryan says no. Craig tells Ryan that Natalie quit and that he’s putting Ryan back in the air. Ryan writes a glowing letter of recommendation for Natalie.

  The movie ends with Ryan’s V.O.: “Tonight, most people will be welcomed home by jumping dogs and squealing kids. Their spouses will ask about their day and tonight they’ll sleep. The stars will wheel forth from their daytime hiding places, crowning their neighborhood with lights. And one of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip, passing over, blessing them.”

  While the ending is not your typical happy Hollywood ending, it does reveal a very strong character journey for Ryan. It is the clear understanding of his goal and dilemma, the obstacles, escalating obstacles, turning point and “all is lost” moment reflecting back to the goal and dilemma that help to make this such a strong story.

  If you have a firm goal and dilemma in place, it will actually make writing easier for you. If your external goal and internal goal are opposing, this will help to build your dilemma. As I’ve mentioned earlier, setting the destination helps you to establish your road map. If you understand where you are going and what the dilemma is, you will know how to heighten and escalate your obstacles, what goes into your midpoint and how to build to your “all is lost” moment before your character achieves or does not achieve his or her goal.

  EXERCISE

  Analyze all your favorite television and feature scripts with this formula in mind. Look for the clear establishment of the goals and dilemmas. In television, see if the act outs reflect the building of this goal and dilemma in terms of obstacles, escalating obstacles, turning point and your “all is lost” moment. In your favorite feature script, look for the catalyst on page 12, then the clear establishment of the goal and dilemma by page 30. Next look at the midpoint; does it heighten or change the direction of the initial goal? Look at the “all is lost” moment around page 75. Does it reflect back to being as far away as possible from achieving the goal set by the end of Act I? How you look at and evaluate story will help you to better understand your own.

  Of your list, write down what films and TV shows have the strongest dilemmas. Begin to notice the value of story that comes from these dilemmas. Start to view story from this perspective.

  Chapter Twelve

  WHAT OBSTACLES HAVE YOU FACED IN YOUR OWN LIFE IN PURSUIT OF YOUR GOALS?

  If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.

  ~ Frank A. Clark

  Obstacles are more often than not a part of reaching our destination. Part of the glory of attaining a goal is being able to look at all of the obstacles that were in the way and know that you were able to overcome them. This makes the victory that much sweeter and gratifying in life and, especially, in story.

  Think about the role that obstacles have played in your life. Start by valuing all of your accomplishments to date. Think about the road you took to get to each one of them. What did it feel like to graduate high school? What did it feel like to graduate from college? What did it feel like to find the love of your life? What did it feel like to get your first job or your first promotion? What did it feel like to know you made your parents proud? What did your path look like? Did you veer off what you felt was the proper path many times along the way? If you did, you’re like so many of us. It is in these detours that we see what we are really capable of achieving and in learning how to get back on the right road that our destination becomes clearer. Would the journey be as fulfilling if the obstacles weren’t there? Probably, in most cases, it would not.

  We root for victory when we understand how much effort has been put into reaching the accomplishment. The Olympics are a perfect example of this. When we heard the story about the 21-year-old luge rider who was killed in Vancouver, we were devastated. The athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili of the Republic of Georgia, lost control of his sled near the end of his training run while traveling nearly 90 miles per hour—about as fast as any luger had ever gone before the new track was completed in 2007. Without even hearing about his background, we understood that he more than likely gave up his life to live in the glory of his moment, but he didn’t get his moment. This hurt, angered, and upset so many of us. As viewers, we root for the hero to have his moment. We want to hear the stories behind the victories. We mourn for the people involved in the losses. We all connect with what it is to put endless hours into a goal. Watching the Olympics is like viewing some our own hopes and dreams of achieving, only in a different light. We connect and empathize with some of the heart-wrenching stories behind the athletes. This is the gift and the value of story. We may not all be athletes, but we do all have dreams. So, having a platform to watch others achieve their dreams makes us believe that our own dreams can come true if we just have determination and passion.

  Have you ever veered away from what you thought was a destined moment in your life? What were the obstacles that went into this? Did they reach a point of escalation where it wasn’t worth attaining the final destination? If the obstacles were too much to overcome, maybe the goal wasn’t right for you. We don’t know this unless we try. If we try and we fail, at least we know that we tried. We have so much to learn from our failures. Behind every great accomplishment often lies a string of failures. Failures and obstacles are put in our path for a reason; they steer us in the direction we are meant to go in.

  After my divorce, I remember hearing the phrase, “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.” I found so much relief in this idea. It released me from feeling like a failure. It was like a breath of fresh air. It made me realize my divorce was just a detour on a path that would eventually take me to a stronger destination. If we are all exactly where we are supposed to be, it means that any obstacles we encounter are put in our way for a reason. We have choices in life. One of them is the choice between learning from our detours and getting back on path or falling victim to them and wasting our life consumed by what could have been rather than being actively involved in what is.

  Start paying attention to the stories developing around you. Many involve an underdog. This makes the end result more gratifying. We can all relate to being the underdog. No matter how gifted we are or how great life has been, somewhere along the way, we have all felt isolated or undeserving. So, we connect with these stories. To create a strong story you need obstacles and you need to build and escalate these obstacles as you get closer to the final destination. You may want to throw in a turning point that twists your central character in a whole new direction. We all know what it is like to be on one path and then suddenly hit an unexpected cul-de-sac. We re-evaluate and sometimes decide to go in a different direction. We often find that the new direction is better than the one that we were headed in and will help us to reach the same destination, only in a stronger way.

  Consider these moments in your own life. How high have your obstacles been? What have your greatest victories been? Go into these moments. Why did your highs reach the heights that they did? Often the highest highs are those that result from conquering what we thought would be insurmountable obstacles. These are the moments that we all want to believe in. Being able to communicate and express these in your story lines will heighten the emotional stakes and keep your plot moving forward.

  Like with many people after divorce, I faced a dilemma: How could I get back on track to finding a healthy love after going so far off track? Part of my disillusionment was fueled by my belief in fairy tales. I know that this is something that has a psychological effect on
many of us when it comes to love. I see it in countless stories, references to “I just want my fairy tale,” or “I want my happily ever after,” or “Where is my Prince Charming?” All these questions feed into a fantasy, raising our expectations to unreachable heights and very often killing a reality.

  By taking my detour and getting a divorce, I found greater love inside than I have ever known. I have found a connection with self that I know was not there before I hit my obstacle. I have grown so much and learned that the answers to true fulfillment are all inside each one of us. Most of us are just too afraid to really have a cold hard look inside ourselves.

  Recently, I was at a family event. I ran into a woman whose husband left her and her two kids after he came out of the closet. My heart went out to all of them. I couldn’t begin to grasp the confusion and the turmoil that one decision caused for this family. It was not that a gay man leading a straight life was unheard of, but I couldn’t imagine how their reality must have shifted. Why would you choose to go in a direction that isn’t true to who you are? If you make the choice to go against your truth, it seems like your life will be in a constant state of disharmony. The dilemma being that when you hit a point where you can no longer live the lie, you’re forced to look at the damage that you caused along the way. It takes courage to make the right decisions. It often takes seeing the damage that we’ve caused to understand that the choices we make affect those around us. Maybe we need to put more time into some of those choices.

  Think of all of the moments in your own journey to finding true love. We’ve all experienced obstacles on our path to love. Some of us grow up seeing love through our parents, and others of us grow up wondering about love. Both are interesting dilemmas. If we grow up seeing love, we see that love is not perfect all of the time. I’ve never met anyone who has had the experience of seeing “perfect” love in their parents’ relationship. Yet, we still cling to the fairy tale and the idea that our love will be different. Some people are so obsessed with the “fairy tale” that they don’t see love even when it presents itself.