I was listening to Aaron Sorkin talk about writing and one of his favorite things to say is that the character must have a want and there must be an obstacle. The tactics used by the character show the character. You can’t just say who this person is it has to be demonstrated through their actions.
I was also thinking about theme recently because I’m editing a short film idea. One of the comments I got back was that there was no clear theme of the story. It made me think of themes in general which tend to repeat and it’s not like you need to reinvent the wheel. There’s probably 15 to 20 that come up a lot and I have a feeling writers reuse themes that they like. The theme could be more philosophical like the mind-body problem in the matrix. It could also be more basic like good versus evil.
I think a good source of themes can be found in fairytales and fables
A theme can basically a lesson. What is the lesson or the truth that you’re trying to teach. It could be a meditation on one word. Or a philosophical principle versus another. I
n Aesop‘s fables you have things like never give up, slow and steady wins the race, work hard and play hard, be happy with what you have, there’s always a way, ideas are good but execution is better, lead by example, you’re probably not that important, don’t underestimate yourself, learn from the failures of others, kindness wins people over, no act of kindness is ever wasted don’t always expect a reward. Especially when serving the wicked.
I think other things like : is it worth hurting one person to save others? Career versus family. I think that in my story with a cop who’s undercover you can do: is it worth blowing your cover in order to save an idiot? Is it at the end of the day. Is principled work worth it versus making money as a criminal. The story borrows from reservoir dogs. Some of the scenes and reservoir dogs are violence madness lies and deceit and loyalty. Also identity.
I was also thinking about conflict in stories – ones where there isn’t a big violent action scene there has to be a crisis of some kind a pitched crisis and they could be a big blowout fight usually also with something like a medical emergency. I’m thinking of that Thanksgiving movie.
Another idea his paranoia versus caution. I Kind of like that idea. Or each character represents also a theme. I think that’s what Tarantino dead in reservoir dogs.
Going back to the idea that Aaron Sorkin mentions the. What is the goal of the main character or each character and what is the obstacle.