What Writers Can Learn From Films to Become More Efficient Storytellers

Sam Staley — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 14:31:15 GMT

Current Revision posted to Setting by Sam Staley on 4/4/2018 2:31:15 PM

Film can be an extraordinary vehicle to learn about storytelling says award-winning author and film critic Sam Staley (SR Staley). Screenwriters have the challenging job of telling a comprehensive story within a specific structure and set amount of time. Screenwriting is a skill that requires discipline and a very lean approach to effective storytelling, explains Staley. As a film critic, Staley has learned to watch films with an analytical eye, enhancing his own storytelling abilities. Dialogue and visuals are critical to a film because these are the elements that will move the story forward. While dialogue is equally important when writing fiction, fiction storytellers also have to figure out how to make a reader visualize things through effective descriptions, utilizing the senses. The big advantage that fiction writers have over screenwriters, he says, is that fiction writers can describe touch, which is the most bonding of the five senses.

www.authorlearningcenter.com/.../What-Writers-Can-Learn-From-Films-to-Become-More-Efficient-Storytellers.mp4

Tags: fiction, video