The Way of Story. Catherine Ann Jones

      Chapter 3

      Writing the

      Story Outline:

      From Vision to Marketplace

      I write outlines a lot. Not always scene by scene, but the basic story points.

      — Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost, Stuart Little 2)

      AS A PLAYWRIGHT and short story writer, I never wrote story outlines. Knowing now all I have learned from writing screenplays where structure is crucial, I would first write an outline before writing any narrative form.

      Why? There are two reasons: it helps to nail the structure of the story, and it is an excellent marketing tool. It lets the buyer know in three to five pages exactly what the story is. Writing the list of chapters in a book serves roughly the same purpose. So whether submitting a book proposal to an agent or publisher or trying to sell a movie idea, writing the story outline helps to move the writer from vision to the marketplace.

      Working in Hollywood gave me the opportunity to learn how to write story outlines because they are required to pitch or tell your story to studio or television executives. Remember that in the beginning storytelling was primarily verbal, oral traditions handed down from one fireside to another. This tradition is alive and well in Hollywood.

      Not many know the origin of the word “pitch” but it might help to understand how important it is. The story goes that during the Spanish Inquisition, Torquemada would tell imprisoned playwrights that if they could interest him in an idea, he would let them live long enough to write it. If not, they were dropped into a large vat of boiling tar, hence the term “pitch.” So never underestimate the value of a well-executed pitch!

      When I first came to Hollywood as a New York playwright, I was invited to pitch stories to executives. They would ask if I had a story outline to leave with them. You rarely pitch to the person who has the power to green light the project, but to someone lower on the totem pole. They, in turn, go and pitch to their boss. Hence, it helps them — and you — if they have a concise and clear outline to refer to when they in turn tell your story to the powers that be.

      In olden days in Hollywood, studio heads such as Louis B. Mayer would say, “Just tell me the story” — not let me read the story. The fact is, most Hollywood execs do not like to read. Jack Warner (Warner Brothers) once said, “I would rather take a fifty- mile hike than crawl through a book.” Sam Goldwyn (MGM) remarked, “I read part of it all the way through.”

      Early on, I actually received a rejection letter from one of the top three talent agencies in Los Angeles which stated, “I read your title page and don’t feel it’s right for us.” Title page means simply the title of the screenplay and my name! (Hollywood is not for the faint of heart!)

      No sensible architect would embark on building a house before spending ample time on a blueprint. Writing a story outline provides the necessary blueprint for building story.

      Once I served as a writing consultant for a new client’s feature screenplay and had to tell him to cut the first forty pages, as his story did not really begin until page forty-one! Had he spent time on his outline, this could easily have been avoided.

      Naturally, some things may change when you are in the process of writing your narrative. No outline is written in stone, though it serves as the foundation for your story. By writing and re-writing your outline, the story structure becomes solid. This way when you go to MSS or script, you can save a lot of time and grief in re-writing.

      When first asked for an outline by a studio development person, I asked if they had a sample so I would know the correct form to follow. “There’s no special form,” I was told, so I made up my own. My students and clients have found this a useful sample, but feel free to create your own, if you wish.

       LOVE AND DEATH IN TUSCANY

      by

      Catherine Ann Jones

       (based on the novel by Isabelle Holland)

      THE SETTING

      Italy, the seventies

      THE CHARACTERS

      PHOEBE, 30s, from Alabama now living in Italy, eccentric free spirit

      MEG, 15, her rebellious daughter

      COTTON, 30s, artist and friend

      PETER SMITH, 40s, English, irresponsible but charming lover of Phoebe, a classical scholar who earns his living by writing porn novels

      ALAN GRANT, 40s, Meg’s father now an Anglican priest

      SYLVIA, 50s, wealthy American who owns a 15th- century castle, outrageous and wonderful

      THE THEME

      A character-driven drama about love and death. A confrontation between spiritual and human love.

      THE STORY

      PHOEBE, an extraordinary woman who lives by her heart and no rules, makes a meager living as a tour guide in Tuscany. She has just learned that she will die within six months to a year. Concerned about her illegitimate daughter, MEG, 15, she decides to reveal who the father is. She contacts him and has him come to meet the daughter he never knew existed until now.

      ALAN, now a priest, is troubled by doubts about his calling which are further challenged when he reunites with Phoebe — whom he refers to as a force of nature — and discovers parenthood in his confrontational relationship with Meg.

      MEG is at that awkward stage, trying to discover who she is. How to react to a father you thought was dead and who never knew he even had a daughter? Then when you learn your mother is dying, anger is easier somehow.

      PETER, Phoebe’s charming but rather helpless lover has an alcohol problem and is not a suitable candidate for fatherhood.

      COTTON, gay and a close friend of Phoebe’s. Ever since she can remember, Meg has been in love with him. She wants to remain with Cotton rather than her unknown father, which only intensifies the conflict between her eccentric, unpredictable mother and herself.

      SYLVIA, outrageous, generous, and perceptive, is a close friend. Five marriages later, Sylvia lives in a 15th-century castle and surrounds herself with only interesting people. “Who but Phoebe could teach us that death is just another part of living?”

      As you can see, this outline is only one page in length. It is for a feature screenplay or two-hour television movie. Later I did a fifteen-page treatment of the same project. A one-pager is sometimes useful as it concisely tells your story, and helps you