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A story is a journey that tests the character of the Main Character. 

The harder the test, the greater the doubt in the outcome, the more dramatic a story will be. 

The threat of real failure is what makes a story compelling.

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The Main Character is the one who takes on the hardest task.

In a story, being the Hero is not based on special powers or star billing or screen time.

Taking on the challenge of the hardest task is the thing that defines the Main Character.

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Know what your Main Character really wants and create obstacles to put in the way.

A Main Character goes on a journey, in spite of the conflicts, because they desperately want something. Creating obstacles that are difficult for your Main Character to overcome builds the drama and raises doubt about the eventual outcome. Knowing what your Main Character desperately wants and tailoring obstacles to put in the way - That's the writer's main job.

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There are essentially just two types of stories.

A comedy, in which the Main Character is better off for having taken the journey - usually because they learn, grow and change. And a tragedy, in which the Main Character is worse off for having taken the journey - usually because they had an opportunity to learn, grow and change, but did not.

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Skip the boring bits and just write the good stuff.

Don't feel compelled to write scenes that explain things.

When you explain things you are answering questions, not raising them, and it's boring.

In The Princess Bride, the great writer William Goldman felt the need to create a narrator,

a grandfather reading to his sick grandson,

so that he could skip the boring bits and keep the story moving.

You don't need to go to all that trouble –

You are hereby fully empowered to skip the boring bits and just write the good stuff.

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© 2026 Brooklyn Producers Lab

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