The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction by Erik Bork (PDF)

Description

Most screenwriting books tend to focus on story structure, scene writing, navigating the business, and other parts of the craft that come AFTER the initial choice of the central concept for a story. Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer/producer Erik Bork (HBO’s Band of Brothers) takes a different approach. His experience in the industry and as a screenwriting professor and coach have led him to recognize that it’s the selection of the initial idea that is the most important part of the process — with the most impact on the project’s chance of success. And as Mr. Bork knows from experience, this choice takes a lot more understanding and work to get “right” than it might seem.Most screenwriters and fiction writers have difficulty getting their work read and accepted by agents, editors and producers mainly because their idea for a story presented in a query or pitch doesn’t excite these “gatekeepers” like it would need to, for them to want to engage. And when they do read the whole story, their core reasons for “passing” are usually also about the basic idea (although lack of professional-level execution matters, too). But writers are usually in the dark about this, not realizing that the project they spent months or years on had fundamental flaws on a concept level, in the eyes of the people they most hoped to impress with it.But even the best fiction writing books and screenwriting experts tend to move quickly past the crucial step of choosing a viable idea, to get to the specific plotting and composition of it, because there is so much to master in those later parts of the process — which feel a lot more like “writing” than developing and mulling over potential story concepts.Professionals, though, tend to understand the primacy of “the idea,” and learn that there are certain key elements in story or series premises that really work, and which are worth investing time and energy in. And that’s what The Idea focuses on — laying out what those specific elements are, and how to master them.While its concepts originate from the author’s screenwriting experiences, they apply equally to commercial fiction writing, playwriting and other forms of “story” — because the focus is on what makes an underlying concept compelling enough to appeal to a substantial audience or readership.The “Seven Elements of a Viable Story” in The Idea form an acronym for the word PROBLEM, since every story is really about one, at its core.Each chapter focuses on one of these seven deceptively simple-looking aspects of a strong story, which are anything but easy to master. Mr. Bork highlights his own struggles as a writer, and his arrival at an understanding of how each of these elements works — and how to know if one’s idea really succeeds at each of them. A special section devoted to television writing (and its unique attributes) ends each chapter.Whatever your education and background in writing or story, this book and its unique focus contributes foundationally useful information not covered elsewhere — which may be the missing piece that leads to greater results, both on the page and in the marketplace.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐…like deciding WHICH college to attend (or IF to go to college); HOW MUCH house to buy; WHETHER to have children and/or pets; and IF to look at the dessert menu? Wouldn’t life be a lot easier to live? That’s what Erik Bork’s book, “The Idea,” does for evaluating story — it spares writers the anguish and wasted time of bad ideas that invariably beget worse movie, plays, and books. Unfortunately, after reading Mr Bork’s book, the writer will still need to decide whether to see the dessert menu or not!

⭐For a while now, I’ve shared Bork’s sense that the basic premise of a script is the most important part, and doesn’t get nearly enough attention in screenwriting pedagogy. I bought the book to see what he had to say on this subject, though I expected to be disappointed—like many, I thought that “having good ideas” was a talent one either has or doesn’t, and that a craft book would have very little to say about it that was generalizable enough to be useful.I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is the book every screenwriter should start with. Not Story, not Save the Cat. As Bork very convincingly lays out, the basic idea IS what usually makes or breaks a script, and there ARE principles for what makes a good one—principles that are specific enough that they’re hardly ever done right, and general enough that they apply to almost any project, not just the “mainstream Hollywood” movies that many of us writers deride.These principles are the Seven Story Elements, which brilliantly add up to the acronym PROBLEM. Some of them are well-known, like the fact that we need a relatable character facing a problem that’s really, really hard. Others are genuinely new, like the idea of shooting for a specific entertainment, which in all my study of screenwriting I’ve never seen anyone break down as well as Bork does here. And whether they’re old hat or new insights, they’re all absolutely, 100% on-point, and will make you see your writing far more clearly.I can’t stress this last part enough. This is truly 200 pages of just the good stuff, the stuff that matters to us writers and can help us understand what we need to do to improve our work. A huge reason for this, counter-intuitively, is that Bork only tells us how things should work, and why they often don’t—he doesn’t spend a lot of time on “how to fix it.” I’d have thought I’d want more of this, but in retrospect, I realized these have been some of the least helpful parts of other books. Everyone has they’re own process; I don’t want to be told to change the way I think, or even how I approach my writing, for the most part. What I want is clarity on my overall goals—what I should be shooting for in trying to develop solid, viable script ideas. And this book is nothing less than a bible on what we as aspiring professional writers should be looking for in our concepts.I also hugely, hugely appreciate how this book is written. It’s incredibly clear and simple, distilling each of the seven points down to their most basic and fundamental tennants. Bork, more than any other screenwriting author I’ve read, has a great sense of just how specific to get without crossing over into his own personal tastes or proprietary theories of drama. He’s also the only screenwriting author I’ve found who writes with real humility and empathy. I could barely get through Story and Save the Cat, because these writers came off as such jerks—unlike them, Bork doesn’t make you feel like he’s better than you, or that you’re stupid for not already knowing what he’s telling you. He just shares his insights, accumulated through years of experience, about “what audiences tend to want.” And he acknowledges at multiple points how hard it is to do what he’s telling you to do, sometimes even for him. This tone made it easy, even pleasurable, to absorb all the brilliant wisdom he had to offer.If you’re on this page for any reason, buy this book now! I personally guarantee it will be some of the best $8 you ever spend.

⭐I’ve read many books on writing and plot. This is the first book I’ve read that really helped me Tackle my biggest roadblock . Ideas. It is well written and every page offers a piece of advice that is pure gold.

⭐There are many books on screenwriting and even more opinions on which are good and which are junk. My opinion is that this is one of the better books, if not along the best. Any screenwriter worth their salt will tell you, you never stop learning. That comes through writing, reading scripts, and learning from others: books, seminars, classes, or simply taking to and listening to those doing it. There are bits of wisdom out there. But those same screenwriters will tell you they only have so much time in a day, so they look for something or value. This book is among the worthwhile. Perhaps I like Botk’s approach because I come out of the UCLA system where he teaches. Perhaps it’s the clear, well written, enjoyable read with outstanding points, ideas, and explanations for how to enact what he’s offering. Perhaps it’s simply because it’s a good, well written book that offers outstanding ideas. For all the books I’ve read (around a dozen in screenwriting) this is one of my top two – and they are tied. But where even that other book I couldn’t take all on board or agreed with – for myself – Bork speaks to me and I’m with him all the way – again for me. I’d already begin reading articles from his blog before I put the two together, then through that found his book, and I’m glad I did. Well worth the read.

⭐I’ve read many writing and screenwriting books and have always got something from each one of them. This one goes on my ‘top books I wish I’d been able to read when I started’ list. Clearly written and easy to understand, it will save you ‘wasting’ time on a ‘bad’ idea that won’t work before you even write it, and aid identification of how to make ideas work better… with the caveat that no writing is ever wasted as a writer develops their ‘voice’ and craft skills and should always write what fires their passion regardless. Highly recommended reading.

⭐Most of the advice to writers is directed to elements within a story: plot, characterisation, motivations, pace, and so on. This book focusses on the stage before all that, choosing an idea for your story, and making sure it is a sound one. In that respect, although written by a screen writer, and inevitably skewed in that direction, it is a useful source of advice for writers of novels. At least, I found it so, even though I do not primarily write to make money, and many successful novels, for very good reasons, are not intended for transfer to a screen.

⭐I originally bought this book for my son but ended up reading it myself and keeping it on my office shelf.It’s one of those books that is filled with little gems. I’ve read many books about storytelling but this contained truly unique content and ideas. It was simple to follow and the advice was bang on.It has already improved my storytelling and it’s a book I continue to return to when creating stories.

⭐The contents of the book seem OK in a generic way but the author is let down by the binding of my copy at least. The left hand cover oddly folds back a few cm from the edge of the book which means when you turn the pages, it’s stiff and awkward with no space on the inside left border. I don’t mean to nitpick but it means holding the book open means almost breaking the spine. It’s a shame as the contents is better written than the average how to book.

⭐I really learned a lot from this book and have recommended it to others. I got so much out of it as I pitched my plot against the elements that Bork mentioned as being crucial to a story. Worth every penny.

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