Jump In, But Follow the Rules by Susan May Warren

Are you enjoying Susan's series as much as we are? She's back this Manuscript Monday with another great article, pulling from movies to help us writers with our books. Welcome back, Susie!

Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters Series
Jump In, But Follow the Rules
by Susan May Warren

When the readers/viewers understand the rules of the world, regardless of how far-fetched...

A Review of Jumper

I admit it; I went to see the movie Jumper because I have four teenagers, three of whom are boys. Because the special effects captured every boy’s wildest dream of being able to transport himself wherever his whims carried him and the hero was Hayden Christopher (that was for the teen daughter), I thought we’d have a winner.

Aside from the morally questionable, unsympathetic hero, David, who uses his brilliant superpowers not for good, (i.e., saving Katrina victims), but rather to seduce women, steal money, and live a life of debauchery every mother would cringe at, the story itself, which I as a writer can’t get past, drove me crazy with its messiness.

Somewhere in the mess was story structure. Good Guy (or is he Bad Guy?) David (Christopher),is chased through the world by Bad Guy (or is he Good Guy?) Paladin Roland (played by Samuel L. Jackson). We know David’s motivation has to be to stay alive and to win the girl’s heart (played by Rachel Bilson), after all, it is a teen movie. But he too easily wins her affections, so it can’t be a romance. And then there’s that mystery about his mother, and why she abandoned him at age five…

But those aren’t the biggest issues. I could probably sit back, numb myself with some popcorn and a giant soda if it weren’t for that fact that, well …I was confused.

Regardless of where the story takes place—in the streets of historical London, or Tatooine, the forest of Middle Earth, or the dark alleys of Gotham, we need to know the rules of the world in which our hero lives. Constructing Story World is about details, and making the fictional world breathe. But when constructing such a world, if it’s an unfamiliar world, the reader/viewer needs to know what can and can’t happen. Can trees talk? Can they walk? Which trees? (If you read Tolkien, you know the difference). What can destroy the Death Star and why? (Thank you, George) When the readers/viewers understand the rules of the world, regardless of how far-fetched, they can move inside it and lose themselves in the fictional dream.

What are these rules?

Let’s take a closer look at Jumper.

David gets his magical powers to jump when he’s about fifteen, when his life is threatened. He’s drowning. And suddenly, he’s not. He’s in a library. Why the library? What triggered the jump?

Great questions, and we’re at the edge of our seats waiting for answer that never comes. Rule #1: Tell us how and why the hero got his magic powers. Even if in “real world” –and the hero is a world-renowned sculptor, tell us where he studies and how he achieved his talent. Just a little clarity will help us believe.

After a little honing of these mysterious skills, David becomes a playboy with seemingly no consequences to his actions. This mother was actually a little relieved when Paladin Roland (Jackson) showed up with his Discipliner, the Mother of all Tazers. Which brings us to Rule #2: What are the hero’s limitations? His weaknesses? What foils him? Every hero has to have a weakness, a glitch in his abilities. The Terrifying Tazer helps, and later we discover that electricity binds David, but some hint of this at the beginning would have helped resolve the panic.

So poor David is chased around the world and meets another Jumper who knows this evil Paladin well. We begin to care a little bit (frankly, Roland is a bit terrifying), but we’re left wondering . . . why? So what if David is a playboy. And a thief. He’s not a serial killer. He’s not going to destroy the space-time continuum or the fabric of the earth (although he does some structural damage every time he lands). Why does Roland want to kill him? (I don’t buy the, “No one but God should have this power” bit; after all, Roland is trying to, uh, kill David. Another ideally, God-only power. Can anyone say, “Hypocrisy”?) Rule #3 is: ’Splain, please. What’s the big deal? Draw us a picture of what could happen if you don’t take out the Death Star, or if you don’t kill David. We want a glimpse at the dark future so we can get behind the, uh Good Guys? (See, I told you I’m confused).

These are not hard rules: How? What? Why? They frame the story for us, allowing us play freely on the playground of the imagination. They keep us from jumping out of our seats and running out for more popcorn. (And maybe the movie next door.) Supposedly these questions will be answered in the sequel.

Yeah, let me know if they do.

Susan May Warren is the founder of My Book Therapy, a boutique fiction editing service for writers, and runs A Writer’s Blog. See her Web site to learn more about her award-winning fiction.

PS I Love You and the Art of Flashbacks by Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren has returned this Manuscript Monday with the second installment of her craft series. Welcome, Susan!

Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters Series
P.S. I Love You and the Art of Flashbacks
by Susan May Warren

Plant clues to the past to raise your reader’s curiosity...

P.S.: I really, really love you!

P.S. I Love You and the Art of Flashbacks.

Gerard Butler as Irish pub-singing Gerry. The incredibly talented Hilary Swank as uptight American tourist Holly. A few precious moments with charming Denny, er Jeffery Dean Morgan, aka Denny, my favorite heart transplant patient from Grey’s Anatomy. What’s not to love? And I did love P.S. I Love You. Love, love, loved it. Cried my eyes out. My favorite line was “Let’s just go barefoot,”—a brilliant use of resonant metaphor in dialogue.

Aside from the many wonderful themes written into this screenplay, the movie also can eloquently teach us about effective use of flashbacks. Let’s take a look at how the screenwriter weaves in the backstory through flashbacks to draw out our emotions.

First, in the long prologue scene, the screenwriter gives us the clues that form the backbone of Gerry and Holly’s past, and provides a checklist of the backstory scenes we’ll need to experience to fully understand the story. It’s embedded smoothly in their “fight” scene: 1) Gerry was an Irish singer (now out of his element), 2) Holly and Gerry got married quickly (something that made her mother angry), and 3) Holly has to have life planned out. (Ultimately, these elements also raise the driving story question: Will Holly be able to get past her grief of losing her first brilliant love to find love again?) First principle of revealing backstory: Plant clues to the past to raise your reader’s curiosity (and provide some backstory elements to search for).

The first wonderful flashback scene is the hilarious karaoke moment when Holly breaks her nose. But that scene is essential for the reader to understand the impact Gerry had on her life. Through it, we see that only he could coax her out of her controlling personality. (It also plays into the epiphany moment, when she realizes that he saw in her more than she ever did). The second principle to revealing backstory: Focus on one specific essential moment. There may have been a thousand moments when Gerry made her think/act outside her tight personality. But this one stood out in stark, painful relief. And by focusing on one event instead of piling many together, we see the power he has in her life.

The second flashback scene takes place in Ireland at a pub. We don’t understand the significance of the pub nor the rather strange reaction Holly has when hunky hero Billy Gallagher (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) begins to sing. Holly rushes out, leaving us to


wonder why—something we’ll discover later. Note that in revealing backstory, the screenwriter doesn’t trek all the way back to the beginning and build it chronologically, but rather unwinds the past starting at the most recent events. The key isn’t the sequence, instead it’s the significance. In the first flashback, Jerry liberates the inner “free” gal locked inside this rather tight real estate agent. It is a hint that there is more to her than we see and raises questions about how these two got together. The second flashback only raises more questions: What is it about this song and this pub that haunts her? Third principle to building backstory: Don’t reveal the backstory in one dump. Use it to raise more questions about the plot, even if you have to do it out of chronological order.

The final flashback clip is long, and finally we see how Gerry and Holly met, the girl she was when he first fell in love with her, and the significance of the pub scene. We see how he swept her off her feet, and likewise, what she was to him. More than anyone, Gerry believed in Holly and her vision, unclear as it was to her at the moment. Understanding this moment when they met, the girl she was, and Gerry’s goal to help her see that again is essential to give resonance to the ending and Holly’s final step in the journey. Fourth principle to revealing backstory: Give the final reveal of the backstory significance to the epiphany. This moment has to do more than build character; it has to reveal some truth vital to the story.

I was a sopping mess while watching the final flashback scene. I then rewound back to the pub scene, over and over, and . . . well, it’s a good thing I have TiVo. Then I rewatched the move. Again. And again. Like reading a good book over again, now that I knew the ending, the scenes became richer, evoking more emotions, and bringing the themes to life.

Flashbacks can be used effectively: Plant Clues, Focus on the most important moments, Raise More Questions, and finally Reveal Truth that add significance to the epiphany. These are the principles for creating backstory that is relevant, essential, and emotionally powerful. And P.S. . . . see the movie—you’ll love it!

Susan May Warren is the founder of My Book Therapy, a boutique fiction editing service for writers, and runs A Writer’s Blog. See her Web site to learn more about her award-winning fiction.