Dear Readers:
Dr. Ink is headed to New York to visit his sainted Mama Ink. He turns over his column to his latest doppelganger, the steroid-enhanced Buff Bookman. The Buffster will, once again, recommend a book of interest to writers. Flex those writing muscles, Buff.
* * *
Thanks, Doc. I drink from your inkwell.Today I will be reviewing “Aristotle’s Poetics for Screenwriters.” The subtitle is: “Storytelling Secrets from the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization.” The author is Michael Tierno, an award winning screenwriter, who also teaches the craft. The book is a Hyperion paperback of 167 pages, purchased at $13.95. The author also has a website: www.moviepoetics.com.
Buff gives the book four biceps out of a possible five.
Journalists will have to overcome two big inhibitions in order to benefit from this book. The biggest can be found in the title: the writing advice in the book derives from a Greek philosopher, a dude who died more than 2,000 years ago. Reporters are a down and dirty tribe, but not down with the abstractions of philosophy.
The second inhibition is that the author writes for the movies and not for news organizations. It is true, however, that many reporters love the movies and dream of writing for the big screen. If you enter this book through that door, you may be surprised how much of the advice in this book applies to the modern craft of nonfiction.
Let’s begin with a bit of Aristotle, the student of Plato, whose philosophical arguments grappled not only with ontology, ethics, metaphysics, and the natural order, but also with literature and the theatrical arts. His literary thinking is captured in 42 pages of the Poetics, and you may have been influenced by it without even knowing it.
Most of what Aristotle has to say about comedy has been lost, so his most famous musings concern how tragedy works. The purpose of tragedy is catharsis, a powerful emotional experience in which the audience purges the emotions of pity and fear. Pity allows us to empathize with the protagonist. But fear keeps us at a distance.
Here’s how Michael Tierno applies this to the structure of a contemporary story:
In the final moments of a movie, the audience experiences the moment that allows them to purge themselves of pity and fear built up through the plot structure. Through this ‘catharsis,’ the audience releases not just the emotions the movie has stirred up in them, but they also dump other psychic garbage they’ve been carrying around. Catharsis leaves the audience with a renewed sense of mental clarity and better able to function in life. According to Aristotle, catharsis works best if everything in the story builds toward creating this one experience. The key is to understand that catharsis doesn’t just ‘happen’ in the final moments of a movie; it builds throughout the story up until the final release.The author takes such narrative strategies and shows how they work in familiar movies: Citizen Kane, Titanic, The Godfather, Rosemary’s Baby, Rocky, and American Beauty.
What journalists will learn from reading this book:
• The importance of action in stories.
• How to create vivid characters.
• The importance of realistic details.
• The power of foreshadowing.
• How to write stories that carry messages, without moralizing.
When most reporters think of the glories of the Greek system, they are likely to remember drunken toga parties at their college frat houses. This excellent book will help them recognize how connected we still are as storytellers to our ancient forebears.
