Writers Take #13: The Creator
Finished a movie but still feel lost? Five key points to remember when you're crafting your world!
Introduction - A Recap
The debris has settled and the dust has set on Barbehiemer and as we move on we mourn the glitter and pink that was dispensed from this world. Actually, fun fact: did you know that the filming of Barbie caused a global pink paint shortage? Wild! Just think about that for a moment, really think about it. Nevertheless today we are going to dive into another writing tip, something everyone does including myself, something that all of us should avoid doing, including myself.
Writer’s Take: The Creator
That is … leaning into the magic of storytelling over the reality of the construct. We all want our stories to feel real, to be tangible, to reach out just beyond the veil of the page or screen and touch it because, viscerally, it feels right. But sometimes, sometimes we have to remember that our stories are just that, they are stories. They are ways to enter your escapism, ways to move past your daily lives, and to achieve at least one of these three functions: to entertain, to make you think, and lastly to inspire. These 3 causal tentpoles of writing should be at the forefront of your mind even in front of the need to be accurate.
LOD (Level of Detail) and realism when world-crafting
Now, if you know my writing style, you know that I typically enjoy writing hyper-real science fiction, so this point might feel hypocritical, while it is still to some extent the point. Understand your story from the beginning and stay within that sandbox. Nurture it and understand it. If your priority is hyperreal science fiction, then of course the science matters. BUT FOR EVERY OTHER STORY YOU WRITE, the story, the emotions, the heart should always come first. Why? Because you are not writing a new religion, well maybe you are, (I’m looking at you Elrond) or fabricating history…
Ok FINE, yes this happens, but let's get back on track, the reason why, is that stories are supposed to suspend belief, bringing you to a new world, and thus providing a space for contemplation or aspiration. Let's dive into a movie I saw last night, The Creator, and where I felt this was great and where I felt it had some pitfalls.
BEWARE OF THE SPOILERS! But not really, because the movie is hyper-obvious (hehe)
The film was by all accounts beautiful, engaging, and visually stunning. However, I personally got taken out by the plot holes in the story, the inability to connect humanity to the AI robots was a fundamental concern with the story. How are you supposed to FEEL for an Android if you do not understand their culture? If you're going to tell the story of Pocahontas, then make sure you show the stories by the fire and the fishing and the culture. We don’t just want visual porn, well, ok fine, porn is the #1 thing that drives the internet…
BUT STAY WITH ME HERE folks, VISUAL excellence is awesome, but you know what's more awesome than visual excellence? FEELING, feeling ANYTHING, and you know what I DON’T FEEL when I think of the AI in The Creator? I DON’T FEEL ANYTHING for them, I don’t know them, I don’t understand their plight, I don’t understand their reason for existing.
Bigger Budget = Better World?
When you spend $80,000,000 USD on the production of a film, I beg you to spend 6 minutes of the screen time, really bringing me into the reason why we care if these beings live or die. When the AI kid is the future because she is integrated with technology on a quantum level it just sounds like a bunch of jargon because I don’t really understand them. When the humans are hunting them because they nuked LA, I don’t really understand why? Even the JOKER has a reason – chaos. Thanos has a reason – balance. Villains or antagonists need to have a REASON for the events that unfold… But then you use dialog to tell us that the nukes were done by the humans, an error they perpetuated, is that true? Is that a lie that the AI tells themselves? We need this world built, we need these questions answered so that we can feel something.
So whether it is THE CREATOR or another Sci-fi or Fantasy epic that wants you to lean on the visuals more than the story, remember that you want to feel like you're in the shoes, that you are in the world, and that takes a lot of work.
Wrapping it up
So in conclusion I want you to do the following. I want you to push yourself to think of these five points when you're crafting your world.
How did your character get to where they are?
Is there an inflection moment? And if there is, who caused it, and why did they cause it?
Tell your audience about your character or species culture, bring us into their world, their traditions, CREATE the traditions if you need to!
Why does your character think they are right… or even, why are they falling into the wrong? Is it self-inflicted or is it pressure from society? Either way, bring your audience into the nuances of why, who, how and when these things happened.
In the world you’ve built, focus on something small, almost insignificant, trivial, make it important, make the little things matter.
These tips can help make your world richer, fuller, and more cohesive for the larger narrative you are sharing with your audience and will make big visually appealing sets more meaningful.
Stay Curious & Keep Writing
Matt
Herø Projects, Gungnir, and other musings…
I wanted to take a moment during our intermission here to shamelessly and directly promote my two companies.
Gungnir Entertainment, a genre-focused publishing company with best-selling titles from yours truly hitting shelves nationwide this Fall. With books focused on classic sci-fi ideas like “What does it mean to be human” and “is the bible right?” “Adventures throughout the stars” are just a few of the prompts for the books you can dive into with Gungnir. Gungnir’s website will launch this summer, and you can stay up to date on the forthcoming titles on my Instagram, @matthewmedney, or at my author page on Simon & Schuster.
Herø Projects, the perennial leader in custom comics and animated services, Herø is a state-of-the-art creative studio that has worked with talents such as Floyd Mayweather, Shaggy, Nghtmre, and brands such as Remi Martin, Live Nation, and Rolling Loud. If Branding through storytelling isn’t your thing you can check out our original titles, the Onyx line with books such as Stable, Remnant, and Best Selling Comic The Red. To learn more about Herø Projects visit us at heroprojects.io