The Meddle of the Muddle: How many captains does it take to steer a story and whose course is it anyway?

Macneill, Marie (2019) The Meddle of the Muddle: How many captains does it take to steer a story and whose course is it anyway? In: Screenwriters Research Network 2019, 12th -14th September 2019, Poto, Portugal.

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Abstract / Summary

According to numerous writers, including Philip Larkin, ‘Every story has a beginning a muddle and an end.’

Current box-set television dramas and the complexities of puzzle and modular narratives in film and television keep mathematics, structure, twists, sleight-of-hand and ‘red-herrings’ at the forefront of storytelling. Multiple storylines need careful juggling; motifs and themes need to satisfy but not oversaturate. How much of this process is inherent in the writer? Conversely, how much is this the domain of the story producer and script editor? Do writers innately know how to divulge their stories or do they need the assistance of an objective eye? When do notes become too much or solo storytelling not enough?

How many captains does it take to create order from chaos and back again?

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