Hi Reader!!

Ah, St. Paddy’s Day – Irish, Luck, and the Shamrock Shake! This month, let’s talk about luck – or rather, it’s corollary, coincidence. I'm also including an excerpt from my upcoming book: Meta Story: What Marvel & the Messiah Can Teach Us about Great Storytelling. Stay tuned for more information on the book!

TIP

Coincidence – a character just happening to be in the right place at the right time – is a necessary part of storytelling.

We wouldn’t have The Lord of the Rings saga if Bilbo didn’t happen to be hiding in that part of the cave and just happen to happen upon the ring. Romeo opts to go to a party he doesn’t want to be at and enters just as Juliet makes her way into the room. R2-D2 just happens to be sold to the Skywalkers – after another droid just happens to malfunction during the sale. Of all the gin joints in all of the towns in all of the world, she happens to walk into this one. Coincidence is a delightful norm of storytelling

Coincidence can also be a painful jolt to the audience member who says, “No way, I’m not buying that.” When an event strikes that is obviously there just to move the story forward, it is a distraction not a delight.

There are several things you can do to keep your coincidences from being distractions. Terry Rossio suggests that coincidence should always be used to get your character into trouble, not out of trouble. If the hero’s car gets hit by a bus as he is trying to get away, the audience says, “Oh, crap!” If the villain’s car gets hit by a bus just as he is about to catch the hero, the audience rolls their eyes and says, “Yeah, right.”

See the “thought” below for more tips on dealing with coincidence.

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Resource: ​The Five Part Story​ Want to learn more about screenplay structure? My asynchronous course, in introduction to structure, is now available with the Faith & Family Filmmaker’s Association. Check out the course here!​ ​ See other resources here

An Idea

An excerpt fROM my book, "Meta Story" on Coincidence:

Playwright William Mastrosimone tells us that an audience wants to be surprised — but not fooled. The joy of a good surprise is when the audience says, "I never would have guessed; I should have known all along." Being fooled sounds more like, "I never would have guessed; and I'm not buying it."

There is a rule of thumb with coincidences in a dramatic work: audiences will buy one coincidence if it is in the first half of the show. Anything later — or a larger number of coincidences — and it feels like the author is manipulating the story rather than telling it.

Getting around that rule of thumb comes down to planting clues, giving the audience the inkling of what might happen (the "I should have known all along") while maintaining the surprise (the "I never would have guessed").

If your action hero is thrown into a pool of sharks and "just happens" to have a portable underwater breathing apparatus in his pocket, that is unbelievable. If Q gives James Bond an underwater breathing apparatus in the Balance, then he is later thrown into the pool, the reaction becomes, "Use your underwater breathing apparatus!"

Even better if Bond mocks Q when getting the apparatus — "Why would I need to carry this old thing around?" There is a term in television called "hanging a lantern" which refers to a character pointing out a plot inconsistency. The (very useful) idea is that if a character notices a potential flaw in a story, the audience is more likely to forgive the flaw. As if to say, "Well, it can't be a mistake if the creators know about it, so how about I just stop thinking about it?"

If the audience is wondering, "Why would anyone need to carry a portable breathing apparatus around?", they are distracted. If Bond echoes their concern, they think, "Yeah, Bond and I think just alike." And no more worries.