Mount Ranier from 30,000 feet by raduranga is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with no changes made

As writers we tend to get caught up in the details of what we’re writing. And there are so many details to “get right.” All of which seem to matter. And they do!

But in focusing on the details, we often lose track of the “30,000 feet” view: the story or series as a whole, and its main impact on a potential audience. And what we’re hoping will draw people in.

In my course The Idea, that’s what I’m always asking writers to do. See your project from that zoomed-out perspective. And to make sure it’s working as a “forest” and not just “trees.”

So what does the forest view look like? What kinds of questions are we asking of our work, when we’re zoomed out to 30,000 feet?

The same questions professional readers will ask…

1. What is this story or series really about?

Ultimately the best stories have one central problematic situation that’s really difficult to solve, has big life stakes that aren’t just internal, and will be entertaining to watch.

That’s a lot to achieve right there, before you’ve even thought about structure, let alone individual scenes, description and dialogue.

And unfortunately, most scripts I read have some serious issues in one or more of these areas — meaning issues with the core idea for the story that the writer accepted a long time ago.

Coming up with a problem that does all theses things in an original and believable way is no small feat. Which is why I recommend spending much more time in the first part of the writing process — working with the core idea — than people usually do. 

Because if it’s not working on this level, that will be evident to people who see a logline for it, or a brief synopsis or pitch. And they will tend to pass without reading a word of script.

2. What is this story or series really about?

Did I repeat myself? No, I underlined “really.” This one is more about the deeper meaning, the deeper point for the writer. Why they’re writing it. What they’re passionate about, at the heart of it. What they’re looking to explore that is rich and has universal impact.

Some would call this “theme.” And by theme I don’t mean a facile message like “racism is bad” or “we’re destroying our environment.” It’s usually about something more complicated than that. 

I’ve been rewatching The Crown lately and you’ll notice how it doesn’t make obvious judgments about things, but rather explores all sides of an issue. Is the British monarchy good or bad for society? For the world? For the people in it? Are its values good or evil? Inspiring or oppressive? 

The answer seems to be… yes. On all counts. Depending on who you ask and what the situation is at the time. The writers (predominantly Peter Morgan) aren’t slamming the audience with their opinions on this, but rather exploring these rich questions underneath compelling storytelling about fascinating human situations and characters.

That said, they do bring a unique point-of-view to the material — an angle on this subject that is fresh and probably personal to its creator. Meaning, what is like on the inside of this family, for these human beings, weighing personal desires vs. duty?

From the known facts about these real people, the writer concocts what they imagine might be going on, personally and intimately, and brings their own particular sensibility to that. While asking the audience to consider those other larger questions and come to their own conclusions.

That’s what it’s really about. The human side vs. “royalness” — and its impact on these people who are caught up in this system. Which might be a force for good in the world, or not.

3. Will people care?

That’s the ultimate question, and ultimate challenge for the writer.

I think it comes down to some combination of characters the audience can identify strongly with, who face massive problems, and are active in trying to solve them, in a way that only leads to complications.

This requires a subjective approach to point-of-view where you put the audience inside one or more people by focusing on what they think, feel, want and are trying to do with clarity of intent, emotion, obstacle and plan.

This is one of the most common things I find myself giving notes to writers about. We want the audience to be inside the story, invested in what happens, because they’re taking on the perspective of the main character(s) as they grapple with actively trying to get what they want in life, which should elude them almost endlessly.

Great movies and series do this in a way that seems effortless. It isn’t.

At the end of the day…

This is why we all consume stories and what we come to them for. An entertaining escape where we get caught up in other human beings with enormous wants, challenges and emotions.

As writers we do well to look at our stories and ideas from a distance, in terms of these major goals, to make sure we’re confident that we’re providing that. Or as confident as we can be.

And as we get notes from others, really look for their reactions on this level. While we always hope for minor scene-level notes we can easily address, the real fate of our projects is more connected to whether they can achieve the above for readers and audiences who consume them

And the satisfaction of knowing they are doing that — are reaching people we’ve never met emotionally and strongly engaging them — is the greatest feeling.