Where's the Drama?

That's what our EP said to us as we sat there going over the script for the umpteenth time. At which point my correspondent and I just looked at each other in utter frustration. 'Drama' he asks. What drama? It was a weekly magazine show on religion & ethics and nothing we'd ever seen on the program contained anything remotely resembling 'drama'. Good grief!

The rough-cut flowed well and addressed some difficult questions. What was he looking for? We went back and re-wrote the piece, but this time we went for the 'drama'. Only problem was, it ended up portraying one character unfairly. In the end, we scrapped the segment as we felt it was unethical to misrepresent someone just to make a more 'dramatic' story. It was a piece on ethics after all.

But what of our EP's question: 'Where's the drama?' Looking back, he probably should have said 'It needs more conflict?' News and other non-fiction pieces should be 'dramatic' just by the content shown. Our story was, but looking back I realize we should have added another character to build conflict as the piece progressed. It's a lesson every non-fiction producer must learn or risk losing their audience halfway through the story.

Later, after shopping some of my doc ideas around, I found quite a few readers telling me the same thing: "This would make a great movie." They meant a fictionalized movie, but I wanted no part of fiction. Too many 'based on' movies turned reality into something not quite true – all for the sake of ‘drama’. Besides, I had no experience putting words in characters' mouths. So I kept knocking on doors shopping my docs to potential funders near and far.

Then I hit a wall. The frustrations we all face when our stories fail to attract backers finally caught up to me. Maybe I should try something completely different. So I did. I took my favorite projects and outlined script ideas for fictionalized films. I figured the chances of selling a theatrical script might actually be better than selling a doc – if it was done right. But I needed to learn how to do it right, so I researched screenwriting: read movie scripts, logged on to screenwriting forums online, and read quite a few books. In particular, Syd Field's seminal work on the subject, Screenplay.

It was refreshing. It was FUN. Stepping into this new world of creativity got my 'juices' flowing. I bought a new laptop, Final Draft® screenwriting software, and began writing.

I was possessed.

Within a couple of months I had finished my first draft. According to my new friends online (one reads for a studio), it was a good work. The dialogue needed some work – no surprise here – and they didn't like the ending. It wasn't the Hollywood 'happily ever after' ending, but that wasn't the story. My doc-world background would not let go! I had several suggestions to tweak it, so I put it down for a while to let them simmer.

That's when I looked back at a few of my doc projects and was overcome with ideas for making them better. The exercise in dramatic writing had actually made me see the stories clearer. How to build better conflict. How to make the story turn at certain points so the viewer will be drawn in further. And not at the expense of changing the character's real story for dramatic effect.

What a revelation.

After years of working in the doc biz, studying fiction screenwriting turned out to be the best thing that happened to me. I don't know of too many non-fiction film programs that teach dramatic screenwriting as part of its curriculum, but I highly recommend it.

As Robert McKee, Hollywood's screenwriting guru, says – STORY is everything. I couldn't agree more, especially in the non-fiction world where characters are everyday people. This is where we really need to hone our skills and what better way to do it than crafting a fictitious script? Learning the ins and outs of story and conflict with imaginary characters is the perfect way to prepare the non-fiction 'screenwriter' for the more difficult world of documentary film.