The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction

For a while now, I've shared Bork's sense that the basic premise of a script is the most important part, and doesn't get nearly enough attention in screenwriting pedagogy. I bought the book to see what he had to say on this subject, though I expected to be disappointed—like many, I thought that "having good ideas" was a talent one either has or doesn't, and that a craft book would have very little to say about it that was generalizable enough to be useful. I couldn't have been more wrong. This is the book every screenwriter should start with. Not Story, not Save the Cat. As Bork very convincingly lays out, the basic idea IS what usually makes or breaks a script, and there ARE principles for what makes a good one—principles that are specific enough that they're hardly ever done right, and general enough that they apply to almost any project, not just the "mainstream Hollywood" movies that many of us writers deride. These principles are the Seven Story Elements, which brilliantly add up to the acronym PROBLEM. Some of them are well-known, like the fact that we need a relatable character facing a problem that's really, really hard. Others are genuinely new, like the idea of shooting for a specific entertainment, which in all my study of screenwriting I've never seen anyone break down as well as Bork does here. And whether they're old hat or new insights, they're all absolutely, 100% on-point, and will make you see your writing far more clearly. I can't stress this last part enough. This is truly 200 pages of just the good stuff, the stuff that matters to us writers and can help us understand what we need to do to improve our work. A huge reason for this, counter-intuitively, is that Bork only tells us how things should work, and why they often don't—he doesn't spend a lot of time on "how to fix it." I'd have thought I'd want more of this, but in retrospect, I realized these have been some of the least helpful parts of other books. Everyone has they're own process; I don't want to be told to change the way I think, or even how I approach my writing, for the most part. What I want is clarity on my overall goals—what I should be shooting for in trying to develop solid, viable script ideas. And this book is nothing less than a bible on what we as aspiring professional writers should be looking for in our concepts. I also hugely, hugely appreciate how this book is written. It's incredibly clear and simple, distilling each of the seven points down to their most basic and fundamental tennants. Bork, more than any other screenwriting author I've read, has a great sense of just how specific to get without crossing over into his own personal tastes or proprietary theories of drama. He's also the only screenwriting author I've found who writes with real humility and empathy. I could barely get through Story and Save the Cat, because these writers came off as such jerks—unlike them, Bork doesn't make you feel like he's better than you, or that you're stupid for not already knowing what he's telling you. He just shares his insights, accumulated through years of experience, about "what audiences tend to want." And he acknowledges at multiple points how hard it is to do what he's telling you to do, sometimes even for him. This tone made it easy, even pleasurable, to absorb all the brilliant wisdom he had to offer. If you're on this page for any reason, buy this book now! I personally guarantee it will be some of the best $8 you ever spend.

I was happily selected to get an advance reading copy of this book before I purchased it. Screenwriting books represent a pretty crowded field, and as a person within the business Mr. Bork writes about, I found it pretty cool how this one separated itself from the pack by choosing an approach no one seems to have taken yet: is one's basic story idea distinctive and worth pursuing? Although we have seen books with acronym layouts before, here the author uses an organizing principle on which he never fails to elaborate fully. A few highlights: the concept of making your hero's story a punishing one--after all, we don't watch films or TV to see people have it easy. The 8 types of story problems are very helpful, and the basic truth that, in stories set in a fantasy world, we only get one buy-in from the audience about the rules of the world (plus, that applies to all stories, really). There's also a great list of stakes, and my favorite was the definition of something that is entertaining as containing feelings we like to feel. TV is always covered in each chapter in an interesting separate section, and there are even effective sports analogies--which is rare in any kind of writing! Finally, a nice real-world wrap up provides some nice advice on how to make use of all these ideas and still be creative. The only small criticism was that some of the movie examples could have been more 21st Century (like a lot of the TV examples), but the advice here is very solid. An Informative and out-of-the-box book.

Many screenwriting books make an assumption that you are starting with good story material. But that’s not always the case. So while many books spend lots of time on structure and timing, very few books discuss the possibility that your story is simply not compelling or believable. Bork very politely asks the writer to consider the source material first before spending months or years reworking dried-out clay. His discussion on reality based stories is also very informative for those writers who often say, “but that’s how it really happened.” Bork has created a concise, tight and informative checklist for writers to make sure their ideas are ready and worthy of running through the gaunlet of screenwriting.

I am inspired and re-energized after reading The Idea. It’s by far the most valuable book on screenwriting I have ever read. What Erik Bork has created is an essential tool that you can lay any idea against to truly weigh its ability to be a solid, entertaining story. If you have an idea for a movie or series, while reading this book you will know immediately if it will work successfully or not. Or you will come to understand how to adapt it to make it better. Most other screenwriting books (I’ve read dozens) simply explain that a script contains three parts with two plot points dividing them. Both of these plot points turn the story in a different direction at the beginning of acts two and three. What Bork proves in The Idea, is that there are so many more crucial details and nuances than just that. A film, series, or live show can be about anything. Nothing is really off limits as an idea. But whether it’s a comedy, spy thriller, family drama, or character study, specific fundamentals and devices are the same across all genres in order for the reader or viewer to truly stay entertained and engaged. As I was reading it, I kept applying the concepts to any good movie I could think of and its principles always held true. It also helped me determine some of the specific reasons why bad movies suffer. Before you dive in deep in the business of writing your next screenplay, I highly recommend reading The Idea. It will potentially save you hundreds of hours where you might be moving in the wrong direction creatively. It’s truly an indispensable writing asset.

The author provides great insight and advice for improving screenwriting for anyone.

I'm a theatre actor and lately have been wanting to put to paper some ideas about films I've been having. So I started reading some books on screenwriting. I'm glad I didn't miss this one, as it will help me select the ideas that will have the best chance of engaging the audience. Now I'll run every idea I have against the PROBLEM elements described in this book.

This book gave a different, and important, slant on story telling. A must for novelists.

The concepts discussed may seem simple, but they are the basics of telling a compelling story, regardless of the medium you choose (books, film, theater, etc.) Highly recommended.

Who would have thought that after all the books already written on screenwriting someone could still come up with an IDEA as fundamental & ground-breaking as Erik did? What a fantastic method! Got a great idea for a movie? Read this book first before doing anything else - it will save you precious time, probably some money but definitely a ton of frustration!

The idea is one the book I consider in the domain of screenplay as the new generation lense. A lense through which future writers can look through so as to generate more ideas and new approach of film writing. It soo short and soo efficient. Everything is so breifly explained with a lot of facilities that any curious reader can easily learn from it. The main idea "PROBLEM" that it defends for me is just an explicit explaination of great books in screenplay domain made simple by Mr Erik Bork the author. Punishing should be a Relatable story which should have a kind of Originality while being Believable with Life Altering circumstances related in an Entertaining and Meaningfully way. It's a book to be read by all aspiring writers even though I would have expected more in it on dialogue, structures and etc