Compel Your Readers With “Streetwise” Storytelling
It was about 3 in the morning when I suddenly had the urge to see whether or not I could find the 1984 documentary, Streetwise, online — it’s a film about the daily lives of kids that live on the streets.
The web is a phenomenal place — I never thought I’d see the film again (I rented it from the library years ago … yeah, the library was the original YouTube at one point), though I wasn’t aware at the time just how popular the film was at the time. A quick search and I had the first part of the 10-part film at my fingertips.
The clock was ticking though, and I knew that if I didn’t go to sleep soon, I’d have a hard time waking up (in four hours). I decided to check out the beginning just to make sure it was the right film.
Nearly one hour later, I had watched the entire film and delved into a frenzy of research in search for what happened to the kids depicted in the film.
Compelling Storytelling and the Screenwriter
This film was so compelling, I watched chapter after chapter of the film as the night slipped away to morning — and even went on to search the web and read stories about the characters in the film.
This is what your story needs to do for your reader.
Your story has to be compelling enough to make your reader read it during their lunch, send it to their friends, or even stay up late into the night.
This is all about keeping the reader turning the page.
Keep your reader interested so they simply MUST find out what happens next.
In the case of Streetwise, I was compelled to find out what happened to the kid who lived in an abandoned hotel. I had to know what happened to the girl who turned dates as a prostitute for money. I needed to know what happened to the guy who hitchhiked all over the country and enjoyed spare-changing strangers.
The most compelling aspect of all of this story was the fact that the kids were all 16 year old or younger — and because when it comes down to it, who really knows what happens to people living on the streets?
What kept me interested to learn more was the surprise or shock factor — it’s not every day most people are exposed to the harsh life on the streets, and from a kid’s perspective at that.
How can you apply this to your screenplay?
Think about what makes your story compelling? Is there a similar shock factor? What elements can you amplify in order to grab the attention of your reader and keep them turning the pages until they finish it — even if it means cancelling their lunch with what’s-their-face.
Check out the first part of this 10-part film on YouTube when you get a chance (watch a few to meet more characters) and let me know what you think — how does it affect you? Are you compelled to learn more about the characters? Did you dig into the records afterward to discover which character committed suicide, which fell victim to the Green River Serial Killer, and which went on to live a happily with her husband and two kids?
Share your thoughts below.
Um, Wow.
I haven’t seen this documentary in 20 years. It is mesmerizing.
You really hit the nail on the head. If only it were possible to write the way these kids lived… Is it even possible, I wonder? Experience doesn’t seem to favor us.
The best we can do is so much less than the transcendent grace of these real lives. I’m just struck by the chasm between such shattering truth and the trash that is peddled as “reality TV” or “cinéma-vérité”.
I mean look at a picture like Hurt Locker, for instance. It was decently written by a war correspondent. It was shot in a stead-cam, “vérité” style. It had solid performances. And for 118 pages it tries valiantly to breath like a living thing, and for the most part I’m able to accept it as such. Its a great film.
And then I see a film like Streetwise and what, 2 hours ago, was a gripping, Academy Award winning Best Picture & Best Screenplay suddenly looks like a half-eaten piece of moldy McDonald’s bun picked out of a dumpster.
How do we write narratives that breathe fire like Streetwise? How do we shoot fiction as real? How do we find actors capable of such truth? I don’t believe its possible.
So… We do our best and stake our reputations and livelihoods on that little sliver of grace from God, “suspension of disbelief”.
Because as a narrative filmmaker and as a writer, without it, after seeing a film like Streetwise, you’d wanna hang yourself too.
Thank God for disbelief. Amen. And Amen.