As I progress on my two feature scripts, I continue to be flooded with new story ideas. I’m nearly to 200 on my ideas list, some of which are really intricate and could lead to trilogies themselves. If I were to write the rest of my life, I couldn’t execute all these ideas, but I’m glad I have them written down for future stories, be they shorts, features or novels. Though all my ideas are very different with a large range, my favorite subject to write about is love. When I go to a darker place, my favorite story lines are usually about serial killers, but even my darker stories usually have a love story woven in.

When choosing what story to write, especially if it’s a feature, it’s best to choose something you don’t mind living with for years. It takes that long or longer to get it made to completion if you’re doing something with a larger budget. You also need to think about the message you want to send and think of the audience, and what they want to see or purchase for their library of movies.

Personally, I LOVE comedies. If something makes me laugh, like Hangover or Bridesmaids, I will likely buy the film and watch it multiple times. This is a film script I could live with for years. If something makes me laugh and cry and has an uplifting ending, like Steel Magnolias or Fried Green Tomatoes, I am also likely to buy it and watch it many times. This is the type of script I like best because it has a broad range of emotions and sticks with you in a positive way at the end. If something makes me scared, like Hostel or Friday the 13th, I usually don’t care to see it, not even once. If something is really depressing and sad, like Precious or Boys Don’t Cry, I almost always pass on it. I just don’t want to spend two hours sad and depressed. I did see Boys Don’t Cry in the theatre when it came out, and I cried so much my face turned red and puffy. I never need to see that movie again. Once was more then enough. This is not the type of script I would want to live with for years.

One of the scripts I am writing is a romantic comedy. It’s one you could watch again and again because it’s uplifting and sweet. It’s inspired by true events which makes it even more extraordinary and would have mass appeal and a huge audience.

The other script I’m writing is more of a courtroom drama about how prejudice influences the punishment or the decision not to punish certain people for their actions. It reminds me a bit of Twelve Angry Men which is one of my favorite films of all time. It’s an eye opening look at the unjust world we live in where the people in power can get away with nearly anything. Though this one is sad in parts, it’s also uplifting in other parts, and it sends a thoughtful message that could influence the hearts and minds of people for years to come in a very positive way.

When studying audiences and what they want to see, it’s best to look at films that have been successful in the past and to study psychology. People who have never taken a course or aren’t curious about such things, don’t understand their natural responses to certain ideas or thoughts. Those of us who do have a background in Sociology (my minor in college) or Psychology have a much higher understanding of what ideas to introduce to hook an audience. This is the best place to start as a writer who wants to build a significant audience.

If you introduce an intrusive thought in your film (like a murder or kidnapping), most people will exhibit signs of anxiety. These are the type of events in a film where you can hook your audience because you have made them experience a strong emotion. This only works well if you have a lead character that people care about so their dilemma makes the viewer extremely uncomfortable. This especially works well in The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford. He’s accused of a murder he didn’t commit, and you feel for him because you know how much he loved his wife. To have to serve a sentence for a crime he never committed on top of already losing her is just so appalling that audiences are immediately drawn in. This is one of those films I watched in the theaters back in the 90s, and it still sticks with me because it was so well done.

A more recent film that accomplishes this same hook from the very beginning is Django Unchained. It’s the love story between the leads and their separation that is so heartbreaking, especially under the conditions of slavery and injustice which keeps the audience uncomfortable until the happy ending. The vengeful climatic scene really delivers in it’s execution. The joy of the ending after such injustice leaves the viewer feeling extremely upbeat because their long discomfort has come to a blissful end.

Films like these are important to study and break down. It’s something I’ve been doing in my preparation when writing my features. If you map a film and look at all the pieces to the puzzle, you see what works and why it works. With that understanding, you can thread the pieces of your own story with the same psychological situations that inspire an emotional response from the viewer and draw them into your story.

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