The Woman in the Story Read online

  “Insightful and incisive, The Woman in the Story is the first road map to previously uncharted screenwriting territory. Whether devoured whole or in bite-sized pieces it never fails to engage and inform.”

  – Robert Jones, Producer, Dirty Pretty Things

  “As a film producer, whose life is spent submerged in scripts; living and breathing the evolution of a character, it is wonderful that a screenwriting guide to the female character has been written with such intelligence, sensitivity, and insight by a hands-on experienced female writer.”

  – Suzanne Mackie, Producer, Calendar Girls

  “Just the bi-line makes me want to write a screenplay with women in it so I can use this book!”

  – Gillian Anderson, Actress/Director, The X Files, The

  House of Mirth, Bleak House

  “Helen Jacey’s book is an excellent resource for writers looking to create complex, compelling, and truly ‘memorable heroines.’ With our screens dominated by strong male characters, The Woman in the Story should be a catalyst for many equally exciting roles for women.”

  – Kate Kinninmont, CEO,

  Women in Film & Television (UK)

  “The Woman in the Story gives an in-depth approach to what goes on in the minds and hearts of female characters. It is thought provoking and informative. I especially loved Jacey’s exploration of the internal wound, internal gift, external wound, and external gift. This book will help every level of writer learn to write from a place of greater consciousness and will, in turn, connect the audience to their story.”

  – Jen Grisanti, Story Consultant

  and Independent Producer

  “Helen Jacey’s book, although focusing on writing women, isn’t just a handbook for creating great heroines (or villainesses)…it’s an easy-to-read workshop, full of lessons, techniques, and exercises to help you craft great characters of any gender.”

  – Chad Gervich, Writer/Producer: Foody Call, Speeders,

  Reality Binge, Wipeout; Author: Small Screen, Big Picture: A

  Writer’s Guide to the TV Business

  “Helen Jacey has written an insightful, utterly compelling book about female characterization that is as insightful as it is instructive. It is an essential volume for screenwriters and film students everywhere.”

  – Jonathan Sothcott, Producer,

  Dead Cert and Devil’s Playground

  “Jacey dissects the female role in many films and applies that to the elements of bringing together a competent screenplay with female protagonists. The book makes an engrossing guide for anyone looking for insight into the female psyche and hoping to strive for something new and original instead of harping on the same doldrums we’ve seen in hundreds of films before.”

  – Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

  “Helen Jacey has created a much needed blueprint to creating strong female characters. All screenwriters—male and female—who are interested in writing films with strong female leads should be smart and start their process by using the advice and tools in this book. I look forward to seeing the multitude of films that come from people trained by Helen Jacey in the belief that women’s characters and stories are valid, valuable, interesting, and necessary.”

  – Melissa Silverstein, Founder,

  Women & Hollywood, www.womenandhollywood.com

  “Every now and then a book comes along that sheds a completely new light on the screenwriting process. The Woman in the Story is one of those books and long overdue. Taking the thorny subject of female representation, Jacey asks the questions that should be at the forefront of developing convincing and believable female characters but rarely are. Screenwriters will be reassured and stimulated by Jacey’s direct and motivating approach. Teachers of screenwriting will breathe a sigh of relief that they finally have a toolkit that will help students avoid clichés and stereotypes in character development.”

  – Lucy Scher, Director, The Script Factory

  “Once I got my hands on a brand-new copy of The Woman in the Story, I couldn’t put it down. I was still reading it at 2 AM and can hardly wait to apply Helen Jacey’s suggestions to my own screenplay, effective immediately. As a screenwriting professor, I’ll be adding it to my course bibliographies. Many of my screenwriting students are going to fall in love with this book next semester!”

  – Alexis Krasilovsky, Professor, Screenwriting Option,

  Department of Cinema and Television Arts

  California State University, Northridge;

  Writer/Director, Women Behind the Camera

  “This book delves deep and comes up with revelatory ideas about female characters. It is profoundly original, distilling and transforming the way you see women from Scarlett O’Hara to Juno. Jacey provides an inventive and wonderfully clear guide to bringing female characters to life. A brilliant resource for filmmakers working on projects that focus around women. The first book to think about screenwriting and gender—and about time too! This is a “how-to” book with a real difference.”

  – Sarah Gavron, Director, Brick Lane, This Little Life

  HELEN JACEY

  THE WOMAN IN THE

  STORY

  WRITING MEMORABLE FEMALE CHARACTERS

  Published by Michael Wiese Productions

  12400 Ventura Blvd. #1111

  Studio City, CA 91604

  tel. 818.379.8799

  fax 818.986.3408

  [email protected]

  www.mwp.com

  Cover design: MWP

  Book design: Gina Mansfield Design

  Editor: Christine A.T. Dunn

  Printed by McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., Saline, Michigan Manufactured in the United States of America

  © 2010 by Helen Jacey

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Jacey, Helen

  The woman in the story : creating memorable female characters / Helen Jacey.

  p. cm. -- (Great unproduced film scripts)

  Includes filmography.

  ISBN 978-1-932907-79-7

  1. Motion picture authorship. 2. Motion picture plays--Technique.

  3. Women in motion pictures. 4. Characters and characteristics in motion pictures. I. Title.

  PN1996.J26 2010

  808.2’3--dc22

  2010018596

  for Patrick

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Foreword

  Introduction

  1. THE POWER OF THE HEROINE

  Why Choose a Heroine?

  Masculinity and Male Heroes

  The Feminine Superthemes

  Supertheme 1: Familiar Femininity

  Supertheme 2: Feel Good Femininity

  Supertheme 3: Fighting Femininity

  Supertheme 4: Future Femininity

  Exercise: Screenwriter’s Self-Assessment Questionnaire

  2. THE MEMORABILITY FACTOR

  Character versus Story

  Choosing a Character

  Exercise: Finding Your Heroine

  The Memorability Factor

  A Memorable Story

  Exercise: Your Heroine’s M-Factor

  3. GOING AGAINST TYPE

  Acceptable Clichés and Stereotypes

  How to Use Role Choices

  The Role Choice of Heroine

  The Role Choice of Nurturer

  The Role Choice of Dependant

  The Role Choice of Believer

  The Role Choice of Caryatid

  Exercise: Your Heroine’s Role Choice Questionnaire

  4. MAKING IT PER
SONAL

  Finding the Story

  Heroine Story Types

  Path to Wholeness

  Tests of Love

  Group Endeavor

  Quest

  Survival

  Wandering Woman

  Rites of Passage

  The Talent

  Theme

  The Metaphoric Wound

  Exercise: Your Heroine’s Gifts and Wounds Questionnaire

  5. A PHASE SHE’S GOING THROUGH

  The Phases and Theme

  Phases and Structure

  The Identity Phases

  The Relating Phases

  The Momentum Phases

  Exercise: Phases in a Complex-Linear Film

  6. WOMEN IN TROUBLE

  Cultural Conflict

  The Layers of Conflict

  Psychodynamics and Conflict

  Exercise: Your Heroine’s Conflict Questionnaire

  7. FEELING GOOD AND FINDING LOVE

  The Importance of Union

  Cultural Union

  Men and Union

  Union and Your Heroine’s Story

  The Layers of Union

  The Steps to Love

  Exercise: Your Heroine’s Union Questionnaire

  8. GENRES FOR HEROINES’ STORIES

  Genre and Your Story

  The Primal Argument

  Genre Bending: Evolutions in Genres

  Drama

  Romance and the Dramance

  Romantic and Dramantic Comedy

  Comedy

  Thriller

  Supernatural Thriller

  Biopic

  Musical

  Science Fiction

  Unpopular Genres for Heroines

  Exercise: Genre Conventions

  9. UNSUNG HEROINES

  Forgettable Heroines

  Heroine Softening

  The Development Process

  Managing Your Career

  Future Heroines

  Exercise: Screenwriter’s Story Questionnaire

  10. A HEROINE IN ACTION: AN ANALYSIS OF JUNO

  Juno’s Supertheme

  Juno’s M-Factor

  Role Choices

  Story Type, Theme, and the Metaphoric Wound of Juno

  Phases

  Layers of Conflict

  Layers of Union

  FILMOGRAPHY

  Film

  Television

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Serendipity has played a big part in the creation of this book, as so many special people appeared at exactly the right time. Most of all, I want to give special thanks to Michael Wiese, visionary publisher, for his trust, guidance, and belief. Not only was Michael astoundingly perceptive about the need for this book, but also his amazing insight helped bring it into being. Linda Seger’s writing has been highly influential to me over the years, not only inspiring my own screenplays but also my exploration into women and film. I am deeply touched by her generosity in writing the foreword to this book. I would also like to thank Ken Lee at MWP for all his efforts and Christine Dunn for her thoughtful editing of this book. Thank you!

  Much of this book draws on my life as a screenwriter, and all the following people have helped me in far too many ways than I can mention here: Phil Parker, great friend, mentor and teacher; my agent Elinor Burns, for endless hard work and commitment; Jenne Casarotto, for her helping hands; Nicholas Horne and Mark Casarotto, for never making anything feel like a problem; Gareth Wiley, for his belief and encouragement; Lucy Scher, for her unstinting faith and friendship; Amelia Bullmore, Lucy Floyd, Sarah Flint, Becca Mackenzie, and Emma Ko, for moral support and friendship over the years; Margaret Glover, for being the right person at the right time, and Michael Lutin, for saying the right thing at the right time; Briony Hanson at the Script Factory for her dynamic energy; Kate Kinninmont at Women in Film and TV UK for her warm enthusiasm and support. I would also like to thank all the many women and men participants who have come to my seminars and workshops, for sharing their own experiences of writing heroines with me and making training so enjoyable. I would also like to acknowledge and say a big “thanks” to all the producers who I’ve worked with over the years and have helped me learn “o n the job.” This book wouldn’t exist without you.

  This book really came to life at Anne and Lawrence Hansen’s wonderful home in France. I cannot thank them enough for all the love, practical support, encouragement, and delicious meals!

  Every daughter needs a mother who teaches her how to question, and I was blessed that I didn’t have to look too far for mine. For her boundless generosity and rare gift of understanding, I am indebted to my mother Anne, true friend and unsung heroine. For telling the first stories, I ’d like to thank to my father John.

  For endless encouragement and support in their own unique ways, I would like to thank my family, particularly Stephen, Anna, Claire, Ant, Rachael, Mark, Alex, Billy, the two Sonias, Elliot, Abigail, Suzanne, and Michel. Loving gratitude must go to Jack, who continues to teach me everything about motherhood and how to stay on the sunny side of the street.

  FOREWORD

  Every era has issues to confront that affect the arts, politics, economics, relationships, and the drama of our time. Many films and characters reflect, comment on, reveal insights, and shine a light on our world, whether it’s the multiple themes of World War II (Schindler’s List, Inglourious Basterds, Holocaust, The Pacific, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Diary of Anne Frank) or about corruption (Wall Street, State of Play, Blood Diamond, The International) or the complexities of the Vietnam War (Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Casualties of War) or films revolving around women’s changing roles and identity (9 to 5, Working Girl, My Brilliant Career. )

  During the last fifty years, almost every aspect of society has been affected, in one way or another, by the Women’s Movement. Yet characters in film have been slow to reflect the many dimensions of the changing identity of women. Characters in modern film usually have more shading than the stereotypical dumb blonde or the aggressive female boss, but large chunks of female dimensionality are still missing.

  This may be a result of few guides to lead us. Or because writers are so busy expressing their art and learning their craft that they have little time to think of the nuances that shape characters. It’s easier to write a general female character that looks like everyone else, and hope that Julia Roberts or Meryl Streep or Sandra Bullock will bring the character to life, than to write the needed extra dimensions to the role. But the truth is, an actress won’t, and can’t, express complexity if it’s not on the page. They can’t make up what isn’t there, in spite of their considerable talent and skills.

  We still struggle with what makes a great character of any gender, and with what makes a great female character. We continue to ask: “Is she just like a man, but she looks different?” Or is there something different operating because of her different physicality and different social influences? If so, what does she look like? Act like? What are the challenges, obstacles, and metaphors that govern her psychology and behavior? And how do you express these nuances without sounding like a psychology book or a feminist rant?

  That’s why we need books like this. Film is one of the most persuasive and influential art forms, and most writers know this. Most writers don’t just write on a lark, but they write to tell us something about our lives. They bring characters to life and these characters move us, touch us, lead us, guide us, and, when done well, tell us something about who we’ve been, who we are, and where we’re going. When writers accept that they are doing more than self-expression or trying to make money or gain fame, many writers will admit they’re driven by the desire to bring meaning and contribute something worthwhile, perhaps even to change the world as we know it.

  Writing is said by some to be a “sacred trust,” and many of the best writers recognize that writers have a responsibility, not only to their characters and their subject matter, but to be a light to society.

>   To do this, they need to know the world and its inhabitants. They need to be in tune with the forces of the times. They need to be able to create, shape, and detail character flaws, insecurities, and know why they’re there. They need to know the context in order to create characters in context. It’s admirable work.

  I always hesitate to tell anyone “you must read this book.” You have free will to choose any book that seems to ft your need to know and that pulls you to be a better writer. But I’m so tempted to use those words like “must” and “should” and “have to” with this book, because this book is not just good and helpful, it’s important.

  Writers illuminate the human condition, and the more one understands the human condition, the better the possibility of shedding some light on the issues, possibilities, and challenges of being human and bringing these meanings to life through characters.

  It is our generation, our era, that has done much exploration of what it means to be female. It’s not feasible to have a great female character without some understanding of where she fits in the overall scheme of things. Yes, there are thousands of books you can read to understand women from the viewpoint of psychology, sociology, education, economics, and myth. But there are very few books to help you understand females from a cinematic viewpoint. Helen Jacey has written a guide, an encouragement, an illumination to light the writer along the way.

  Dr. Linda Seger

  Author of When Women Call the Shots, Creating Unforgettable Characters, And the Best Screenplay Goes to…

  INTRODUCTION

  I must admit, deciding to write a screenwriting guide about half of the human race has felt strange at times. Don’t screenwriting principles apply equally to all characters? Aren’t Conflict, character arc, theme, and structure, universally true because they apply to every type of hero, male or female?

  It was Linda Seger, writing When Women Call the Shots (1996) who first made me realize that all the dramatic theories from Aristotle have been written by men, and that it’s time for new models for stories about women. But none of the screenwriting guides have paid much attention to the differences between men’s and women’s lives and to what happens if the hero is a heroine. None of them have seriously worked out what happens to the rules and conventions if a heroine leads the action. If you want to write a screenplay with a female character, there’s a good chance some of your questions won’t be easily answered.