[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: If we think in a cliché, we add a related cliché and then we sort of hit the thing hard with an over exaggeration. What is that?
John Vorhaus, Author/Artist/Screenwriter: It’s called the rule of three.
On a technical level, it works like this.
The first cliché establishes a point, a point of view and attitude.
The second cliché establishes a second point and a connected point.
And these two points create a line.
Just like in geometry, two points create a line.
The third thing that comes along cuts across the line.
Story Questions: How To Unlock Your Story One Question At A Time (PDF) on Payhip
It defeats the expectation.
A classic example of this is doctor says,
“I’ve got bad news for you. You have a brain tumor, heart disease, and a really ugly tie.”
A brain tumor says medical emergency, medical threat.
Heart disease reinforces medical threat.
Wow, this person has a really serious problem.
Then the third thing that comes along goes against the grain of that line and defeats it or deflates it by giving a third item in the list that’s trivial and out of sync with the first two that are there.
I use this example in the book or something like it.
I wanted to write a good novel or the great American novel or a novel so awesomely great that it will make you forget any other novel that’s ever been written since the beginning of time.
A good novel is reasonable.
It’s possible.
The great American novel is reasonable.
It’s possible.
It’s been done.
The third thing is exaggerated to the point where it leaves…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
BUY THE BOOK – CARTOONS FOR SMART PEOPLE: The First One Hundred
BUY THE BOOK – THE COMEDY WRITER’S COMPANION
BUY THE BOOK – THE COMIC TOOLBOX: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not
BIO:
John Vorhaus is best known for his comedy-writing classic, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not. He has taught and trained writers in 37 countries on five continents at last count, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and some two dozen works of non-fiction. His latest book is the little book of STANDUP. Vorhaus is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. He lives in Southern California and secretly controls the world from JohnVorhaus.com.
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
New book from Film Courage! – See it on Payhip here
