Mark Phillips's Blog - Posts Tagged "advice"
On the importance of Set-up
Good payoffs take time.
That was the writing lesson that I took out of Captain America: Civil War the other day.
I suppose that's an odd lesson to take out of a superhero movie about a clash of two ideologies, but hey, I'm a writer, I look for writing lessons in just about everything.
This is not a movie review, so there are no spoilers nor am I going to comment on how good or bad the movie was, but I'm going to focus on one aspect of the movie that didn't work with Batman V. Superman.
The comparisons between these two movies have come up immediately and it's inevitable as they showcase a very similar storyline and hit a lot of the same beats.
For me, personally, what didn't work in Batman V. Superman did work well in Captain America: Civil War, and the reason is because of timing.
For those of you who don't know, both movies feature a clash of ideology between two superheroes. Batman and Superman in the DC movie and Captain America and Iron Man in the Marvel film.
When Marvel first unveiled their plans for a cinematic universe I was excited about it even though I'm not a comic book fan nor am I a big fan of superhero films in general. The reason I was excited is because I loved shared universes. After all, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors and his books are filled with crossovers and shared storylines. There's something very satisfying about recognizing a minor character from another book in the one you're currently reading. It makes all the books seem that much more epic and exciting. I felt that Marvel had a chance to create that kind of atmosphere in cinema, and in Civil War it paid off.
The reason that the conflict in Batman V. Superman didn't work is because this is the first time we've seen them meet. The movie felt overstuffed and rushed and the conflict seemed almost artificial.
What worked about Civil War was the amount of time they spent to get to this point.
You can't expect to go out on one date with a person and immediately be ready to marry them and bare them children. You can't expect that you'll develop the marriage shorthand that all established couples seem to have. You can't expect to have hilarious inside jokes after one date. That kind of connection and intimacy takes time, and it's no different in fiction.
What works about Civil War is that we've seen Captain America and Iron Man in several movies now. We've not only seen them develop as friends and establish an actual bond, but we've also seem their characters grow in their own solo movies. They have been heavily established, their motivations are clear. Their flaws are clear.
And that's why it works.
Because when Captain America and Iron Man have a split over their different world views it's earned. We have a greater depth of emotion because we've spent time with these characters.
So how does all of this relate to our own writing and reading? Well I know many of you are writing or have written book series'. This takes the shared universe to another level as we are following a particular storyline and group of characters through several novels. My advice to you is to take a page out of the MCU. You have all that space to develop things, don't rush it. Don' t be in such a hurry to get your characters to some deep emotional place. Really take the time to allow your characters to breath and exist, to allow them to grow in the imaginations of your readers. Let it happen naturally and don't try to force it.
After all, how many second dates have you gotten after you've talked about getting married on the first date?
That was the writing lesson that I took out of Captain America: Civil War the other day.
I suppose that's an odd lesson to take out of a superhero movie about a clash of two ideologies, but hey, I'm a writer, I look for writing lessons in just about everything.
This is not a movie review, so there are no spoilers nor am I going to comment on how good or bad the movie was, but I'm going to focus on one aspect of the movie that didn't work with Batman V. Superman.
The comparisons between these two movies have come up immediately and it's inevitable as they showcase a very similar storyline and hit a lot of the same beats.
For me, personally, what didn't work in Batman V. Superman did work well in Captain America: Civil War, and the reason is because of timing.
For those of you who don't know, both movies feature a clash of ideology between two superheroes. Batman and Superman in the DC movie and Captain America and Iron Man in the Marvel film.
When Marvel first unveiled their plans for a cinematic universe I was excited about it even though I'm not a comic book fan nor am I a big fan of superhero films in general. The reason I was excited is because I loved shared universes. After all, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors and his books are filled with crossovers and shared storylines. There's something very satisfying about recognizing a minor character from another book in the one you're currently reading. It makes all the books seem that much more epic and exciting. I felt that Marvel had a chance to create that kind of atmosphere in cinema, and in Civil War it paid off.
The reason that the conflict in Batman V. Superman didn't work is because this is the first time we've seen them meet. The movie felt overstuffed and rushed and the conflict seemed almost artificial.
What worked about Civil War was the amount of time they spent to get to this point.
You can't expect to go out on one date with a person and immediately be ready to marry them and bare them children. You can't expect that you'll develop the marriage shorthand that all established couples seem to have. You can't expect to have hilarious inside jokes after one date. That kind of connection and intimacy takes time, and it's no different in fiction.
What works about Civil War is that we've seen Captain America and Iron Man in several movies now. We've not only seen them develop as friends and establish an actual bond, but we've also seem their characters grow in their own solo movies. They have been heavily established, their motivations are clear. Their flaws are clear.
And that's why it works.
Because when Captain America and Iron Man have a split over their different world views it's earned. We have a greater depth of emotion because we've spent time with these characters.
So how does all of this relate to our own writing and reading? Well I know many of you are writing or have written book series'. This takes the shared universe to another level as we are following a particular storyline and group of characters through several novels. My advice to you is to take a page out of the MCU. You have all that space to develop things, don't rush it. Don' t be in such a hurry to get your characters to some deep emotional place. Really take the time to allow your characters to breath and exist, to allow them to grow in the imaginations of your readers. Let it happen naturally and don't try to force it.
After all, how many second dates have you gotten after you've talked about getting married on the first date?
